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This is the audio from the April 2, 2023 sermon, “A Road of Prayer; Sweet HOUR of Prayer”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 22:31-32, 39-46

“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:32 (NIV)

Today I continued a sermon series with a focus on The Road to Resurrection.  Each week of this series considers a different glimpse of the life of Jesus during His final week leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection.  Throughout His life on earth, Jesus set the example regarding the necessity of prayer.  As we walk this road to resurrection with Jesus, we find Him praying in the upper room with His disciples then returning to prayer in the garden as He asked them to join Him in the sweet . . .

• Hope of Prayer:  —  Luke 22:31-32

  • Life is full of struggles and difficulties that may very well shake us to the very core of our being.  In the midst of Jesus telling Peter what Satan has desired to do, there is great hope in knowing Jesus has prayed for him and states work that is to be done after the failure.  When we live life on the road of prayer with Jesus, we live with great hope as we trust Him to accomplish everything He has promised.

• Opportunity of Prayer:  —  Luke 22:39-40

  • The greatest opportunities of life are not about luck, but rather they are about being prepared.  We find Jesus praying in the garden because prayer was His natural response to life.  When we create a habit of prayer in our own life, we find every moment is an opportunity to pray for our self, for our friends, and even for our enemies.

• Understanding of Prayer — Luke 22:41-44

  • Many people give up on prayer because it didn’t accomplish what they had hoped it would.  Prayer is not some type of cosmic vending machine that gives us whatever we want simply because we put the “coin’ of prayer in the proper slot.  Jesus taught us that a proper understanding of prayer is that which always seeks the will of God and seeks to honor Him regardless of whether the result is what we wanted or not.

• Result of Prayer — Luke 22:45-46

  • If our understanding of prayer teaches us it isn’t about our will, then the result of prayer should always be such that our will aligns more closely with what God wants.  Jesus asked His disciples to pray so they would not fall into temptation.  When we walk this road of prayer each step of life we take, we discover a result that helps us to avoid the traps of temptation the enemy has placed all along our way.

Today, will you join Jesus in the sweet HOUR of prayer?

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This is the audio from the March 26, 2023 sermon, “A Road of Serving: What Will You DO?”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 22:7-30

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV)

Today I continued a sermon series with a focus on The Road to Resurrection.  Each week of this series will consider a different glimpse of the life of Jesus during His final week leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection.  As Jesus and His disciples traveled their road to resurrection on that final week before the cross, they pause to share a special meal together — a meal designed to commemorate the salvation which was experienced as the angel of death passed over the homes of those who had applied the blood of the lamb to the door posts of the home.  This was a significant meal that not only looked back, but also looked forward to what was about to happen.  Within that context, we find Jesus both teaching and showing what it looks like to be on a road of serving.  As we look to Jesus and are reminded of what He has done, there are two questions we ought to continually ask ourselves,  what will I  . . .

• Discover:  —  Luke 22:7-13

• Obey:  —  Luke 22:14-30

Today, what will you choose to DO?

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This is the audio from the March 12, 2023 sermon, “A Road of Generosity: What Will You GIVE?”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 20:45 – 21:6

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
1 Chronicles 29:14 (NIV)

Today I continued a sermon series with a focus on The Road to Resurrection.  Each week of this series will consider a different glimpse of the life of Jesus during His final week leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection.  When we understand that the true ownership of all that we have and all that we are belongs to God, it ought to lead us along a road of generosity.  While we often think of generosity in terms of the amount we give, I believe God would have us be more serious in examining what we . . .

• Glorify.  Luke 20:45-46
  • Walking with Christ on a road of generosity will lead us to examine what we glorify.  In our text, Jesus points out those who practice a form of religion that became all about their own glory.  When we walk a path of life which seeks to glorify our self, we will quickly lose sight of what true generosity looks like.  It is when we choose in every circumstance to glorify God, we discover an attitude of generosity that truly reflects Jesus.
• Invest.  Luke 20:47 – 21:2
  • Walking with Christ on a road of generosity will lead us to examine what we invest.  In our text, we find a contrast between those who invest with what is extra and those who invest everything they have.  Jesus makes it clear in His teaching that we must give our self fully to God in order to be His disciple.  When we invest in self with no regard for God’s kingdom, we will quickly fall into a trap of selfishness that drowns out God’s desire for us to be generous.  It is when we choose to invest all that we have and all that we are into the kingdom of God, also known as people, we find that we live with a generosity that can only come from Jesus.
• Value.  Luke 21:3-4
  • Walking with Christ on a road of generosity will lead us to examine what we value.  In our text, it appears that a distinction is made between those who value an appearance of godliness and those who value God.  When we define what we value by the standards of the world, we soon find our self choosing temporary over eternal.  It is when we chose to value what God values, we discover a lifestyle of generosity toward people that will help to make Jesus known.
• Enjoy.  Luke 21:5-6
  • Walking with Christ on a road of generosity will lead us to examine what we enjoy.  In our text, we see the conversation quickly shift from observing a person giving everything they have to an apparent change of subject regarding the beauty of the temple.  Our world is filled with great beauty and things of enjoyment, but it can become very easy to forget these things are just shadows of the things to come.  It is when we choose to enjoy the presence and creativity of God, we find a satisfaction that leads us to a growing generosity as a fitting response to God’s generosity.

Today, what will you choose to GIVE?

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This is the audio from the March 5, 2023 sermon, “A Road of Ownership: What Do You OWN?”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 20:20-26

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.”
Luke 19:41 (NIV)

Today I continued a sermon series with a focus on The Road to Resurrection.  Each week of this series will consider a different glimpse of the life of Jesus during His final week leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection. The road to resurrection included a stop where Jesus was questioned about the paying of taxes to Rome.  In His answer, Jesus defines ownership as being reflected in the image something bears.  As those who are in Christ and bear the image of God, we need to take a new look at what we . . .

• Owe.  Luke 20:22
  • “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.   Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”  Romans 13:7-8 (NIV)
• Want.  Luke 20:23
  • “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”  Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)
• Need.  Luke 20:25-26
  • “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

Today, will you be a good steward of what you think you OWN?

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This is the audio from the February 26, 2023 sermon, “A Road of Sorrow: A Time to WEEP!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 19:39-46

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.”
Luke 19:41 (NIV)

Today began a sermon series with a focus on The Road to Resurrection.  Each week of this series will consider a different glimpse of the life of Jesus during His final week leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection.  The series opens with a look at an event that is often overshadowed by the more joyful events of the triumphal entry.  On a day that was filled with much promise and celebration, we find Jesus looking out over Jerusalem and weeping.  As we walk the road to resurrection with Christ, we find that this road of sorrow often brings us face to face with a time to . . .

• Worship.  Luke 19:39-40
  • I suspect that the attempts of the religious leaders to silence the crowd’s worship of Jesus contributed to the sorrow He felt as Jesus looked out over Jerusalem.  Yet, on our road of sorrow, worship is a powerful way to help us endure the difficulties of life.  Jesus knew who He was and the worship that he deserved . . . and knew that His Father would see to it that appropriate worship would be expressed even if it required the rocks to cry out.  When our road of sorrow produces genuine worship of God, we find ourselves being lifted by the One we cry out to.
• Envision.  Luke 19:41-42
  • Sorrow has a way of obscuring our vision and even blinding us to the reality of both our situation and our hope.  As Jesus wept, He longed for the people of His day to see what could be theirs if only they would open their eyes and turn to Him.  When we see our road of sorrow as part of the road to resurrection, we allow God’s Spirit to help us to see beyond the temporary to that which is eternal.
• Escape.  Luke 19:43-44
  • Godly sorrow is designed by God to produce repentance and when we turn to God in repentance, we find a way of escape exists not so much from our circumstances, but from the despair the enemy wants to bring upon us because of those circumstances.  As Jesus wept over Jerusalem, He offered Himself as the way of escape from the judgment to come.  When our road of sorrow fills us with great discouragement, God want to use that season of life to draw us even nearer to Himself so that we would take refuge in Him.
• Pray.  Luke 19:45-46
  • It appears to me that the road of sorrow traveled by Jesus was amplified by the way people had become disconnected from God.  Even the place that had been designated for prayer and the worship of God had been turned into something ordinary with a focus on self rather than God.  As you consider the response of Jesus to those who had turned the temple into something profane, it is important to note that in Christ the temple of the living God is no longer made with bricks and stone, but with the people who belong to Him.  When the road of sorrow tempts us to treat our self and others in inappropriate ways, God calls us to make His house a house of prayer.

Today, what will you do when your road of sorrow creates a time to WEEP?

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This is the audio from the February 19, 2023 sermon, “A NEW Command!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: John 13:34-35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Today continued a sermon series with a focus on being Made New In Christ.  When Jesus addresses His disciples, including you and I, he issues a new command — a command to love one another.  Since God’s desire has always been that mankind would love Him and love one another, we must gaze into God’s Word to see what makes this command . . .

• Necessary.  John 13:34a, 1 John 2:3-4
  • While the very nature of commanding something ought to convey the necessity of obedience, sometimes we fail to grasp the importance of actually doing what God says.  God says the real proof of us actually knowing Him is found in our obedience to His commands.  When we live as those who are being made new in Christ, we find that the knowing and doing of God’s Word is not simply a good idea, it is necessary.
• Expensive.  John 13:34b, 1 John 3:16-17
  • Perhaps one of the reasons we struggle with accepting the necessity of God’s commands is doing so would cost us more than we are willing to invest.  The very nature of this new command involves not simply loving others, but loving them in the same way that Jesus loves.  When we live as those who are being made new in Christ, we find that loving like Jesus will cost us everything — but only everything that would eventually perish.
• Witnessing.  John 13:35, 1 John 4:12
  • When we live as those who view the command to love one another as both necessary and expensive, the result is a life that shows we belong to Jesus.  It is the witness of our life that makes the presence of God visible in this world and gives us a real answer when people notice the hope we live with.  When we live as those who are being made new in Christ, we shine like stars in the universe and witness to the world that we are disciples of Christ.

Today, how will you respond to a command that is NEW?

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This is the audio from the February 12, 2023 sermon, “A New SELF!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Colossians 3:1-17

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)

Today continued a sermon series with a focus on being Made New In Christ. Being made new in Christ will change who we are because it involves dying to self and living for Christ.  While there is so much that God wants to clothe us with, for that to change us, we must put off the old self before we put on the new . . .

• Seriousness.  Colossians 3:1-4
  • When we put on a new seriousness, it’s all about changing the things we are serious about.  We must put off the serious pursuit of self and the things of this world in order to put on a seriousness about the things of God.
• Example.  Colossians 3:5-11
  • When we put on a new example, it’s all about changing what people see in us.  It’s not so much that the things of this world bother us when they’re done by the people of this world, but rather they appall us when they are done by us.  We must put off the deeds of the flesh in order to put on the example of Christ for others to see.
• Love.  Colossians 3:12-14
  • When we put on a new love, it’s all about changing who we value most.  We must put off the worldly love that is really all about self so that we can put on the godly love that pursues God above all else and considers others better than ourselves.
• Focus.  Colossians 3:15-17
  • When we put on a new focus, it’s all about changing the direction of our gaze.  We must put off the old focus that kept us looking at our self and the things we desire so that we can put on a new focus to see Christ as the purpose in all we do.

Today, how will you put off the old self in order to put on a new SELF?

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This is the audio from the February 5, 2023 sermon, “A New Covenant: The TIE That Binds!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Galatians 3

“In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25 (NIV)

Today continued a sermon series with a focus on being Made New In Christ. Being made new in Christ will change the way we act because it is defined by a new covenant.  Covenant does not seem to be a popular term these days and I suspect that part of the reason is they are considered to be more binding than we like.  However, when God makes the covenant with us, we should be eager to accept the . . .

• Truth that binds.  2 Corinthians 3:1-6
  • The covenant that has been established between God and mankind through the blood of Jesus is a covenant of truth.  The authority of living within this covenant is not based on the approval of any person or their recommendation, but rather each person who enters into this covenant relationship with God carries the truth of it with them.  When we value God’s truth residing through His Spirit in each other, we find a tie that binds us together.
• Intensity that binds.  2 Corinthians 3:7-11
  • The nature of this covenant established by God through His Son is one that is filled with an all-consuming glory and intensity.  This is not a half-hearted covenant that we can quote when convenient and ignore when inconvenient.  When God calls us to Himself to live in a covenant relationship, He does so as One who calls us to die to self and live in a new life that is completely devoted to Him.  When we see and value the intense nature of God dwelling in our brothers and sisters in Christ, we find a tie that binds us together.
• Encouragement that binds.  2 Corinthians 3:12-18
  • The result of this covenant established by God with the power of the resurrection is an encouragement that should fill each person with hope.  Entering into a covenant relationship with a God that has set forth terms designed to give us freedom ought to change the way we speak to the people around us.  When compared to a covenant of law that exposed our guilt, this covenant of love is not only something that each of us should desire, it is something we ought to us to encourage one another.  When we live with the encouragement God offers to each of us in this new covenant, we find a tie that binds us together.

Today, how will you live with a TIE that binds?