May 4, 2019 by Tom

Seeking God: What Are You Seeking? (Session One)

This is the audio of session one from the May 4, 2019 Seeking God Prayer Event held at Michiana Christian Camp.

This first session focused on examining what or, more importantly, who are we seeking. The value you place on what you seek will determine how much effort you put into seeking. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you will likely not know if you find it.

April 7, 2019 by Tom

Mind the GAP! (Sermon Audio)

This is the audio from the April 7, 2019 sermon, “Mind the GAP!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.
(I didn’t remember to turn the recorder on until after the sermon introduction, but this audio contains all three main points.)

Text: Ezekiel 22:30

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”

Here are the main points from the sermon:

As you stand in the gap, you must pay close attention to mind the . . .

Goal:
- Philippians 3:14 — In a world where long-term goals are often set aside in exchange for temporary pleasure, we must avoid falling into the gap that exists between where we are and the eternal goal for which we have been called heavenward.
Attitude:
- 1 Peter 4:1 — Some say that attitude is everything which makes it critical that we don’t get lost in the gap between a worldly attitude and the attitude of Christ that ought to be ours.
Promises:
- 2 Peter 3:9 — When everything around us seems to demand instant results, we must pay close attention to no get caught up in the gap that exists between our timetable and God’s when it comes to His faithfulness in keeping His promises.

As children of God, we ought to be standing in the gap on behalf of the country we live in, our churches, and our friends and families. Not only should we “mind the gap” in our own life, we ought to be helping our brothers and sisters avoid the many temptations that lurk in these gap areas.

February 3, 2019 by Tom

Let GO! (Sermon Audio)

This is the audio from the February 3, 2019 sermon, “Let GO!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text: Romans 12:1-2

Here are the main points from the sermon:

To let go and truly be a living sacrifice, we must Let . . .

God:
- Ephesians 4:11-13 — God has created each of us according to His great wisdom and design. We need to let God be in charge and submit our life fully to Him so that His purposes can be completed both in and through us.
Others:
- Romans 12:6-8 — As we let God be in charge, we must also let others use the gifting God has placed within their life so that together we would glorify God. Letting others must always been done in submission to them and us first letting God, otherwise others soon become our God.

December 30, 2018 by Tom

Hold ON! (Sermon Audio)

This is the audio from the December 30, 2018 sermon, “Hold ON!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Revelation 3:7-13 & Luke 18:1

Here are the main points from the sermon:

We Hold ON to the right things when we hold . . .

Open:
- The Door to Our Life – Revelation 3:20
- Our Heart – Ephesians 1:18
- God’s Word – James 1:22-25
Near:
- To God – James 4:8
- To God’s Word – Deuteronomy 30:11-16
- To One Another – Hebrews 10:24-25

November 4, 2018 by Tom

WISE Choices

My mp3 recorder malfunctioned so no audio today, but here is the outline and highlights from the November 4, 2018 sermon, “WISE Choices”, that I shared at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text: Matthew 7:21-29

Here are the main points from the sermon:

Jesus taught that many will say to Him, “Lord, Lord”, yet get a response of “Depart from me, I never knew you.” His explanation for such an interaction reveals the importance of not just hearing the Word of God, but actually putting it into practice. Every time we encounter the truth of God’s Word, we must choose what we will do with it. It is my prayer that each of those times result in our making WISE choices.

A WISE choice is a . . .

Willing Choice: Psalm 119:108
- God’s desire is that we are both willing and eager to do everything He has commanded. Acting like we are forced to put the things of God into practice will do us no more good than it does for our witness for Christ. When our choice to honor God in everything is a willing choice, then others will be able to see the joy we have through living an obedient life.
- If you have to be forced, coerced, or tricked into it, it is probably not a wise choice.
Intelligent Choice: Acts 13:7
- Faith in God is not blind faith. In fact, it is our faith that allows us to see the unseen as if it were seen. Just because someone says something is from God doesn’t mean that it really is. We must use the mind that God gave us in order to make intelligent choices that keep us in a life that honors God and helps those around us see a God that can be trusted. Very few people want to follow someone who doesn’t know what they are doing and when we choose to understand and know God to the best of our ability, we find that we have much more than a “just because” answer to the questions people ask.
- If you have to ignore clear teaching of scripture, it is definitely not a wise choice.
Sacrificial Choice: Hebrews 13:15-16
- By nature, sacrifice is difficult otherwise we wouldn’t call it sacrifice. When we seek to do God’s will, more often than not we find we are called upon to make a sacrificial choice. This should not come as a big surprise since the life of Jesus on earth can be best characterized as sacrificial. Honoring God with our choices will mean that we look out for the needs of others even above our own. Jesus said that unless we are willing to give up everything, we cannot be His disciple — it doesn’t get more sacrificial than that when it comes to the choices we ought to be making.
- If it only looks out for your good and not the good of others, it is likely not a wise choice.
Eternal Choice: Galatians 6:8
- One of the reasons that we can make choices that are willing, intelligent, and even sacrificial is because we make them with an eternal perspective in mind. The seeds we sow today will determine the harvest we experience later. A huge part of that eternal harvest is not just about us making it to heaven, but it is also about the seeds we plant in the lives of others so that God can bring about the harvest in their life at just the right time. When we apply an eternal perspective filter to the decisions we must make each day, it ought to change not only what we choose to do but also the how and why of what we choose.
- If it only satisfies a temporary desire with no view toward how it will influence you and others for eternity, it most certainly is not a wise choice.

October 7, 2018 by Tom

Praying According to the WILL of God (Sermon Audio)

This is the audio from the October 7, 2018 sermon, “Praying According to the Will of God”, shared by Tom Lemler as part of a Lifestyle of Prayer series at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text: Romans 12:1-2

Here are the main points from the sermon:

We pray according to the will of God when we pray with . . .