Encouragement and Prayer: Comfort When Facing Death! (11/18/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Comfort When Facing Death! (11/18/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 18, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on God’s promise that those who mourn will find comfort from God in all circumstances so that we can share that comfort with others.  When life is a struggle for you, take the time to notice how God comforts you so that you would be better prepared to comfort others in their difficulties.  We also must learn to mourn and be sorrowful about the sin in our life.  It is in our godly sorrow that we repent and find God’s comfort.  Pray that you would actively look for ways to share that same comfort with others.  Pray that the troubles of this world would not overwhelm you or the people around you.  Pray for the wisdom needed to share God’s comfort with those experiencing the troubles of this world.  Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to make you more aware of the comfort that He has provided to you.  Pray that the guidance and discipline of God would bring you comfort when the shadow of death surrounds you.  Pray that the people around you would be comforted by the presence of God when they mourn.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Opposition! (11/15/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Opposition! (11/15/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 15, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on a vision of ruin so that we would avoid it.  While there are numerous things which can cause sudden ruin, more common for most things which fall apart is the gradual lack of care and maintenance.  Anyone that has ever been in a battle understands the need for constant vigilance — to always be on guard.  But the truth is, we are all in a daily battle that is taking place over the eternal destination of our souls.  Paul writes of our need to wage war, not with the weapons of the world, but with the spiritual armor of God.  Pray that your relationship with Jesus would fill you with His presence in a way that gives you the strength, wisdom, and courage to always be on guard.  Pray that your desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection would be greater than any other desire which would lead you to ruin.

“Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.  You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.”
2 Timothy 4:14-15 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you be aware of the attempts of the enemy to destroy you.  Pray that God would help you to see the source of any opposition you face.  Pray that you would be on guard against those who would oppose the message of the gospel.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Greed! (11/14/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Greed! (11/14/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 14, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on a vision of ruin so that we would avoid it.  While there are numerous things which can cause sudden ruin, more common for most things which fall apart is the gradual lack of care and maintenance.  Anyone that has ever been in a battle understands the need for constant vigilance — to always be on guard.  But the truth is, we are all in a daily battle that is taking place over the eternal destination of our souls.  Paul writes of our need to wage war, not with the weapons of the world, but with the spiritual armor of God.  Pray that your relationship with Jesus would fill you with His presence in a way that gives you the strength, wisdom, and courage to always be on guard.  Pray that your desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection would be greater than any other desire which would lead you to ruin.

“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”
Luke 12:15 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you be aware of the attempts of the enemy to destroy you.  Pray that you would always be on guard against the desire to measure yourself, and others, by the things that are owned.  Pray that you would see clearly the many ways that greed can ruin a life.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Hypocrisy! (11/13/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Hypocrisy! (11/13/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 13, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on a vision of ruin so that we would avoid it.  While there are numerous things which can cause sudden ruin, more common for most things which fall apart is the gradual lack of care and maintenance.  Anyone that has ever been in a battle understands the need for constant vigilance — to always be on guard.  But the truth is, we are all in a daily battle that is taking place over the eternal destination of our souls.  Paul writes of our need to wage war, not with the weapons of the world, but with the spiritual armor of God.  Pray that your relationship with Jesus would fill you with His presence in a way that gives you the strength, wisdom, and courage to always be on guard.  Pray that your desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection would be greater than any other desire which would lead you to ruin.

“Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’”
Luke 12:1 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you be aware of the attempts of the enemy to destroy you.  Pray that God would surround you with people whose lives match their words.  Pray that you would always be on guard against the temptation to be someone different than who God says you are.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From False Teaching! (11/12/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From False Teaching! (11/12/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 12, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on a vision of ruin so that we would avoid it.  While there are numerous things which can cause sudden ruin, more common for most things which fall apart is the gradual lack of care and maintenance.  Anyone that has ever been in a battle understands the need for constant vigilance — to always be on guard.  But the truth is, we are all in a daily battle that is taking place over the eternal destination of our souls.  Paul writes of our need to wage war, not with the weapons of the world, but with the spiritual armor of God.  Pray that your relationship with Jesus would fill you with His presence in a way that gives you the strength, wisdom, and courage to always be on guard.  Pray that your desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection would be greater than any other desire which would lead you to ruin.

“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect — if that were possible.  So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.”
Mark 13:22-23 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you be aware of the attempts of the enemy to destroy you.  Pray that God would help you to be devoted to His teachings so that false teaching would not deceive you.  Pray that nothing false would have room to dwell in your life.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Betrayers! (11/11/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Avoid Ruin From Betrayers! (11/11/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 11, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on a vision of ruin so that we would avoid it.  While there are numerous things which can cause sudden ruin, more common for most things which fall apart is the gradual lack of care and maintenance.  Anyone that has ever been in a battle understands the need for constant vigilance — to always be on guard.  But the truth is, we are all in a daily battle that is taking place over the eternal destination of our souls.  Paul writes of our need to wage war, not with the weapons of the world, but with the spiritual armor of God.  Pray that your relationship with Jesus would fill you with His presence in a way that gives you the strength, wisdom, and courage to always be on guard.  Pray that your desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection would be greater than any other desire which would lead you to ruin.

“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.”
Matthew 10:17 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you be aware of the attempts of the enemy to destroy you.  Pray that God would protect your heart and mind from the ruin caused by betrayers.  Pray that your trust of God would fill you with peace when people seek to harm you.  Pray that you would not be one who betrays others by your words or actions.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Godly Vision – A Vision of RUIN! (Sermon Audio)
by

Godly Vision – A Vision of RUIN! (Sermon Audio)

~

This is the audio from the November 10, 2024 sermon, “A Vision of RUIN!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Zechariah 11

“For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the LORD. “I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands.”
Zechariah 11:6 (NIV)

As God revealed Himself in Old Testament times to His chosen people, He often did so in visions seen by His prophets.  Zechariah was one of those prophets who was given a series of godly visions to share with God’s people of his time and with God’s people of today.  Today we continued a sermon series from the book of Zechariah as we consider how his godly vision should teach us now.  As we gaze into God’s Word, we find this Godly Vision looked forward to the coming of Jesus and the work He would accomplish through His life, death, burial, and resurrection.  As we continue our Godly Vision series from Zechariah, we look at the not so pleasant topic of A Vision of Ruin. To help us avoid ruin, God warns us of the dangers and consequences of rejecting Him.  A continued disobedience to God will find us facing a vision of . . .

  • Rejection:  Zechariah 11:1-6

    • A vision of ruin will have us noticing the role rejection has in the destruction of a life.  When we consistently declare our independence from God, it is our rejection of Him which results in a growing separation which eventually would lead to ruin.  While it is important to note the warning of ruin to those who reject God, the good news is that God promises that all who come to Him in faith will in no way be cast out. 

  • Uselessness:  Zechariah 11:7-9

    • A vision of ruin will reveal a uselessness of all the things of this world which we use in an attempt to justify ourselves.  The spiritual ruin which comes by separating ourselves from God will make us unfit for any good and useful purpose.  As we heed the warning of ruin which comes to those who pursue useless things and teachings, we can be filled with great hope in knowing God created us for a useful and noble purpose which He fulfills in us as we follow Him.  

  • Injury:  Zechariah 11:10-14

    • A vision of ruin will expose the injury which occurs when we live apart from God.  When we ignore the teachings of God’s Word, we live without the protection He desires to surround us with.  When we are injured, yet reject the Good Shepherd who can bring healing to us, we soon find ourselves injuring others.  The antidote which keeps us from ruin when we are injured, and keeps us from injuring others, is to accept the healing power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of all sin.

  • Neglect:  Zechariah 11:15-17

    • A vision of ruin can be the result of simple neglect.  The care, or lack of care, which we give something will generally indicate how likely it is to last the test of time.  For many, the ruin that is faced does not come from rejection, uselessness, or injury, but rather from a neglect of hearing and doing the Word of God.  Our neglect may not be all that intentional, but neither is our study, fellowship, and pursuit of God very intentional.  We have a tool to avoid ruin when we choose not to neglect the things of God and how He wants us to live.

Today, how will you overcome RUIN?

Encouragement and Prayer: Care For the Hurting! (11/8/24)
by

Encouragement and Prayer: Care For the Hurting! (11/8/24)

~

This is the audio from the November 8, 2024 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“I will strengthen them in the LORD and in his name they will walk,” declares the LORD.”
Zechariah 10:12 (NIV)

This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on living with a growing understanding of God’s care for us so that we would reflect that care to others.  When we gaze into God’s Word, we discover the ongoing example of His care for people.  In love, God calls us to Himself and takes care of the sin which separates us from Him.  When we care for people the way God cares for us, we walk with Him.  Pray that your care for others would grow as you desire for them to know God’s care.  Pray that you would know how to care for the things which are your responsibility and how to trust God with the things which aren’t your responsibility.  Pray that God’s care, and your care, would strengthen people in the Lord so that together we may walk in His name.  Pray that the body of Christ would grow in the ways we experience and express God’s care.

“He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”
Luke 10:34 (NIV)

As you pray this week, consider the many ways you have experienced God’s care.  Pray that you would be moved to compassion in a way that compels you to help the hurting.  Pray that you would be willing to give of yourself to care for the hurting rather than expect someone else to do it.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom