~

This is the audio from the September 13, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Persistent!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 7:7-14

• Request:  Matthew 7:7-8

  • Being persistent in the golden rule will lead us to being persistent in our requests.  God’s desire and instruction is that we make our requests known to Him.  It is in pursuit of God that we learn we can and should ask, seek, and knock so that we would find Him.

• Understanding:  Matthew 7:9-11

  • Being persistent in the golden rule will lead us to being persistent in our understanding of God’s ways being completely pure and accurate compared to our ways.  As we grow in relationship with God, we find His love is always giving us what is best even when it doesn’t look like we think it should.

• Law:  Matthew 7:12

  • Being persistent in the golden rule will lead us to being persistent in our practice of the golden law.  While we may lean towards doing to others like they do to us, revenge being the best policy, that is not God’s way for us.  His rule is that we do to others like we want them to do to us in a way that fulfills all the teachings of the law and prophets.

• Entry:  Matthew 7:13-14

  • Being persistent in the golden rule will lead us to being persistent in our entry into God’s kingdom as only being possible through Jesus.  While the path to eternity with God is narrow and few find it, we remain persistent because it is the only option that results in being welcomed home by Jesus.

Today, how will you be persistent in a way that reveals the Golden RULE in your life?

~

This is the audio from the September 6, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Kind!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 7:1-6

• Kin:  Matthew 7:1-2

  • Being kind will grow from our realization that in Christ we are all family and should treat one another as kin.

• Inspected:  Matthew 7:3-4

  • Being kind requires an inspection that will examine self according to God’s standards.

• Nurturing:  Matthew 7:5

  • Being kind will lead us to be nurturing in the way we help others.

• Deliberate:  Matthew 7:6

  • Being kind includes being deliberate about using godly discernment in dealing with those who live as enemies of the cross.

Today, how will God’s compassion help you to be KIND?

~

This is the audio from the August 30, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Content!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 6:25-34

• Concerned:  Matthew 6:25

  • Being content begins with learning to be concerned about appropriate things.  It can be very easy for the normal concerns of life to become things we worry about.  The concerns are often normal and natural but the worry is what God wants us to hand to Him so that we can be chill in His presence.

• Humble:  Matthew 6:26-27

  • Being content will follow our desire to be humble as we learn to value both God and others more than we value our own desires.  When we understand God’s care for the birds of the air, we begin to recognize that we may be special, but not that special.  It is our humility that leads to a contentment which allows us to be chill in God’s presence.

• Instructed:  Matthew 6:28-29

  • Being content will grow in our life when we choose to be instructed by the Word of God in all things.  It is the example of Jesus found in God’s Word that shows us both God’s care and His provision.  As we learn more of God’s faithfulness through our reading of Scripture and through our own experience, we gain the instruction necessary for us to be chill in God’s presence.

• Loved:  Matthew 6:30-32

  • Being content will flow from a growing understanding of how much we are loved by God.  It is in our relationship with the living God that we can rest in the storms of life because of His love.  God’s care of us exceeds even our own awareness of what we need, and He always provides with a view of eternity rather than the temporary view we generally have.  When we begin to grasp how loved we are by God, we find it easy to be chill in His presence.

• Loving:  Matthew 6:33-34

  • Being content is not just a state of being, it becomes a way of life that transforms us to be loving.  It is because of being loved by God that we can even desire to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  It is His love that helps us to be loving toward our neighbors, our family, and even our enemies.  When we learn to be loving, we discover we can be chill in God’s presence.

Today, how will you learn godly contentment so you can be CHILL?

~

This is the audio from the August 23, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Rich!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 6:19-24

• Responsible:  Matthew 6:19-20

  •  

• Intentional:  Matthew 6:21

  •  

• Concerned:  Matthew 6:22-23

  •  

• Honest:  Matthew 6:24

  •  

Today, how will you be RICH in a way that honors God?

~

This is the audio from the August 16, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Hungry!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 6:16-18

• Examine:  Matthew 6:16

  • Being hungry will lead us to examine our own life against the standard of God’s Word.  When we fast in a way which pleases God, we develop a hunger that causes us to examine our motives for all things.  A true hunger for God will be displayed in humility as we set aside food, or any other distraction, in order to truly be filled.

• Act:  Matthew 6:17

  • Being hungry will change the way we act.  Our activity of fasting will free us to help and serve others even as we draw nearer to God.  Choosing to listen to God with minimal distractions will allow us to more clearly hear how He wants us to live and how our life should be lived in relationship with others.

• Trust:  Matthew 6:18

  • Being hungry will increase our trust of God as we discover His provision in our time of need.  When we choose to set aside immediate satisfaction for something not yet attained, we must trust that what God will provide is more useful and better than what we have let go of.

Today, how will you EAT in a way that honors God?

~

This is the audio from the August 9, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Prayerful!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 6:5-15

• Pursue:  Matthew 6:5-8

  • Being prayerful begins as we learn to pursue a relationship with the living God.  This pursuit requires conversations that take place in private.  We learn about God, and about our self, when we step aside from the distractions and engage in deliberate communication that is simply between us and God.  We not only speak more openly, we listen more intently when we are confident that our conversations are indeed confidential.  We pray real, meaningful, and substantial prayers when we pursue God wholeheartedly.

• Respect:  Matthew 6:9-10

  • Being prayerful grows as we choose to respect God for who He is.  While it can be easy to quote scripture in a manner of praying and say “hallowed by thy name”, simply saying the words while not respecting God’s name in our everyday life really doesn’t carry the weight we may think it does.  When we truly respect God, we not only revere His name we also acknowledge that His will is what we desire.  It is this respect that prays for God’s will to be done not only in heaven, and not only in our nation or on this earth, but also for His will to be done in us.  We pray real, meaningful, and substantial prayers when we respect God fully.

• Ask:  Matthew 6:11-12

  • Being prayerful also involves the most practiced part of prayer — the ask.  But the ask God wants us to make is often more specific than we tend to want.  We ask for today’s needs to be met.  We ask for forgiveness.  We ask for the ability to forgive.  We ask for our self.  We ask on behalf of others.  We ask God for our daily bread and we ask that He helps us to view that as being enough.  We pray real, meaningful, and substantial prayers when we ask God to work in us and through us according to His will.

• Yield:  Matthew 6:13-15

  • Being prayerful will grow in our life in proportion to how we choose to yield.  Far often than we like to admit, we must choose between yielding to God or yielding to temptation.  When we pray, we yield our desires and interests to God in order to follow His desires and interests.  We tend to struggle with yielding because we don’t really want anyone to go ahead of us.  We begin to believe the lie of Satan that we are more important than anyone else . . . and even more important than God.  We pray real, meaningful, and substantial prayers when we fully yield to God in all things.

Today, how will you PRAY in a way that honors God?

~

This is the audio from the August 2, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Generous”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 6:1-4, Luke 21:1-4

• Known:  Matthew 6:1

  • Being generous will focus on how much is known about God and about His being the source of everything you have.  What we have kept will fade away to nothing when as we grow in our knowledge of God being the provider of all things.  It is our own selfishness that often holds on to the very things which God calls for us to share with others.  When we begin to know God’s purpose in providing us with “every good and perfect gift”, we start on the path of using said gifts for Him.

• Expressed:  Matthew 6:2

  • Being generous will focus on how much is expressed by us about God.  Often times in giving, we like to be the one who receives the credit rather than acknowledge God as to source of our gift.  As we communicate to others about God’s goodness, we share in a generosity that exceeds any other gift that could be given.  While our human nature often desires to express our goodness and generosity to others, God’s Spirit within us will always remind us to give God the credit for Him being the source of all good things.

• Protected:  Matthew 6:3

  • Being generous will focus on how much is protected from our own greed and selfishness.  We give from what God has entrusted to us so that we protect the name of the Lord God from being blasphemed by those who might claim that God doesn’t care.  We give with diligence and discernment through listening to the Holy Spirit so that we’re not wasteful with the resources of our Lord.  We protect, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of the kingdom and for the glory of the Lord most high.

• Trusted:  Matthew 6:4

  • Being generous will focus on how much is trusted as we choose to listen to God’s Spirit.  Trust can play a huge role in our generosity.  When God’s Spirit convicts us to be generous to someone else with what we have, we must trust that God will supply, or resupply, that which is given.  While many would say they would be more generous if they had more to give, most often it appears God calls us to generosity in the very areas we feel are lacking in our life in order to produce within us a growing trust.

We grow in Being Generous when what we have Known, what we have Expressed, what we have Protected, and what we have Trusted is all God!

Today, how will you be more generous because of what you have KEPT?

~

This is the audio from the July 26, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Perfect!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Matthew 5:43-48

• Learning:  Matthew 5:43-44

  • Being perfect through learning involves us understanding more accurately what God actually has said through His Word.  There are many times in life we “have heard it said”, but that doesn’t mean what we have heard is always accurate or complete.  Perfect love is found in Christ and we grow in perfection when we learn how to live with that kind of love.

• Opportunity:  Matthew 5:44-45

  • Being perfect involves our being aware of the perfect opportunities to share the love of Jesus with everyone.  It can be easy to miss good opportunities simply because we believe incorrectly about who and how we ought to love.  The perfect love of Christ in us will always look for and make the most of every opportunity to love others.

• Value:  Matthew 5:46-47

  • Being perfect requires that we value all people with the same value that God has created them with.  The Bible makes it clear that it was while we were enemies of God in our own mind that Christ died for us because of the great value He considers us to have.  Our value to God is not dependent on our goodness or lack of goodness, therefore the value that we credit others with having should always come from who they are as one created by God rather than from how we perceive them.  The perfect love of Christ in us will value our self and others with the same value that is derived from God.

• Example:  Matthew 5:48

  • Being perfect is made visible to us through the perfect example of God as we seek to “be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect.”  With the Father exalted as our primary example, we also understand perfect love as we grow in our knowledge of Christ’s love for us.  Jesus sets the perfect example, and calls for us to follow His example, as He love without partiality, favoritism, or prejudice.  The perfect love of Christ in us will not only follow His example, but will become an example in us to others.

Today, how will you live with perfection that is all about LOVE?