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This is the audio from the September 28, 2025 sermon, “Knowing the Bible: God’s Word!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

• Wisdom:  2 Timothy 3:15, Psalm 19:7

  • The Bible contains the wisdom of God which when applied can make us wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ.  It is a wisdom which rises above all other knowledge because it is designed by God to transform us through its application in our life.  It is a wisdom that fills us and overflows beyond us as we simply cannot contain the whole of who God is.  I believe the Bible is the slice of God’s wisdom that He has allocated to us according to our ability to understand. 

• Oracle:  2 Timothy 3:16a, 2 Peter 1:20-21

  • In many ancient cultures, an oracle was one who spoke to the people on behalf of whatever god, or gods, they claimed to represent.  From a Biblical viewpoint, God’s people of old had prophets who were chosen by God to fulfill that role yet even they pointed to a time when the people would be taught by God Himself.  God declares that all scripture has been breathed out by Him, spoken by His Spirit to individuals that wrote it down to be delivered to us as the very Word of God.

• Revelation:  2 Timothy 3:16b, Romans 16:25-16

  • While we have a book of the Bible that we call “Revelation”, we must never forget that the entire Bible is the revelation by God of Himself to mankind.  The Bible is useful for all good things because it reveals God to us in a way which should transform us more and more into the image of Christ.  From beginning to end, we find God revealing His love for mankind and continually drawing us into relationship with Himself even when we rebel and reject Him.  God’s Word reveals a just and loving God who gave His one and only Son so that we might be saved.

• Direction:  2 Timothy 3:17, Psalm 119:105

  • The Bible is God’s direction for our life.  Found within our reading, studying, learning, and applying it to our everyday life, is direction which equips us for every good work God desires for us to do.  When His Word illuminates our feet and our path, we walk without being overcome by danger in the path we ought to go.  It is through the verses of scripture, read and understood in the context of the entire Word of God, that we grow in our understanding and practice of the will of God.

Today, how will you live as one who knows God’s WORD?

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This is the audio from the September 14, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: Go In Faith!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 28:16-20

• Fellowship:  Matthew 28:16-17

  • As Jesus prepares to give instructions to His disciples following His death, burial, and resurrection, they gather in fellowship with one another.  Even while there were elements of doubt present, Jesus prepared them to go in fellowship with Him and with one another. 

• Authority:  Matthew 28:18

  • While doubt may have existed among the disciples about themselves, and even about the resurrection of Jesus, there was to be no doubt left about who was in charge.  When Jesus comes to them after His resurrection, He makes it clear that they were to go in authority because of who was sending them.

• Involvement:  Matthew 28:19

  • As I stated in the sermon, sometimes we like to think Jesus said to go and invite people to church so the preacher can baptize them.  In reality, Jesus gave the instructions to His disciples and to all of us who hear His words that we are to be involved in both being a disciple and making disciples.

• Teaching:  Matthew 28:20a

  • Just as our involvement in being baptized and in baptizing others who come to Jesus in repentance is important, it is also commanded by Jesus that we teach and are taught as we go.  The things we learn and put into practice from God’s Word are to be shared with others so that they too would learn and put such things into practice.

• Help:  Matthew 28:20b

  • Going in Fellowship, Authority, Involvement, and Teaching may sound like a daunting task if we try to do any of that on our own.  The good news is that we also go in Help because we have the presence of God with us through His Spirit so that we are never alone.

Today, how will you go in FAITH?

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This is the audio from the September 7, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: Ready To Die!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 27:27-66

• Declare:  Matthew 27:37-46

  • Being ready to die begins with a declaration of separation.  Sin brings separation, and it was our sin which separated Jesus from His Father to such an extent that He declares a forsaking which had never taken place before.  When we choose to die to self, we must declare a forsaking of our sin in a way which completely separates us from it. 

• Invite:  Matthew 27:50-53

  • Jesus was ready to die because He knew doing so would fully open the invitation to His kingdom for all to enter.  When the temple veil was torn in two, that which had been off limits to the average person became open to all.  When we choose to die to self, we allow the curtain which surrounds our life to be torn open as we invite the presence of God’s Spirit to dwell within.  In so doing, we also remove the barrier between us and others as we invite them to know of the goodness of God through us.

• Embrace:  Matthew 27:54-61

  • It was the manner in which Jesus lived and died which brought with it the embrace of an unlikely collection of people.  From the soldier who verbally embraces the deity of Jesus to the women who embraced a position of caring for Him to Joseph who embraced the task of providing a place for the body, we find people who chose to embrace the One they knew as Jesus.  When we choose to die to self, we discover an embrace that flows from Christ to us and from us to those around us and from those around us back to us.

Today, how will you be ready to DIE?

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This is the audio from the August 31, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: Prepared For Trial!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 26:57 – 27:26

• Testimony:  Matthew 26:59-64

  • As Jesus stood before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and eventually Pilate, He was prepared for the testimony which would be given.  Instead of relying on the testimony of others, most of which was false testimony, Jesus let His life speak for itself.  When we learn from the example of Jesus, our actions in obedience to Him will always speak louder as our testimony than anything others might say. 

• Rejection:  Matthew 26:69-75

  • As Jesus stood before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and eventually Pilate, He was prepared for the rejection of Himself that would take place even by those closest to Him.  If fact, He had told the disciples that they would all abandon Him and even pointed out ahead of time the denials that Peter would make.  When we learn from the example of Jesus, we always work toward restoration of others even when they may deny and betray us.

• Insults:  Matthew 27:1-10

  • As Jesus stood before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and eventually Pilate, He was prepared for the insults which would be heaped upon Him.  In the sorrow of Judas, we see a regret that his actions did not accomplish the desired result he had hoped for.  For me, the great insult came as Judas failed to learn from Jesus and failed to trust Him to do what was best and right without manipulation.  When we learn from the example of Jesus, we endure insults as the product of one who does not understand our true nature.

• Accusation:  Matthew 27:12-18

  • As Jesus stood before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and eventually Pilate, He was prepared for the many accusations that He chose not to respond to.  His only response was to affirm that He was indeed the king of the Jews as had been said.  When we learn from the example of Jesus, we discover that not every accusation deserves a response as giving a response may often lower us to the level of our accusers.

• Loneliness:  Matthew 27:20-26

  • As Jesus stood before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and eventually Pilate, He was prepared for the loneliness of standing alone.  At His trial all of His disciples and follower fled with only a few returning to be witness to His crucifixion, with most of those from a distance.  Not only was He prepared for the loneliness of standing trial, but also for the greater loneliness of being forsaken by His Father as He took on our sin.  When we learn from the example of Jesus, we find that people will ignore and forsake us but that Jesus will never leave us alone.

Today, how will you be prepared for TRIAL?

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This is the audio from the August 24, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: The Need To Pray!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 26:36-56

• Pause:  Matthew 26:36-39

  • Our need to pray teaches us about the need to pause and be deliberate about our time with God. 

• Resist:  Matthew 26:40-41

  • Our need to pray shows us a need to resist temptation by staying in communication with God.

• Ask:  Matthew 26:42-46

  • Our need to pray contains in its nature a need to ask God, not to inform Him but to inform us about His nature and will.

• Yield:  Matthew 26:47-56

  • Our need to pray should always lead us to our need to yield so that we willingly participate in God’s will being done.

Today, how will you PRAY?

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This is the audio from the August 17, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: A Shared Meal!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 26:17-35

• Memory:  Matthew 26:17-19

  • Our shared meal with one another, and with Jesus, carries meaning as we share the memory of who Jesus is and what He has done. 

• Examination:  Matthew 26:20-25

  • Our shared meal with one another, and with Jesus, calls for us to share in the examination of ourselves to see our need for Jesus and for one another.

• Action:  Matthew 26:26-30

  • Our shared meal with one another, and with Jesus, involves a share action in which each person does the part created for them by God.

• Loss:  Matthew 26:31-35

  • Our shared meal with one another, and with Jesus, leads us to a shared loss as we learn to deny ourselves daily and take up our cross to follow Jesus.

Today, how will you share in this MEAL?

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This is the audio from the August 10, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: A Not So Secret Plot!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 26:1-13

• Promise:  Matthew 26:1-5

  • While the religious leaders were plotting to kill Jesus, He makes it known that the thing they wanted to do in secret was actually a not so secret promise from His Father to mankind.  The promise given to Adam and Eve in the garden, and to God’s people throughout the Old Testament times, was one of death being turned into life.  It is in this promise that Jesus declares He is headed to Jerusalem to become the ultimate Passover Lamb who would be crucified as the sin payment for all mankind. 

• Love:  Matthew 26:6-7

  • While the religious leaders were plotting a scheme of hatred towards Jesus, He is shown a not so secret love as a woman approaches Him to anoint Him with a very valuable perfume.  This not so secret love is not only seen in the actions of this woman, but also displayed by Jesus as He visits in the home of Simon the leper . . . one of the untouchables who had evidently been touched by the love of Jesus.  It is in the love that we find the example to love one another just as we are loved by Jesus.

• Observation:  Matthew 26:8-10

  • While the disciples had an observation of greed and jealousy, Jesus declares a not so secret observation which revealed the hearts of all involved.  The observations we make out of our human flesh and mind will always be clouded by self while the observations God desires to lead us to will always involve an examination of the heart.

• Truth:  Matthew 26:11-13

  • The disciples and religious leaders were influenced by a lie even as the not so secret truth stood before them.  Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified, or set apart for His use, by the truth.  As He prays to His Father, Jesus amplifies that the truth which will sanctify us is the truth of God’s Word — a truth which became flesh and dwelt among us as the Holy One of God.

Today, how will you share in this not so secret PLOT?

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This is the audio from the August 3, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: Keeping Watch!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 25

• Wise:  Matthew 25:1-5

  • Keeping watch requires a wisdom which knows what it is we are watching for.  As Matthew 25 opens with Jesus telling a parable, we find individuals labeled as wise or foolish with the only difference being pointed out is their preparedness, or lack of preparation.  The Bible tells us that wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord.  We keep watch with wisdom when we prepare ourselves at all times by obedience to God’s Word so that we are always ready for the return of Jesus. 

• Aware:  Matthew 25:6-13

  • Keeping watch requires an awareness of that which is necessary to be declared right with God.  Our preparedness for the return of Jesus is something we can share about with others so that they might also be ready, but it is not something we can do on their behalf.  The wise in our story were aware of both an unknown time period of waiting and an eventual arrival of the bridegroom.  We keep watch with awareness when we hold fast to our faith in Christ with an unwavering grasp that refuses to give it up for anyone or anything.

• Trustworthy:  Matthew 25:14-30

  • Keeping watch requires that we are trustworthy with all the Master has given to our care.  In Matthew 25, Jesus makes it clear that what is entrusted to each individual will vary according to an ability known by Him.  The evaluation of our trustworthiness is not based on equal results, but rather on faithfulness in using what has been given to us.  We keep watch as one who is trustworthy when we treat with value every good and perfect gift which God has placed in our life, and then we use that gift with faithfulness for the good of God’s kingdom.

• Compassionate:  Matthew 25:31-36

  • Keeping watch requires a compassionate attitude and practice toward all people in keeping with how we would treat Christ Himself.  As Jesus tells a story depicting the scene which will unfold at the end of this age, He speaks of a separation of people according to how they treated others.  We obviously know from the context of Scripture that we don’t earn salvation through our good deeds toward anyone, however our good deeds do reflect the transformation which God has done in our heart.  We keep watch as one who is compassionate when we both notice and join the suffering of others in ways which share the goodness of God’s presence with them.

• Humble:  Matthew 25:37-40

  • Keeping watch requires a humility which understands our being able to endure the return of Christ is only possible by His faithfulness.  This is a humility which recognizes that our wisdom, awareness, trustworthiness, and compassion are only good to the extent that they come from God and are used for His purposes.  The people who showed compassion to the hungry, thirsty, lonely, naked, sick, or imprisoned and were welcomed into the Master’s happiness had such a humility that they were unaware that they had done anything special for Jesus.  We keep watch as one who is humble when we do what is right with no expectation of recognition simply because it is right.

Today, how will you keep WATCH?