Some sermons feel like information. Others feel like a mirror.

Tom Lyman brought a message that landed in the heart of every person who has ever wondered, “Can God still use me after what I’ve done?” And he framed it with one unforgettable image: a fallen tree.

Not a polished tree. Not the picture-perfect version of life.

A tree that’s been through storms. A tree that hit the ground. A tree that, by all appearances, should be written off.

And yet—God doesn’t waste fallen things.

For our church family in Garland, TX, and our neighbors across Rowlett, Wylie, Murphy, Plano, and Richardson, this message is more than a personal testimony. It’s a call to our whole region—across Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County—to believe what the gospel actually says:

Jesus saves people on purpose and for a purpose.

Mercy Has a Reason: Paul’s Testimony, Our Story

Tom opened with Paul’s words to Timothy—words that carry the weight of real past and real grace:

1 Timothy 1:12–17 (KJV)

Paul doesn’t tell a “clean” testimony. He tells the truth:

  • “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me…”

  • “He counted me faithful…”

  • “He put me into the ministry…”

  • “I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious…”

  • “But I obtained mercy…”

Paul isn’t bragging about his past. He’s magnifying the mercy of God.

And Tom highlighted the core point:

Jesus enabled me — I didn’t do this on my own.
Jesus counted me faithful — not because I was perfect, but because He is.
Jesus put me into the ministry — not after I became impressive, but after I surrendered.

That’s North Cities faith. That’s apostolic gospel. God doesn’t recruit the qualified—He qualifies the redeemed.

The Truth About the Fallen Tree

Tom didn’t pretend the past was small. He named it plainly—because healing starts where hiding ends.

He talked about the reality so many people carry quietly:

  • Shallow roots: knowing of God without truly knowing Him

  • Hurt that hardened the heart

  • Poor choices and secrets

  • Addiction, adultery, a double life

  • Shame, isolation

  • Rock bottom and finally surrender

Then he took us to a verse that sounds simple—but feels like oxygen to anyone who has been drowning:

“Here I Am” — God Meets You at Rock Bottom

Isaiah 58:9 (KJV) says:
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, HERE I AM.”

That’s the moment many prodigals never expect: not condemnation, but presence.

Tom’s words carried it with gratitude:

“Look what the Lord has done… He healed my body, He touched my mind, He saved me just in time.”

And then he said something many of us needed to hear out loud:

Now I KNOW Him.
Not just church attendance. Not just religious vocabulary.
An intimate, daily relationship—learning His voice, walking with Him.

The Gospel: Jesus Came for the Worst of Us

The gospel isn’t that good people get better.
The gospel is that dead people come alive.

Tom drove it home with the center line of Paul’s confession:

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Paul didn’t say, “I used to be bad.”
He said, “If you’re looking for Exhibit A of mercy, it’s me.”

And that leads to the hinge of the entire message:

“For THIS cause I obtained mercy…”
Not just relief. Not just rescue.
Purpose.

The Purpose: Your Life Becomes a Pattern

Tom called it out straight from Scripture:

“…that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe…”

God didn’t only forgive Paul. God displayed patience through Paul.

And that’s where the fallen tree becomes more than an image—
it becomes a message.

Your restored life becomes a pattern.
A living example.
A proof-of-concept that grace is real.

The Question North Cities Must Answer

Tom asked the room what every honest believer eventually has to answer:

  • What is your purpose?

  • What is the purpose for prodigals?

  • Why do they feel unqualified, abnormal, unaccepted?

Then he turned the spotlight onto the church—onto us:

Our responsibility as a church family

  • Speak life

  • Encourage them

  • Invite them to serve

  • Call out purpose

  • Stop treating prodigals like projects and start treating them like people Jesus is restoring

If we’re serious about reaching Garland and the surrounding cities—if we want to be a church that impacts Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County—then we have to be the kind of church where fallen people can heal without shame.

God’s Heart for the Fallen: Beauty for Ashes

Tom walked us into one of the clearest pictures of God’s restoration in all of Scripture:

Isaiah 61:1–3 (KJV)

God anoints the brokenhearted.
He proclaims liberty to captives.
He opens prisons.
He exchanges beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for heaviness.

And then comes the line that ties directly into Tom’s fallen tree:

“…that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

What does God do with fallen people?

He restores them—and then He uses them to bring Him glory.

The Power of Testimony: Blood + Story + Surrender

Tom took us to Revelation 12:11:

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…”

He made it plain:

  • Jesus’ blood paid the price

  • Your testimony carries the proof

  • Dying to self releases purpose

That’s when the fallen tree stops being something you hide…
and becomes something God uses.

Fear vs. Calling: You Can’t Win Souls and Please Everyone

Tom also brought a needed correction to people-pleasing:

Galatians 1:10 (KJV)
“If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

Then he delivered the challenge:

Proverbs 11:30 (KJV)
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Many believers never lead one soul to Jesus—not because they don’t love God, but because they fear people.

So what do we do?

What We Do Now: Share It, Don’t Hide It

Tom’s application was simple—and strong:

  • Don’t hide it — share it

  • No shame

  • Point people to Jesus

  • Pray for boldness

  • Remember: you may be the only one who can reach your neighbor, coworker, or someone you see every week at a store in Garland, Rowlett, Wylie, Murphy, Plano, or Richardson

And he closed with a passage that is not only about what Jesus did…

Luke 4:18 (KJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted… preach deliverance… set at liberty them that are bruised.”

Luke 4:18 is what Jesus does.
And now, by His Spirit, it’s what He does through His people.

If you’ve been broken → He heals.
If you’ve been bound → He frees.
If you’ve been blind → He brings clarity.
If you’ve been bruised → He restores dignity.

Your past does not disqualify you.
It often becomes the bridge God uses to reach someone else.

Jesus saved you on purpose… and for a purpose.

So North Cities, hear the charge:

Stop hiding your fallen tree.
Start using it for God’s glory.
Share your story.

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