Tag Archives: life

Submit to Christ



Paul is still instructing the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (and us today) how to submit to one another, just like Christ. This time he is instructing parents and their children. And he speaks to masters and slaves. While Paul does not waste words about the institution of slavery, his instructions reveal the revolutionary perspective he has. All people are created by God and that God is not partial in His judgment like we are tempted to be.

Ephesians 6:1-9

Taught Sunday morning, December 8, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


Servant Leaders



Paul had just told the Ephesians that being filled with the Spirit would include submitting to one another. Then the apostle went into specifics to apply the principle to each person in the household, starting with wives and husbands. And knowing that the most radical part was for husbands, he belabored the point that they are to follow the example of Christ – servant-leadership.

Ephesians 5:21-33

Taught Sunday morning, December 1, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


Imitate Christ



Christ lived as an example of righteousness and holiness. But because we fail to follow that example perfectly, Christ also is our substitute to fulfill all righteousness for us. But those of us who have Christ in us by the new birth, He compels us to desire to follow His example, walking as He walked. Paul shows the Ephesians what that looks like.

Ephesians 5:1-14

Taught Sunday morning, November 17, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


Walking Worthy



Walk worthy of being named for Jesus and of having His Holy Spirit indwelling you. Do not grieve the Spirit by walking more like the world that does not know God with their faculties dulled and blinded to the things of God who is Life. Rather lay aside those behaviors that are corrupt and be cleansed and renewed in your thinking through the Word of God so that your behaviors resemble Christ.

Ephesians 4:17-32

Taught Sunday morning, November 3, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


Growing Together



Unity within the body of Christ is not to say there are not different roles and ways to serve in the same body. Christ the Head has designed His body to have a diversity of people within the body so that every one can be equipped and participate in the work that needs to be done. That is a part of growing to maturity in Christ – serving in love through His Spirit.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Taught Sunday morning, October 27, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


Unity through One



Unity is not the same as uniformity. Paul has taught the amazing grace of God to bring diverse sinners to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Because of this and the indwelling Spirit giving power to live new life – Paul proclaims the challenge for God’s people to live up to that calling by living in unity through the power God has given to live in humility and patience.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Taught Sunday morning, October 20, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


By Grace Made Alive



Paul continues to elaborate on how gracious God for those who are in Christ. In fact, God saving people from their rebellious ways to put them in Christ is the most gracious act God has done for us. The rest is an extension of that overwhelmingly undeserving kindness. How will we respond? God has foreordained that as well since we are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Taught Sunday morning, September 15, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


God’s Son, Mary’s Son



At 12 years old, Jesus was accidentally left behind in Jerusalem by his parents. He remained in the temple, making the most of the situation by learning and conversing with the experts of the Word of God. He was finding joy in the things of His Father. And He was accomplishing righteousness for us by loving God supremely.

Luke 2:39-52

Taught Sunday morning, August 11, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


We Abide



Ancient Landmarks – Come to think of it, all of Scripture is a reliable navigation tool for the journey of life. A solid foundation upon which to build one’s life and for discerning this world’s complexities. How can it be so? God breathed out its very words, guiding the prophets of old as they penned its words. The Spirit preserved His work through time to be available to us as faithful men and women passed it along, translating it, and teaching it to the next generation.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Taught Sunday morning, August 4, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!


More than a Shepherd



So many people have found this psalm to be a source of calm and comfort in difficult times. The LORD as a Shepherd who cares for His people with provision, protection, presence, and peace. Let us contemplate its simple truths to prepare us for when we need a landmark to anchor our soul.

Psalm 23

Taught Sunday morning, June 30, 2024 by Brad D Harris

We hope that this online service has blessed you.  It is funded by the generous participants of Prairie Oaks Baptist Church.  If you would like to contribute to Prairie Oaks and their audio ministry, we have a donation page so that you can securely give online to help this ministry.  Thank you for listening and prayerfully supporting us.  I hope we continue to further you in your journey with Christ!