Tag Archives: life

Purpose in the Wilderness



The children of Israel refused to trust God and questioned His love, preferring instead to die in the wilderness than enter the promised land. So the LORD gave them death in the wilderness for the next forty years. But God had other purposes for the wilderness for the children of those generations of rebels. His mercy may not always feel like mercy, if we learn the lessons of the wilderness, we are prepared for our promised land of heaven.

Numbers 14:26-38
Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 John 3:2-3

Taught Sunday morning, October 31, 2021 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 now 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!


Lose All to Gain All



We were privileged to have Jo from Thailand preach the word of God for us after sharing about his work in Bangkok.  His message was from Matthew 13:44-46 and includes the stirring story of Jim Eliot.  What is your treasure?  Are you willing to lose all in order to gain the treasure of Christ?

Matthew 13:44-46

Taught Sunday morning, May 30, 2021 by Bro. Jo of Thailand

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 now 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!


Jesus and the Sabbath



The LORD set the pattern from the beginning of creation. The LORD applied it as He gave them manna in the wilderness. Six days of usual work. Seventh day was for rest and time with God. But after generations of ignoring the Sabbath, the LORD exiled them from the promised land. When the children of Israel returned, the Pharisees educated and enforced the Sabbath rules they had made to protect the command. Jesus came and said they missed the point. The Sabbath was made for man, not vice versa.

Exodus 20:8-11 and Mark 2:23-28

Taught Sunday morning, July 11, 2021 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 now 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!


Trail of the Tree of Life



Genesis sets the foundation for understanding the rest of the storyline of the Bible, in particular the first few chapters.   The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil play a significant role throughout that storyline of the Scriptures, but we may not always recognize it when we see it.

Scriptures that I read or reference include… Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; John 17:3; Genesis 3:22-24; Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Psalm 1:1-3; Jeremiah 17:7-8; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53; Galatians 3:13; Revelation 2:7; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:14.
There are other Scriptures that develop these ideas, can you find others? 😉

Taught Sunday morning, June 13, 2021 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 now 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!


The Lord of our Fight



There is more going on than a battlefield report from the history of Exodus. The LORD brings our attention to this one to remind His people that these things are physical symbols of spiritual realities.  And the enemy we face is not people, but spiritual forces much more dangerous than swords and guns.  Ephesians 6 reminds us to be ready for spiritual warfare or we will be live defeated lives.  But in Christ, we are more than conquerors.

Exodus 17:8-16 and Ephesians 6

Preached Sunday morning, May 2, 2021 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 now 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!

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks


Water from the Rock



The LORD is remarkably patient with His new nation of Israelites. Although they have not done well with the previous exams, the third exam asks about if they will heed their thirst or trust. He patient, even though, once again, they choose contention instead of contentment. It is a test they will face again in the wilderness (Numbers 20). And it is one we face more than we realize. Will we choose to hallow His name with honor or will we defame His grace with doubt?

Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20:1-13

Preached Sunday morning, April 25, 2021 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 now 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!

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks


Bread of Life



Within a month of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt followed by the Red Sea crossing, the children of Israel are having second thoughts on having left their slavery. Their food ran out. But the LORD allowed them to hunger in order to test them and feed them in His own miraculous way. But the manna from heaven was only a physical symbol of a spiritual reality that we all need to learn. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God.

Exodus 16:1-7 and Deuteronomy 8:2-3

Preached Sunday morning, April 18, 2021 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 now 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!

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks


Put the Hurt to Rest



Jacob’s sons did not get along for much of their younger years, but as God had foretold, they would be dependent upon their brother Joseph. And following Jacob’s death and many decades, the reconciliation was formalized between them through repentance and forgiveness which set up faith in the continued fulfillment of the promises of God.

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 now 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!

Genesis 50:15-26

Audio of video recorded for Sunday morning, February 7, 2021 by Brad D Harris

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks


The Blessing of God



The LORD singled out Abraham and Sarah to leave their home and come be a part of God’s great plan to bless all the nations. This was perhaps more radical than we imagine with greater reward than we grasp. And they packed up and obeyed, joining God in a story that basically takes the reader through the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures and through the entirety of the New Testament.  And they gained the blessing of God, which is relationship with God Himself.  Let’s go too!

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 now 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!

Genesis 12:1-5

Preached Sunday morning, January 24, 2021 by Brad D Harris

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks


Set Apart for Sacred



Humans were created set apart from the rest of creation to be God’s handmade image-bearers who would proclaim the glory and dominion of the Creator God. But man detoured from that sacred task to seek his own glory. Yet the LORD does not leave a bad situation alone, He chooses to pursue His fallen image-bearers in order to restore them and empower them to their sacred task. That work is called sanctification. And sanctification prepares His image-bearers for eternity.

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 now 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!

1 Peter 2:9-12 plus a lot more

Preached Sunday morning, January 10, 2021 by Brad D Harris

Prairie Oaks Baptist Church
402 Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove, AR
P.O. Box 424, Prairie Grove AR  72753
prairieoaksbaptist.com
on Facebook @prairieoaks