Tag Archives: obedience

The Way of the Cross



The disciples recognize Jesus as Messiah and Son of God but without realizing all that the Messiah has come to do. So Jesus begins teaching them the way of the cross. And there is resistance from them. They didn’t expect that. But Jesus knows the way to glory passes through the cross. And if we desire to follow Him to glory, we follow His way too.

Matthew 16:21-28

Taught Sunday morning, June 1, 2025 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!


Hypocrisy Exposed



The religious leaders were full of hot air, it seems. Jesus condemned their prideful refusal to believe the evidence from God that Jesus was the Messiah sent from heaven. Rather, they stubbornly clung to what they wanted rather than what they needed. And thus they were not ready when the Judge of all the earth examined their hearts and found them lacking. I hope we won’t do the same.

Matthew 16:21-12

Taught Sunday morning, May 18, 2025 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!


Generosity and Gratitude



The believers in Philippi had given generously to Paul once again. And he wanted to express his gratitude without sounding too desperate yet not unappreciative either. Plus he wanted them to know that their sacrifice was like an offering to God and would be rewarded by the Lord. Thus we get some good sayings to contemplate regarding contentment and generosity.

Philippians 4:10-23

Taught Sunday morning, May 4, 2025 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!


Knowing Christ



Paul said that nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ by faith and experience of walking with Him in trust and obedience. And self-righteousness prevents us from knowing Christ.

Luke 18:9-14 and Philippians 3:1-11

Taught Sunday morning, March 23, 2025 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!


Salvation Works to Completion



Salvation is not begun or accomplished by our good deeds. But salvation will produce good works because God is working on the inside to desire and accomplish such evidence of faith. God promises to bring it to completion. But the evidences may not be what you expect them to be – humility, patience, and purity to name a few. How can we do that? By God working within us by faith and obedience.

Philippians 2:12-18

Taught Sunday morning, March 9, 2025 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!


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!


Filled with the Spirit



Walk carefully, make good use of the time by not living mindlessly but knowing and doing the will of God. Be filled with the Spirit and walk according His light. Let’s see what Paul means by that because it may surprise us how he understands it.

Ephesians 5:15-21

Taught Sunday morning, November 24, 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!


God is Generous



Generosity to the LORD is found in knowing that God has been generous to us first and that God delights in our being generous like Him. The Lord frequently challenges His people as Paul does the Corinthians in this letter. Let’s see what God has to say about time, talents, and treasures.

2 Corinthians 9:5-11

Taught Sunday morning, August 18, 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!