Prairie Bible Church

Don’t jump from Palm Sunday to Easter.  You need to spend time this week thinking about the week that Christ went through for our salvation.    Message: Luke 19:41-44  When He drew near to the city, He wept over it saying: “Would that even you would know this day the things that made for peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the day will come upon you when your enemies will set up a b...

“Many, through wishing to be great, have failed to be good.” (Spurgeon) John the Baptist was a great man, Jesus Himself said so (Mt. 11:11). But John the Baptist was great because he served God and others rather than being consumed with himself. He did not seek the place of honor or the highest position, he humbled himself and pointed others to Christ. John 3:30 sums up the entire attitude and gre...

John 3:16 may be the most quoted and/or the most memorized verse in the Bible.  But in some ways, the verses immediately following it may bring more clarity about God and the ways of God, than any others!   John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that who so ever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.   John 3:17-18     But God did not send His s...

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis   People feel empty, and because of that, they are searching. Nicodemus represents the quintessential searcher: he had a lot to lose, but he couldn’t stay away from Jesus. His journey is a story of leaving this world behind and taking hold of...

Was Jesus a people pleaser?  Did he seek to draw crowds?  In today’s scripture, what does it mean that “Jesus did not entrust himself to the crowds?”   John 2:23-25      Now, when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all the people, and needed no one t...

The biblical word for hypocrisy, hupokrisis, literally refers to “someone acting under a mask." Jesus cannot stand hypocrisy, especially the hypocrisy of using God for greed. Jesus’ blood boiled when He saw the misuse of His Father’s house, but Jesus knew the right time and way to be angry. Anger was a small feature of Jesus’ ministry, not the whole ministry. Anger is like fire. While it can...

What is the Gospel?  The Gospel is not just something that happens to me, but something that God does in me. What is repentance?  The ongoing act of turning away from sin and turning to Jesus. What is faith?  The ongoing act of believing in God with my life.   Scripture: Mark 1:14-15 Simple. Authentic. Jesus. 

Do you have hope that the best is yet to come?     The first miracle that Jesus did was turning water into wine at a wedding.  Why did he chose this situation for his first miracle?  Listen to today’s message to gain insights to the many lessons that were taught by Jesus’ first miracle.   Scripture:  John 2: 1-11  Simple. Authentic. Jesus.  www.prairiebible.org

John, 1:38    Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”    Jesus, being God, already knew why these men were following Him. So why ask?    Because He wanted them to know why they were following Him!  Simple. Authentic. Jesus.  prairiebible.org

Many people want you to follow them, but there is only one Person worth following. John the Baptist could have held on to his followers, but instead he pointed them to Jesus. It brought him joy when people pursued Christ, even when it meant them leaving John himself. May we be able to say what John the Baptist said about Jesus – “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30) Take-Home Message:...

Why did God/Jesus need to become one of us?  Because there was no other way, if God was to be true to His nature. To be both full of justice and full of grace, Jesus was the only way!   John 1:14-18   And the Word became flesh and we beheld His glory. The glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness to Him and said; This is who I have said; He who comes after m...

We can exhaust ourselves trying to make sense of things without God, but without God, we cannot see reality. Without God, we cannot understand ourselves, others, or our purpose in life. God has given us a way to see reality: the true light, the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). As C.S. Lewis said, “I believe in Chris...

In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.  In Him was LIFE. And the LIFE was the LIGHT of men. The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:1-5 Simple. Authentic. Jesus prairiebible.org

If you are a disciple (follower, student) of Jesus, you should long to put into practice His way of life. You want to love like He did, serve like He did, and show kindness and mercy as He did. The problem is… this is a hard thing to do! Thankfully, God’s Word has revealed to us the way to live this out: by presenting yourself to God every day.     Big Idea: As a disciple of Jesus, I must daily pr...

There are few things that all people can agree on. One of them appears to be that we all hate to wait. But waiting is a mark of the Christian life. We don’t have a choice about whether we will wait or not, but whether we will wait well or poorly. What do Simeon and Anna teach us about waiting well?   Take-Home Message: Worshippers wait well.   Waiting well: Simeon’s Wait and Worship (25-32). Lesso...

What does it mean to be “saved FROM our sins”?   Not only did Jesus come to save us from our sin, but He also came to deliver us from the POWER of sin!  In other words, the gift of Jesus is not just forgiveness from sin, but victory over sin! Romans 6:14-:“For sin has no dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.”  Simple. Authentic. Jesus.  Prairiebible.org

God sent His Son… At the perfect time (4a).      For the perfect reason (4b-5a).   Good things that don’t save us   Baptism Communion  Church attendance   Being a “good person” We are saved…   By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. With the perfect results (5b-7).   The perfect results   Family— adoption as sons  Freedom— no longer a slave, but a son  Future— an heir through God The...

In the moment God began the Christmas story, He also revealed the answer to the question; “Who Needs Christmas?” - WE ALL DO! Jesus is our only hope. - -              Jesus… is… the… PLAN! Scripture: Genesis 12: 1-3 Simple. Authentic. Jesus. Prairiebible.org

What does the Bible say about thankfulness? Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18  Even when we don’t understand, we can rejoice, because God’ is in control. And therefore, be thankful, no matter what our circumstance. God is not asking us to be thankful “for” every circumstance, but to...

Jesus, Israel, and the Fig Tree  How should we respond to the events in Israel? Jesus rebuked those who knew how to interpret the weather and not the signs of the times. While no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return, He expected his followers to interpret current events through the lens of Scripture. When a tree begins to grow leaves, we know that summer is near. In the same way, Jesus’ pr...

You may not feel as though your specific set of gifts and graces are fit for ministry, but they are!    Give them to Jesus and ask how HE would want to use them!  Parable of the Ten Mina’s  Scripture: Luke 19:12-26 He said, therefore, “A nobleman went to a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them; ‘Engage i...

We can only receive God’s salvation in humility. There is no other way. Humbling ourselves before God can feel like spiritual open-heart surgery, but the result is righteousness and peace! Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy (Proverbs 28:13). The Pharisee justifies himself and remains in his sin. The tax collector humbles himself a...

The true value of persistent prayer is not in its many words, but being in relationship with God!  It’s about NOT giving up when we don’t get the answer that we’re looking for, or in the time that we expect. Yet we stay in relationship with God anyway, because we trust Him!   Luke 18:2-8    In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God or respected man. And there was a widow in that c...

As followers of Christ, the core of our religion is “forgiveness”.  Forgiveness must never be viewed as something deserved. It’s a choice. And choosing forgiveness is the beginning of being set free!  Luke 17:7-10  “Will any of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he comes in from the field, ’Come at once and recline at the table’? Will you not rather say to him,  ‘Prepa...

We can forget the truth in a few seconds and believe lies for many years. This is because our hearts are deceitful (Jer 17:9). One of the tricks of the enemy is to try and convince us that we can disregard God’s Word and still embrace God’s Son. This leads to a misunderstanding of who Jesus really is, because it is the Scriptures that bear witness about Him (Jn 5:39).   Rejecting God’s Word will l...