Welcome to Prairie Bible Church — we’re grateful you’re here. Our mission is simple: building up God’s people through God’s Word for God’s glory. Each episode features clear, Bible-centered teaching designed to encourage your faith and help you walk with Jesus in simple, authentic ways. Simple. Authentic. Jesus. Cedar Rapids, IA | prairiebible.org Join us each week for messages of hope and truth. (Sunday service times: 9:00 & 10:30 AM | Kids Ministry at both)
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The Bible presents two primary ways of life: in the flesh or in the Spirit. To be in the flesh means to live according to our sinful nature, following our appetites and desires and participating in the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19–21). All who do not know Jesus are “in the flesh.” When Christ indwells us through faith, we receive His promised Holy Spirit. Living “in the Spirit” means following…
As Christians, we worship the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the unity of the Godhead, these three Persons execute distinct but harmonious offices in our redemption. Romans 8:1–4 is one of the rare places in the Bible where we see all three Persons of the Trinity executing these roles together. In this message, we will focus on the role of the Father in the great work of redemption.…
As Christians, we worship the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the unity of the Godhead, these three Persons execute distinct but harmonious offices in our redemption. Romans 8:1–4 is one of the rare places in all the Bible where we see all three Persons of the Trinity executing these roles together. In this message, we will focus on the role of the Son, Jesus Christ, in the great work…
As Christians, we worship the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the unity of the Godhead, these three Persons execute distinct but harmonious offices in our redemption. Romans 8:2–4 is one of the rare places in all the Bible where we see all three Persons of the Trinity executing these roles together. In this message, we will focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in the great work of…
Romans 8 is among the most famous chapters in all the Bible. Christians have hoped and found freedom in these words for centuries. This glorious chapter begins with a verse often quoted today: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (8:1) But what does that mean for followers of Jesus? In this message, we will define condemnation’s biblical meaning, trace its…
Romans 6 held up the great victory we have over sin through our union with Christ. Because we have been crucified with Christ, we have been set free from sin (6:6–7). Now, Romans 7:14–25 deals with the reality of remaining sin. While believers are already justified in Christ, we are not yet fully delivered from indwelling sin. Three times in these verses, Paul speaks of sin still dwelling in us…
Romans 6 held up the great victory we have over sin through our union with Christ. Because we have been crucified with Christ, we have been set free from sin (6:6-7). Now, Romans 7 deals with the reality of remaining sin. While we are already justified in Christ, we are not yet fully delivered from indwelling sin. Three times in Romans 7, Paul speaks of sin still dwelling in us even after our…
After explaining the Gospel in Romans 1-5, Paul turns to dealing with distortions of its message. In Romans 6, he defended God’s grace. Now in Romans 7, he defends God’s Law. Paul knew that his statements about the Law in Romans may lead critics to suggest he thought the Law was bad. Yet he shouts in Romans 7:12, the Law is good! God’s Law serves His purposes by exposing sin, yet sin seeks to…
The term “law” occurs eight times in Romans 7:1-6, and it is among the topics of greatest confusion for believers today. What is the believer in Jesus’ relationship to the Law of Moses and the entire Old Testament? What do we do with this giant first chunk of our Bibles? These verses show us that, while the law is good (Rom. 7:12), Jesus is better. In other words, the New Covenant is better than…
From beginning to end, the Bible presents two paths, one leading to death and one to life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). It is only in Christ Jesus that a person finds life, and the evidence that a person is in Christ is their spiritual “fruit.” What fruit are you producing, and what does it say about the path you…
Paul began his letter to the Romans in a rare way, calling himself a slave (doulos) of Christ. He does this only two other times in his letters (Phil 1:1 and Titus 1:1). Doulos (slave) means someone who belongs to another, without any ownership rights of their own. We American Christians love our freedom, and may bristle at the idea that we are slaves. Yet, doulos is used with the highest dignity…
John Owen famously said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” The war with sin connects us with all people of all times, because the sin problem is timeless and universal. None of our technological advances have fixed our sinful nature, guilty conscience, or separation from God. What makes Romans relevant today is that it speaks to this seemingly impossible issue. The key to killing sin…
Paul spent the first several chapters in Romans laying out bedrock truths of Christianity. Now in Roman 6:11, he gives a strong imperative command: Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. This is not a suggestion, but a “must.” Why is it so important? Because being alive to God is the entire purpose of our dying to sin. As one pastor put it, "The glory of Christian redemption is that it…
Romans 1–5 communicates the radical truth that, by faith in Christ’s righteousness alone, apart from any works of our own, we have been declared right with God. Paul ends Romans 5 in the clearest terms possible: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). Not only is this teaching controversial, it is dangerous. Why? Because some may assert that it leads to rampant sinning.…
America may be the most individualistic culture in the world, which makes these verses hard for us to understand. We often think of sin as an individual problem that needs individual remedies, but Romans 5:12–21 teaches that it runs much deeper. Paul states that humanity’s ultimate problem is we have inherited Adam’s sin nature. Truly, the apple has not fallen far from the tree. Christianity is…
If God did the harder thing, He will do the easier thing. Paul makes this point with a “greater to lesser” argument: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). When we are tempted to doubt God’s ability to bring about our final salvation, we should remember the length to which…
Romans 5:6-8 provides a radical demonstration of God’s love for us: the sacrifice of His Son for ungodly, undeserving sinners. Paul began Romans with the phrase “the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1), reminding us that our salvation is just as much a story about the Father as it is about the Son. Jesus did not come to earth to convince a begrudging Father to accept us; He partnered with a loving Father to…
I am convinced that no matter how old you are, where you come from, or what you’ve been through, there are things that everyone wants. We all want, desire, and long for peace. We all want access to the supernatural in some way, shape, or form. We know that we cannot avoid suffering, so at least we want it to mean something in this life. Lastly, all of us, deep down, whether we admit it or not,…
For many, the word “faith” sounds foolish. We hear this in phrases like “blind faith” or “taking a leap of faith.” But our faith as Christians is far from foolish because of Who our faith is in: the Promise-Keeping God of the Universe. The Bible says, “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chron. 16:19). God is always…
The resounding message of the gospel is this: “Come home.” Christ’s resurrection provides the pattern for those who come home: Just as Jesus was put to death on the cross, my old self is put to death. And, just as Jesus was raised to life, I become a new creation. But none of this can happen until I come to my senses, turn from my sin, and come home. Jesus did not come to earth to convince a…
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God - 1 Peter 3:18 Thank you for joining us for Good Friday.
Believers in Jesus Christ have won the lottery. The only difference is that our prize is far greater: we are declared right with God, all our debts are forgiven, and we are promised eternity in heaven. We could never earn or deserve any of these, a fact that was especially radical in Paul’s day. There was a belief in Judaism that salvation came by obedience to God’s Law, but Paul put forth that no…
A danger that can occur in the heart of the believer is to shrink the message of salvation down to merely intellectual and spiritual information that has no virtually effect on their life. With this in mind, we must remember that Romans is a real letter, penned by a real person (Paul), to a real church. You see, Paul does not want to only impart doctrine to the Romans. He desires that this…
This passage has been famously called “the greatest paragraph ever written”–and rightfully so. It explains how sinful humanity can be saved from the wrath of God. Paul spent Romans 1:18–3:20 talking about humanity’s problem: sin. Because of this sin against a just God, the wrath of God is coming. We often forget that the wrath of God is kind, for if God did not address the problem of evil, who…
Many believe that we can make ourselves righteous with enough effort. In Romans 3:9-20, God’s Word emphatically rejects this, stating that “No one is righteous, no, not one.. no one does good, not even one.. for by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.” The difference between Christianity and every other religion is that Christianity claims we’re declared righteous by…
We value those who hold it together when everyone else is wavering, and we cherish the person who remains faithful despite others not holding up their side of the bargain. These qualities are marks of God. The Bible describes God as a rock, fortress and stronghold (Ps. 18). God always remains faithful, even when His people do not. He remains righteous when His people do not. He remains just when…
Circumcision was “the single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” When the gospel reached the Gentiles, a controversy broke out among the Jews, with some declaring, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1). Paul dealt with the issue of circumcision throughout his entire ministry. He was an expert in the Scriptures and a…
Ash Wednesday is an invitation for us to “examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). As we begin the Lenten season and seek deeper communion with Christ, we look to Hebrews 3:12-15 for some examination. How many stories have you heard of someone who loved Jesus, served Jesus, was active in the church, maybe even a leader in the church—and then seemingly out of…
Almost everyone knows someone whose reason for leaving God was “those Christians are hypocrites.” While this will not stand up as a sufficient excuse on Judgment Day, Paul acknowledges that the hypocrisy of God’s people is both real and tragic: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Paul does not let anyone off the hook. After critiquing the sinfulness of all people…
Romans 2 is a sobering reminder of the reality of God’s judgment and our inability to keep God’s Law perfectly. God’s judgment is not like a human courtroom or judge. God knows everything, even our thoughts. God judges perfectly and He will not give preference or deference to anyone. These truths are humbling and they should grab our attention but they should also remind us of Jesus. Jesus is the…
We love it when people speak the truth about what we align with. Whether it be our favorite sports team, political affiliations, our take on pop culture drama—when someone says something we align and agree with, we love to champion that. In the study of Romans so far, there have been many truths preached that many people in our church align and identify with, therefore, love and feel great about…
If you look at the world and wonder what has gone wrong, Romans 1:18-32 gives us the answer. Though God revealed Himself to us, humanity rejected Him, and the result has been a slide into deeper and deeper darkness. Later in Romans, Paul describes the progression out of foolishness for those who are now in Christ: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies…
When the Bible speaks of being ashamed, it is more than just a feeling of humiliation or embarrassment. It refers to public dishonor and a loss of dignity. Perhaps you have had a moment or two like that, where you have been truly ashamed, not just embarrassed or humiliated, but publicly dishonored and stripped of dignity. Maybe it was something you once did, something you are doing, or something…
Paul authored Romans in the winter of AD 57-58 during a three month stay in Corinth (Acts 20:3) near the end of his third missionary journey. At the time of writing, Paul had collected an offering from Gentile churches to help the Jewish Christians in Judea. His plan was to take this offering to Jerusalem as soon as the weather was suitable, then to travel from there to Rome. Paul expressed his…
Throughout history, the Lord has used Romans to save many giants of the faith. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and numerous others have experienced the glory of the gospel through this God-inspired letter. Romans contains the longest introduction of any of Paul’s letters: a staggering 71 words between Paul’s name and the name of his recipients. His greeting contains a lengthy description of…
According to a simple Google search, there are roughly 245 million Christians in the United States. By this statistic, two out of every three people you know are Christians, but we all know that this is not true. One can claim to be a Christian and yet not know or love Christ at all. Rather than thinking this is only an out-in-the-world problem, we must recognize that this is also an in-the-church…
The phrase “righteous and devout” occurs only once in the Bible, and it is used to describe Simeon. While we do not know much about this great man historically, we do know that Simeon loved God and His people. He was waiting on God to comfort Israel, and he was waiting on God’s plan for his own life: that before he died, he would see Jesus. Simeon not only worshiped God when he saw God’s Son, he…
Ecclesiastes is written by a “Preacher.” This Hebrew word, Qoheleth, pictures a speaker standing before an assembly to deliver an important message. The Qoheleth, King Solomon, was no ordinary preacher. He was the wisest man on earth. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of…
One key theme of Ecclesiastes is that life’s problems and pain should not stop us from enjoying life’s blessings. As followers of Jesus, we can be "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." But Ecclesiastes teaches that the only way to have sustainable, true joy is by living within God’s boundaries. God’s Word is not a prison; it is a fence of protection against the devastating consequences of sin. King…
The Bible is a book that contains lessons for every area of life, including how we invest our money. God not only gave Solomon wisdom, He gave him more riches and possessions than any king before or after him (2 Chronicles 1:12). God used Solomon, the human author of Ecclesiastes, to teach us timeless lessons for how to view the financial markets. In a sinful and broken world, the stock market…
There was a man who had so much promise. He came from a powerful, wealthy, and good looking family with parents who loved him. He was favored and put in a position of authority at a young age over a great kingdom. Most importantly, God greatly loved him. God gave him wisdom, wealth, and honor far beyond anyone of his time. God even appeared to him two times. God gave him everything, but this man…
The more we try to control everything around us, the more out of control everything seems to become. That is because there is no escape from life’s sudden pressures and dangers. Our money, status, even wisdom and righteousness cannot insulate us from all the disasters that happen in the world. We only need to look back to 2020 to find an event that happened unexpectedly and forever changed our…
Most people do not like to think about death, especially their own. Death makes us uncomfortable, and the thought of it seems to take the fun out of life. But there is great value in meditating on our death. It reminds us that we don’t have forever to do the things that really matter. One day, we will wake up and realize that we don’t have as much time as we thought. The sooner we come to that…
One of the marks of our age is a rejection of authority. This rejection has led to a lack of respect for God and the government he appoints. Obedience to God and government, in that order, leads to great blessing. If we are to respect the authorities God places in our lives, we must start with a healthy respect for God Himself. To fear the Lord does not mean that a Christian lives in constant fear…
There are many ditches and potholes to be avoided on life’s path, and we are all prone to one or the other. Some live recklessly and die young, while others beat themselves up over things that are not even sin. There are also those who are experts at pointing out wrongs in others but never examine themselves. Solomon points out that the cause of all this is our sinful hearts: “See, this alone I…
The Bible holds up wisdom as one of the greatest treasures that we can receive. It says, “The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.” Yet, most people check out on wisdom—they’d rather live by their own code. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts…
Life is tough, and when we make bad choices, it’s really tough. Our suffering is not merely because of destiny or the devil; sometimes we suffer for our own dumb decisions. We see this in Israel’s story. Like parents who want their kids to succeed, God longed for Israel to thrive rather than only suffer, “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments,…
The Bible does not say that money itself is a root of all kinds of evils. It says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. The question is not, “Do you have money?” It is, “Does money have you?” Wealth, when enjoyed within God’s boundaries, is a blessing to our lives. We often underestimate how much a love of money has taken hold of our hearts. Solomon warns us that the worship of…
To fear the Lord means to stand in reverence and awe of Him; it means to respect Him. God is our “Abba, Father,” but He is also the Creator and Ruler of the universe. We often forget this and end up speaking rashly or making commitments to God that we don’t keep. Solomon warns us against approaching God carelessly. Jesus warns us against this, too: “Again you have heard that it was said to those…
One reason that Solomon was called wise is that he did not ignore the reality of evil in the world. He acknowledged it and lamented it. In a world where overwhelming evil threatens to overcome us, we are called to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Jesus was relentless in doing good: saving, rescuing, forgiving, healing, etc. So let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will…