Poland Village Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Brian J. Ethridge
"So you must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." Are you Alive to God?
What is more powerful sin and death or grace and the free gift? Hint: It is a pretty easy question.
God shows His great love for us in this that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. God proved his love!
Why Church? Why is church important for every follower of Christ? This sermon lists seven biblical reasons why church is God's plan for each of us.
Have you ever thought about the benefits, the amazing positive outcomes that happen in our lives now because we have been justified by faith?
How is it possible that a non-Jewish follower of Christ in the 21st century can say that Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, who lived around 2000 BC, is also their father?
As you start off this New Year, are you doing the work necessary to prepare for God's blessings?
After Paul's great teaching in the first three chapters of Romans, he now illustrates using Abraham how what he has been teaching has been true since the very beginning.
Only God can be both Just and the Justifier. Only God can be both Holy and the forgiver. Only God can be both perfectly righteous and the one who makes sinners righteous. Only God can be both the Judge and the acquitter.
In this amazing power-packed paragraph Paul uses three deep theological words: Justification, Redemption, Propitiation. Knowing what these words mean gives a deep understanding of God's salvation.
After all Paul teaches in Romans 2 about God's judgment, he concludes with this powerful truth: "It is a matter of the heart!"
The Bible is clear. God is the impartial judge. Romans 2:6 & 11 "God will render to each one according to his works: For God shows no partiality."
Romans 1:16-17 are the thesis statement for the whole letter of Romans. In these two short verses we see in encapsulated form the central theme of this amazing letter. Today we are going to look at four main words: Power, Salvation, Believe, and Righteousness.
The Apostle Paul introduces himself to the readers in Rome in verses 1:8-15. What we can learn about his servant heart can help us develop our heart for serving God.
The Apostle Paul starts his letter to Romans giving seven amazing aspects of the Gospel!
When is the last time you saw a fresh glimpse of who Jesus really is? When is the last time you saw a fresh glimpse of who you really are?
Are you thirsty? Jesus said: "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again."
"God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth." Acts 17:26
We all go through the hardships of life. Today we are going to explore some of the purposes God has in directing us through life's challenges.
Today we explore the second great reason we can trust God: He is infinite in His wisdom.
Is worship something we just do at church? What does Romans 12:1 teach us about the kind of worship that God accepts?
How does the complete sovereignty of God help us deal with the realities of the hardships and heartaches of our lives?
In all of our lives difficult times will come. Where is God when everything comes crashing down?
The world says that all you have to do is be sincere? Is sincere religion all that God wants?
If there was anyone who needed a second chance it was Peter. Perhaps we do too. Listen to hear how Jesus gave him and us a second chance.
The Letter of Jude has a lot to teach us about how to spot false teaching in the church and how we should deal with it.
Are you a positive influence on your church like Gaius? Or are you a negative impact like Diotephes. 3 John tells us their story.
What is the difference between first century slavery and American slavery? What difference does Christ make?
What is your part in the church? God has a role and responsibility for each believer, for you!
Joshua challenged the people of Israel to "choose this day whom you will serve!" Today that same challenge is for us. What will we choose?
If someone wrote a one line description of your commitment to Christ, what would it say?
Jesus commanded us to make disciples and we want to share the truth of the Gospel message, so why don't we?
If the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. What is the main thing for the church?
Did you know that you can't have the peace of God until you first have peace with God? Yes, we all need first and foremost peace with God.
Christmas is the journey of God's love. "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." 1 John 4:9
What was the first thing the people of Israel did when they entered the Promised Land? Worship!
As Jesus sent his first disciples to be in the world but not of the world, so he sends us to live holy lives in an unholy world.
Holiness is not a Sunday activity it is a real life endeavor. Holiness in Real Life part one is about holiness with our bodies.
So what role does the Holy Spirit fulfill in our union with Christ in our growth in holiness?
How did Isaiah and Peter react when God's power and holiness were revealed to them? What can we learn about how we should react?
What does holiness mean? Is it a negative word? Is it an old fashioned word? Is it for us?
How do you respond when you face loss and suffering. Ruth chapter one gives us four possible choices.
Paul exclaimed in Philippians 3: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!" Is that what you want?
What happened on that first Palm Sunday all those years ago? How does those events impact my life?
What is the foundation of your life? Is it rock or is it sand? One life stands the other life falls.
There are no more tragic words ever spoken by Jesus than: "Depart from me. I never knew you."
Jesus said to "Beware of false prophets." Do you know how to spot a false teacher? Do you know what to be wary of?
As Jesus concludes his sermon he challenges us "to enter by the narrow gate." Have you?
On this the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we focus on the truth of justification by grace through faith.
Jesus taught us to pray for the sustenance of the Father, the forgiveness of the Father, and the leading of the Father!
What does it mean to pray: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Did Jesus ever give a list of the character qualities he wants in his followers? Yes! It is called the Beatitudes.
The Sermon on the Mount is the longest sermon of Jesus recorded. What He said is critical to understanding what Jesus' expects of His followers.
Jonah 3:1 is one of the most powerful and gracious verses in the Bible: "The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time."
If you have taken 1,000 steps away from God, he will come 999 steps toward you - all you have to do is turn to Him!
How important is the resurrection of Jesus? What are the facts and then the implications of those facts?
Concluding words hold countless worth. What were Paul's final words of challenge to the Colossians?
What does the Bible say about the role of the wife? It might not be what you think it is.
The process of Biblical Change is replacement. Put off the old and put on the new. What are we supposed to put on?
For every believer to grow into the image of Christ we must take our sin issues seriously.
Spiritual Pitfall: Legalism. Christianity is not a faith based on rules. Man-made religious rules actually separate us from relating personally to God.
Did you know that in Christ you have complete salvation, complete forgiveness, and complete victory!
This world is trying to capture us with false philosophy and traditions of men. What are we to do?
It is a great reminder for the start of the New Year that the love of Christ is our greatest motivation.
What does a maturing church look like? It is something every believer wants to be a part of!
Do you actually believe that Jesus is the truth and wants what is best for your life? Is He really your Lord?
Who is Jesus? Do you really know? Paul describes Him in one of the greatest Christological passages in the Bible.
We are good at praying reactive prayers to the challenges of our lives, but what about proactive praying?
The Gospel is the Word of Truth. The Gospel is the grace of God in truth. Do you know the Gospel?
There is a lot we can learn about the foundations of our faith from Paul's first two verses in his letter to Colossae.
As we celebrate 50 years of Poland Village Baptist Church we reflect on God's purpose and plan for us.
One of the creations of God is His church. And part of what it means to be a church is to meet together to fulfill the one another commands of the Scripture. One anothering is essential to having a great church.
Are you discouraged today? Psalm 42 is an amazingly honest psalm about the depths of discouragement and the resolve of a steadfast faith.
Do you have faith like Abraham? Do you have the kind of faith that without knowing the end still trusts God for the outcome?
One of the great verses in the Bible: Genesis 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
Have you fallen into the trap of turning Jesus into a something you want Him to be? Or is He your God!
How much power does the branch have without the vine? Jesus said: "I am the vine and you are the branches."
How did Jesus comfort the hearts of his disciples just a few hours before the dark night of Calvary?
Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture."
Jesus said: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life."
Jesus said: "I Am the Bread of Life; whoever come to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
What is the greatest comeback of all time? Against all odds at the seemingly lowest possible point: Jesus made the greatest comeback of all time!
So the NKJV says in 1 John 3:9 "Whoever has been born of God does not sin." What does that mean?
As we start off 2016, we start with a New Beginning in Christ. We start with a focus on communion.
Religion is man reaching out to God. But Christianity is God reaching out to man. God is the one who has taken the initiative and communicated with us!
For many of us Christmas isn't the "hap-happiest time of the year." Rather it is full of hard memories and loss. What we need is the real hope of Christmas.
Have you ever played "Who Is the Messiah?" Go ahead follow the clues the Old Testament has given us.
Do you hate what God hates? Christians know a lot about Biblical love. What do you know about Biblical hate?
Today we are going to learn from a poem that the Apostle John wrote about spiritual growth in 1 John 2:12-14.
One of the purposes of John's letter is to help the believer know that they have eternal life. Do you know!
Today we tell the story and sing the story of Jesus! It is the story of his life that changes our life.
One of the great teachings of the Bible is about God's plan for the family. Good Sundays, church, is part of God's design to help us be the best parents we can be!
How do you follow up after being revived by the Spirit? The people in Nehemiah 10 made a firm covenant!
God shows throughout the Bible his love and care for the poor. How are we doing in showing God's love?
What do you do in your life when those inevitable hard times come? What do you do with discouragement and fear? We can learn from Nehemiah example.
Sometimes even with our eye wide open we can't see. Perhaps you can't see the rubble in your life because you have grown too accustomed to it.
Why serve so hard? Why sacrifice our time and our money? Why when we are already so busy should we serve at church? Why?
The disciples asked Jesus "Teach us to pray!" Today we are going to look at Nehemiah's prayer and learn from him, from God's word, how to pray.
The disciples asked Jesus "Teach us to pray!" Today we are going to look at Nehemiah's prayer and learn from him, from God's word, how to pray.
When is the last time you were moved to tears because the glory of God was diminished? Nehemiah heard the news of a broken people in a broken city and he sat down and wept, grieved, and prayed.
On this Father's Day Nehemiah gives us a great example how to be a godly man in an ungodly world.
To understand Nehemiah's situation we have to understand the history of Israel up to this point. You see, God works in real life!
When you are going through a hard time where do you find your hope? We can learn from King David's example in Psalm 62 where he found his hope.
When Paul met Jesus on the road - his life was completely changed. When you met Jesus, was your life changed?
Jesus encountered a man and his four friends and he did what nobody expected teaching us all what is our greatest need.
What is Jesus' highest priority in our lives? Jesus reveals that to us in his encounter with Mary and Martha.
One of the quintessential Jesus moments happens at the calling of Matthew. The calling of Matthew is God's radical grace in action!
When is the last time that you were overwhelmed by Jesus? This sermon is about Peter's encounter with Jesus during the biggest catch of fish in his life.
What can we learn from James the brother of Jesus about his struggle with recognizing Jesus as the Christ?
How did the crucifixion look through the eyes of the Centurion in charge of Jesus' execution?
One of the great biblical face to face encounters with Jesus is with the Religious Leader Nicodemus. What did Jesus have to say to one of the highest religious leaders of his day?
Paul challenges Timothy to guard the deposit entrusted to him. How are we doing guarding the deposit entrusted to us?
What does God say to the rich? What does God say to you and me, the rich, on how we view and handle our money?
Why is it so hard in the most rich country in the world to find contentment? Are you content?
What is our best defense against falling prey to a false teacher? Can you spot one if you saw one?
What does the Bible have to say about how to deal with a bad boss at work? You just might be surprised.
How is a church like a family? How does God want the church to care for widows? Important questions to answer on the road to becoming a thriving church!
The question isn't "Are you a minister?" Rather the question is "What is your ministry?" That is the way the church works!
How can we find hope and strength in hard times? Follow King David's example in Psalm 62.
Jesus came to earth to us to identify with us - to save us. Have you ever identified with Him?
1 Timothy 4:1 says "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith . . ." Have you departed? Do you need to come back? How do you avoid abandoning your faith?
What is your ambition? What do you aspire to? Do you have goals and dreams for your spiritual life?
As Paul is instructing Timothy on who things are supposed to work in church he writes to him about the roles and character of men and women. Are there differences? Why or why not?
We all know, we have all scene people who have shipwrecked their faith. So how do we protect our faith from shipwreck?
We can learn a lot for Biblical characters as we identify with them. Today we are going to look at Paul's testimony and see how it relates to the testimony of faith in our lives.
Do you know how to spot false teaching? Paul teaches Timothy and us just how to do that.
What can we learn from the first two verses of 1 Timothy? That Paul need Timothy and Timothy needed Paul!
Did you know the parable of the prodigal son is really the story of the Father's love? Let's look at this well known parable together with a new focus to see the Father's love!
Today we are going to explore "Why Church?" And we will explore six reasons why church is awesome!
What is one thing that our world is longing for? What is that some one thing that should be thriving in our churches?
What does the Bible teach about our salvation - Are we kept by God's power or can we undue our salvation? Can you know for sure that you have eternal life?
What does the Bible say about the Rapture? Could Jesus come at any moment? Is His return imminent?
So you have an earthly hope - maybe it will maybe it won't happen. Or do you have a biblical hope - a confident expectation of what is going to happen!
"Choose you this day whom you will serve - as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." What is your choice?
We can find great insight and great comfort from Jesus' own words as He teaches us about Heaven.
To turn a phrase: "All it takes for good to prosper is for good men to do something." Let's explore what we can learn from Nehemiah about serving our community for Christ.
The doctrine of Justification by faith alone is at the heart of what all true believers believe! What is it?
What does the doctrine of Election have to do with me? How important is it anyway? Don't I choose?
Have you ever thought about how and why we have the Bible? Is it man's thoughts about God or God's thoughts given to man?
Are you like the rest of us and sometimes have to deal with doubts in your relationship with God? Let's look at John the Baptist's doubts and see how he dealt with them.
What does astonishing faith look like? Jesus was astonished by the faith of Centurion. What can we learn about our faith?
In Jesus' sermon in Luke 6 He describes the marks of a true disciple. Is He describing you?
When is the last time that you looked in the mirror and took out the planks in your eye?
Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane - His prayer teaches us a lot about who he is and what the cross really means.
What reality is most important to you? What, there is more than one reality! Yes! Is your focus on the temporary reality of this world or the eternal reality of God's truth?
Luke 6:12 says that Jesus stayed up all night in prayer. What did Jesus know about prayer that could help us in our prayer life?
When you think of the Sabbath do you think of a whole bunch of rules and regulations? What does Jesus say about the Sabbath?
When you think of the Sabbath do you think of a whole bunch of rules and regulations? What does Jesus say about the Sabbath?
Jesus powerfully proves His divinity in forgiving and healing the paralytic. What kind of friend of you?
Jesus' healing of a leper is a great lesson for each one of us on the process of change and hope!
The "one another" passages of the Bible give us a descriptive picture of what church should be like. How are we doing "one anothering" each other?
What happens when Jesus confronts your pride and competency? May we respond like Peter.
Is there a spiritual authority in our world today? Is there someone who has the authority to proclaim spiritual truth? Yes! His name is Jesus!
When Jesus went to his home town synagogue things didn't go very well. Have you ever experienced rejection. Jesus knows how you feel.
Jesus taught us by his example how we can have victory over the temptations of our life.
John the Baptizer's message is a powerful today as it was so long ago. Do you have a real faith? A faith that is in Jesus and a faith that is active?
The historical narrative of Luke two teach us four truths about the message of Jesus' birth.
Joy to the World! The Lord is come! The Christmas season is all about joy. Luke chapter one shows us the joy of Elizabeth, John, Mary, and Zechariah! Joy, Joy, Joy!
The angel Gabriel told Mary "Nothing is impossible with God." Mary believed that. Do you?
How do you respond when life is hard? How do you respond when God is slow, in our timing, to help? How do you respond when your prayers go unanswered?
What do you know about Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts? What can we learn from him and his introduction to the gospel of Luke?
Do you realize that God choose you to be in His family. He adopted us into his forever family.
So you have been a Christian for many years, have you lost touch with the reality of your sin? What does God's Word say about confessing grace?
What happens to a heart taken over by grace? It responds with grace. We see that in the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus gives him amazing grace and he responds with generous grace!
We have all been hurt in our lives. We have all had unforeseen things happen in our lives that really messed things up, that really set us back, that made extending forgiveness hard. How do you respond? Jesus has set the example for us to follow.
There is something within each of us that like to earn things, that likes to accomplish it on our own. What happens when this desire overrides Biblical truth? How does Grace fit it?
The encounter with Jesus on the temple courts by a woman caught in adultery teaches us powerful truths about God's grace.
What is grace? A great place to start to see grace in actions is to look at Paul's salvation testimony. The power of God's grace in salvation is for us all.
What is the whole armor of God all about? What does it mean? How will it help me stand firm against Satan and his schemes?
Is there really a spiritual battle waging right now for the souls of mankind? What does the Bible say? If this battle is real, what are we supposed to do?
The Bible has some very direct and important teaching on how to be a good employee and how to be a good boss. Your ready to have Jesus change everything?
Everything works best following its design. A train works best on the track, but fails on the road. A boat works great in water, but fails on land. Ephesians 6:1-4 gives us part of God's design for the family. What is God's design for parenting?
What is the goal of parenting? What does the Bible teach us as the number one aspect of parenting?
One of the most important teachings on marriage is in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love you wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." How can husbands to that!
God calls husbands to be the leader of his home. The question isn't "Are husbands the leader in his home?", but "What kind of leader are you?"
In this sermon we explore step one of God's calling on men to be a loving leader. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!"
The Biblical role of the wife is clearly taught in the Scripture. And part of that role the Bible says is loving submission. What does that mean? Is that relevant for today?
We are challenged to "walk as wise." What does it mean to be like our God in his wisdom? What does a biblically wise person look like?
Ephesians 5:8 tells us to "walk as children of light." What does it mean to walk as light?
We all like to imitate others to learn to make ourselves better. The Bible commands us to imitate God, to imitate Christ, to imitate our spiritual leaders, and to imitate those more mature in the faith. How are you doing at imitating?
The Bible has a lot to say about anger. Anger is a God-given emotion. Unfortunately, it is so often used to hurt. What does the Bible say about how we are to handle our anger?
The Bible gives us clean teaching on the use of our words. We examine the put off/put on principle of biblical change concerning the use of our words in this sermon.
The biblical process of change is the process of Replacement. We not only need to stop doing wrong things, put off the old self, but we need to start doing godly things, put on the new self. How do we put on the new self?
How do we change? What is the biblical process of change? This sermon is step two in helping us become all that Christ wants us to be.
When God calls you to obedience does he give you the whole plan or does he reveal is step by step as we are obedient to Him? Philip followed God step by step.
Jesus came not only to save us but also to change us. How do we change? This sermon is about step on in one of the most important change processes mentioned in the Bible.
Unity in the church brings maturity in the church and experience the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. I want to be a in a church like that!
The church of Jesus Christ is one unified body. Why do we struggle so badly living out God's plan? And how can we improve?
What is real love? Our culture is very confused about what love means. The Bible says that God is love. So let's look at Jesus' life and learn what real love is!
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed asking that the cup pass from him. What is the cup? What was Jesus talking about?
What does doxology mean? Is your life a doxology to God? "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think." Does that mean we are to ask great things from God or that God is doing great things for His children?
Do you pray like the Apostle Paul prayed? There is a lot we can learn from Paul's two prayers for the Ephesians that can transform our prayer life.
Paul talks alot about the mystery of Christ. What is the mystery? Has it been solved? What does it mean to you and me?
What is the whole Jew - Gentile problem anyway? What did Jesus do to reconcile the two into one? Why is unity important?
Some of the greatest words in all of our lives are "But God." "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved!"
Memories of the way we were. Paul reminds all of us of what our lives were like before Christ redeemed us, before we were saved by grace.
Do you want to pray like the Apostle Paul? How prays for the believers in Ephesus helps us to focus our prayers on biblical priorities.
Paul ends his run on sentence of praise thinking about the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? Let's take a look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.
We love to sing "Since I Have Been Redeemed." But do you really understand all that Jesus did for you in redemption?
Sometimes Christians can get so focused on our earthly wants and needs that we loose sight of the amazing blessings that we already have from God in Christ. Do you know your blessings?
What makes the church distinct? What is it that makes the church unique and exceptional? What is the main focus of the church?
Installation Service for Pastor Brian J. Ethridge with special speakers Pastor Martin Guerena and Dr. David Warren.