I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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Top Posts & Pages
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 22:15-22, 34-40, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Honor" for 5/03/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 21:23-32, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority," for 4/26/26.
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Gift That Is An Insult" (I Kings 9:10-14)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 20:1-16, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Grace," for 4/19, 2026
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
Categories
- "The Disciple's Character" series (Beatitudes Mt. 5:3-12)
- "The Disciplines of Disciples" series
- "This Is My Story" sermon series
- Beatitudes Series 2020 FBCA
- Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like
- COVID-19 crisis assorted messages
- Current Events
- Devotions/Bible Studies
- Discipleship
- Discovering FBCA Membership class lessons
- Doctrine/Theology
- Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
- Explore the Bible Sunday School lessons
- Habakkuk "Find Us Faithful" series messages
- History
- Home & Family Life
- I Peter sermons
- India Mission Trip 2011
- Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King
- John 3:16 sermon series
- Luke 10:38-42 Mary & Martha series
- Luke 2 Christmas series
- Matthew sermons
- Ministry
- missions
- Music
- Philippians sermons
- POTS (dysautonomia) articles
- Psalms studies and messages
- Revelation sermon series
- Reviews
- Sermon Illustrations
- Sermons
- The Model Prayer Series
- The Model Prayer series (FBCA 2020)
- This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog)
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- worship
Author Archives: Shawn Thomas
Does Your Bible Study Change Your Life?
Nehemiah 8:13-18 gives us a great example of how we should apply our Bible studies. Meeting together with Ezra to study the scripture, :14 says that the people of Israel “found written in the Law how the LORD had commanded … Continue reading
“The Discipline of Discipling” (II Timothy 2:2 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 11-02-14) The group picture of Hayden Fry’s 1983 University of Iowa football team has become famous, not necessarily because of the games the team won, but because of what became of its coaching … Continue reading
A Scriptural Guide For Including Children In Worship
The age at which small children should join their parents in worship can be a contentious issue. Is it merely a matter of preference, or can it be resolved scripturally? We may find a hint in Nehemiah 8:2 “Then Ezra … Continue reading
What You Should Covet
Psalm 19:10, culminating the chapter’s description of God’s word, says, “More to be desired are they than gold, yes than much fine gold.” The Hebrew word for “desired” is “hamad”, which means “desire, take pleasure in; covet” — in fact, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, covet, desire, God's word, Psalm 19:10, scripture
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His Judgments Are Right
Psalm 19:9 ends: “The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.” This verse should give us confidence both in the Word of God, and in the way that God deals with us personally:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged judgment, Psalm 19:19, scripture, sovereignty
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The Little Condo on the Prairie (10-28-14)
We enjoy our family’s fantasy football league, “Try Ruling the World Some Time”, named after the phrase from the movie, “The Princess Bride.” Each of our teams also has a “Princess Bride” name — for example, mine is “Wait Till … Continue reading
Dealing With A Hostile Environment
Today we call it “living with stress.” In Nehemiah 6:17-19 the godly governor Nehemiah lived in a very difficult environment: the very nobles of Judah who were at court with Nehemiah were in constant communication with his enemy Tobiah; they … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged dealing with stress, ministry, Nehemiah 6, stress, workplace
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“The Discipline of Fasting” (Ezra 8:21 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 10-26-14) A Christian disciple from India came to the United States a few years ago, and made the tour of a number of our Baptist churches, both observing and speaking. After a few … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciplines of Disciples" series, Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged discipleship, Ezra 8:21, fast, fasting, sermon, spiritual disciplines
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Watch Out For This Trap!
Nehemiah’s enemies tried to trap him in Chapter 6 of that book, using a ploy which seems to be a common type of temptation used by the enemy. Perhaps it has been used against you — or may be soon?
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged compromise, God's word, Nehemiah 6:10-14, Satan, schemes of the enemy, sin, temptation, tempters
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As Persistent As They Are
Some people do not give up easily. Unfortunately the wicked often display more persistence than the people of God. It is revealing that in the Book of Nehemiah, Sanballat, Tobiah & Geshem, who were opposing Nehemiah’s work of rebuilding the … Continue reading
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