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)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The Gift That Is An Insult" (I Kings 9:10-14)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 20:1-16, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Grace," for 4/19, 2026
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
American Evangelism’s “Missing Ingredient”?
Acts Chapter 2:41-47 describes the glorious initial days of the Church, when 3000 were saved in response to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Interestingly enough, although the chapter concludes with a description of how people were being saved … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Acts 2:41-47, evangelism, fellowship, John 13:35
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Wise As Serpents
The request that Tobiah and Sanballat made of Nehemiah in the second verse of Chapter 6 sounded reasonable and innocent: “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But as in most situations, there is a … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged discernment, judgment, Matthew 10:16, Nehemiah 6:2, prudence, wisdom
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Illustrations from Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad
Not long after the Civil War, Mark Twain joined a steamship tour of Europe and the Holy Land. His entertaining book, The Innocents Abroad, chronicles the journey in a way only Twain could. Punctuated liberally with sarcasm and irony, the … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Sermon Illustrations
Tagged atonement, Bible prophecy, Death, Ephesus, Holy Land, Jesus, Mark Twain, materialism, rest, Sabbath, salvation, sermon illustrations, sin, the cross, The Innocents Abroad
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A Classic Response
Governor Nehemiah models for us how we need to respond to a number of things that clamor for our attention. In Nehemiah 6, the continual enemies of the governor’s work in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, Tobiah, Sanballat, et al, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged distractions, memory verse, Nehemiah 6:3, priorities, time management
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“The Discipline of Giving” (Genesis 28:20-22 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK, 10-19-14) Cheryl & I love to watch old movies, and one of our favorites is the 1948 classic: “Life With Father” with William Powell & Irene Dunne. There is actually a great lesson … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciplines of Disciples" series, Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged Abraham, discipleship, Genesis 28:20-22, giving, grace giving, Harold Mathena, Irene Dunne, Jacob, Life With Father, love, Melchizedek, put your money where your mouth is, salvation, sermon, talk is cheap, tithing, WIlliam Powell
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General and Special Revelation (Psalm 19)
Psalm 19, which opens with those famous words: “The heavens declare the glory of God”, gives us a great example of what theologians call “General Revelation” and “Special Revelation.”
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged creation, General Revelation, Psalm 19, Special Revelation, theology
2 Comments
A Righteous Anger
It is not always a sin to be angry. In fact, there are times when it is a sin NOT to be! Nehemiah experienced one of those times when he was told about how the Jewish leaders were taking advantage … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged anger, apathy, passion, righteous anger, righteousness
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“Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”
Following threats by those who wanted to stop the construction of the wall around Jerusalem, Nehemiah 4:9 says: “But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them …”. Nehemiah kept an important … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
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A Picture of Cooperation
When everyone does their part, it is amazing what can be accomplished. Nehemiah 3 describes how Nehemiah and the people who returned to Jerusalem rebuilt the wall around the city. What is significant about it is that no one person … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged cooperation, division, fellowship, ministry, mission, Nehemiah 3, service
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The Heavens Declare His Glory
The familiar words open Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God …”. Brown, Driver & Briggs tells us that the Hebrew word for “declare” here comes from the verb “sapar”, meaning “count”; and its piel (intensive) form here: … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged creation, General Revelation, glory of God, heavens, nature, Psalm 19:1
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