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
- Romans 8:14-27 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview, "Indwelt," for October 18, 2026
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Romans 7:4-6, 14-25 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Struggle," for 10/11/26
- "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 Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "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
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
1 Comment
“The Discipline of Evangelism” (Colossians 4:2-6 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley OK, 10-12-14) Many of us have looked on with shock and horror at the ISIS takeover of good portions of two countries in the Middle East, with the beheadings and other atrocities they have … Continue reading
You And This Generation
How should we live in the world? What should be our attitude about the changing morals and standards we see around us? Acts 2:40 says that in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter exhorted his hearers to “be … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Acts 2:40, compromise, conformity, culture, moral deterioration, relevance, salvation
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Nehemiah’s Model Prayer
Not only was Nehemiah an example of one who prayed spontaneous prayers (2:4) but he knew how to pray an effective longer prayer as well. In fact, in Nehemiah 1:5-11, we see that Nehemiah’s prayer has some similarities in its … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Matthew 6:9-13, model prayer, Nehemiah 1:5-11, prayer
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There’s Always A Tobiah
Things were going great for Nehemiah; he had told the king about how Jerusalem was in ruins, had prayed and made his request, and the king granted him all that he wanted. Then Nehemiah headed towards the holy city, accompanied … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Christian life, enemies, heaven, Nehemiah 2:10, rest, Sanballat, Tobiah, war
2 Comments
Praying for God’s Will, Not Ours
There is a lot written and taught these days about how we can get “what we want” from God — but that is not the focus of many of the best prayers we find in the Bible. Nehemiah’s intercessory prayer … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Matthew 6:9-13, model prayer, Nehemiah 1:10, prayer
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