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 Romans 1:13-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "True Power," for 9/06/26
- Teacher's Overview of Joshua 1:1-11, 16-18, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson: "Strong & Courageous" for 6/07/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Ruth 3:8-13, 4:13-17, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Redemption," for 8/30/26.
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- “Little By Little” (Deuteronomy 7:22 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
According to Your Ability
Ezra 2 describes how the people of Israel came back to the Promised Land and began the process of rebuilding the Temple. Verse 69 says: “According to their ability they gave to the treasury for the work”. Here we find … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Ezra 2:69, giving, judgment, service, stewardship, widow's mite
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Faith Under Trial
Ezra 2 gives us a list of the exiles who returned to Israel from the Babylonian captivity. While all the names and numbers may seem trivial, they are not. And verse 41 gives us a special insight when it says … Continue reading
Pray For God To Stir Hearts
In Ezra 1:1, the Bible says “In order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” to issue a proclamation allowing the Jews to return … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged evangelism, Ezra 1:1, I Corinthians 2:14, John 6:44, prayer, revival, Romans 3:10-18, stir heart
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Bible Doctrine in a Nutshell
Ezra 1:1 gives us a “doctrine in a nutshell” for what we believe about scripture: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah …”. … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, doctrine of the Bible, Ezra 1:1, II Peter 1:21, II Timothy 3:16, inspiration, scripture
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Trust His Purposes
Ezra 1:1 begins with a reminder that God’s purposes are always fulfilled: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up … Continue reading
“Heart-Knower”
In Acts 1:24-25, the disciples, seeking God’s direction for a man to fill the apostleship vacated by Judas, prayed: “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Acts 15:8, Acts 1:24, cardiognosta, heart, heart-knower, I Samuel 16:7, Jeremiah 17:10, Omniscience
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The Most Important Thing
It is no accident that David opens Psalm 18:1 by saying, “I love You, O Lord my strength.” His love for Yahweh was the first and most important thing in his life — and should be in ours as well.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged God, love, priorities, Psalm 18:1, The Great Commandment, worship
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“The Discipline of the Word” I Peter 2:1-3 sermon
(Preached 8-24-17 at First Baptist Pauls Valley, OK) For years before his death in 2013, Pat Summerall broadcast NFL games on television. Many of you would recognize his voice to this day. Some of you also know that Summerall’s life … Continue reading
God’s Word: Desire or Discipline?
In light of I Peter 2:2’s command to “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation”, one might ask if spending time in the Bible should be considered to be … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, Bible Reading, desire, devotions, discipline, I Peter 2:2, quiet time, scripture, word of God
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