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)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 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)
- "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
Taking the Long View on “Wins” & “Losses”
I wonder how often we are very short-sighted in what we consider to be “victories” and “defeats”? At the very end of Ezra 4, after the enemies of Israel had written to the king accusing those who were trying to … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged defeat, Ezra 4:24, perseverance, perspective, relationships, victory, wins and losses
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Don’t Be An Accuser
Ezra 4:6 says that in their attempt to shut down the rebuilding of the Temple, the enemies of Israel “wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem” and slandered them to King Ahasuerus. Zerubbabel and Jeshua were attempting … Continue reading
Learning From The Wicked
Sometimes the people of God can learn a lesson from the ungodly. In Ezra 4, the Bible tells us that the opponents of those who were trying to rebuild the Temple “hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all … Continue reading
“The Discipline of Ordered Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13 Sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, 9-07-14) When our son Paul was a preschooler, we went to my mom’s house for a get-together, and we all had a good time. We ate cake, and swam and played outside, and at … Continue reading
They Say All The Right Things
Ezra 4 opens by telling how the enemies of Judah heard of the rebuilding of the Temple, and asked to “help.” Verse 2 says they requested: “Let us build with you for we, like you, seek your God …”. On … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged deception, discernment, duplicity, Ezra 4, falsehood, hypocrisy, two-faced
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Fear Can Be A Strong Motivator
Ezra 3:3 describes how Jeshua and the priests rebuilt the altar of God in Jerusalem: “So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
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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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