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.
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Gift That Is An Insult" (I Kings 9:10-14)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 20:1-16, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Grace," for 4/19, 2026
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 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
They Will Sing Praises
Psalm 66:4 declares: “All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; they will sing praises to Your name.” How will “all the earth” worship God; what will they do? “They will sing praises to Your name.”
When They Refuse To Listen
When Samuel tried to dissuade Israel from asking for a king, I Samuel 8:19 says: “Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us.’” Samuel had … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged counseling, hard-heartedness, I Samuel 8:19, stubbornness
1 Comment
They Have Not Rejected You, But Me
In I Samuel 8:7, God told the disappointed Samuel: “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me.” Many pastors and other Christian workers today need to hear this same word from God and take it to heart.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged disappointment, I Samuel 8:7, ministry, rejection
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The Little Condo on the Prairie (August 7th)
Last week in “the little condo” we had to figure out what to do without our grandbaby in the house to revolve our lives around: OKLAHOMA STATE BIRD Cheryl & I ate at a restaurant in Norman one afternoon last … Continue reading
Take It To The Lord
I Samuel 8:6 tells us that when the people of Israel asked for a king, it hit Samuel wrong: “the thing was displeasing in his sight.” Then, significantly, it says “And Samuel prayed to the Lord.” And :7 adds: “The … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged disappointment, hurt, I Samuel 8:6-7, prayer, take it to the Lord in prayer
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“The Gospel of Glory” (II Thessalonians 2:14)
Years ago, when our older kids were very small, I took our son David to Falls Creek with me for the week — he was 3 or 4 years old. We had a great week, as we got to hang … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged C.S. Lewis and pleasure, cathedral of Milan, Dante, doxa, eternal torment, Exodus 33:18-20, Exodus 34:7-8, Falls Creek, glory, glory of God, heaven, hell, II Thessalonians 2:14, John Sailhamer, kabod, Mark Twain, no hope, radiance, Romans 3:23, Samuel Rutherford, shekinah glory, The Innocents Abroad
2 Comments
Like All The Nations?
In I Samuel 8:5 the people of Israel told Samuel: “Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” A king in and of himself was not not necessarily a bad thing; in fact a godly … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged church, I Samuel 8:5, Romans 12:2, worldliness, youth ministry
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Evaluate Your Worship With Psalm 65
Psalm 65 begins: “There will be silence before Thee, and praise in Zion, O God, and to Thee the vow will be performed.” Notice three very different, but very important elements of worship described in this opening verse:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged awe, obedience as worship, praise, Psalm 65:1, reverence, worship
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The Personal Priority of the Word
Psalm 119 is all about the commitment that the Psalmist has to the word of God. In :134-136 we see several examples of the priority that scripture has for him:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, God's word, priority of the word, Psalm 119:134-136, scripture
1 Comment
The Throne of Grace
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Notice that we are not encouraged to draw near to … Continue reading
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