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)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- Romans 7:4-6, 14-25 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Struggle," for 10/11/26
- Romans 6:1-14, Overview of Lifeway's Explore the Bible lesson, "Freedom," for October 4, 2026.
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 22:15-22, 34-40, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Honor" for 5/03/26
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "Inviting Jesus Into Your Home" (Luke 10:38-42 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
“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
“Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer”
The second verse of the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, begins, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” — a reference which escapes some who sing it. The Biblical source for these words is in I Samuel 7. The prophet … Continue reading
“Just Thunder” — or the Work of God?
I Samuel 7:10 says: “The Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.” There are times in scripture when it seems that God does enough of … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged ambiguity, coincidence, disbelief, faith, I Samuel 7:10, John 12:28-29, room for doubt, skeptics, thunder
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Little Condo on the Prairie (July 30)
FAT LIP One night last week, we had “Fat Lip” for dinner. Yeah there’s a story behind it … when our son David was little, he would ask Cheryl what we were having for dinner, and without fail, whatever it … Continue reading
Samuel Describes Repentance
In I Samuel 7:3, during a message to the people of Israel, Samuel describes what repentance is. He says: “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and … Continue reading
POTS update July 2013
I shared previously (see here) about my visit in June to Dr. Naeem Tahirkili in Oklahoma City, the changes he made in my medications, and how after the first few days I was already doing very well. With over a … Continue reading
