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 24:36-51, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Alert" for May 10, 2026
- 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)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 21:23-32, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority," for 4/26/26.
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- "The Gift That Is An Insult" (I Kings 9:10-14)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 20:1-16, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Grace," for 4/19, 2026
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 Duty of a Man
A few days ago, as I read about how Jacob had sent his wives and children and all he had across the Jabbok to meet Esau, I had a lingering question in my mind. I knew that Jacob was being “left alone” … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Home & Family Life
Tagged duty of a man, family, father, Genesis 33:3, husband, Jacob, lead, protect
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“Seek My FACE”
In Psalm 27:8, God commands David: “Seek My face.” What does it mean to seek God’s face? We get a hint earlier in the Psalm, where in verse 4 David says that the one thing he desires more than anything … Continue reading
This Week in “Paradise” July 30
Pow … Bam … Zap! I omitted a story from last week’s “Paradise” that Cheryl thought was too good to pass over. It comes from my last doctor’s appointment. I have had some random, but pretty sharp pains in my … Continue reading
Psalm 3:3 “Thou, O Lord” Part II: “My Glory”
One of my favorite stories from the Civil War happened in a battle when a New York regiment was coming under heavy fire from the Confederate line. The colonel of an adjoining regiment came over to tell the leader of … Continue reading
Posted in Home & Family Life, POTS (dysautonomia) articles, Sermons
Tagged "More Love To Thee", "Thou O Lord", Charles Spurgeon, Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, encore, Exodus 33:18, Genesis 15:1, glory, Isaiah 60:19, kabod, let it wave high, Matthew 4:8-9, my glory, POTS/dysautonomia, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 3:3 sermon, Psalm 7:5, the dearest idol I have known, The Glorious Habitation, trophy wife, William Cowper
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Left Alone With God
Genesis 32:24 says, “Then Jacob was left alone.” Verse 23 says that he had just sent his wives and children and flocks and everything else that he had, across the Jabbok River into the Promised Land, where he was awaiting … Continue reading
Mind or Mouth?
In reading Proverbs 15:14 I noticed a most interesting parallel. If you are familiar with Proverbs, you know that most of the book is composed of verses of wisdom which are presented in the form of parallelism: comparing or contrasting … Continue reading
Ask — and Seek!
Psalm 27:4 says “One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I shall seek …”. Notice the two important phrases here: “I have asked …” and “I shall seek”. Each of these actions is important, and necessary in its own … Continue reading
“This Week in Paradise” July 23
This week in the “Paradise” otherwise known as the pastor’s home seemed to revolve around foreign language, and of course our new baby kitten, Eponine! You’ve Got the Wrong Person I have told people before that Cheryl & I have … Continue reading
“Thou O Lord”, Psalm 3:3 Part I: “My Shield”
I first knew something was wrong with me physically in February 2012, when I had to go home sick from prayer meeting. I ended up having to take a medical leave from my duties as pastor, and tried to make … Continue reading
Posted in POTS (dysautonomia) articles, Sermons
Tagged Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Genesis 25:22, God's protection, God's purpose, God's purposes in trials, Henry V, intercession, Job, John Ryland, Lamentations 3:7, Life Together, My Shield, plagues and deaths around me fly, POTS, Psalm 119:67, Psalm 3:3, Romans 8:28, sermon, Shakespeare, the bulletproof George Washington, trials, We're in God's hands brother, Why am I this way?
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This Week in “Paradise” (July 16)
This week in the “Paradise” otherwise known as the pastor’s home was my first with a new medication that seemed to keep my heart rate down, leading to my return to preach at First Baptist Moss Bluff on Sunday night.
shawnethomas 