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
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 22:15-22, 34-40, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Honor" for 5/03/26
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- "The Gift That Is An Insult" (I Kings 9:10-14)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 21:23-32, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority," for 4/26/26.
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
My MRI Experience
Last Thursday I had my first MRI. “MRI” is short for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which is the use of nuclear magnetic resonance to produce images of internal body structures that don’t show up well on x-rays. I have had headaches and … Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Home & Family Life
Tagged Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRA, MRI, MRI experience, open vs. closed MRI
9 Comments
“The World” (John 3:16 series)
“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world; red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Many of us have known that song since … Continue reading
Charles Dickens on Criticism
“ … one of the reviewers [of Dickens’ books] suggested that ‘it does not appear certain to us that his books will live …’. But what did Dickens make of such criticism? A few weeks later he was walking with … Continue reading
Sermon Illustrations from Peter Ackroyd’s “Dickens”
Preachers find illustrations for sermons from every sphere of life, including their own personal experiences and, of course, the hilarious things their children say. Many pastors also glean sermon illustrations in the course of their reading as well. I am currently … Continue reading
“For God …” (John 3:16 series)
In London, England there is a 70-foot high red granite obelisk called “Cleopatra’s Needle” that stands beside the Thames River. In the 1870’s it was given to Britain by Egypt. When it was moved to England, they put a “time vault” at … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Sermons
Tagged "For God", egocentrism, ethnocentrism, John 3:16 sermon, repentance, salvation
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Rigor Mortis: “The Stiffness of Death”
I petted our dog Percy’s head for a few minutes, gave him what would become my final blessing to him – and left for a few moments to go to the store. While there I received a tearful call from … Continue reading
Posted in Home & Family Life, Ministry
Tagged adaptability, change, rigor mortis, signs of life
3 Comments
“Introduction to John 3:16”
Last January, Focus on the Family produced a commercial, featuring a group of children quoting “John 3:16″. The commercial ends with a little girl saying, “Wow!” I literally laughed out loud for joy when I watched that for the first time – John 3:16 really IS a … Continue reading
“Our Incarnate God” (Philippians 2:5-11)
Just after the Civil War, Mark Twain embarked on a voyage to the Holy Land, which he chronicled in his book, The Innocents Abroad. The work was largely humorous and ascerbic – typical Twain – but he did occasionally wax philosophical, and in the … Continue reading
“Ministering to the Multitude” (Mark 6:34-44)
Last Sunday night we looked at how when Jesus and His disciples were trying to get away from everyone, the crowd in ran ahead of Him to meet Him. Then :34 says that when He saw the large crowd, … Continue reading
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