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 Romans 1:13-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "True Power," for 9/06/26
- Teacher's Overview of Joshua 1:1-11, 16-18, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson: "Strong & Courageous" for 6/07/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Ruth 3:8-13, 4:13-17, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Redemption," for 8/30/26.
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- "The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "Finishing Well" (Psalm 92:12-15 message)
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
“Our Just God” (Genesis 18:25)
Some months ago, a woman wrote to the editor of a New Orleans area newspaper, upset that someone had suggested that homosexuality is forbidden in the Bible. “My God,” she wrote, “is a God of love, and not a … Continue reading
“Morsels From Mark” (Mark 5-6)
I have repeatedly said from this pulpit that each of us needs to read our Bible daily, just for our own personal spiritual edification – NOT to prepare a “Sunday School lesson” or church Bible study, or anything we intend to deliver to someone else. We each … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged application, faith, Mark 5-6 Bible Study, meeting practical needs
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“Our Omnipotent God”
“I believe in God the Father, Almighty.” These words have been repeated by Christians for almost 2000 years, in both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, and the truth of those words is fundamental to the Christian faith: we … Continue reading
“The Reward of Faith” (Genesis 15:1)
A couple of thousand years ago, the Roman statesman and orator Cicero wrote what has become a well-known maxim: “Virtue is its own reward.” It is an interesting statement, but it is not quite true Biblically. The Bible tells us … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged cathedral of Milan, Genesis 15:1 sermon, God Himself is the reward, Mark Twain, reward
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“Our Omnipresent God” (Psalm 139:7-10)
Years ago, a Christian preacher went to India, and there he saw Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and rocks and asking the gods they believed were present: “Are you there? Are you there?” The Scriptures tell us that we never … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A.W. Tozer, comfort, eternity, God, holiness, Jonathan Edwards, missions, omnipresence of God, omnipresent, Psalm 139:7-10 sermon, worship, wrath
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“Our Omniscient God” (Psalm 139)
“God is watching and you can’t fool Him” — these were the words of Mrs. Pope Adams, former Westlake teacher, according to a retired school teacher who was reminiscing on Facebook last week about her school experiences. She wrote that Mrs. Adams had a … Continue reading
“Our Attitudes Toward the Failures of the Faithful” (Genesis 9:18-29)
It is presidential campaign season, and as you probably know, it has already gotten pretty ugly. Candidates always look for some flaw or weakness to exploit in their opponents – and of course they never fail to find something! We … Continue reading
“Our Eternal God” (Psalm 90:2)
I thought we had answered the final question at our Outreach Luncheon a couple of Sundays ago — but there was one final request. We had a great time at the luncheon, during which our guests and new members could … Continue reading
“Learning Obedience” Psalm 119:57-64
George MacDonald was a Scottish poet and theologian who lived and wrote in the 1800’s. His poignant writings were a great influence on J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and many others. MacDonald wrote the following on the importance of obedience: “Simply … Continue reading
“Our Holy God” (Isaiah 6:1-5 sermon)
In Here I Stand, Roland Bainton’s biography of Martin Luther, he tells of how Luther, as a young monk, was to lead in his first Communion. Luther was terrified. He said: “At these words I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
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shawnethomas 