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)
- "America's Verse" -- "Judge Not" (Matthew 7:1-5 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- Romans 7:4-6, 14-25 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Struggle," for 10/11/26
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 22:15-22, 34-40, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Honor" for 5/03/26
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- “The Narrow Way To Heaven” (Matthew 7:13-14 sermon)
- "The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 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
“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
2 Comments
“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
3 Comments
Sermon Review: “A View of God’s Glory”, by Charles Spurgeon
“And he said, ‘I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.’” Exodus 33:18 Known as “The Prince of Preachers”, and deservedly so, yet even Charles Spurgeon exhausts his vocabulary attempting to convey an adequate picture of the glory of God. At one … Continue reading
“Some Marks of a Biblical Ministry”
Mark Chapters 1-2 “Some Marks of a Biblical Ministry” One of the things that should differentiate a Christian church from other kinds of groups and religious organizations is that it should be marked by a ministry that is Biblical. As Christians, … Continue reading
“Our Sovereign God”
Psalm 103:19 “Our Sovereign God” Centuries ago, King Canute was one of the most powerful kings of England ever – but he also knew his limits. Canute reigned over what is now England, Denmark, and much of Europe, and as … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged "Sovereignty of God", A.W. Tozer, II Peter 3:9, J.I. Packer, Luke 7:30, Psalm 103:19, sovereignty vs. free will
3 Comments
“Trusting the Potter’s Hands”
Genesis 2:7-8 Trusting the Potter’s Hands Sometimes we hear people speak of someone as being a “self-made man.” I know what they mean when they say that: that the person they are talking about did not begin life with … Continue reading
