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 12:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Sacrifice," for Nov. 8, 2026.
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Romans 11:11-24 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Kindness," for November 1, 2026.
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- Joshua 3:5 Sermon: "Preparing For God To Work"
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- “Little By Little” (Deuteronomy 7:22 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 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
Not Up For Negotiation
“Pharaoh callled for Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.’” (Exodus 8:25) That sounded like a logical compromise. Moses and Aaron had told Pharaoh that God had commanded them to go and worship Him … Continue reading
Not Our Faithfulness
“So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.” (Exodus 6:9) One thing a reading of Exodus makes very clear: God did not deliver Israel … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged assurance, Exodus 6:9, faithfulness, God's word, II TImothy 1:12, II Timothy 2:13, promise, salvation
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The Other Side Of Love
“With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; surely every man is a mere breath.” (Psalm 39:11) Psalm 39:11 should be a standard memory verse for God’s people — but … Continue reading
“The Questions of Moses” (Exodus 3:10-4:1 sermon)
When we are reading through God’s word like we are, we need to look for certain things. Like is there a command we need to keep; or a sin to confess; or a prayer to pray using this verse? Is … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Aristides, church, D Day, Exodus 3:10-4:1, faith, General Eisenhower, God, Hadrian, I AM, I AM WHO I AM, I am with you, Joseph, man, Moses, names, questions, resumes, salvation, service, theology, trust, What If?, Yahweh
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The God They Didn’t Warn You About!
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger. For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down upon me.” (Psalm 38:1-2) “Rebuke … wrath … burning anger … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Doctrine/Theology, Uncategorized
Tagged anger, Bible Reading, Bible studies, chastening, devotionals, judgment, Psalm 38:1-2, punishment, sin, theology, wrath
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The Prayer That Keeps Returning
“But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.” (Psalm 35:13) Can you remember a time when a prayer you were prayingfor someone was … Continue reading
“The Providence of God” (Genesis 37-50 sermon)
Christians have a different outlook than other people have. We believe in an unseen, almighty, all-wise God. So because of that, not only is our outlook different, but our vocabulary is different as well. Many people speak of “karma” or … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons
Tagged Carson Wentz, chance, church planting, coincidence, Corrie Ten Boom, Doug Pederson, dysautonomia, Ephesians 1:11, forgiveness, Genesis 37-50, God, Joseph story, Karma, luck, Nick Foles, OU Nebraska game of the century, Philadelphia Eagles, plan, POTS, providence, Providence of God, purpose, Romans 8:28, salvation, theology, trust, witness, workplace
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“The Lord Was With Him”
One little expression in the story of Joseph in Genesis tells us all we need to know about him — and the one thing we need most in our lives today too:
Do You Really Want To Know God’s Way?
In Psalm 25:4-5 David prays, “Make me to know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me …”. Many Christians might identify with these words. Upon reading them they might say, “Amen! … Continue reading
“Four Ways To Worship God” (Psalm 9:1-2 sermon)
From the remotest jungle in Africa or the Amazon, to the most isolated island in the Pacific, every culture that has ever been discovered has worshiped. They have never found a civilization in which the people didn’t worship someone or … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons, Uncategorized, worship
Tagged abortion, Alabama quarterback witness, audience of one, blessings, Corrie Ten Boom, Ephesians 1:3, exult in god, Habakkuk 3:16-18, Hudson Taylor, in everything give thanks, King of Bavaria sole audience, Mark Twain Tramp Abroad, POTS, praise, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 4:7, Psalm 9:1-2 sermon, singing, singing as prayer, sole audience, song, thanks, Thanksgiving, The Hiding Place, vertical singing, witnessing, worship
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