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 21:23-32, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority," for 4/26/26.
- 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)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 20-25, "Love" for Sunday 11/02/25
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 20:1-16, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Grace," for 4/19, 2026
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 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
“America’s Verse”?
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) You would think from interacting with people, reading internet posts, or watching interviews on television, that Matthew 7:1 was the single most important verse in the Bible to … Continue reading
A Mutual Embrace
“My soul clings to (after) You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8) We get glimpses in several of the Psalms of the kind of deep spiritual relationship that David had with the Lord. Psalm 63 is one of those. … Continue reading
The Real Reason You Shouldn’t Worry
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink …”. (Matthew 6:25) Many Christians would admit that anxiety is one of the biggest problems … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged anxiety, focus, kingdom, Matthew 6:25, Matthew 6:33, worry
2 Comments
What’s Your Focus?
“The lamp of the body is the eye; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged commitment, discipleship, eye, focus, Matthew 6:22-23, priority
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You Have Only One Master
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24) Here Jesus famously says … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged commitment, Lordship, Matthew 6:24
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Relationship, Not “Transaction” In Prayer
“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8) Here Jesus tells His disciples that their prayers are to be different than those of the pagan Gentiles. He had just … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship
Tagged Matthew 6:8, model prayer, prayer, relationship
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Which World Are You Living For?
Why do hypocrites do what they do? In His Matthew 6 admonition to His disciples to avoid hypocrisy, Jesus gave several examples which reveal a basic motivation that each person takes into consideration when they make their choice of action: … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged heaven, Hebrews 11:24-26, hypocrisy, Matthew 6, Moses, rewards
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Good Works: To See or Not To See?
Should a person do good works that people can see, or not? One might get conflicting ideas regarding the answer to that question from a couple of scriptures in Matthew chapters 5 & 6: — “Let your light shine before … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged good deeds, hypocrisy, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 6:1, ministry, witness, works
1 Comment
Trusting The Potter’s Hands (Genesis 2:7-8 sermon)
Sometimes you will hear a person described as a “self-made man”. I know what they are talking about when they describe someone that way: they mean that they didn’t begin life with a fortune; that they worked their way “up … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged creation, design, faith, Genesis 2:7-8 sermon, Holy Spirit, potter, providence, Providence of God, Psalm 139, spirit, trust
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