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 18:21-35, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Forgiveness," for 3/29/26
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20, "Our Task," Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson for 4/05/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- Psalm 3:3 “Thou, O Lord” Part II: “My Glory”
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- Psalm 3:3 “Thou O Lord” Part III: “The Lifter of My Head”
- "Lessons From Gethsemane" (Matthew 26 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
Category Archives: Devotions/Bible Studies
Giving and Worship
Although Christians are not under obligation to keep the Law, Exodus 23:19 shares a principle which surely applies to those of us under the New Covenant as well: “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Exodus 23:19, first fruits, giving, grace giving, tenth, tithe, worship
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He Who Loves Pleasure
Proverbs 21:17 says: “He who loves pleasure will become a poor man, and he who loves oil and wine will not become rich.” There is an obvious meaning in this proverb: that the person who spends a lot on luxuries … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged discipline, pleasure, poverty, Proverbs 21:17, riches
4 Comments
On Political Discourse
Exodus 22:28 commands: “You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” It should be instructive to us that God puts the prohibition against cursing our rulers in the same verse as the prohibition against cursing God … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
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Deliverance, Not Escape
In II Timothy 3:11 Paul writes: “What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me.” Following Christ did not exempt Paul from persecutions. In fact, the next verse famously proclaims: “indeed, all who desire to live … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged deliverance, deliverance vs. escape, II Timothy 3:11, persecution
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Don’t Follow The Crowd
Exodus 23:2 commanded the people of God: “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil …” That is like the old admonition many of our parents gave us: “Don’t follow the crowd”! That was Biblical!
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged don't follow the crowd, Exodus 23:2, peer pressure
1 Comment
The False Witness of a “Straw Man”
In Exodus 20:16 we are given the 9th Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This verse entails numerous applications, but one of them includes purposefully misrepresenting the position of another. It is not uncommon for opponents … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
2 Comments
For the Sake of Your Servant: Substitionary Grace
In Psalm 132:10 the Psalmist prays: “For the sake of Your servant David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed one” The salient principle here is that for the sake of ANOTHER who has gone before and who … Continue reading
When You Don’t Have A Word
In Psalm 130 the Psalmist, in “the depths,” cries out to God. Then in :5 he says: “in His word do I hope”. In “the depths” of our own particular situations, we should do the same thing: put our hope … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged a word from God, depths, faith, I Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 130:5, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:29, trials, trust
4 Comments
A Call To Worship (Psalm 132)
Psalm 132 is one of the Songs of Ascent, which were sung by pilgrims on their way to worship at Jerusalem. Verses 7-9 still present a great call to worship for us today: “Let us go into His dwelling place; … Continue reading
Remember His Name in the Night
Psalm 119:55 says: “I remember Your name in the NIGHT O Lord, and I keep Your Law” What is significant about remembering God’s name “in the “night”?
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Psalm 119:55, remember His name in the night
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