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)
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "The Condescension & The Glory" (Philippians 2:6-11 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- "Lessons From Gethsemane" (Matthew 26 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 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
It’s Not How Much You Read
Three little words in Hebrew fed my soul that day. I try to get a variety of scripture into my life daily, as I read from Psalms to begin my prayer time, then both an Old Testament and a New … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship
Tagged Bible Reading, God's purposes, Hebrew, Psalm 18:30, scripture meditation
2 Comments
The Precious Stewardship
In Ezra 8:24-30 Ezra tells us that he took 12 of the priests who were with him in Babylon, and weighed out to each of them a portion of the gold & silver and the costly utensils which were going … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Ezra 8:24-30, faith, II Timothy 1:14, stewardship, the gospel, word of God
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The Light in My Darkness
In Psalm 18:28 David says, “For You light my lamp; the LORD my God illumines my darkness.” That God would “illumine (his) darkness” could mean something different than we might initially think.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged comfort, darkness, God's presence, Hebrews 13:5, light, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 18:28, Psalm 23:4
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“According to My Righteousness”?
Psalm 18, in which David celebrates his deliverance, contains what to many would seem a questionable phrase. In the midst of His praise of God for what He has done, David says in verse 20, “He has rewarded me according … Continue reading
The Words of the Commandments
The scribe Ezra’s dedication to the word of God is chronicled repeatedly in Ezra Chapter 7. One such reference is found in verse 11, which describes him as “Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged application, Bible, Bible study, Ezra 7:11, Matthew 22:32, scripture, teaching, words
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Sharpen Your Skills
Ezra 7:6 says of Ezra that “he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses …”. This is an important statement, and it is no accident that it is mentioned as his character is introduced into this story. It … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged education, Ezra 7:6, God's plan, purpose, skill, training
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“Playing Without Ceasing?”
Have you ever noticed that it is now possible to go all day long and never have a quiet moment? We have an unprecedented amount of media available to us today — which can be a blessing in some ways: … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged habits, I Thessalonians 5:17, media, pray without ceasing, time
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Fear God, Not Men
Many of us are afraid of the wrong people. In Ezra 5, the leaders of Israel explained to those who were opposed to the rebuilding of the Temple, what had led to its destruction. In verse 12 they explained: “But … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged "Sovereignty of God", Ezra 5, fear, intimidation, John 19:11
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A Word to Church Leaders
Ezra 5 tells us that the prophets Haggai & Zechariah prophesied and told the leaders of the Jews, Zerubabbel and Jeshua, to rebuild the house of God, despite those who opposed them. Verse 2 says that Zerubabbel and Jeshua did … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged discipleship, Ezra 5:2, Haggai, leadership, Zechariah
2 Comments
Taking the Long View on “Wins” & “Losses”
I wonder how often we are very short-sighted in what we consider to be “victories” and “defeats”? At the very end of Ezra 4, after the enemies of Israel had written to the king accusing those who were trying to … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged defeat, Ezra 4:24, perseverance, perspective, relationships, victory, wins and losses
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