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)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20, "Our Task," Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson for 4/05/26
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- Psalm 3:3 “Thou, O Lord” Part II: “My Glory”
- "Lessons From Gethsemane" (Matthew 26 sermon)
- Psalm 3:3 “Thou O Lord” Part III: “The Lifter of My Head”
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 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
Sing Praises to Him
Psalm 105:2 instructs us: “Sing to Him; sing praises to Him.” Notice some things about this verse which instruct us regarding our worship of God:
By Faith He Lived
Hebrews 11:9 says of Abraham: “by faith he LIVED as an alien in the land of promise.” It is one thing to step out initially in faith (as it says in :8 that Abraham did); it is another to LIVE … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Abraham, faith, faithful, Hebrews 11:9, living by faith
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Saved “So that …”
Psalm 105:43-45 describes God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt, and gives us some insight regarding it: 43 And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful ashout. 44 He gave them also … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged consecration, holiness, libertinism, obedience, Psalm 105:43-45, salvation
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The Obedience of Faith
Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a land which he was to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” A key word here is … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged faith, Hebrews 11:8, James 2:14, obedience, salvation, works
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The Revealing Nature of Mourning
Psalm 79:1 begins with a mournful prayer: “O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance …”. The writer of Psalm 79 is a mourner, and it is important to understand the cause of his grief. It is obvious to the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged blessed are those who mourn, Matthew 5:4, mourning, Psalm 79, sin
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Make It Personal!
Psalm 104 begins, “Bless the LORD O my soul; O LORD my God, You are very great.” Notice the repetition of the personal pronoun in this verse: “MY soul …. MY God …”. The Psalmist was very personal in his … Continue reading
Forget None of His Benefits
After opening with the famous “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” Psalm 103:2 then says: “forget none of His benefits.” Forgetting is one of our biggest spiritual problems. Israel was constantly cited for forgetting God, forgetting His blessings, etc. We … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged blessings, forget, Psalm 103:2, remembering God's blessings
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Insights on Praise (Psalm 98)
Psalm 98 is a Psalm of praise, and verses 4-6 specifically give us several insights on how we are to praise God:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged music, praise, Psalm 98:4-6, singing, worship
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A Good Test
Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” This verse is a good test of … Continue reading
Perhaps YOU Are The One To Do It!
In I Samuel 17:26-30, when Goliath was challenging Israel in the Valley of Elah, it says, “Then David spoke to the men were standing by him, saying, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes … Continue reading
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