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 28:1-10, 16-20, "Our Task," Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson for 4/05/26
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "Lessons From Gethsemane" (Matthew 26 sermon)
- Psalm 3:3 “Thou, O Lord” Part II: “My Glory”
- 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
Praising God
At the end of Psalm 72, David blesses God. Notice 4 things about the praise he gave which instruct us:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged exclusivity of God, praise, Psalm 72:18-19, Revelation 4:8, worship, Yahweh
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Repentance From Dead Works
Hebrews 6:1 says: “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God …”. The writer of Hebrews is addressing the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged dead works, Ephesians 2:9, faith, good deeds, Hebrews 6:1, repentance, Romans 3:20, salvation, works
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Press On To Maturity
Hebrews 6:1 instructs us: “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God …”. There seems to be, unfortunately, a … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged dumbing down preaching, Ephesians 4:13, Hebrews 6:1, spiritual maturity
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But As For Me …
Psalm 73:1-2a opens: “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me …”. He (Asaph here) recognized God’s goodness to His people (“Israel”) in general, and to the “pure in heart” especially. … Continue reading
Righteous Anger
I Samuel 11:6 says: “Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry.” It is of note here that when the Spirit of God came upon Saul, the result was … Continue reading
God of Distress and Revival
In Psalm 71:20, David prayed: “You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up from the depths of the earth.” Here near the end of Psalm 71, which was written during … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged deliverance, promise of revival, Psalm 71:20, trials
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David’s 3 Commitments In Trials
In Psalm 71, David rehearsed in :10-13 all of the troubles he was facing: those who were watching for his life (:10) etc. Then he said in :14, “BUT AS FOR ME …” and he listed 3 actions he was … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged faith, hope, persistence, praise, Psalm 71:14-15, trials, witness
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You Are My Hope
In Psalm 71:5, David said to God: “For You are my hope; O Lord God; You are my confidence from my youth.” Notice he said: “For YOU are my hope.” David’s hope in the difficult situation he describes in Psalm … Continue reading
Provision Through A Person
In I Samuel 9:16, God told Samuel, “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people … Continue reading
“Oh My God”: Vain Expression or Personal Relationship?
In Psalm 71:4 David prays: “Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked.” The phrase David uses here, “O my God”, has become for many a light, meaningless expression, made so by multiplied and thoughtless use. … Continue reading
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