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 Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Man Born Blind" (John 9 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 15:1-11+, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson for March 8, 2026, "Real Devotion"
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- "Christ's Suffering/Our Salvation" (I Peter 3:18 sermon)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 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: Discipleship
Give To Everyone You Meet
In Romans 1:11 the Apostle Paul writes: “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established (strengthened).” Paul wasn’t speaking of “spiritual gifts” here in the technical way … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship
Tagged discipleship, Navigators Wheel, Romans 1:11, spiritual gift
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“The Discipline of Morning Prayer” (Psalm 5:3 Sermon)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, 5-03-15 Not long ago, someone posted on Facebook that they wished they had a 30-hour day, so that they could get everything done. In the comments section, I posted a link to one of … Continue reading
The Model Prayer (Part 1) “Begin With Praise”
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Morganton, NC, Wed. p.m., 4-22-15) I don’t know if you’ve seen any of “A.D” The Series on Sunday nights, but like most shows, it has its better moments as well as its weaknesses. One … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons, The Model Prayer Series
Tagged devotions, Matthew 6:9, model prayer, praise, prayer, prayer time, Psalm 100:4, quiet time
2 Comments
Matthew 6:5-9 Introduction to the Model Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most familiar and beloved Christian scriptures – yet it may also be one of the most misunderstood. But it is a scripture that is VITAL for us as we would learn to pray. … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons, The Model Prayer Series
Tagged Chuck Quarles, how to pray, Lord's Prayer, model prayer, prayer, prayer outline, Sermon on the Mount
3 Comments
“The Discipline of Fasting” (Ezra 8:21 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 10-26-14) A Christian disciple from India came to the United States a few years ago, and made the tour of a number of our Baptist churches, both observing and speaking. After a few … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciplines of Disciples" series, Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged discipleship, Ezra 8:21, fast, fasting, sermon, spiritual disciplines
1 Comment
“The Discipline of Giving” (Genesis 28:20-22 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK, 10-19-14) Cheryl & I love to watch old movies, and one of our favorites is the 1948 classic: “Life With Father” with William Powell & Irene Dunne. There is actually a great lesson … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciplines of Disciples" series, Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged Abraham, discipleship, Genesis 28:20-22, giving, grace giving, Harold Mathena, Irene Dunne, Jacob, Life With Father, love, Melchizedek, put your money where your mouth is, salvation, sermon, talk is cheap, tithing, WIlliam Powell
7 Comments
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 Discipline of Spontaneous Prayer” (Nehemiah 2:4 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist Pauls Valley, OK, 9-14-14 a.m.) Some of us were eating out a few years ago, and one of our friends was asking the blessing for our food, and he prayed a fairly long prayer. When he … Continue reading
“The Discipline of Ordered Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13 Sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, 9-07-14) When our son Paul was a preschooler, we went to my mom’s house for a get-together, and we all had a good time. We ate cake, and swam and played outside, and at … Continue reading
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