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 7:15-29, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority Acknowledged," for 1/11/26.
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 8 & 9, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Every Life Valued" for 1/18/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 6:19-34, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Treasure," for 1/04/2026
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "True Religion" (Philippians 3:2-3)
- "Three Christian Attitudes" (Philippians 3:12-15 sermon)
- Joshua 3:5 Sermon: "Preparing For God To Work"
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: Reviews
Bonhoeffer on Your Daily Bible Reading
Last Thursday I shared some insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, for the National Day of Prayer. The same book contain several helps for our daily time in God’s word. In Life Together he uses the term “meditation,” but he is … Continue reading
Bonhoeffer on Prayer
As today is the National Day of Prayer, I wanted to share some observations on prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. The book focuses on the importance of fellowship in the church, but includes some helpful observations on the practice … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology, Ministry, Reviews, Sermon Illustrations, Uncategorized
Tagged Dietrich Bonhoeffer, formal vs. spontaneous prayer, intercessory prayer plan, Life Together, morning prayer, prayer, prayer request organization, Psalms and prayer
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Sermon Review: “A View of God’s Glory”, by Charles Spurgeon
“And he said, ‘I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.’” Exodus 33:18 Known as “The Prince of Preachers”, and deservedly so, yet even Charles Spurgeon exhausts his vocabulary attempting to convey an adequate picture of the glory of God. At one … Continue reading
Day Trip To Natchitoches
Our family has lived in Lake Charles for over 11 years now, but we had never spent much time in one of Louisiana’s premier destinations, the venerable Natchitoches, which lays claim to being the oldest city in the state. Oh, … Continue reading
Posted in Home & Family Life, Reviews, Uncategorized
Tagged day trip, Front Street shops, Lasyone's, meat pies, Natchitoches, Sam's used bookstore
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“A Christmas Carol”
“The movie was not as good as the book” is a cliché for a reason: they rarely ever are! I have enjoyed several versions of “A Christmas Carol” in movie form, but none of them can capture the vivid descriptions, … Continue reading
The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” So A.W. Tozer opens his classic book, The Knowledge of the Holy. Tozer, who pastored in the middle of the 20th century, spoke prophetically … Continue reading
An Odyssey in Homer
I just finished reading Homer’s The Odyssey for the first time! It was “fun” – for want of a better word – to read first-hand about the Cyclops; those twin pillars of doom named Scylla & Charybdis; and the exploits … Continue reading
“Trouble With The Tulip”
Calvinism, with the TULIP acronym which inevitably accompanies it, is certainly a hot topic in the religious conversation in America today. Frank Page, a former President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and currently the President (basically the “CEO”) of the Executive Committee of the SBC, weighed … Continue reading
Eros Gets A Bad Name?
I would wager that most people who have heard of the different Greek words for “love” have understood them something like this: “Agape” is God’s kind of selfless, giving love “Phileo” is brotherly love “Eros” is sexual love I have … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology, Reviews
Tagged C.S. Lewis, Eros, love for God, romantic love, The Four Loves
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“The Four Loves”
Ok, I have to admit, I took the advice of Prince Humperdinck from “The Princess Bride” and did something I never do: “Skip to the end!” I had started a C.S. Lewis book I had never read before, The Four … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Reviews
Tagged agape love, C.S. Lewis, God ultimate love, heaven, The Four Loves
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