Category Archives: Sermons

Glorifying God In Our Work (John 17:4 Devotion)

Posted on 2017/08/17 by Shawn Thomas

Sunday morning we are going to be looking at what many people throughout history have called “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13. But as we will see Sunday, it should better be called “The MODEL Prayer”, because it really is … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged calling, clergy and laity, I Peter 4:10, Jesus, John 17:4, Karen Swallow Prior, ministry, prayer, school teachers, service, spiritual gifts, Tommy Sain Barber Shop, vocation, witness, work | Leave a comment

“Principles of Effective Praying” (Matthew 6:6-8 sermon)

Posted on 2017/08/07 by Shawn Thomas

The great British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: “Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when, upon his knees, he comes face to face with God.” (SOTM, p. 45) … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Bill Elliff, Catholicism, commitment, conversation with god, discipleship, George Muller, God vending machine, Hail Mary prayer, Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, hypocrisy, Jesus, Kathmandu, Lord's Prayer, Mark 1:35, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, MasterLife, Matthew 6:6-8, meaningless repetition, mechanical repetition, model prayer, Our Father prayer, prayer, prayer wheel, praying, principles of prayer, priority, relationship, relationship with God, repetitious prayer, rote prayer, rut in prayer, salvation, Susanna Wesley, Temple, The 18 Benedictions, tip of the iceberg, vain repetition | 2 Comments

“Don’t Be A Hypocrite!” (Matthew 6:1+ sermon)

Posted on 2017/07/31 by Shawn Thomas

“Beware!” If you are out driving, and you come across a sign in the road that says “Beware!”, you are going to pay attention, and proceed very carefully, aren’t you? And you should. You know there is something dangerous ahead, … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged actor, alms, applause of heaven, church, Facebook, fasting, giving, heart, humility, hypocrisy, hypocrite, hypocrites, Jesus, John 11 Jesus prayer, let your light shine, Luke 20:20, Matthew 23, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:1-18, model prayer, motivation, NBA home court, Pharisees, poor in spirit, praise, prayer, pride, private prayer, public ministry, pure in heart, recognition, righteousness, scribes, singing, tip of the iceberg, worship | Leave a comment

“Uncle Sam Needs YOU: To Be Salt & Light” (Matthew 5:13-16 sermon)

Posted on 2017/07/03 by Shawn Thomas

We’ve all seen the famous recruiting sign, “Uncle Sam needs YOU!” The truth is, Uncle Sam DOES need you: our country is in desperate need of you today. NOT necessarily to sign up for the military — though we do … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 16, Christians in restaurants, compromise, disciples, discipleship, Dr. Chuck Quarles, evangelism, glorify God, hide light, I Corinthians 10:31, It Was Fun Working In The White House, legacy, light, light under a bushel, Lillian Parks Leighton, Matthew 5:13-16, ministry, out of the closet, Paul & Silas, purpose, Ronald Reagan city on a hill, salt, salt and light, salt lost savor, Sermon on the Mount, tipping, tips, uniform, witness | 4 Comments

“Your Spiritual Fitbit” — The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12 sermon)

Posted on 2017/06/26 by Shawn Thomas

Well, our family is officially a part of the “Fitbit” craze. Many of you know what I am talking about. Cheryl got me this Fitbit watch for Christmas, and it keeps track of how many steps you take every day … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Alvin Reid, BBC movie, Beatitudes, character, character of Christ, discipleship, evaluation, Fitbit, goal, hunger for righteousness, I Corinthians 5:2, I John 3:2, Matthew 5:3-12, meekness, merciful, mercy, mourning, peacemaker, persecuted, persecution, poverty in spirit, prayer, Psalm 37, Psalm 37:11, Psalm 63, pure in heart, Romans 8:29, scripture memory, Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, sin | 2 Comments

“The King & The Disciples” (Matthew 5:1-2 sermon)

Posted on 2017/06/19 by Shawn Thomas

I have never in my lifetime seen the kind of vindictiveness expressed towards a president as we have seen evidenced towards President Trump: the hatred, lack of submission, people saying “He’s not my President”, etc. I was not a big … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged 30 minute church service, Beatitudes, Bible, Bible Reading, Bible study, Chuck Quarles, Cliff Jenkins, commitment, consumer church, consumer mentality, convenience, crowds, daily bread, daily walk, Deuteronomy 8:3, devotional time, disciples, discipleship, entertainment, family, follow Me, following Jesus, God's will, God's word as food, Golden Calf, honey, Isaiah 53:6, Jesus, king, King Saul, Matthew 10:37, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 5:1-2, meat, milk, ministry, mission partnership, missions, Moses, Mount of the Beatitudes, Mt. Sinai, Pandering, persecution, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh mission churches, popularity, prayer, priorities, Psalm 119:103, quiet time, salvation, scripture, SEBTS, Sermon on the Mount, service, solid food, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, success, truth, walk with God | Leave a comment

“The News About Jesus” (Matthew 4:24-25 sermon)

Posted on 2017/06/12 by Shawn Thomas

Last Wednesday I got an email from one of our members: “Did you hear the news about Bob Stoops?” The head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners — my favorite college football team — had suddenly and surprisingly announced his retirement … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 1:8, authority, Bob Stoops, college acceptance, Eric Metaxas, evangelism, fake news, good news, gospel, Gospels, Great Commission, heaven, idols, India, Isaiah 64:6, ISIS, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joe McKeever, John 20:21, John 3:16, John 6:37, Kim Jong Un, king, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, love, Luke 24:47, Mark 16:15, Matthew 11, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 4:24-25 sermon, Matthew 8:2, Metaxas podcast, missions, Mr. Goodlett, news, Philippians 2, power, Psalm 2, return of Christ, Revelation 19, Romans 10:13, Romans 3:20, Romans 3:23, salvation, works | Leave a comment

“Following Jesus” (Matthew 4:18-22 sermon)

Posted on 2017/05/15 by Shawn Thomas

Our passage for today describes how Jesus saw Peter & Andrew, and James & John, with their boats and nets and relatives, that He said to them, “Follow Me.” And they got up, left everything, and followed Him. What would … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged discipleship, evangelism, follow Me, following Jesus, Jesus, Matthew 4:18-22, salvation | 20 Comments

“The Scriptures: Life & Light” (Matthew 4:12-17 sermon)

Posted on 2017/05/08 by Shawn Thomas

My wife Cheryl & I will have been married for 35 years on May 28th. (She has already informed me that we are not going to be here that Sunday — so I am informing you! 🙂 As you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, Bible literacy, Bible Reading, conversion, daily Bible reading, Dikkon Eberhart, discipleship, eternal life, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Matthew 4:12-17 sermon, Netflix, obedience, salvation, scripture, scripture application, scripture memory, The Time Mom Met Hitler book, word of God | Leave a comment

“Your Response To The Resurrection of Jesus” (Matthew 28 Easter sermon)

Posted on 2017/04/17 by Shawn Thomas

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” (C.S. Lewis) We should ponder these words of C.S. Lewis — especially today on Easter Sunday, as we … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged apologetics, C.S. Lewis, cathedral of Milan, Dikkon Eberhart, DNA evidence, Easter sermon, Eric Metaxas, evangelism, John Chrysostom death of friends, Mark Twain Innocents Abroad, Matthew 28 sermon, Mere Christianity, resurrection of Jesus, salvation, The Time Mom Met Hitler, worship | 1 Comment