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.
-
Top Posts & Pages
- 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)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "Inviting Jesus Into Your Home" (Luke 10:38-42 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: Sermons
“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
“The Discipline of the Word” I Peter 2:1-3 sermon
(Preached 8-24-17 at First Baptist Pauls Valley, OK) For years before his death in 2013, Pat Summerall broadcast NFL games on television. Many of you would recognize his voice to this day. Some of you also know that Summerall’s life … Continue reading
“The Disciplines of Disciples” I Timothy 4:7-10 Sermon
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley 8-17-14) I had the opportunity a few days ago to go up to the high school during their summer band practice, and I must say that I was impressed with the quality of what … Continue reading
“Are You A Disciple?” Luke 9:23 Sermon
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 8-03-14) In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His Great Commission to go and “make disciples.” The most important business of the church is to make disciples. But what does it mean to be a … Continue reading
“Four Surprising Signs of Wickedness” (Psalm 10:3-11 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK on Sunday evening, July 20, 2014) When most of us think of “wickedness”, we tend to think of certain specific “evil deeds.” Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was in the news recently for having … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Dr. Gosnell, Presumption, Psalm 10, Psalm 10:3-11, seeking God, sermon, sin, wickedness, words
3 Comments
Joshua 3:5 Sermon: “Preparing For God To Work”
(Preached at FBC Pauls Valley, OK, Sunday morning July 20, 2014) A couple of weeks ago our son Michael took a Drivers Ed class in Norman. We were all excited about it; we pre-registered him online, and we made sure … Continue reading
Your “Guard Duty” in Prayer (Colossians 4:2 Sermon)
(Preached at FBC Pauls Valley, OK, Sunday evening 7-13-14) On April 17th, 1862, private William Scott was pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln for sleeping on guard duty. That may not sound like a big deal, but the private had been … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged C.S. Lewis, Colossians 4:2, intercession, prayer, screwtape letters
Leave a comment
The Drink Offering: Don’t Waste Your Life (Philippians 2:17 sermon update)
(This is the text of the sermon I preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley on Sunday, July 13th 2014. It is a revised and updated version of a previous message by this title I preached at FBC Moss Bluff, LA … Continue reading
shawnethomas 