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 2:1-12, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Worship the King," for 12/21/25
- “Immanuel: God With Us” (Matthew 1:23 sermon)
- "The Example of Joseph" (Matthew 1:18-25 sermon)
- "He Will Save His People From Their Sins" (Matthew 1:21 Sermon)
- "The Greatest Verse in the Bible?" (John 3:16 sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 sermon)
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 4:12-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson "Invitation," for 12/14/25
- "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: Uncategorized
“O Come Let Us Adore Him” (Revelation 4 & 5 sermon)
Christmas celebrations like many of us experience today haven’t really been in existence that long. Many old-time religious folk didn’t believe Christ was born on December 25, so they actually FORBID making it a special day of any kind. The … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, worship
Tagged children Christmas, Christmas, Christmas worship, God, heaven, kingdom of priests, Lion and the Lamb, Lion Witch Wardrobe C.S. Lewis, manger scene St Albans West Virginia, O Come Let Us Adore Him sermon, Pilgrims Christmas, Revelation 4 sermon, Revelation 5 sermon, salvation, sons of Asaph, South Christmas log, Thou Art Worthy, worship
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Teacher’s overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible”: Luke 2:1-15 “You Will Find”
A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Luke 2:1-15, “You Will Find,” for Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. A video version of this overview is available at: A lot of … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews, Uncategorized
Tagged Christmas story lesson helps, Christmas story Luke 2, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson help, Lifeway Explore the Bible Luke 2:1-15, Lifeway Explore the Bible teacher help, Luke 2 Bible study helps, Luke 2:1-15 Sunday School lesson teacher help, Martin Luther's Christmas sermon, Sunday school lesson help, Sunday school teacher help
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“Explore the Bible” Lesson Overview: II Kings 19:10-19, 32-34, “God Hears”
(A brief overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of II Kings 19, for Sunday, August 21, 2022. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO: Ask your … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 911 history, answered prayers, God is our 911, Hezekiah's prayer, how to pray, II Kings 19, II Kings 19 "God Hears" lesson help, II Kings 19 King Hezekiah, intercession, King Hezekiah, Lifeway Explore the Bible, Lifeway Explore the Bible II Kings 19, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson help, model prayer, prayer
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Teachers Overview of Explore the Bible II Kings 12:4-16, for Sun. Aug. 7, “God Honors”
(A brief overview for teachers and Sunday School leaders of the Lifeway “Explore the Bible” Sunday school lesson for Sunday, August 7, 2022 from II Kings 12:4-16. A video version of these notes is available at: INTRO: You could ask … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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“Warnings From The Wilderness” (I Cor. 10 sermon)
On the coastline of Japan, there is a little village called Aneyoshi. On a certain spot in the town, there is an ancient stone tablet, engraved with a somber warning: “Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build … Continue reading
Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: II Kings 5:1-14, “God Heals”
(This is a brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson for Sunday, July 27, 2022) I’m going to suggest a couple of different ways you could begin this week’s lesson: ONE … Continue reading
“The A-B-Cs of Salvation in Leviticus 1:1-4”
One of the most difficult things for me on my recent mission trip to Bulgaria was the language. I am typically fairly good at languages, and when I go on mission trips I can usually speak some of the language … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged ABC of salvation, Alexander Graham Bell, alphabet, Candice Millard James Garfield, Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, In Christ Alone song, Isaiah 53, James Harrison Australia blood, Jesus only way, Jesus substitute, Jesus the lamb, John 14:6, lay hand on the head, Leviticus 1:1-4 sermon, male without defect, sacrifice, salvation, satisfaction, substitutionary atonement, Sydney Carton substitution, theological ABCs, wrath of God satisfied
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“A Kingdom of Priests” (Exodus 19:6 sermon)
This week I read an article about a Boston (Catholic) University student named Robert LeBlanc, who went to college, like a lot of young people do, with dreams of one day getting married, having children and setting up a family. … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Home & Family Life, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged "neighborhood priest", Acts 4:12, are you a Christian, Bulgaria mission, Catholic priests, Christianity, define priest, duties of a priest, Ephesians 3:12, Exodus 19:6 sermon, guard your loved ones in prayer, holy priesthood, how to be saved, I Peter 2:5, I Peter 2:9, intercessory prayer, Jesus Christ, John 14:6, kingdom of priests, making a prayer list, Martin Luther, mediator, prayer, prayer list, priesthood of the believer, Psalm 5:3, Revelation 5:10, Roman Catholicism, salvation, you are a priest
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Family Gingerbread Contest 2021
Help us determine the winner of our annual family gingerbread house contest. Vote for your favorite from the six below. You can use any criteria you wish: just the one you like best. THANK YOU for helping us continue our … Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Uncategorized
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shawnethomas 