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 18:21-35, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Forgiveness," for 3/29/26
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 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
Which IS easier?
“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” (Matthew 9:5) This sentence is full of the searching wisdom of Jesus, and may not be what it appears at first blush. Which IS … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged forgiveness, grace, Matthew 9:5, salvation
Leave a comment
He Knows Your Thoughts
“And Jesus knowing their thoughts …” (Matthew 9:4) These may be some of the most intimidating and convicting words in scripture. They should serve to eliminate ANY pretense of “self-righteousness” from every one of us: “Jesus, knowing their thoughts.”
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Genesis 6:5, grace, holier than thou, Matthew 9:4, mind, self-righteousness, sin, thoughts
Leave a comment
The Most Important Thing
“Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2) Someone might not think there was anything strange about the words that Jesus spoke here — except that they were spoken to a man who was paralyzed! Some people brought this … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged attitude, forgiveness, Matthew 9:2, Psalm 4:7, salvation, sin
Leave a comment
Lord of ALL
“The men were amazed and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” (Matthew 8:27) Jesus’ disciples were just beginning to understand Who He was. Caught in their boat during a … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged angelic forces, creation, forgiveness of sins, healing, Jesus, Jesus authority, Lordship, Matthew chapters 8 & 9, nature, space, time
Leave a comment
The Action of Discipleship
“When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.” (Matthew 8:23) It is notable that after Jesus shared something about the commitments and priority of discipleship, that verse 23 immediately followed, describing the actions of His disciples: “When He … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged discipleship, following Jesus, Matthew 8:23
Leave a comment
The Priorities of Discipleship
After Jesus finished His great Sermon on the Mount, in which He laid forth the character and many of the standards for His disciples, He then went about ministering and actually making disciples. In Matthew 9:19 and following, we see … Continue reading
The Cost of Discipleship
“Then a scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to … Continue reading
Discipleship: It’s Not About The Crowds
“Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.” (Matthew 8:18) Why, when Jesus saw that a crowd had gathered, would He tell His disciples that it was time … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged compromise, crowds, discipleship, Matthew 8:18, numbers
1 Comment
“With A Word”
“… and He cast out the spirits with a word.” (Matthew 8:16) It is obviously significant that the scripture indicates here that it was “with a word” that Jesus cast the demons out. It didn’t take an elaborate ritual, or … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged faith, Jesus, Matthew 8:16, power, prayer
2 Comments
Do You Make Him Marvel?
“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled …” (Matthew 8:10) What an amazing statement that is: “when Jesus heard this, He marveled.” The centurion had just come to Jesus, telling Him of his paralyzed servant, and Jesus indicated that He … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged doubt, faith, Mark 6:6, Mark 9:24, Matthew 8:10, trust, unbelief
Leave a comment
shawnethomas 