shawnethomas

The Drink Offering: Don’t Waste Your Life

Posted on 2011/03/28 by Shawn Thomas

(There is a revised and expanded version of this message available here, preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 7-13-14)

The other day, as I was getting out of my car, I saw that I had a can of Coke in the cup holder. I can’t stand to leave anything in the car, so I picked up the can to take it in, and noticed that I still had a little bit of Coke left in it. I didn’t really want to drink it right then, so I just poured it out on the ground not far from the car. I’m sure you’ve probably done the same kind of thing.

In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul gives us a similar picture of what was happening with his life. He says it was being “poured out”. A lot of people might think that like my Coke, Paul’s life was being wasted, but the truth is, it is only lives which are being poured out like his, that are NOT being wasted. Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | 48 Comments

Grandpa Is Smiling

Posted on 2011/03/25 by Shawn Thomas

A few days ago, someone gave us another king size bed – for which we were very grateful! – but it became an occasion for some re-arranging at our house. We ended up putting our old king-sized mattress in Michael’s garage bedroom – along with a couple of other mattresses, plus the bunk beds he has been using.

His bunk beds are something of a family heirloom. They were made by Grandpa Les, my mom’s husband, when I was the pastor of FBC Beggs, Oklahoma, years ago when our older kids were preschoolers. Grandpa Les has since passed away, but the bunk beds have been special to us, since he hand made them for the kids. They are VERY sturdy, and very heavy. They survived the growing up years of both Paul and David, and have now been passed down to Michael, who has used them through all of his elementary years.

Now, with Michael getting a little bigger, we were faced with some re-arranging. I asked him if he wanted to sleep in a king-sized bed, and he was very excited about it. But what about Grandpa’s bed? We were in quandary. Then Michael had an idea: we can put the bunk beds side by side, and put the king sized mattress on them! That would be the best of both worlds! Great idea, I thought! So tonight, we started the project. Little did we know … Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family Life | 3 Comments

“Which Side Are You On?”

Posted on 2011/03/23 by Shawn Thomas

Although I haven’t heard the song since my college years, I can still “hear” the group enthusiastically singing the chorus: “Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on? Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on?” The song was really sung as a challenge: there are some times in life when you can’t “sit on the fence”; you have to choose one side or the other. We are at such a time now. Continue reading →

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The Meaning of the Earthquake

Posted on 2011/03/20 by Shawn Thomas

A week ago Friday, I had been sleeping in, since it was my day off, when Cheryl came in and said to me, “There has been an earthquake in Japan.” From the other room, I could hear the news, reporting about possible tsunami waves heading towards the U.S. west coast. I immediately thought of my mom, who with her husband had gone to Hawaii on a mission trip/vacation – those waves might be heading her way. What a way to wake up in the morning – it had that “September 11^th” feeling to it; it seemed like I had awakened to the whole world falling apart! Continue reading →

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So Many Needs …

Posted on 2011/03/19 by Shawn Thomas

I had not intended to write a blog this evening, or about this evening, but I felt compelled to do so. Tonight at 6:30 we had the Missions Banquet at our church, First Baptist Moss Bluff. Matching our conference theme, “Go Near, Go Far”, we had missionaries representing ministries from Lake Charles to the ends of the earth. The program was not elaborate: we spent a few minutes mingling with the missionaries and looking at the booths they had set up in the gym, then we ate, then heard each missionary share 2-3 minutes about how a person could be involved in ministry in their field. If you were not there, I wish you could have been. You would have heard: Continue reading →

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“Your Best Life Later”

Posted on 2011/03/19 by Shawn Thomas

It’s not an assignment any of us would have wanted from God – but it’s the one He gave Hosea: “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, and have children of harlotry, for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2b) Hosea knew right off that he was to have a difficult ministry: he was purposefully to take a wife whom he knew in advance would be unfaithful to him, Continue reading →

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What Do You Call It?

Posted on 2011/03/17 by Shawn Thomas

The other day, my wife Cheryl was going to meet some ladies at church to “scope out” some things for Libby & Josh’s upcoming wedding. She stopped by my office (and took my last cold Dr. Pepper!) and as she headed out, she said, “I’m headed to the sanctuary … I mean the auditorium … or … what should I call it?” “The worship center”, I said, “that is what I prefer.” She said, “Well, since I work in the children’s department, I just usually call it ‘big church’!” Continue reading →

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A Spring Saturday

Posted on 2011/03/12 by Shawn Thomas

In his classic comedy film, “The Awful Truth”, Cary Grant twists the old adage and says: “In the spring, a young man’s thoughts turn to … what he has been thinking about all winter!” There is probably a lot of truth to that!

As someone who takes Sunday very seriously, I consider my Saturdays first and foremost as a “Day of Preparation” for the Lord’s Day. Being a preacher, that usually means making sure my sermons are finished, and knowing at least the Sunday morning message well enough to preach it without notes, as well a few other assorted things as needed. Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family Life | 1 Comment

Truth Matters More

Posted on 2011/03/11 by Shawn Thomas

Below you will find the opening lines from an article by John Dwyer on the Christianity Today website, entitled: “Not Many of You Should Presume to Be Bloggers”. It is a response to the proliferation of blogs and Facebook posts regarding the teaching of Universalism in Rob Bell’s Book, Love Wins:

“Do you think it is wrong for Rob Bell to question traditional views of heaven and hell?
Answer: I don’t care. Continue reading →