“Swimming Upstream” (Luke 1:57-66 sermon)

Posted on 2023/07/17 by Shawn Thomas

I was in a river canoeing one time, and it was shallow, and the current was pretty strong, so just for fun I decided to get out and see how far I could swim against the current. So I jumped into the water, and swam as hard as I could —but when I looked up, I had gotten absolutely nowhere! It’s hard to swim against the current: when the whole river is going one way, and you are trying to swim against it. 

But that is very much like what God has called us to do, as His people. 

Our whole society is moving in one direction, morally and spiritually. They have one set of beliefs; one way of doing things; what “everyone says” is the right way to do it; what we should all believe, and say, and do. But rarely does God want His people to do what everyone else is doing. He almost always wants us to “swim upstream,” against the current, and do things differently, HIS way. Because it’s only then that He gets glory from our life.

Our passage today, from the birth and naming of John the Baptist, shows us this. This happened over 2000 years ago, but it is very relevant to us today. It shows what happens when we obey God and “swim upstream”:

Continue reading →
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson: Jeremiah 31:23-34, “Redeems”

Posted on 2023/07/15 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 31:23-34, for Sunday, July 23, 2023, with the title, “Redeems.”

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: There are several different ways you could begin this lesson, as the Lord leads: 

— You could share/ask your group to share a favorite “come back story”:

(One of my favorites was the OU/Texas game a couple of years ago. Texas jumped out to a 28-7 lead in just the first quarter, and it looked like the game was over. OU couldn’t do anything right. But they began to creep back in — and actually won the game with 3 seconds left, 55-48. It was the biggest comeback in the history of the Red River Rivalry. 

Or you could share the story of the 1948 Presidential election, when all the polls indicated that Thomas Dewey would beat Harry Truman for the Presidency, and the newspapers had already printed the headline: “Dewey Defeats Truman,” but Truman came back and won the election in the wee hours of the night.

Whatever “comeback” you talk about/your group shares, then I’d say, God shows Jeremiah today that His people will make a “comeback” — one of the greatest of all time! 

— OR: ??? Ask if anyone ever “restored” a house, or a car, or a piece of furniture? Or use an example of one of those “restoration” tv shows — then = “Today we are going to look at how God promised to restore His people.” (Or you may use this later in Point I, on the restoration.)

OR: ??? Ask if anyone lives in a neighborhood where you have a “neighborhood covenant”? Do you know some of the things that are in it?

(Ours: no cars parked regularly on street, boats in driveway, etc.)

(You could open the lesson with this, OR use it later in point 3 when we get to the New Covenant.) 

Then = in our lesson for today we’ll see how GOD says He will make a “new covenant” with His people, a different kind of covenant than they had with Him before. 

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

“Come Away & Rest” (Mark 6:30-31 sermon)

Posted on 2023/07/10 by Shawn Thomas

In the 1860’s, Mark Twain took a steamboat tour of Europe and the Holy Land. In his book, The Innocents Abroad, one of my favorite books, Twain wrote about his stop in Rome:

“Afterward we walked up and down one of the most popular streets for some time, and wishing we could export some of it to our restless, driving, vitality-consuming marts at home. Just in this matter lies one of the main charms of Europe — comfort. In America, we hurry — which is well, but when the day’s work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us, and toss and worry over them when we ought to be restoring our racked bodies and brains with sleep. We burn up our energies with these excitements, and either die early or drop into a lean and mean old age at a time of life which they call a man’s prime in Europe. When an acre of ground has produced long and well, we let it life fallow and rest for a season; we take no man clear across the continent in the same coach he started in — the coach is stabled somewhere on the plains, and its heated machinery is allowed to cool for a few days; when a razor has seen long service and refuses to hold an edge, the barber lays it away for a few weeks, and the edge comes back of its own accord. We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally, and renew our edges!”  (p. 160)

“Lay yourself on the shelf, and renew your edges” — This is basically what Jesus was telling His disciples in Mark 6:31, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”

Jesus’ disciples found themselves in an extremely busy time and Jesus told them: “Come away … and rest.” Many of us are similarly busy, and we need to hear this word from Jesus as His disciples too: “Come away … and rest.” Listen and see how you may need to apply Jesus words here to your own life today: 

Continue reading →
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Teacher’s Overview: Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 29:4-14, “Present”

Posted on 2023/07/08 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson on Jeremiah 29:4-14, for Sunday, July 16, 2023, with the title, “Present.”

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: You might talk about a time when someone told you what you might have wanted to hear, instead of what you needed to ear.  FOR EXAMPLE: when I got sick in 2012 and I had to leave the ministry for a couple of years, the future was uncertain, and we had to sell our house and many of our possessions and move to a little condo in Norman, OK. It was Cheryl’s “dream house” and she was taking it hard. As people from our church were telling us goodbye, one woman told Cheryl: “Don’t worry; I know God’s going to give you a bigger, better house!” I think that person meant well, but I don’t think that was the message God had for us. Our hope was not in “a bigger better house,” but that God was with us and would see us through.

You can share that story if you’d like, or your own story of how often people tell you what they think you want to hear, instead of what you really need to hear. Then I would say that was the case in Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day, which we’ll see in today’s lesson in Jeremiah 29.

OR: you could ask your class if anyone wants to share their favorite Bible verse. Then you say that in today’s passage we will look at one of many people’s favorite verses: Jeremiah 29:11, and God’s Promises to His people. 

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 23:1-12, “Rules”

Posted on 2023/07/01 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 23:1-2, with the tithe, “Rules,” for Sunday, July 9, 2023.

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: You might begin this week’s lesson by asking for examples of godly political spiritual leaders your members appreciate, and/or by sharing what author Jonathan Alter wrote about former President Jimmy Carter:

“He practiced what he preached. As a state senator, Carter had turned down an offer of free eyeglasses from an optometrist, and as governor, he reimbursed a sporting goods store that sent him a single can of tennis balls. …  Even his enemies called him squeaky clean.” (His Very Best, pp. 188-189) Whether you agreed with his politics or not, Jimmy Carter seemed to be a man of integrity.

You/your group could share examples of godly political and spiritual leaders that you appreciate. Then I’d say: in today’s lesson we are reminded that not every leader is godly; but that God will judge those who are not — and He has sent us the ultimate Leader in the Messiah, Jesus. 

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson: Jeremiah 18:1-12, “Shapes”

Posted on 2023/06/24 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 18:1-12, with the title, “Shapes,” for Sunday, July 2, 2023.

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:  This may be too far “out of the box” for some of you, but I’m going to suggest it: get some inexpensive modeling clay for each class member (I got a little pack on Amazon for less than $4 for 24 little pieces — or you can make some play dough very inexpensively) and start class Sunday by letting each member make something with it. You could vote for the best one, or the most creative, or the funniest, or whatever.

If you don’t choose to have your class use clay, you might bring a clay pot or a ceramic piece that you, or someone you know has made, and share the story behind it. 

But then transition to the lesson, and say, Today in Jeremiah 18 we are going to see how God showed Jeremiah that HE is the potter and we as His people are like the clay in His hands.  

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

“The Church That Made God Sick” (Revelation 3:14-22 sermon)

Posted on 2023/06/19 by Shawn Thomas

Someone once did a survey of his church group, and he asked them: On a scale of 1-10, “1” meaning that you are very cold-hearted towards God, and “10” meaning that you are really “on fire” for Him — what number would you say you are?  He said his group members’ answers were almost all “4,” “5,” or “6.” Then he said: If you want to know what God thinks about you, just read Revelation 3:16!  “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

Is OUR church like that? Are YOU personally like that as a Christian? What does it mean to be lukewarm, and what can we do about it? The Lord shows us in our passage for today in Revelation 3:14-22, “The Church That Made God Sick.”

Continue reading →
Posted in Revelation sermon series | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Teacher’s Overview: Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 12:1-13, “Exclusive”

Posted on 2023/06/15 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 12:1-13 for Sunday, June 25, 2023, with the title, “Exclusive.”

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO   ??? Can you share a time when you/someone you know, suffered for doing the right thing??? 

(Some Biblical examples would be Joseph in Genesis, who resisted Potiphar’s wife’s advances and was falsely accused for it; or Daniel, who prayed and was arrested and thrown into the lions’ den for it.

But there are many modern examples as well: For example, in 2013, Aaron Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Oregon, was fined $135,000 for refusing to make a gay wedding cake that violated his conscience. Last year the State reduced the fine to “only” $30,000. Klein and his wife had to shut down their business and leave the state. They did the right thing — but they suffered for doing it. 

There are many such examples; you/others in your group can share examples from your lives/ones you’ve heard. 

There’s something particularly difficult about suffering when you have done the right thing. When we do something wrong and suffer for it, we kind of know we deserve it, so we can be at peace with it. But when you do what is RIGHT and suffer for it, something in us that revolts at that; it’s unjust. THIS is the situation that Jeremiah faces in our lesson for this week in Jeremiah 12:1-13.

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

“The Church With An Open Door” (Revelation 3:7-13 sermon)

Posted on 2023/06/12 by Shawn Thomas

When Cheryl & I first began dating, she had been on “Cloud 9” for weeks. She had told everyone at her job at Jack’s Service Company in Oklahoma City about this great guy she was now with. They all said they couldn’t wait to meet me at the Christmas party that year, which would be held at the owner’s home. The evening finally came, and we made our way to the very upscale residence. As we approached the home from over a block away, with cars parked all up and down the streets, we could see that the house was lit up for the occasion, and I remarked to Cheryl that it looked like the front door was open. As we got closer, Cheryl could see that the door was not open, but rather there was a clear glass door that the lights were shining out of. She assumed that I saw this too. She was wrong. I walked right up to the door and SMASH – right into it! Thankfully, it didn’t break, but the impact knocked me down, and my glasses flew off my face and onto the ground. People inside were, obviously startled, and now they were all staring at us as we tried to gather our wits about us.  Utter humiliation now replaced any trace of pride (or sympathy) Cheryl may have had. She said, “Let’s go!” I dusted myself off, and picked up my glasses, and whatever remained of my dignity, and I said, “No, come on, let’s go on in.” Thus it was that Cheryl got to introduce her “dream guy” to all her work associates. Things were just beginning to settle down, and we were all standing in the buffet line, when someone said: “Hey, it looks like there’s a nose print on the door!”  Everyone in the line chuckled when they passed that nose print!  So much for the “dream guy.” I thought it was an open door — but it wasn’t! 

But in this sixth letter in Revelation 2 & 3, Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia: “I have put before you an open door.” What was He saying to them — and what is He saying to US today through this letter?

Continue reading →
Posted in Revelation sermon series, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson: Jeremiah 7:1-15, “Personal”

Posted on 2023/06/10 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 7:1-15, for Sunday, June 18, 2023, with the title, “Personal.”

(A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:  In 1870, France was at war with Prussia (what we know as Germany today). The Germans had the better of it early, and their army advanced all the way to Paris. But the Parisians were “cheerful,” one observer said. They thought their city was invulnerable to enemy armies. The entire city was surrounded by a wall 30 feet high, and there was a moat in front of that. There were 16 fortresses in the walls that made a 60-mile ring around the city, with 500,000 soldiers guarding it. The Bois de Bologne, the huge “Central Park” of Paris, had 100,000 sheep and 80,000 cattle to feed the people in a siege. They were not worried; they trusted their defenses. Their city would not fall. Victor Hugo, the famous French author of “Les Miserables” said “There has been an Athens, there has been a Rome (but) Paris will conquer.”

But on Monday afternoon, September 19, 1870 the Prussians cut off all roads to Paris, and the city was under siege. It went on for months. The Prussians began shooting artillery into the city, and the food began to run out. Soon they were eating horses and pets. People were dying, and starving — and on January 27, 1871, about four months after the siege began, Paris surrendered. Their trust that Paris could not fall, was misplaced. (David McCullough, The Greater Journey, pp. 268-301)

The people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day found themselves in a similar position. They trusted that because they had “the Temple of the Lord” with them there in Jerusalem, they would be delivered from their enemies — but God told them through Jeremiah this was NOT so, if they didn’t get their lives right with Him.  

Continue reading →
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments