shawnethomas

“Defective Discipleship” (Matthew 26:58 sermon)

Posted on 2020/01/26 by Shawn Thomas

Several times in recent weeks I have mentioned Martin Luther, the German Reformer of the 1500’s. After he brought the authority of the Bible, and salvation by grace through faith, back to the forefront of Christianity, he was not satisfied with the discipleship he saw going on among his people. In fact in 1529 (12 years after his Reformation began) he wrote:
“‘Dear God help us … The common man, especially in the villages, knows absolutely nothing about Christian doctrine; and indeed many pastors are in effect unfit and incompetent to teach. Yet they are all called Christians, are baptized, and enjoy the holy sacraments — even though they cannot recite either the Lord’s Prayer, the (Apostles) Creed or the (Ten) Commandments. They live just like animals.”

Somehow I get the sense that Luther was not satisfied with the discipleship he saw among the German people! But most of us would admit that Christians in America today are not the disciples that we should be, either. I finished reading the Book of Matthew the other day, and near the end of the book is a verse that really stuck out to me. It comes after the Jews had arrested Jesus, and they took Him to the high priest to be examined, and Matthew 26:58 says:

“But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.”

In this verse we see several ways that Peter fell short as a disciple, that should challenge us too, not to be “defective disciples”: Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Archie Leach, baptism, baptism and discipleship, Cary Grant military, Christian finances, commitment, discipleship, distant discipleship, evangelism, following at a distance, forgiveness, grace, limited discipleship, Lordship, Luke 6:46, Luke 9:23, Martin Luther, Martin Luther discipleship, Matthew 10:37, Matthew 26:58, Matthew 26:58 sermon, Matthew 27:48-49, ministry, real discipleship, spectator discipleship, witnessing, worship, worship participation, worship service criticism | 1 Comment

“Becoming An Acts 1:8 Church” (Acts 1:8 sermon)

Posted on 2020/01/20 by Shawn Thomas

(Preached at First Baptist Church, Angleton, TX Missions Conference 1/19/20)

In the 1800’s Hudson Taylor was called by God to go to China, where he spent 51 years as a missionary and founded the Inland China Mission, which ended up sending 800 missionaries to China, and the fruit of their ministry is still spreading today, even under Communism, as millions of Chinese have come to Christ. One December Taylor wrote home about what life was like for him in China. He said that it was very cold, that there were no ceilings in their house, and his “bedroom wall” was a sheet they hung up! But he said “We did not come to China because missionary work here was either safe or easy, but because He had called us.”

That call of Jesus to go on mission is our theme today as we kick off our first Church Missions Conference: “Becoming an Acts 1:8 Church.” Acts 1:8 is that “call” of Jesus that Hudson Taylor talked about, to go on mission. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says:

“… but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Continue reading →

Posted in Ministry, missions, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 1:8, Acts 1:8 Christian, Acts 1:8 church, Acts 1:8 concentric circles, Acts 1:8 Offering, Acts 1:8 sermon, American Dream, Angleton Christian School, applying Acts 1:8, Baptist Association, Brazoria County, Bulgaria, call of God mission, Chuck Beem, church, church programs, Dan Shuman Mazatlan Back-2-Back, ends of the earth, Ephesians 1:13, evangelism, Freeport Port Ministry, gimmicks and church, giving, gospel, grace, Great Commission, Gulf Coast Baptist Association, Holy Spirit, Hudson Taylor China mission, I Corinthians 12:13, I Corinthians 15:1-4, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Judea Samaria, Jesus is our message, John 15:5, Judea, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Luke 24:45-47, message of Acts 1:8, ministry, mission, missions offering, Power for Acts 1:8, Romans 8:9, Samaria, Scope of Acts 1:8, seeking God, Sunday School, witness, Zechariah 4:6 | 3 Comments

“On The Alert” (I Peter 5:8-11 sermon)

Posted on 2020/01/13 by Shawn Thomas

Following the death of General Qasem Soleimani last week in Iraq, U.S. citizens and military in the Middle East were put on the alert: Iran had promised to avenge Soleimani’s death; everyone needed to beware of revenge attacks that could happen at any time.

Those kinds of warnings need to be heeded. It’s foolish to have your “guard down” when you know have an enemy who is actively seeking to destroy you. But that is exactly the position that many of us as God’s people find ourselves in, virtually every day, when we go walking right out into the world from our homes, unprepared, when we need to be“on the alert,” because we have an enemy who is seeking to destroy us!

If we are going to succeed in the Christian life, we’ve got to realize that we are in a battle, every day. We aren’t here on earth just to “coast along” and “have fun” or “live our best life now.” Life is a spiritual battle. You may not want to hear that, but I’m not here to tell you what you want to hear; I’m here to tell you the truth. And the truth is, we have a real enemy who is out to do everything he can to harm us and hinder God’s kingdom work. So Peter gives us this warning here as he brings this book to a close in :8-14, that we need to be on the alert every day:

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged accuser, adversary, battle, Christian warfare, demons, devil, doubt, enemy, Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 6, Ephesians 6:17, faith, false prophets, false teachers, Genesis 3, God, God good, He who is not for me is against me, I John 4:1, I Peter 5, I Peter 5:8-11 sermon, II Corinthians 10:3-5, II Corinthians 2:11, Job 1, knowledge, lie, life is a battle, Martin Luther, Martin Luther Anfechtungen, Martin Luther devil, Matthew 4 Jesus temptation, on the alert, prince of the power of the air, Psalm 119:68, Psalm 91:11-12, Qasem Soleimani death, resist devil, Revelation 12:12, Romans 10:17, Satan, Satan accuser, speculations, spiritual armor, spiritual battle, spiritual umbrella, spiritual warfare, spiritual weapons, stand firm, sword of the Spirit, taking every thought captive, temptation, testimony, thoughts, truth, word of God, You are good and do good, Zechariah 3 | 1 Comment

“Humility In The Church” (I Peter 5:1-7 sermon)

Posted on 2020/01/06 by Shawn Thomas

On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theological statements to the door of the Wittenburg church, and kicked off the Protestant Reformation. He called the church of God back to the authority of the word of God, and salvation by grace through faith. A few years later, his followers began to be called “Lutherans.” Luther’s response should be very instructive to us. He said, “What is Luther? After all, the teaching is not mine. Neither was I crucified for you … How then should I — poor stinking maggot fodder that I am — come to have men call the children of Christ by my wretched name?”
Luther is a great example to us of one of the most important qualities of the Christian life: the quality of humility. We see the importance of humility in the church taught here in the first part of I Peter 5:

“Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 20:17, Acts 20:28, bishop, C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters, Church ministry, elders, episkopos, forgiveness, George Friderick Handel, grace, humble, humble salvation, humble yourself, humble yourselves, humility, humility in the church, humility not thinking less of yourself, humility salvation, humility thinking of yourself less, I Peter 5:1-7 sermon, Lutheran name, Martin Luther, ministry, opinion, overseer, pastor, pastor example, pastor not lording, pastor pedestal, pastor pride, pastors, preference, pride, salvation, Shepherd, shepherds, Sunday School, Sunday School ministry, Sunday School teacher | 2 Comments

Family Gingerbread House Contest 2019

Posted on 2019/12/31 by Shawn Thomas

It’s time for the 2019 version of our annual Thomas Family Gingerbread House contest. As usual, we will post pictures and let you vote on your favorite — voting will close at midnight Jan. 1 and the winner will be announced the morning of Jan. 2! Thank you for sharing in our family holiday tradition!

EDIT: 1/02/20:

The winner is: Candyland Christmas, by Libby Breland

The identify of the creators is now listed by each of the entries:

Continue reading →

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“The Christ of Christmas: His Humanity” (John 1:14 sermon)

Posted on 2019/12/23 by Shawn Thomas

Several years ago, the President of Ursuline College made headlines when she decided to move into the women’s dorm at the college. So many college professors and administrators are accused of living in their academic “ivory towers,” far removed from what goes on in the lives of their students. So the president decided to do something about it – and moved right in with the students! She said at the time that it would either be the best thing she ever did, or the most foolish, but at least it would help her to understand her students better.

That college president couldn’t be accused of “staying in an ivory tower” and not connecting with her people – and neither can our God. He did not stay in His “ivory tower” in heaven; but God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to live with us as a man. That is what Christmas is really all about: Jesus is “Emmanuel”: “God with us” as Matthew 1 says. God became a man, and came to save us. Let’s at the Humanity of “The Christ of Christmas.” Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Docetism, Docetists, doctrine, doctrine of the Incarnation, Doctrine of the Trinity, Emmanuel God with us, empathy, flesh, flesh and blood, follow in His steps, Hebrews 10:4, Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 4:15, I John 4:2-3, Imitating the Incarnation, Incarnation, incarnational ministry, incarnational missions, Isaiah 59:16, ivory tower, Jesus 100% man 100% God, Jesus Christ, Jesus death, Jesus humanity, Jesus man, Jesus manhood, Jesus poverty, Jesus propitiation, Jesus real man, John 19:28, John 19:34-35, John 1:14, John 4:6, Luke 24:39, Luke 2:21, Luke 2:24, Luke 2:52, Luke 2:7, Matthew 27:28-30, missionaries, missions, Missions Conference, Paul Harvey The Man and the Birds, prison ministry, salvation, sufferings of Christ, sympathy, Ursuline college president dorm, woman drowning Boston Harbor | Leave a comment

“The Christ of Christmas: His Deity” (John 1:1-3 sermon)

Posted on 2019/12/16 by Shawn Thomas

A couple of years ago the Nativity Scene in St. Albans, West Virginia got national attention. The scene was notable, because it included a stable, some sheep, camels & a donkey, and even some “visitors” – wise men – and that was it! There was nothing IN the stable – no Mary, no Joseph — and no baby Jesus! Interestingly, the two town officials that were contacted had differing stories about why there was no one in the stable. The parks superintendent said that the Holy Family was left out because of “separation of church & state” concerns. Interestingly, the mayor (the politician!) said it was just a “technical difficulty” – you know, too hard to get all those characters to fit inside the stable! Either way, it was definitely ironic that the One the nativity scene is supposed to celebrate was left out!

Unfortunately, that is how it often is – people celebrate everything at Christmas except Jesus. They celebrate “family” – and it is great to get together with family at Christmas; we exchange gifts, and that is wonderful. We celebrate our blessings. There is even this “mystical” thing we call “the spirit of the season” that is celebrated. But oftentimes, Jesus Christ Himself is left out. So for the next couple weeks, I want us to focus on the One the season really celebrates: Jesus Christ, “The Christ of Christmas.” These messages will based in the book of John, chapter 1, and we will look at what that chapter teaches us about Who He is, and what He came to do for us. We begin this morning by looking at John 1:1-3 with its famous words:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Among other things, these verses tell us that “The Christ of Christmas” was and is God! Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 14:13-15, Bishop Dmitri Royster, change your life, Christ, Christ Christmas, Christmas, Colossians 2:9, Diety of Christ, forgiveness, fullness of God, God with us, Gospels, Hebrews 1, Herschel Hobbs, I AM, Immanuel, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ God, Jesus claim to be God, Jesus Creator, John 10:30, John 1:1, John 1:1-3, John 20:28, John 8:56-59, keep Christ in Christmas, Matthew 1:23 God with us, Mormons, Philippians 2:9, pleroma, resurrection of Jesus, Revelation 19:10, salvation, St. Albans West Virginia nativity scene, The Christ of Christmas, the name which is above every name, virgin birth | Leave a comment

“The Call of Christmas” (Luke 2:8-11 devotion)

Posted on 2019/12/09 by Shawn Thomas

“Now there were in that same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

Angels came to shepherds — that’s how our last song started, and that is just what the Bible tells us in Luke 2, verses 8-10 tell us that after Jesus was born. So it was to these shepherds that the message of Christ’s birth, first came, showing us:

I. The Call of Christmas is a call to the lowly. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, Christmas devotion, Christmas sermon, evangelism, faith, for You!, humility, Isaiah 53, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Luke 2:8-11, Messiah, Personal, put your name in a verse, repentance, Ruth Bell Graham, sacrifice, salvation, Savior, shepherds, Talmud | Leave a comment

“The Biggest Mistakes You Can Make This Christmas” (I Peter 4:12-19 sermon)

Posted on 2019/12/02 by Shawn Thomas

In England in 1938 no one wanted to face the reality that Germany was about to go to war. Many historians criticize British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who tried to “appease” the Germans, and failed to lead England to get re-armed to fight — but the truth is, the British people themselves were in no mood to fight. They had lost almost a million young men only 20 years before, in the first World War, and they did not want to think about another war. They just wanted to get away from it. They wanted to be entertained. So they flocked to the movies. And there were some great movies to see: the Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, and Walt Disney’s Snow White all came out that year. They lost themselves in those movies, and in the new songs like “Roll Out The Barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun,” that were all the rage in the late 1930’s. (Manchester, p. 308)

But their escapism into entertainment didn’t save them. If they didn’t want to think about war, Hitler did. Judgment Day was coming, in the form of Panzer tanks and Stuka dive bombers and Blitzkreig, Hitler’s “lightning war.” England had made a huge mistake. They were caught unprepared, and only survived World War II with the help of the United States. It ended up costing them their Kingdom – Britain was never again the same world power they once were. Their negligence came within a hair’s breadth of costing them their country, and it cost many of them their lives.

Why do I tell this story? Because many of us today are on the verge of a very similar thing. The Bible tells us that God’s judgment is coming — it’s time to be serious about living for Him. But all that many of us want to focus on is Thanksgiving Break, or Christmas, or the next vacation, or the next big game. Our country as a whole, and many of us personally, are doing just what England did in that fateful 1938: trying to “escape” into parties and games and entertainment, while God’s judgment is waiting right at the door.

That’s why I’ve entitled this message: “The Biggest Mistakes You Can Make This Christmas.” Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Augustine, Blitzkreig, busy, busy-ness, C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters, celebration, Christmas, Christmas giving, Clio Muse of History in U.S. House, difficulty that the righteous is saved, distractions, England 1938, entertainment, escapism, evangelism, Ezekiel 9, give, giving, Gone With the Wind movie, Handel's Messiah, Hitler, humility and salvation, I Peter 4, I Peter 4 sermon, II Corinthians 6:2, Jesus mother Mary, Jesus only way, John 14:6, judgment, judgment begins with the household of God, live in light of eternity, Lottie Moon offering, Malachi 3, Matthew 19:23-24, Neville Chamberlain appeasement, now is the time, reject God as Father find Him as Judge, Roll Out The Barrel song, salvation, salvation cost, stewardship, suffering, tithe, tithing, war, Winston Churchill | 2 Comments

“What To Do If The End Is Near” (I Peter 4:7-11 sermon)

Posted on 2019/11/25 by Shawn Thomas

Last Sunday morning I mentioned that there had been a survey in which the American people were asked what they would do if they knew the world would end in a week. Two of the top responses, sadly, were that they would either get drunk, or go to Las Vegas if they knew the world was going to end. We all know that’s NOT what our response as God’s people should be. But what SHOULD we do, if the earth – or just the days of our life – is near an end? Peter tells us in this passage what we should do. He says:

“The end of all things is near; therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”