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 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)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 sermon)
- "Blessed Is She Who Believed" (Luke 1:45 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 4:12-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson "Invitation," for 12/14/25
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 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
Tag Archives: character
“The Disciple’s Character: Spiritual Dependence” (Matthew 5:3 sermon)
Several years ago I read the testimony of a Hollywood celebrity who had struggled for years with drinking. But they kept denying that they really had a problem. They said the breakthrough came when they got to their lowest point, … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciple's Character" series (Beatitudes Mt. 5:3-12), Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Beatitudes, character, character of Christ, humility, I need help, Matthew 5:3, Matthew 5:3 sermon, Pharisee and publican, poor in spirit, prayer, purpose for trials, Romans 8:28-29, salvation, self-righteousness, sin, spiritual dependence, spiritual poverty, three most important words, trials
1 Comment
“The Disciple’s Character: God’s Goal For Your Life in 2016” (Matthew 5:3-12 sermon)
Francis Chan wrote in his book, Crazy Love: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” That quote is worth pondering as we begin this new year. Many of … Continue reading
Character Leads To Conduct
Psalm 14:1 opens with its well-known words: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds.” This verse is revealing on several accounts:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Abigail, character, conduct, depravity, fool, fruit, I Samuel 25:25, Matthew 7:20, Nabal, Psalm 14:1, Romans 3:12, sin
Leave a comment
shawnethomas 