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.
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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)
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 sermon)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 4:12-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson "Invitation," for 12/14/25
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 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: Christian life
Teacher’s Overview of I Peter 1:13-25, “Our Mandate,” Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson for 3/09/25
An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of I Peter 1:13-25, for Sunday, March 9, 2025, with the title, “Our Mandate.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged "Our Mandate", "therefore living", accountability to God, agape love, agape vs philadelphia love, Andrew Jackson judgment, Bible, Bible application, blood of Jesus, brotherly love, Christian life, church, Explore the Bible, Francis Schaeffer, George Muller prayer, gird up your loins, gird your minds for action, gospel, grow in love, holy, How Should We Then Live?, I Corinthians 6:19-20, I Peter, I Peter 1, I Peter 1:13-25, II Corinthians 5:10, Jesus blood, Jon Meacham Andrew Jackson, judgment, judgment seat of Christ, Leviticus holy, Lifeway, love, love based living, love in church, Romans 12:1, salvation, sanctification, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, teacher help, therefore, Tim Keller prayer, word of God, word-based living, you shall be holy
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“When Tragedy Strikes”
About five weeks ago, tragedy struck in our home. My wife of 42 years, Cheryl, suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. Leaving the ER in Angleton, she was sent to Jenny Sealy Hospital in … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Home & Family Life
Tagged Baptist, Bible, Cheryl Thomas, Christian life, Christianity, church, church membership, discipleship, First Baptist Church Angleton, First Baptist Church Harrah, God, God's word lamp, gospel, hope, Isaiah 58:11, Jesus, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 118, Psalm 23, Psalms, salvation, scripture memory, Shawn Thomas, stroke, stroke victim, tragedy, trials
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: Real Faith Affects the Way You Talk” (James 3:1-12 message)
James 3:1-12 “What Real Faith Looks Like: Real Faith Affects the Way You Talk” Francis Carpenter was an eminent American portrait painter back in the 1800s. Among the people he painted was President Abraham Lincoln. For six months he would … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Admiral Dewey, Book of James, C.J. Stroud, careless words, children, Christian life, convicted for being a Christian, cursing, Dwight Eisenhower, faith, forest fire, forgiveness, Francis Carpenter, fruit, George Patton, gospel, holiness, horse bit, Jacqueline Winspear, James, James 2, James 3, Jesus, John Wooden, language, Maisy Dobbs, mine ponies, parents, rudder, salvation, ship, sin, speech, swear words, talk, Theodore Roosevelt, tongue, Welch revival, What Real Faith Looks Like, words, works
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: No Partiality” (James 2:1-4 sermon)
At one point during the U.S. Civil War, Northern General Ulysses S.Grant gave President Abraham Lincoln and the Secretary of War a list of 8 major generals and 33 brigadier generals whose service he said “the Government ‘could dispense with … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged Are you somebody?, beauty, Bible, Billy Graham, black, Book of James, business, business ethics, Christian life, Christianity, church, faith, favoritism, God, gospel, Hadrians Wall, In Christ Alone, James, James 2, James 2:1-4, Jesus, judgment, Katharine Graham's Washington, Lindy Boggs, money, partial, partiality, poor, prejudice, Proverbs 20:10, race, racial prejudice, reverse discrimination, rich, rich young ruler, Robert Caro, Robert E. Lee, Roman society, Rome, salvation, salvation by faith, sermon, sin, sin of partiality, Steve Jobs, The Country Church, the ground is level at the foot of the cross, The Power Broker, Ulysses S. Grant, Walter Isaacson, Washington Irving, white, worship
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: Total Commitment” (James 1:6-8 sermon)
One time Cheryl, our son Michael & I were waiting to place an order in the drive through line at a fast-food restaurant, and it looked like the people in front of us were having a difficult time making up … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged answered prayer, Book of James, choices, choose, Christian life, commitment, cool vs. Christ, dipsuchos, discipleship, double-minded, doubt, faith, genuine salvation, Hipster Faith, I Kings 18:21, James, John Bunyan, Joshua 24:15, Landry Jones, Matthew 6:24, Mr. Facing Both Ways, no man can serve two masters, one master, Pilgrim's Progress, prayer, salvatiion, seeking God, tossed by the wind, total commitment, two-headed snake, unanswered prayer, Whitney Hand, whom will you serve
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“How To Run The Christian Race” (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
For most of my adult like I ran for exercise, although I was never very fast. When we lived in Tulsa back in the 1990’s (when I was in my 30’s) I was probably in the best shape of my … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged Amy Grant Faith Walking People, Bible Reading, bitterness, Box Hill, Cherry Street Mile Tulsa, Christian life, Christian life not a sprint, Christian race, daily devotions, discipleship, endurance, England trip, entanglements, faith, feelings, fix your eyes on Jesus, forgiveness, friends, George Washington Delaware, Hebrews 12:1-2, holiness, ministry, not a sprint a marathon, one foot in front of the other, PE run, Peter what about this man, running, salvation, sanctification, say goodbye to the feelings, sin, two masters, your race
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible” Sunday School lesson: Jonah 4
(A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of a potential lesson plan for teaching Jonah Chapter 4:1-11 from the Lifeway “Explore the Bible” material for Sunday October 9, 2022. A video version of this overview is … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Book of Jonah, Carroll Keach LBJ chauffeur, Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, Christian life, comfort, criticism church, evangelism, gospel, Jonah 4, Jonah 4 Sunday School lesson help, Jonah 4 Sunday School lesson overview, Jonah 4 Sunday School teacher help, Lyndon Johnson Robert Caro, misplaced passion, spectator Christianity
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