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)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- "Blessed Is She Who Believed" (Luke 1:45 sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 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: Christianity
“How God’s People Get Things Done” (James 4:1-5 sermon)
During the first years of Lyndon Johnson, before he became entangled in the Vietnam controversy, he was one of the most powerful presidents in U.S. History. Robert Caro outlines in his masterful 5 volume biography just how LBJ (as he … Continue reading
“The Fruits of Righteousness” (James 3:13-18 sermon)
I am not much of a “tree expert” at all. I know some people can just look at a tree and say, “Oh that’s a such-and-such tree …” but I have never been able to do that. I could probably … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Discipleship
Tagged assurance of salvation, attitudes, bad fruit, Bible, blessed are the peacemakers, Christianity, Eusebius Church History, examine yourself, faith, fruit, God, good fruit, Holy Spirit, hypocrisy, hypocrite, II Corinthians 13:5, Irenaeus, James 3, James 3 sermon, James 3:13-18, jealousy, Jesus, Leo Tolstoy, Matthew 7:16, mercy, natural earthly demonic, peace, peaceable, peacemaker, Philippians 2, salvation, selfishness, test yourself, the world the flesh and the devil, trees, War and Peace, works, you will know them by their fruits
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“For You Are With Me” (Psalm 23:4)
(Testimony shared 10/27/24; the Sunday Cheryl & I first returned to church after her stroke) August 31, 2024 is a day that Cheryl & I will never forget. It’s the day when after a week of Cheryl having unusual physical … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Home & Family Life, Sermons
Tagged Bible, care, Cheryl Thomas, Christianity, church, circumstances, dysautonomia, Encompass Pearland, faith, First Baptist Church Angleton, forgiveness, God, God's purpose, God's will, God's word, James 4, Jesus, life, ministry, pastor, prayer, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:29, salvation, scripture memory, Servando Gonzales, servant of God, Shawn Thomas, sin, stress, stroke
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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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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson of Acts 17:22-34, “Believe” for Sunday Oct. 13, 2024
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 17:22-34, with the title of “Believe,” for Sunday, October 13, 2024. A video version of this lesson is available on YouTube at … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Acts 17, Acts 17:22-34, Apostle Paul, application, Areopagus, believe, Bible, Bible study, Bulgaria, C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christianity, creation, culture, discussion questions, evangelism, Explore the Bible, faith, Gary Habermas, Genesis 1, God, God sovereignty, gospel, I Corinthians 15, idols, J.D. Vance, Jesus, Jesus only way, Jesus resurrection, John F Kennedy, John Quincy Adams creation, Kamala Harria, Lifeway, literature, Mars Hill, Matthew 13, ministry, missionary, missions, Nabeel Qureshi, Parable of the Sower, Paul and Silas, Psalm 50, repent, repentance, repentance and faith, response to the gospel, resurrection, Romans 1:4, salvation, SBC Disaster Relief, second missionary journey, seek God, Seeking Allah Finding Jesus, sermon, Silas, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, Tim Walz, Westminster Catechism
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: The King’s Laws” (James 2:5-13)
In Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace, he writes about how during Napoleon’s War with Russia he commanded a group of his soldiers to go downstream and find a good place to ford the river, and go to the other side. … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged all sin is sin, Andrew Jackson, Bible, Book of James, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, comparing, discipleship, ethics, failure, faith, God, gospel, how would you like it, in the course of justice, James, James 2, James 2:5-13, Jesus, John Adams, Jon Meacham American Lion, judgment, King Jesus, Law, law of liberty, Law of mercy, Leo Tolstoy, Love God Love Others, love your neighbor, mercy, Napoleon, obedience, render the deeds of mercy, Romans 13:8-10, salvation, Shakespeare, Sheldon Vanauken, sin, slavery, Tao, The Golden Rule, The Great Commandment, The Hermitag, the Law, The Merchant of Venice, the quality of mercy, the standard, transgression, War & Peace, we do pray for mercy, Yours Jack, zeal
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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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“No Spirit of Fear” (II Timothy 1:7 sermon/Hurricane Beryl, July 7, 2024)
In March 2020 about a dozen or so of our church members went on a mission trip to Mazatlan, Mexico, to minister with what is now James Trail ministry, with Dan & Meredith Shuman. It was a good trip, but … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged A Leopard Tamed, assurance, be not afraid, Bible, Christianity, confidence, COVID, COVID sermon, Death, discipline, Eleanor Vandevort, faith, fear, fear not, fruit of the Spirit, God, how to be saved, hurricane, hurricane Beryl, hurricane prep, II Timothy 1:7, In Christ Alone, Jesus, Kim Eaves, London Plague, love, Martin Luther plague, ministry, missionary, no fear, no fear in death, no guilt in life no fear in death, panic, power, Puritans, salvation, sermon, sound mind, Sudan, testimony, The Black Death
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