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
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- 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
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- Philippians sermons
- POTS (dysautonomia) articles
- Psalms studies and messages
- Revelation sermon series
- Reviews
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- Sermons
- The Model Prayer Series
- The Model Prayer series (FBCA 2020)
- This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog)
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- worship
Tag Archives: church buildings
“When Yahweh Is Your God” (Genesis 28:10-22 sermon)
A few years ago a pastor I know from Oklahoma was in New York City riding in a cab. He saw a little statue on the driver’s dashboard, and he asked the man, who was from India, about it. The … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged Anthony Flew atheist, Anthony Flew testimony, Christian commitment, church buildings, commitment, commitment to Christ, commitment to worship, corporate worship, daily Bible reading, discipleship, E.W. Starling Woodrow Wilson, Genesis 28 sermon, giving, Hebrews 10:25, I AM, idolatry, idols, John Dean Warren G. Harding, LORD is Yahweh, personal worship, Prince Charles II of England, salvation, tithe, tithe and the Law, tithe as a mark of Lordship, tithe Genesis 28, tithing, worship, Yahweh
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“What Do These Stones Mean?” (Joshua 4:19-24 sermon) First Baptist Church Angleton Grand Opening, May 16, 2021
I can still remember walking through downtown San Antonio on my way to my first Southern Baptist Convention there, when all of the sudden, on my left, I saw this building, made of big, blondish white stones — and suddenly … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged church building dedication, church building program, church buildings, church grand opening, church mission, courage, First Baptist Church Angleton Texas, God purpose, God's will, Joshua 4:19-24 sermon, Judges 5:2, leader, leadership, mission, Pastor Rodney Bowman, pastor Shawn Thomas, people followed, people volunteer, perseverance, privilege and responsibility, Psalm 67:1-2, Remember The Alamo, Santa Fe Chop rock, The Alamo, Thomas Edison lightbulb, vision, We Will Remember, what do these stones mean?
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“The Household of God” (I Timothy sermon)
In our “Discovering The Ridge” class for those who are joining our church, I often tell the story of the group in our home town which was starting a new church, and for some time they met in the home … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Acts 2, Acts 20:28, Acts 6, Apostle Paul testimony, C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis Athanasius quote, Christian bookstores, Christian music, church, church buildings, church handbook, church leadership, deacon, deacon qualifications, deacon servants, deacons, doctrine, doctrines of demons, ecclesiology, elder, evangelism, false teachers, gospel, grace, he did not move with the times, heaven, I Timothy, I Timothy 4, leadership, mercy, morning prayer, offices of the church, overseer, overseer pastor elder, pastor, pastor qualifications, salvation, test the spirits, the church, the gospel, witness
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It’s Not The Place, But The Heart
God opens the majestic concluding chapter of the Book of Isaiah by proclaiming: “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?” In other words, we human beings cannot … Continue reading
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