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 Joshua 1:1-11, 16-18, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson: "Strong & Courageous" for 6/07/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Numbers 14:11-24, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Rebellion & Judgment" for 9/28/25
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 27:27-31, 45-54, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Our Savior," for 5/31/26
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "True Religion" (Philippians 3:2-3)
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- Thyatira: "The Church That Tolerated The Intolerable" (Revelation 2:18-29 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: church
Giftedness & Humility
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged church, faith, humility, pastor, pride, Romans 12:3, spiritual gifts
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“The Message of the Cross” (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
A few weeks ago we installed a new wooden cross over our baptistry. Many people have commented that they like it — but some might ask: why would we put a cross here in our worship center? The answer is … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged church, cross, evangelism, faith, I Corinthians 1:18-24 sermon, ministry, salvation
22 Comments
“The Discipline of Discipling” (II Timothy 2:2 sermon)
Coach Hayden Fry’s 1983 University of Iowa football team picture has become famous, not necessarily because of the games it won, but because of what became of its coaching staff. The assistants on Fry’s staff that year would go on … Continue reading
Divided Kingdoms Can’t Stand
In Mark 3:24 Jesus responded to the Jewish leaders who accused Him of casting out demons through Satan’s power by saying “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to stand.” His word made sense in … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged church, divided kingdom, divisions, factions, kingdom, Mark 3:24, unity
4 Comments
The Discipline of Fellowship (Hebrews 10:23-25 sermon)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, 6-07-15) Cheryl & I are fond of assigning “chapter titles” to different episodes of our life together, like “The Dark Year”, “Just Then It Began to Snow” or “The Girl in the Purple Bikini” … Continue reading
A Prayer for God’s People
Another good scriptural intercessory prayer is found in Psalm 28:9, where David concludes the Psalm with these words: “Oh save Your people and bless Your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” It is a prayer which specifically targets … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged church, God's people, individuals, intercession, prayer, Psalm 23:1, Psalm 28:9, Shepherd
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“Prayer & The Church We Want To Be” (Acts 1 & 2 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK 2-01-15 a.m.) The pastor at our home church, Trinity Baptist in Norman, Bro. Ronnie Rogers, has just published a new book; one which I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 10 Questions For Leaders To Ask Each Week, Acts 1 sermon, Acts 2 sermon, Bible, Chuck Lawless, church, contemporary, devoted, ecclesiology, fellowship, one mind, prayer, proskarterountes, Ronnie Rogers, scripture, The Equipping Church, The Equipping Church by Ronnie Rogers, traditional, unity, word of God
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A “Sure-Fire Church Growth Method”
For the last generation, “church growth” has been a primary emphasis in American religion. Methods and process which appeal to the population at large have been employed by many religious practitioners in the hopes of reaching the unreached in our … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Ministry
Tagged church, church growth, compromise, ecclesiology, entertainment, I John 4:5, worldliness
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Lay Down Our Lives?
I John 3:16 says: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren.” This verse should challenge those of us who claim to be Christian … Continue reading
Outlasting Old Habits
Nehemiah learned that if you want to bring about change, you have to stay on top of it. Having led the people of Israel to re-establish many of the practices of the Law, including supporting the Levites with their tithes, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged change, church, eccelesiology, habits, Nehemiah, Nehemiah 13:10-11, perseverance, persistence, polity, reform
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