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 25:31-46, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson "Active Faith" for May 17, 2026
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 24:36-51, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Alert" for May 10, 2026
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "Ambassadors For Christ" (II Corinthians 5:20 sermon)
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- Joshua 3:5 Sermon: "Preparing For God To Work"
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 22:15-22, 34-40, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "Honor" for 5/03/26
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
“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: 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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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 6:1-15, “Serving” for July 21, 2024.
An overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” Sunday School lesson, for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders. Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text overview and highlights, illustrations, discussion questions for your class, and spiritual life applications. A … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Acts 6:1-15, church, church growth, complaint, deacon, deacon ministry, deacon qualificatioins, deacons, diakoneo, diakonos, evangelism, Explore the Bible, Greek, grumbling, Hebrews, Hellenistic, hurricane Beryl, Jews, Lifeway, ministry, ministry to widows, Sanhedrin, service, serving, serving food, Stephen, Sunday School, the twelve, widows, wisdom, witness
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: Doers of the Word” (James 1:22-25 sermon)
In late 1942, the United States landed troops in North Africa to begin the liberation of Europe from Hitler’s Nazi Germany. In the early days after the invasion, the U.S. Army initially was not making much progress in their march … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged An Army At Dawn, application, better cheese, Bible, big talk, Book of James, change, change your life, Christianity, church, doers of the word, Dwight Eisenhower, Edward Dolnich, faith, few doers, God, hearer or doer, hearers only, hearing the word, Isaac Newton, James, James 1, James 1:22-25, Jesus, life change, Luke 3, Mark 6:20, Matthew 7:24-27, mirror, mirror of the word, New Testament, perfect attendance church, practical application, Psalm 119:11, repentance, Rick Atkinson, Robert Boyle, sanctification, scripture, The Clockwork Universe, what shall we do, word of God
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Genesis 37, “Dreamer” for April 28, 2024.
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Genesis 37:5-8, 18-28, for Sunday, April. 28, 2024 with the title, “Dreamer.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged 10 Commandments, 5 Love Languages, church, church conflict, Dreamer, Explore the Bible, family, family conflict, Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman, Genesis 37, God's providence, God's sovereignty, gospel, grace, hagiography, His Very Best, I John 1:8, Israel, Jacob, jealousy, Jimmy Carter, Job, Jonathan Alter, Joseph, Joseph's brothers, lesson overview, Lifeway, marriage, Messiah, problem, providence, responsibility of man, salvation, sin, sovereignty, Sunday School teacher, workplace confict
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