Tag Archives: giving

“A Confident Future” (Philippians 1:3-6 sermon)

Posted on 2020/02/18 by Shawn Thomas

Last week Cheryl & I went with Scott & Tina to get some fruit trees at the Fairgrounds — and we bought two different avocado trees and two satsumas. I LOVE avocados, so if those trees really produce a good … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Philippians sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Aaron Ausmus police chief, Acts 16, anxiety, Apostle Paul prayer, avocado trees Texas, baptism, believe, building fund, Christianity, church, confidence, eternal security, faith, faith in Jesus saves, family prayer, fellowship, future, giving, God's protection, good deeds, good deeds vs. bad, gospel, gospel message, He who began a good work, He Will Hold Me Fast, I will never leave you, Isalm, Jesus prayer, John 17:12, judgment, keep them in prayer, Keith & Krysten Getty, koinonia, Lydia, ministry, missions, missions giving, Nabeel Qureshi, once saved always saved, participation, perseverance of the saints, Philippi, Philippian jailer, Philippians, Philippians 1:3-6, Philippians 2:13, Philippians 4:6, Philippians sermon, prayer, prayer warrior, praying, protection, Psalm 14, Romans 3, Romans 8:28-30, saving faith, scales of judgment, Seeking Allah Finding Jesus, service, share, The Ballpark in Arlington, there is none good, tithe, What must I do to be saved?, worry | Leave a comment

“Becoming An Acts 1:8 Church” (Acts 1:8 sermon)

Posted on 2020/01/20 by Shawn Thomas

(Preached at First Baptist Church, Angleton, TX Missions Conference 1/19/20) In the 1800’s Hudson Taylor was called by God to go to China, where he spent 51 years as a missionary and founded the Inland China Mission, which ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in Ministry, missions, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 1:8, Acts 1:8 Christian, Acts 1:8 church, Acts 1:8 concentric circles, Acts 1:8 Offering, Acts 1:8 sermon, American Dream, Angleton Christian School, applying Acts 1:8, Baptist Association, Brazoria County, Bulgaria, call of God mission, Chuck Beem, church, church programs, Dan Shuman Mazatlan Back-2-Back, ends of the earth, Ephesians 1:13, evangelism, Freeport Port Ministry, gimmicks and church, giving, gospel, grace, Great Commission, Gulf Coast Baptist Association, Holy Spirit, Hudson Taylor China mission, I Corinthians 12:13, I Corinthians 15:1-4, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Judea Samaria, Jesus is our message, John 15:5, Judea, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Luke 24:45-47, message of Acts 1:8, ministry, mission, missions offering, Power for Acts 1:8, Romans 8:9, Samaria, Scope of Acts 1:8, seeking God, Sunday School, witness, Zechariah 4:6 | Leave a comment

“The Biggest Mistakes You Can Make This Christmas” (I Peter 4:12-19 sermon)

Posted on 2019/12/02 by Shawn Thomas

In England in 1938 no one wanted to face the reality that Germany was about to go to war. Many historians criticize British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who tried to “appease” the Germans, and failed to lead England to get … Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Augustine, Blitzkreig, busy, busy-ness, C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters, celebration, Christmas, Christmas giving, Clio Muse of History in U.S. House, difficulty that the righteous is saved, distractions, England 1938, entertainment, escapism, evangelism, Ezekiel 9, give, giving, Gone With the Wind movie, Handel's Messiah, Hitler, humility and salvation, I Peter 4, I Peter 4 sermon, II Corinthians 6:2, Jesus mother Mary, Jesus only way, John 14:6, judgment, judgment begins with the household of God, live in light of eternity, Lottie Moon offering, Malachi 3, Matthew 19:23-24, Neville Chamberlain appeasement, now is the time, reject God as Father find Him as Judge, Roll Out The Barrel song, salvation, salvation cost, stewardship, suffering, tithe, tithing, war, Winston Churchill | 2 Comments

“Great Expectations” (I Peter 1:4-5 sermon)

Posted on 2019/04/29 by Shawn Thomas

One of Charles Dickens’ greatest novels bears the title: Great Expectations. “Great Expectations” didn’t just mean that great things were expected of the young man Pip, whom the story was about. To have “expectations” in old England meant that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 20:32, Ephesians 1:14, eternal reward, eternal security, false teachers, father, FDIC, giving, glory, government debt, Great Expectations Charles Dickens, health and wealth gospel, heaven, Hebrews 9:15, I Peter, I Peter 1:4-5 sermon, II TImothy 1:12, imperishable, inheritance, John 10:28-29, kingdom of God, kingdom work, materialism, once saved always saved, prosperity preachers, reward, rewards, Romans 8:38, salvation, security, service, Social Security crisis, stephanos, theology, time, tithing, U.S. Government, victor's crown, wasting time, Your Best Life Now | Leave a comment

“The Gift That Is An Insult” (I Kings 9:10-14)

Posted on 2018/09/24 by Shawn Thomas

In “Henry V”, one of my very favorite plays or movies, Shakespeare tells of how when King Henry V of England was considering invading France, the French ambassador came to him with a “treasure,” saying that the Dauphin (or Prince … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged alabaster vial, cabul, commitment, corporate worship, dedication, discipleship, Endor, Galilee, Genesis 4, gift, gifts, giving, hard work, Hebrews 11:16, Henry V, I Kings 9:10-14, II Samuel 23, James 1:17, Jerusalem, King Hiram, Magdala, Malachi 1, Mark Twain, marriage, mission trips, missions, palace, personal worship, President John F. Kennedy, sacrifice, Shakespeare, Solomon, Sunday School, Temple, The Innocents Abroad, Tiberias, tithe, we choose to go to the moon, widow's mite, work, worship | 7 Comments

“No Strange Fire: Honoring God in Worship” (Leviticus 10:1-3 sermon)

Posted on 2018/04/09 by Shawn Thomas

When I was pastoring in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal came to our church one Sunday to share his testimony. It was a big day; we had one combined service, and every seat was filled, with standing room only. There were … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, worship | Tagged Abba Father, Acts 5, Ananias & Sapphira, Apostle John, awesome God, balance, Bible, caesar banquet shamed, cat in church, celebrities in the church, clothing, creativity, dress, dress and worship, entertainment, entertainment and worship, familiarity, fear of God, focus in worship, giving, glory of God, God's word, Governor Bobby Jindal, Hebrews 13:28–29, house of prayer, hypocrisy, Leviticus 10:1-3 sermon, Lord's Supper, Malachi 3:10, Nadab & Abihu, obedience, prayer, preaching, regulative principle, relationship with God, respect, Revelation 1:13, Revelation 1:17, reverence, salvation, scripture, singing, songs, strange fire, testimonies, testimony, Unseen presence, worship, worship planning | Leave a comment

It’s Not Too Much

Posted on 2018/02/26 by Shawn Thomas

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.’” (Exodus 13:1-2) It is striking that God has … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged Abraham and Isaac, Exodus 13:1-2, giving, love, obedience, sacrifice, service, tithe, tithing, vocation | Leave a comment

“When The Lord Is Your God” (Genesis 28:10-22 sermon)

Posted on 2018/01/29 by Shawn Thomas

In our daily Bible reading this week we read one of my favorite passages from the Old Testament. I love it because it shows what happens in the life of a person when the Lord really becomes your God. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Abraham, Abraham worship, Bethel, Bible Reading, church, commitment, daily Bible reading, devotions, Eric Metaxass, faith, Franklin Graham, fruit, Genesis 14:20, Genesis 28:10-22, give back, giving, God’s house, grace, I Chronicles 29:14, Jacob, Jacob tithe, Jesus, Job 41:11, Law, Lordship, MasterLife, Melchizedek, OCC shoeboxes, Operation Christmas Child, personal worship, quiet time, Revelation 4:8, Revelation 5:11-12, salvation, Samaritan’s Purse, tithe, tithing, tithing and grace, tithing and Law, worship, Yahweh, YHWH, you shall know them by their fruit | Leave a comment

“The Narrow Way To Heaven” (Matthew 7:13-14 sermon)

Posted on 2017/10/23 by Shawn Thomas

A few years ago Cheryl & I were going to a big public event, and we were looking for the line to get in. We saw this one big crowded line, so we figured: That must be the one we … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermons | Tagged Acts 4:12, Bible, Christology, Cornelius Acts 10, doctrine, Eric Metaxas, eternal life, evangelism, giving, God's word, heaven, hell, Here I stand, hypothetical situations, I John 5:12, Jesus Christ, Jesus deity and humanity, Jesus only way, John 10:9, John 14:6, Martin Luther, Matthew 7:13-14 sermon, missions, missions giving, narrow way, narrow-minded, Noah, objective truth, offerings, one way, Oskar Schindler, Reformation, salvation, scripture, sola scriptura, the cross, truth, truth is narrow | 2 Comments

“Asking & Discerning” (Matthew 7:6-11 sermon)

Posted on 2017/10/02 by Shawn Thomas

I loved our Children’s Ministry Bible presentation last week, and I especially appreciated how Dr. Amanda mentioned that she is teaching our kids the importance of CONTEXT in scripture. It’s hard to overstate the importance of that in Bible interpretation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 13:45, asking, church fundraisers, compromise, discerning, discernment, donations, evangelism, Ezra, fundraising, giving, government, Holy Spirit, III John, Johann Tetzel, Luke 23:8, Mark Twain Innocents Abroad, Martin Luther, Matthew 7:6, Matthew 7:6-11, missions, missions giving, missions support, Pandering, pearls before swine, prayer, Reformation Day, salvation, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, spiritual abuse, wisdom, witnessing | Leave a comment