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
- 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: gospel message
“What Real Faith Looks Like: Trusting A Benevolent God” (James 1:17-18 sermon)
One of my favorite scenes from the movies is from the holiday classic: “A Christmas Story,” when little Ralphie discovers the BB gun his father had bought him for Christmas. The dad watches with delight as Ralphie opens the box, … Continue reading →
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
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Tagged 119:68, A Christmas Story, bb gun, benevolent God, Book of James, born again, Ephesians 1:13, evangelism, faith, giving, God, God change, God good, God is good, God is good all the time, good, goodness of God, gospel, gospel message, I Timothy 2:4, II Peter 3:9, James, James 1:17, James sermons, Jesus, Jimmy Stewart, John 3:3, John 3:7, John MacArthur, Joshua Breland, Makr 10:18, Matthew 7:11, new birth, Nicodemus, Psalm 100:5, radio ministry, Ralphie, salvation, Shenandoah movie, Shenandoah movie prayer, shifting shadow, sun, sunlight, trust, What Real Faith Looks Like, witness
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“Suffering Servant, Glorious King: The Message” (Isaiah 53:1 sermon)
In the mid-1900s, a young English college student by the name of Brown Patterson went to Oxford to study English literature. Before classes began, he went out for a walk. There he saw a middle-aged man, wearing baggy corduroy trousers, … Continue reading →
Posted in Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King, Sermons
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Tagged Acts 10, Acts 16:31, Acts India Missiion, aim, arm of the Lord, Boswell Life of Johnson, C.S. Lewis, conviction, Ethiopian eunuch, evangelism, God, gospel, gospel message, hard heart, heaven, Holy Spirit, I Corinthians 2:14, II Corinthians 6:2, intercessory prayer, invitation, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53 sermon, Isaiah 53:1, John 6:44, Matthew 16, Message, missions, Philippian jailer, power of the gospel, Psalm 16:11, relationship with God, response to gospel, Romans 10:1, Romans 1:16, salvation, salvation by grace, salvation prayer, sermon, Suffering Servant, thief on the cross, who has believed our message, works
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“Saved By The Gospel” (I Corinthians 15:1-5 sermon)
The word “gospel” gets used in a lot of different conversations: — Someone told me this week that one of their family members was in a “gospel music” group. — You could say of a minister: “he’s a gospel preacher.” … Continue reading →
Posted in Sermons
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Tagged baptism, being saved, Bernard Ollivier, Christ died for our sins, conditional promise, evangelism, evangelistic message, fruit, fruit of salvtion, good news, gospel, gospel in a nutshell, gospel meaning, gospel message, gospel test, heaven, how to go to heaven, I Corinthians 15:1-5, I Peter 2:24, if, if saved always saved, J.I. Packer, James 2:19, Jesus, Jesus death, John 1:12, Jonathan Edwards, Louis Zamperini, making a decision for Jesus, Martin Luther personal pronouns, Muslim salvation, once saved always saved, Parable of the Soils, perseverance, perseverance of the saints, personal salvation, profession of faith, receiving Jesus, Romans 1:4, salvation, saved, sinner's prayer, Sinners in the hands of an angry God, skydiver saved, sozo, substitutionary atonement, test of salvation, the cross, Unbroken book, Unbroken movie
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“A Confident Future” (Philippians 1:3-6 sermon)
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
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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
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