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.
-
Top Posts & Pages
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 15:1-11+, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson for March 8, 2026, "Real Devotion"
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Man Born Blind" (John 9 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 sermon)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Church With An Open Door" (Revelation 3:7-13 sermon)
- "The Greatest Verse in the Bible?" (John 3:16 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: grace
“The Christ of Christmas: His Gifts” (John 1:1-14)
Whenever we think of Jesus, and gifts, and Christmas time, most of us probably think of the gifts that the Magi brought Jesus in Matthew 2: “gold, frankincense and myrrh.” In imitation of that, as many of you know, we … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Christ, eternal family, eternal life, family, family of God, gifts, grace, John 1:1-14 sermon, Law, salvation, truth
1 Comment
The Immeasurable Goodness of our God
Psalm 36:5-6 describes four qualities of God in the following manner: — :5a “Your lovingkindness, O Lord, reaches to the heavens” — :5b “Your faithfulness to the skies” — :6a “Your righteousness is like the mountains of God” — :6b “Your … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged chesed, faithfulness, God, grace, judgment, lovingkindness, Martin Luther, Psalm 36:5-6, righteousness, theology
Leave a comment
He Longs To Be Gracious!
Isaiah 30:18 must be one of the most encouraging verses in all of the word of God: “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.” God had spent … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged compassion, God, grace, Isaiah 30:18, Prodigal Son, theology
3 Comments
“This Is My Story: The Woman At The Well” (John 4:1-42 sermon)
Several summers ago, a father and his son were out for a walk in a farmer’s field in northern England. The son had brought a metal detector with him, and all of the sudden, it started to squeal. They decided … Continue reading
Posted in "This Is My Story" sermon series, Sermons
Tagged chair illustration, eternal life, evangelism, faith, forgiveness, grace, Isaiah 59:2, Jesus Christ, John 4 sermon, John 4:1-42, John Bunyan, love, love of God, Peter Ackroyd Shakespeare biography, salvation, sin, The Woman at the Well
5 Comments
The Motivation For Holiness
Why should we attempt to be holy? Many people do not realize that genuine Christians have a different motivation for holiness than most other religious groups. Romans 12:1 admonishes us: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged grace, mercy, Romans 12:1, salvation, works
Leave a comment
No Room For Boasting
“Where then is boasting? It is excluded.” (Romans 3:27) A better word could not be said regarding true religion. There is NO room for personal boasting in genuine Christianity.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged boasting, Galatians 6:14, grace, holier than thou, Romans 3:27, salvation, self-righteousness, works
Leave a comment
God’s Providential Hand
Why did that person help me? Why did I find favor before their eyes? Nehemiah 2:8 gives us the answer to that. Nehemiah had been asked by the king what he would request, in regard to the problem of Jerusalem … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged blessing, favor, God's hand, grace, Nehemiah 2:8, providence
Leave a comment
“Until Now”!
II Kings 13:23 describes God’s treatment of the people of Israel who had rebelled against Him for years. It says that “YHWH was gracious to them … and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence until now.” … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged forbearance, grace, II Corinthians 6:2, II Kings 13:23, judgment, patience, Psalm 103:10, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 103:9, sin
Leave a comment
All You Have To Do To Get To Heaven
Psalm 15 opens by asking the question everybody wants answered: “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent; who may dwell on Your holy hill?” In other words, how can we get to heaven, to be where God is — … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged grace, heaven, II Corinthians 5:21, Jesus, Matthew 5:48, Psalm 15:1-2, righteousness, salvation, works
1 Comment
shawnethomas 