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 Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Man Born Blind" (John 9 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 15:1-11+, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson for March 8, 2026, "Real Devotion"
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Greatest Verse in the Bible?" (John 3:16 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "Suffering Servant/Glorious King: The Cost and Benefits of His Atonement" (Isaiah 53:5 sermon)
- "The Disciplines of Disciples" (I Timothy 4:7-10 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: holiness
Learning to Hate Evil
Psalm 119:104 says: “From Your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every evil way.” Psalm 97:10 admonishes us: “Hate evil, you who love the Lord.” One of the salient problems of God’s people in every age is that we … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, hate evil, holiness, Psalm 119:104, Psalm 97:10, sanctification, scripture, word of God
1 Comment
So Easily Entangled
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged entanglements, Ephesians 6:10, Genesis 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, holiness, sin, temptation
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Not of This World
Hebrews 11:9 says, “By faith he (Abraham) lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land …”. The Bible tells us that Abraham lived in the Promised Land, but he was different than the inhabitants … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged aliens, Hebrews 11:9, holiness, I Peter 2:11, not of this world, Romans 12:2, strangers
3 Comments
A Spiral of Compromise
Psalm 106:35-37 says: “But they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons.” Much of Psalm 106 describes the sin … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged associations, compromise, disobedience, friends, holiness, obedience, Psalm 106:35-37, separation
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Saved “So that …”
Psalm 105:43-45 describes God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt, and gives us some insight regarding it: 43 And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful ashout. 44 He gave them also … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged consecration, holiness, libertinism, obedience, Psalm 105:43-45, salvation
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That Missing Something
Psalm 45:7 says: “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.” Hebrews 1:9 quotes this verse as referring to Jesus, and it certainly does. He loved … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged anointing, consecration, holiness, II TImothy 2:21, ministry, Psalm 45:7
2 Comments
Who May Ascend?
Psalm 24 opens by declaring that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the God of ALL the earth (“the earth is the Lord’s”). The next verse (:3) asks a vital question: “Who may ascend into the hill of YHWH, and … Continue reading
Missing the Blessing
Many are familiar with the opening words of Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.” But … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged blessing, counsel, criticism, holiness, missing the blessing, Psalm 1:1, scoffing
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The Problem With “Promise Keeping”
After God had given Moses the 10 Commandments and various other commands, Exodus 24 records the response of the people: “All the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Exodus 24:3, Exodus 24:7, holiness, promise keeping, sanctification
1 Comment
Consecration Before Revelation
In Exodus 19:10, the Lord told Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow … and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged consecration, Exodus 19:10, God's will, holiness, word from God
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