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
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- Sermons
- The Model Prayer Series
- The Model Prayer series (FBCA 2020)
- This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog)
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- worship
Tag Archives: Holy Spirit
“Immanuel: God is With Us” (Matthew 1:23 sermon)
In David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Harry Truman, he writes about “This first Truman to reach Jackson County … Anderson Shipp Truman … was slight, gentle, soft-spoken, thirty years old, and without prospects. Nevertheless, Mary Jane Holmes, who … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Bible, Christianity, David McCullough, depravity of man, Emmanuel, Ephesians 1:13, faith, for You are with me, Genesis 6, Genesis 6:5, God, God is with us, gospel, Harry S Truman, heaven, Hebrews 1:3, Holy Spirit, I Corinthians 6:19, II Corinthians 13:5, Immanuel, Incarnation, Isaiah 7, Isaiah 7:14, Jesus, Jesus Deity, Jesus is GOd, judgment, love, Martin Luther, Mary, Matthew 1, Matthew 1:23, peace, Psalm 23, salvation, test yourself, The Best Christmas pageant Ever, the Lord is with you, Truman, where meek hearts will receive Him still
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“The Fruits of Righteousness” (James 3:13-18 sermon)
I am not much of a “tree expert” at all. I know some people can just look at a tree and say, “Oh that’s a such-and-such tree …” but I have never been able to do that. I could probably … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Discipleship
Tagged assurance of salvation, attitudes, bad fruit, Bible, blessed are the peacemakers, Christianity, Eusebius Church History, examine yourself, faith, fruit, God, good fruit, Holy Spirit, hypocrisy, hypocrite, II Corinthians 13:5, Irenaeus, James 3, James 3 sermon, James 3:13-18, jealousy, Jesus, Leo Tolstoy, Matthew 7:16, mercy, natural earthly demonic, peace, peaceable, peacemaker, Philippians 2, salvation, selfishness, test yourself, the world the flesh and the devil, trees, War and Peace, works, you will know them by their fruits
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 10:34-48, “Including” for 8/18/24
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 10:34-48, for Sunday, August 18, 2024, with the title, “Including.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO: … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged "simply to Thy cross I cling", Acts, Acts 10, Acts 10:34-48, baptism, Baptist, Bible, Cornelius, discrimination, EE, evangelism, Evangelism Explosion, Explore the Bible, faith, Gentile Pentecost, Gentiles, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, In Christ Alone, Jesus, John Wesley, Lifeway, Martin Luther King, prejudice, Revelation 5:9, Romans 2:11, salvation, salvation by faith, Samaritan Pentecost, Southern Baptist, speaking in tongues, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, teacher help, teaching outline, Thomas S. Kidd George Whitefield, W.A. Criswell, witnessing
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 8:26-39, “Baptizing”
An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 8:26-39, for Sunday, July 28, with the title, “Baptizing.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO: … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Acts 4:12, Acts 8, Acts 8:26-39, all gods the same, Ardas, baptizing, believers baptism, Bible study, Charles Spurgeon, church in Acts, cross, doctrine of baptism, Early Church, Ethiopia, Ethiopian eunuch, evangelism, Explore the Bible, Gaza Road, gospel, gospel outline, Harmeet Dhillon, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus one way, John 14:6, lesson help, lesson overview, Lifeway, missions, obedience, Pentecost, Philip, repentance and faith, response to the gospel, RNC, salvation, Samaritan Pentecost, same god different name, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, teacher help, the church, the cross, the gospel, what is the gospel
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Teacher’s Overview of Acts 5:29-42, Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson “Worthy,” for July 14, 2024
(A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO: ??? Did you/someone you know ever disobey a law/command/guideline, to do something you believed God wanted you to do?(— A friend of mine and I shared the gospel … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged abortion, Acts, Acts 5, Acts 5:29-42, apostles, balance, Bible, Bible study, C.S. Lewis, chronological snobbery, civil disobedience, cost of discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, discipleship, Ephesians 1:13, evangelism, Explore the Bible, faith, Gamaliel, Geaux Therefore, God of our Fathers, gospel, hate crime, history, Holy Spirit, homosexuality, Jesus is Lord, Jewish Encyclopedia, lessons of history, Lifeway, Lordship, ministry, NOBTS, obedience, persecution, perseverance, Peter, Pharisee, Prince and Savior, repentance, Rex Butler, Romans 10:9, Romans 13:1, Ron DeSantis, salvation, Savior and Lord, sharing, Stephen Boissoin, submission, Sunday School, time will tell, transgender, we must obey God rather than men, Winston Churchill lessons of history, witness, workplace
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 2:5-16, 36-38, “Empowered”
An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 2, for Sunday, June 9, 2024, with the title, “Empowered.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Acts, Acts 2, Acts 2 Sunday school lesson, cheap grace, Day of Pentecost, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, evangelism, Explore the Bible, Feast of Weeks, first fruits, gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, kerygma, Lifeway, Pentecost, repent, repentance, The Cost of Discipleship, tongues, witnessing
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