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 13:24-30, 36-43, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Judgment Coming," for 2/22/26.
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 14:22-33, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Courage," for March 1, 2026.
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 12:1-14, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Rejecting Legalism," for 2/15/26.
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- "The Discipline of Fasting" (Ezra 8:21 sermon)
- "The Lord Our Provider" (Philippians 4:15-23 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: Jesus
“Show Us The Father”?
“Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’” (John 14:8) If Jesus had responded to this request with a note of frustration in His voice, it would have been understandable:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Colossians 2:9, Deity of Christ, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John 14:8, theology
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It’s All About Jesus
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” (John 14:6) This isn’t “just” a verse about Jesus being the only way to heaven — although … Continue reading
“Getting To Heaven May Be Harder Than You Think” (Matthew 5:20-48 sermon)
I want to begin by congratulating Dewey Phipps, Josh Peterson, and Anthony Burdick for completing the Bear Run last week. If you aren’t familiar with that, it is a 5-mile run ALL UPHILL on Grandfather Mountain. I can’t imagine how … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged adultery, David Thomas, Devil's Island, divorce, Gethsemane, Hebrews 12:29, holiness, Jesus, Jesus only way, Mark Dever, Matthew 5:20-48 sermon, murder, On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand, poverty in spirit, righteousness, Romans 3:23, salvation, Sermon on the Mount, Ten Commandments, wrath of God
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Lead By Example
“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (John 13:15) Here Jesus gave His disciples — and all us reading His word today — one of the most important lessons about leadership: … Continue reading
“Knowing”: The Firm Foundation
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God …” (John 13:3) The word “knowing” here is a crucial one: “Jesus, KNOWING …”. … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged assurance, confidence, faith, foundation, heaven, I John 5:13, Jesus, John 13:3, knowing, relationship with God, service
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The Dual Purpose of Public Prayer
“I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” (John 11:42) There are some people who refuse to pray in public, because of … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Jesus, John 11:42, Matthew 6:5, prayer, public prayer
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“The King & The Disciples” (Matthew 5:1-2 sermon)
I have never in my lifetime seen the kind of vindictiveness expressed towards a president as we have seen evidenced towards President Trump: the hatred, lack of submission, people saying “He’s not my President”, etc. I was not a big … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged 30 minute church service, Beatitudes, Bible, Bible Reading, Bible study, Chuck Quarles, Cliff Jenkins, commitment, consumer church, consumer mentality, convenience, crowds, daily bread, daily walk, Deuteronomy 8:3, devotional time, disciples, discipleship, entertainment, family, follow Me, following Jesus, God's will, God's word as food, Golden Calf, honey, Isaiah 53:6, Jesus, king, King Saul, Matthew 10:37, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 5:1-2, meat, milk, ministry, mission partnership, missions, Moses, Mount of the Beatitudes, Mt. Sinai, Pandering, persecution, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh mission churches, popularity, prayer, priorities, Psalm 119:103, quiet time, salvation, scripture, SEBTS, Sermon on the Mount, service, solid food, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, success, truth, walk with God
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The One Jesus Loves
“So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” (John 11:3) What an amazing little sentence the sisters’ call for help was: “Behold, he whom You love is sick.” One of the striking … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Galatians 2:20, God's love, he whom You love, Jesus, Jesus' love, John 11:3, John 3:16, Lazarus, love, the one Jesus loves
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