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: love
Teacher’s Overview of I Peter 4:1-11, “Our Faith,” Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson for 4/13/25
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of I Peter 4:1-22, with the title “Our Faith,” for Sunday, April 13, 2025. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged above all love, Bible, Bible study, Bible study lesson, David McCullough 1776, end of the world, eschatlogy, Explore the Bible, George Washington, God, good for love, gospel, holiness, Hope Thomas, I Peter, I Peter 4, I Peter 4:1-11, I Peter 4:10, I Timothy 1:5, Jesus, Lifeway, love, love covers, Martin Luther, plant an apple tree, priority of love, return of Christ, salvation, sanctification, second coming, Shawn Thomas, sin, spiritual gifts, steward, stewardship, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, surprise attack
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Teacher’s Overview of I Peter 1:13-25, “Our Mandate,” Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson for 3/09/25
An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of I Peter 1:13-25, for Sunday, March 9, 2025, with the title, “Our Mandate.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged "Our Mandate", "therefore living", accountability to God, agape love, agape vs philadelphia love, Andrew Jackson judgment, Bible, Bible application, blood of Jesus, brotherly love, Christian life, church, Explore the Bible, Francis Schaeffer, George Muller prayer, gird up your loins, gird your minds for action, gospel, grow in love, holy, How Should We Then Live?, I Corinthians 6:19-20, I Peter, I Peter 1, I Peter 1:13-25, II Corinthians 5:10, Jesus blood, Jon Meacham Andrew Jackson, judgment, judgment seat of Christ, Leviticus holy, Lifeway, love, love based living, love in church, Romans 12:1, salvation, sanctification, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, teacher help, therefore, Tim Keller prayer, word of God, word-based living, you shall be holy
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“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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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 2:23-25, 3:7-15, “Seen & Heard” for 12/01/24
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 2 & for December 1, 2024 with the title, “Seen & Heard.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Colossians 1:13, Egypt, Exodus, Explore the Bible, God, God cares, God's promise, gospel, Hagar, I AM, Israel, Jehovah, Jesus, lesson help, Lifeway, love, mission, Moses, name of God, Psalm 139, salvation, Shawn E. Thomas, shawnethomas.com, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday school teacher outline, tetragrammaton, Thom Rainer, Unexpected Journey, Yahweh
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“No Spirit of Fear” (II Timothy 1:7 sermon/Hurricane Beryl, July 7, 2024)
In March 2020 about a dozen or so of our church members went on a mission trip to Mazatlan, Mexico, to minister with what is now James Trail ministry, with Dan & Meredith Shuman. It was a good trip, but … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged A Leopard Tamed, assurance, be not afraid, Bible, Christianity, confidence, COVID, COVID sermon, Death, discipline, Eleanor Vandevort, faith, fear, fear not, fruit of the Spirit, God, how to be saved, hurricane, hurricane Beryl, hurricane prep, II Timothy 1:7, In Christ Alone, Jesus, Kim Eaves, London Plague, love, Martin Luther plague, ministry, missionary, no fear, no fear in death, no guilt in life no fear in death, panic, power, Puritans, salvation, sermon, sound mind, Sudan, testimony, The Black Death
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 2:41-47, “United”
And overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 2:41-47, for Sunday, June 16, 2024, with the title, “United.” 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 2:41-47, apostolic teaching, At Arm's Length, baptism, believer's baptism, Bible, Bill Elliff, Book of Acts, church in Acts, Dan Emmitt, Early Church, Explore the Bible, fellowship, house of prayer, infant baptism, Jack Tillery, kidney transplant, koinonia, lesson overview, lesson plan, Lifeway, love, marks of the church, prayer, Simply Prayer, sprinkling baptism, Sunday School, Sunday school help, Sunday School teacher, unity, word of God
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“What Real Faith Looks Like: Perseverance” (James 1:12 sermon)
We’ve got one of my very favorite family pictures to put up on the screen: In 1998, I ran the Tulsa Run road race with Paul, David & Libby, our three oldest kids. Cheryl took this picture of the four of us at my … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like
Tagged A.T. Bobertson, acid test, acid test gold, approval, approved, assurance, assurance of salvation, Book of James, crown of life, dokimos, eternal security, family, gold, gold test, I Corinthians 13, I Peter 1:6-7, if saved always saved, James, James 1:12, love, Matthew 13, once saved always saved, Parable of the Sower, perseverance, perseverance of the saints, Romans 16:10, seal of approval, stephanos, tested like gold, tests, trials, Tulsa Run, What Real Faith Looks Like
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