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 17:1-13, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Glory," for 3/22/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 16:13-26, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "Following Jesus" for 3/15/26
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. 1:18-24 sermon)
- Teacher's Preview of Matthew 15:1-11+, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson for March 8, 2026, "Real Devotion"
- "Christ's Suffering/Our Salvation" (I Peter 3:18 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Man Born Blind" (John 9 sermon)
- "The Church That Made God Sick" (Revelation 3:14-22 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
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- The Model Prayer Series
- The Model Prayer series (FBCA 2020)
- This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog)
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- worship
Tag Archives: love
“Yachidati”: God’s Great Christmas Gift!
We understand more about God’s gift to us at Christmas from a Hebrew word used in Psalm 22:20. There the Psalmist asks God to deliver “yachidati” from the power of the dog (the enemy). The Hebrew word “yachid” means “only … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged beloved, Christmas, Genesis 22:2, John 3:16, love, Psalm 22:20, sacrifice, yachid, yachidi
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Lay Down Our Lives?
I John 3:16 says: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren.” This verse should challenge those of us who claim to be Christian … Continue reading
“The Discipline of Giving” (Genesis 28:20-22 sermon)
(Preached at First Baptist, Pauls Valley, OK, 10-19-14) Cheryl & I love to watch old movies, and one of our favorites is the 1948 classic: “Life With Father” with William Powell & Irene Dunne. There is actually a great lesson … Continue reading
Posted in "The Disciplines of Disciples" series, Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged Abraham, discipleship, Genesis 28:20-22, giving, grace giving, Harold Mathena, Irene Dunne, Jacob, Life With Father, love, Melchizedek, put your money where your mouth is, salvation, sermon, talk is cheap, tithing, WIlliam Powell
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Love & Obedience
Many times, it is not “either/or”, but “both.” It is so in Nehemiah 1:9, where Nehemiah has just confessed the sins of Israel to God, and he quotes Him as saying to His people, “but if you return to Me … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged commandments, discipleship, John 14:15, love, Nehemiah 1:9, obedience
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The Most Important Thing
It is no accident that David opens Psalm 18:1 by saying, “I love You, O Lord my strength.” His love for Yahweh was the first and most important thing in his life — and should be in ours as well.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged God, love, priorities, Psalm 18:1, The Great Commandment, worship
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A Very Selfish Outlook
King Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah’s prophecy in II Kings 20 must surely go down as one of the most selfish attitudes in all of scripture. Hezekiah had shown the messengers from the Babylonian king all of his treasures, and Isaiah … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged apathy, attitude, care, Hezekiah, II Kings 20, love, Philippians 2:4, selfishness, unborn
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The God of Little Things
The problem described in II Kings 6:1-6 is not what many people would consider a “big deal.” An axe head that one of the prophets had borrowed accidentally fell into the Jordan River. It was a common, ordinary, everyday type … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged concern, God, II Kings 6:1-6, knowledge, love, Luke 12:6-7, providence
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“Love Your Enemies” Lived Out
II Kings 5 tells the remarkable story of how Naaman the leper was healed. But we should make sure that we do not overlook a remarkable thing in verses 2-3, which says that there was “a little girl” who had … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged compassion, enemies, II Kings 5:2-3, love, love your enemies, Matthew 5:44, mercy
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The Evidence of Love
I Kings 3:3 says: “Now Solomon loved YHWH, walking in the statutes of his father David …”. Solomon really did love God (at least at first). What was the evidence of it?
The Root Issue of Sin
II Samuel 12 relates how Nathan the prophet boldly confronted King David after his adultery with Bathsheba. In :10 he tells the king: “Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Great Commandment, heart of sin, II Samuel 12:10, John 14:15, love, root issue, sin
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