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)
- "This Is My Story: The Man Born Blind" (John 9 sermon)
- "Christ's Suffering/Our Salvation" (I Peter 3:18 sermon)
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- "The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days" (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Psalm 105, Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, "God's Faithfulness" for July 20, 2025.
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: love
Your Most Important Duty In The Church
“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth;” (II John 1) The second and third epistles of John are generally much less appreciated and referenced than the first. Although I John is a penetrating … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged church, elder, II John 1, John, love, minister, ministry, responsibility, service
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Love & The Commandments
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5:3) There is a fallacy in the thinking of many people, that there is a distinction between the “love” of … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged commandments, dilemma, fallacy, I John 5:3, legalism, love, love vs. commandments
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He Loved Us First: The Difference That Makes
“We love, because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19) John tells us in this brief verse God loved us first. This is significant, and makes such a difference in our understanding of our relationship with Him:
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged God's love, grace, I John 4:19, love, merit, performance trap, relationship with God, Romans 5:8, salvation, saved by grace
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Seeing God In Us
“No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (I John 4:12) “No one has seen God at any time.” Not God in His fullness … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged brotherly love, God, I John 4:12, love, witness
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What Is Love?
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16) Everyone has some idea of what love is: songs and poems have been … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged brotherly love, feelings, giving, I John 3:16, John 3:16, love, sacrifice, true love
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“Three Resolutions: Or What To Do If The End Is Near” (New Years Message 2017)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Jan. 1, 2017) A couple of years ago I read a survey of Americans which asked what they would do, if they knew the world was coming to an end soon. Two of the … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged accountability, end of the world, forgiveness, I Peter 4:7-11 sermon, intercessory prayer, last days, love, love covers a multitude of sins, Matthew 24:46, New Year, New Year resolutions, prayer, prayer for the lost, return of Christ, service, spiritual gifts, stewards, stewardship
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“The Example of Joseph” (Matthew 1:18-25 sermon)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Morganton, NC 12-18-16) A few years ago, I preached a sermon on Mary, the mother of Jesus, and I had several people tell me afterwards that it was the first time that they had … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged balance, church, holier than thou, homosexuality, instant obedience, J.P. Boyce and C.H. Toy, Jen Hatmaker, Joseph, love, Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew sermons, obedience, righteousness, Rosaria Butterfield, self-righteousness, the obedience of Joseph
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Take Your Love To The Next Level
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified yourselves for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart …”. (I Peter 1:22) Sometimes scripture points out weak areas in our lives on which we … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged agape love, brotherly love, I Peter 1:22, love, philadelphia love
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“That He Gave” (John 3:16 sermon)
One movie that Cheryl, Michael & I enjoy watching together is the 1960’s musical, “My Fair Lady”, in which Professor Henry Higgins takes Eliza Doolittle, a young flower girl from the streets of London and transforms her into a well-spoken … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged appease, atonement, Bible, Bible one story, bronze serpent, child sacrifice, demonstrate love, evangelism, faith, forgiveness, Genesis 22, gift, He gave, heaven, human sacrifice, I Corinthians 13, I John 4:10, I Peter 2:24, Jacob & Esau, Jehovah Jireh, John 3:14-15, John 3:16, John 3:16 sermon, love, Michael O'Neill, My Fair Lady, Numbers 21, Old Testament, President Reagan assassination John Hinckley, propitiation, religion, Romans 3:20, Romans 5:8, sacrifice, sacrificial death, salvation, Secret Service, soteriology, substitutionary atonement, take the bullet, The West Wing, theology, works
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“The World” (John 3:16 sermon)
“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world; red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Many of us have known that song since childhood. Where did we … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Uncategorized
Tagged Calvinism, Chosen But Free, Colossians 3:10-11, D.A.Carson, evangelism, God's love, I John 2:2, I Timothy 2:4, II Peter 3:9, Jesus loves the little children, John 3:16, John 3:16 sermon, kosmos, Les Miserables, love, Norm Geissler, Paige Patterson, racism, Romans 5:8, the world, W.A. Criswell
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