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.
- “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.
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 11:1-6, 16-24, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Confronting Doubts, for 2/08/26
- "The World, The Flesh, and the Devil" (James 3:15 sermon)
- Lifeway "Explore the Bible" Jonah 1:15-2:10 "No Escape"
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "True Religion" (Philippians 3:2-3)
- “No Strange Fire: Honoring God in Worship” (Leviticus 10:1-3 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: obedience
A Source of Joy
Nehemiah 8:17 tells us that when Israel celebrated The Feast of Booths, “there was great rejoicing.” There was a good reason for that which many of us could learn from.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Bible, God's word, joy, Nehemiah 8:17, obedience, rejoicing
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Does Your Bible Study Change Your Life?
Nehemiah 8:13-18 gives us a great example of how we should apply our Bible studies. Meeting together with Ezra to study the scripture, :14 says that the people of Israel “found written in the Law how the LORD had commanded … Continue reading
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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Lessons in Grace
In I King 9:6 God told King Solomon, “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me … (:7) then I will cut off Israel from the land …”. Here again we see that God DOES keep … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged grace, I Kings 9:6, obedience, Romans 7, salavation, works
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Wholly Devoted?
In I Kings 8:61 Solomon challenged the people of Israel: “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as this day.” Solomon’s admonition to them was … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged devotion, I Kings 8:61, John 14:15, obedience
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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?
His Ready Servants
In II Samuel 15:15 we find a great word from the servants of King David to their sovereign: “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.” They were in a difficult situation together; Absalom had … Continue reading
Responsibility & Accountability in the Church
Hebrews 13:17 gives us some specific commands regarding our responsibilities in the church: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy … Continue reading
The Obedience of Love
In Psalm 119:57 the Psalmist writes: “Yahweh is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.” Here we see the key to the kind of obedience that God wants from us.
A Spiral of Compromise
Psalm 106:35-37 says: “But they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons.” Much of Psalm 106 describes the sin … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged associations, compromise, disobedience, friends, holiness, obedience, Psalm 106:35-37, separation
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