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: outward appearance
“The Church That Looked Better Than It Really Was” (Revelation 3:1-6 sermon)
In 2010, Cheryl & our youngest son Michael & I visited England, and one the top things on my list to see was the Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in London: once the “megachurch” of the 1800s, where Charles Spurgeon, perhaps the … Continue reading
Posted in Revelation sermon series
Tagged appearance, church, Church at Sardis, clean room, deeds, faithful, FBC Angleton, finish, First Baptist Church Angleton, Florence Nightengale, God omniscience, happiness, happy in heaven, heaven, Henry Stanley, Henry Stanley happy Denzil, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the reward, Jesus knows, Jesus reward, Jim Gasso, Letters to the churches in Revelation, Matthew 23:27, Metropolitan Tabernacle London, Ministry Safe training, not found deeds completed, outward appearance, parenting, Psalm 16:11, quit before finish, reputation, reputation greater than reality, revelation, Revelation 3:1-6, reward, Sardis, Spurgeon's Tabernacle, works
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“It’s What’s Inside That Counts” (Matthew 5:8 sermon)
When I got sick in 2012, they ran me through a bunch of tests trying to diagnose my illness. One day I found myself on an exam table, hooked up to an ultrasound machine, and the technician smeared some gel … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes Series 2020 FBCA, Discipleship, Matthew sermons, Sermons
Tagged 6th Beatitude, appearance, beatific vision, Blaise Pascal, blessed are the pure in heart, blood of Jesus, clean, clean hands, clean heart, good deeds outweigh bad, good works, heart attitude, heart qualities, heaven, I John 1:7, I John 3:2, I Samuel 16:7 Eliab, Isaiah 1:18, Islam, it's what's inside that counts, katharos, look good, Mark 7:1-7, Matthew 5:8, Muslim, outward appearance, pork unclean, Proverbs 20:9, Psalm 17:15, Psalm 24:3-4, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 51:10, Psalm 63, pure heart, pure in heart, Revelation 22:4, salvation, Seeing God, superficiality, surface, the great reward, Tim Keller beatific vision, ultrasound heart, unclean, we will see Him
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“Living Your Faith At Home” (I Peter 3:1-7 sermon)
Many of us are familiar with the famous story, “Rip Van Winkle.” Last year for the first time I really read the story in Washington Irving’s Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon. In it he describes Rip Van Winkle: “He would never … Continue reading
Posted in Home & Family Life, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged appearance, beautiful woman, beauty, Billy Graham, children, clothes, daily Bible reading, discipline, disciplines, duties, Eliab, Ephesians 5, Ephesians 5 love wife, evangelism, exercise, faith, faith and family, faith starts at home, family, family life, family sermon, fellow heir, freaking out, God sees not as man sees, gods, husband, husband love, husband spiritual leadership, husbands, I Corinthians 13 love, I Peter 2:12, I Peter 2:23, I Peter 3:1, I Peter 3:1-7 sermon, I Peter sermon, I Samuel 16, I Timothy 5:8, inner beauty, It's My Turn Ruth Graham, kids, live out your faith at home, love, makeup, marriage, ministry, mom freaking out, outward appearance, outward beauty, Plutarch, Proverbs 11:22, responsibilities, Rip Van Winkle, Ruth Graham, sacrifice, salvation, Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, submission, submit, trust, trust God, trusting God, understand wife, understanding, Washington Irving, weaker vessel, wife equal, wife submit, wife witness, witness, witness at home, wives
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