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.
-
Top Posts & Pages
- Romans 7:4-6, 14-25 Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson overview: "Struggle," for 10/11/26
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Romans 6:1-14, Overview of Lifeway's Explore the Bible lesson, "Freedom," for October 4, 2026.
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "Ambassadors For Christ" (II Corinthians 5:20 sermon)
- "The People of God" (I Peter 2:9-10 sermon)
- "This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer" (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)
- “The Narrow Way To Heaven” (Matthew 7:13-14 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: salvation
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
1 Comment
Our Confidence In Judgment
“By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.” (I John 4:17) The Day of Judgment is coming for all … Continue reading
“The Fruit of Repentance” (Matt. 3:4-10 sermon)
It has been very interesting to say the least, to watch the first week of the Presidency of Donald Trump unfold. He has made appointments and issued executive orders which have pleased some, but have infuriated others. But there was, … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged assurance of salvation, changed life, CNN, Donald Trump, fruit of repentance, garden, John the Baptist, judgment, Luke 19, Luke 3, Matthew 3:4-10, Matthew 7:21, Matthew sermon, repent, repentance, repenter, Rosaria Butterfield, salvation, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Zaccheus
3 Comments
Empty Words Won’t Save You
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (I John 4:15) Despite the apparent simplicity of this verse, one should be careful not to take it in a woodenly literal fashion, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged assurance, assurance of salvation, confession, demons, I John 4:15, Mark 5, Matthew 7:21, salvation, test of salvation
1 Comment
“He Will Save His People From Their Sins” (Matthew 1:21 sermon)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, December 11, 2016) In his famous play, “Romeo & Juliet”, William Shakespeare wrote: “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And there is some truth in that. … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged C.S. Lewis, Colossians 2:14, glorification, guilt, Hebrew, I John 2:2, II Thessalonians 1:9, It is finished, It Is Well, Jesus, justificatiion sanctification glorification, justification, Matthew 1:21, paid in full, Romeo and Juliet, salvation, salvation past present future, sanctification, sin, sins, slavery, test, tetelestai, wrath, Yehoshua, Yeshua
1 Comment
“The Most Miraculous Birth” (Matthew 1:18-23 sermon)
Our family is anxiously awaiting the birth of our fourth grand daughter, who is due in Wake Forest at any minute. If you have ever participated in a birth, or held a newborn baby, you know that EVERY birth — … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Christ, Emmanuel, God is with us, Incarnation, Jesus, Matthew, Matthew 1:18-23, Matthew sermons, salvation, virgin birth
Leave a comment
Jesus’ Family Tree (Matthew 1:1-17 sermon)
Someone told me not long ago that they have a relative who is really into researching their family genealogy, but this person does not share that interest. They said, you know I hate to admit it, but whenever my relative … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged archeology, forgiveness, genealogy, historicity of Christianity, historicity of Jesus, I John 1:9, Jesus, Jesus' family tree, Matthew, Matthew 1, Matthew 1 genealogy, Matthew sermons, Pope Benedict abortion, prophecy, repentance, salvation, sons of Korah
2 Comments
Reasons For Giving Thanks (Psalm 136 sermon)
When our son Michael was a little boy, he was VERY plain-spoken; he would just say whatever was on his mind. Thankfully he has grown out of that (somewhat!) as he has matured, but when he was little he just … Continue reading
