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)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 sermon)
- "Blessed Is She Who Believed" (Luke 1:45 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 4:12-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson "Invitation," for 12/14/25
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 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
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- Discovering FBCA Membership class lessons
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- Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
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- Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King
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Tag Archives: spiritual warfare
“Winning vs. Temptation: Jesus’ Example in Spiritual Warfare” (Matthew 4:1-11 sermon)
This last Saturday (March 18, 2017) an intruder kicked open the door of a house in Redding, California — but he picked the wrong home to invade. A California Highway Patrol Officer lived at that house, and he shot the … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged baby dedication, baseball, battle of the mind, Bible, Ephesians 6:10, Ephesians 6:17, family, God's word, goodness of God, home invasion, I Timothy 4:8, II Corinthians 10:5, Jesus example, Matthew 4:1-11, Matthew 4:1-11 sermon, protection, Proverbs 24:10, Psalm 119:68, scripture, scripture memory, self-defense, spiritual warfare, sports, sword of the Spirit, taking every thought captive, temptation, trials
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Win the Spiritual Battle For Your Loved Ones’ Salvation
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” (Matthew … Continue reading
One of Satan’s Biggest Schemes
“… so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (II Corinthians 2:11) Although many are reluctant to talk about “the devil” in our “modern” days, The Bible tells us … Continue reading
“This Is My Story: The Gerasene Demoniac” (Mark 5:1-20 sermon)
During the Second World War, when Hitler conquered France, he immediately shut down the borders to keep the people from leaving the country. But one small border town saw its population diminish rapidly, so the Germans searched for the answer. … Continue reading
“The Discipline of Scripture Memory” (Matt. 4:1-11 sermon)
(Preached at PRBC 5-31-15) In the summer of 1980 I went on a mission trip with my home church, the First Baptist Church of Harrah, to Switzerland and Germany. During the trip we also took a one-day visit to Paris, … Continue reading
Guarding In Prayer
Colossians 4:2 commands us: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” The word rendered “devote” is “proskartereo”, which Thayer’s lexicon translates, “persevere”, “give constant attention to”, “continue” in. This seems to indicate that the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Colossians 4:2, intercession, John 17:12, prayer, spiritual warfare
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Your Screwtape’s Disgrace!
Colossians 2:15 says that when God “disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” The Bible words used here are very instructive to us in the spiritual warfare we face … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged authorities, Colossians 2:15, cross, Death, demons, Ephesians 6:12, Jesus, powers, resurrection, rulers, screwtape letters, spiritual warfare
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A Martial Mindset
Psalm 144 opens “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” (:1) This is another good reminder (see the devotion on “No Beds of Ease” here) that life is not about … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged conflict, Ephesians 6:12, J.I. Packer, Psalm 144:1, Puritans, spiritual armor, spiritual warfare
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No Beds of Ease
II Samuel 5:17 tells us: “When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David.” We read in :12 that David realized how God had established and blessed him … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged armor, battle, conflict, Ephesians 6, II Samuel 5:17, spiritual warfare, struggle
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Defenseless?
In I Samuel 13, the Philistines sent groups of raiders against Saul and the people of Israel. But Israel was in an extremely weak position. Verses 19-23 tell us, “Now, no blacksmith could be found in all the land of … Continue reading