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
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- 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
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- Philippians sermons
- POTS (dysautonomia) articles
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Tag Archives: suffering
Teacher’s Overview of I Peter 4:12-19, Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson, “Be Prepared” for April 27, 2025.
An overview to help Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders prepare for this week’s lesson. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO: A few years ago, Nik Ripken (pen name of a former Southern … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged "Be Prepared, accountability, Agatha Christie, application, Beatitudes, Bible, Bible study, blessed are the persecuted, Chaplain Bob Rogers, Christianity, Christie autobiography, Clio in U.S. House, discipleship, discussion questions, Explore the Bible, God, heaven, I Peter, I Peter 4:12-19, illustrations, inevitability of suffering, Jesus, Joe McKeever, John 15:20, John 16:33, judgment, Lifeway, Luke 9:33, Matthew 249, meekness, Nik Ripken, persecution, Peter, Psalm 37, Randy Alcorn, Richard Curtis Mississippi Baptist, suffering, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday school outline, sunrise, The Insanity of God, trust in the Lord and do good, types of suffering, why did God do this?
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“Suffering Servant/Glorious King: Exalted!” (Isaiah 53:12 sermon)
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight, taking off from the United States, and landing in Paris, France. It was a huge event in the history of mankind, and it was celebrated all over the world. After he … Continue reading
Posted in Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King
Tagged atonement, C.S. Lewis, Charles Lindbergh, Christian persecution, church, Civil War Story, daily Gethsemane, Easter, Easter sermon, evangelism, example, Gethsemane, glory, heaven, hoi polloi, imitation, iron man triathlon, Isaiah, Isaiah 53, Jesus, Jesus Paid It All, John F. Kennedy, Jonah sign, kenosis, let it wave high it is our glory, ministry, mission, Old Glory, Philippians 2, propitiation, resurrection, reward, Romans 1:4, salvation, service, sign, suffering, Suffering Servant, witness
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“Suffering Servant/Glorious King: His Substitutionary Atonement” (Isaiah 53:4 sermon)
In Charles Dickens’ famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities, he writes of two men who, although they looked very similar, and both loved the same young lady, but they were very different in character. Sidney Carton was a man … Continue reading
Posted in Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King, Sermons
Tagged bear sin, Bible, burden of sin, Charles DIckens, cross, faith, forgiveness, God, guilt, Hurricane Katrina, Isaiah, Isaiah 53:4, It Is Well, Jesus, Job, John 9, John Bunyan, judgment, leprosy, Leviticus, Leviticus 16, Mesopotamian King substitute ritual, Messiah, my sin o the bliss, nailed to the cross, Newbery Medal, Pilgrim's Progress, reward, salvation, scapegoat, Sid Fleischman, Sidney Carton, sin, substitutionary atonement, suffering, Suffering Servant, Tale of Two Cities, The Whipping Boy
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“Jesus ‘Calls’ His Resurrection” (Mark 8:31-38 sermon, Easter 2022)
Jesus “called” the Resurrection, didn’t He? I say that because it’s one thing to “accidentally” happen do something, and another thing entirely to do it on purpose, and “call it” in advance. For example, we watched the “Final Four” NCAA … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged butterfly chrysalis, Christian commitment, commitment, cross of Christ, death of Jesus, Easter sermon, EPCOT butterfly display, George Whitefield, I give You my soul as a blank, Isaiah 53, lessons in suffering, Mark 8:31-38, resurrection of Jesus, Romans 14, suffering, suffering of Christ, the cross, the sword in the stone, Thomas Kidd George Whitefield
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“What Are You Living For?” (I Peter 4:1-6 sermon)
Sir Winston Churchill had an amazing career as an English politician, Prime Minister and world leader – he is consistently listed by historians as one of the top 2 or 3 most important people of the 20th century. But reading … Continue reading
Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged ark of salvation, Bible, Biblical values, Christian suffering, decisions, devotions, drink, dysautonomia, eat drink and be merry, feel like doing, feelings, food, gospel, heaven, holiness, homosexuality, I Corinthians 6:9-11, I John 2:16, I Peter 4:1-6 sermon, I Peter suffering, idolatry, Israel Babylonian Captivity, Jesus Christ, Jesus does not leave you as you are, John 5:14, John 8 woman, John 9 bling man, judgment, just as we are, lust, lusts of men, lusts of the world, morality, morning quiet time, motivation, POTS, Psalm 119:67, purification of suffering, purificaton, purpose, repent, repentance, salvation, Same sex marriage, sanctification, scripture, sin, sin and suffering, suffer, suffering, suffering purifies, time, will of God, Winston Churchill, wrong side of eternity, wrong side of history
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“Christ’s Suffering/Our Salvation” (I Peter 3:18 sermon)
David McCullough is one of my favorite history writers (I loved his book on the Wright Brothers). One of HIS favorite authors was a man by the name of Conrad Richter, who won the Pulitzer Prize back in the 1950’s … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged bring us to God, C.S. Lewis happiness, C.S. Lewis milk and water, C.S. Lewis pleasure, Christ suffered for sins, Christ suffered once, Conrad Richter, David McCullough, death of Christ, draw near to God, evangelism, forgiveness, God, God Father, grace, hapax, hapax legomena, heaven, Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 10:11-12, Hebrews 10:14, Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 9:25-26, hina, Hymn Free From the Law O Happy Condition, hymn It Is Well, hymn Jesus paid it all, Hymn Once For All, I Peter 3:18, I Peter sermon, It is finished, ministry, Moravians sold to slavery, My sin o the bliss of this glorious thought, once, Once for all O sinner receive it, one offering, one sacrifice, purpose, purpose clause, purpose of salvation, relationship with God, repentance, sacrifice, salvation, Sanan Gunan Thai SEAL, sin, suffer, suffering, Thai Navy SEAL died in rescue, Thai soccer team rescue, the benefit of ill, witness, works salvation
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“In His Steps: When We Suffer” (I Peter 2:19-23 sermon)
Cheryl & I love to read and watch the old Agatha Christie detective stories, so last year we each read her autodbiography. In it Mrs. Christie tells of a teacher at her girls school growing up. She said she couldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Agatha Christie biography, an eye for an eye, become like Christ, Christian life suffering, Christians and persecution, Christians and suffering, Christlikeness, commit to God, despair, discipleship, do not be overcome by evil, do not take your own revenge, entrust to God, faith, following Christ, foolish suffering, fret not, godly suffering, holiness, holy, I Peter 2:19-23, I Peter 2:20, I Peter sermon, I will repay says the Lord, in His steps, In His steps suffering, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joe McKeever, Lord of the Rings, love your enemies, Matthew 26:50, Matthew 5 sermon on the mount, meekness Psalm, never take your own revenge, payback, persecuted for Jesus, persecution, Proverbs 20:22, Psalm 37, revenge, ring of power, Romans 12:17, Romans 12:19, salvation, suffer, suffering, suffering for Jesus, trust, trust God, trust in the Lord and do good, turn the other cheek, why did God do this?, you can't fight the enemy with his own ring without turning into an enemy
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“In His Steps” (I Peter 2:21 sermon)
There were many different college football teams represented here today: we had Longhorn fans, and Aggie fans; Houston and Baylor — even a few Sooner fans — and many others. There are a lot of college football teams to follow … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Abraham Lincoln suffering, Carl Sandburg Abraham Lincoln, chastening fell upon Him, children, Christ suffered, Christian motivation, church, college football, discipleship, enemies, example, follow, follow Me, following Jesus, go to church, hardship, humbling, hupogrammo, I Peter 2:21, I Peter 2:21 sermon, imitation, in His steps, Isaiah 53, Jesus example, Jesus suffering, life, marriage beliefs, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Matthew 4 follow Me, ministry, motivation, no condemnation, pattern, persecution, personal response, respond, Romans 8:1, RSVP, sacrifice, salvation gift, submit to authority, suffering, trace, wrath of God
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