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 7:15-29, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Authority Acknowledged," for 1/11/26.
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 6:19-34, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Treasure," for 1/04/2026
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- "Seeking Him First" (Matthew 6:33 sermon)
- "How To Run The Christian Race" (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
- "Three Christian Attitudes" (Philippians 3:12-15 sermon)
- "True Religion" (Philippians 3:2-3)
- Joshua 3:5 Sermon: "Preparing For God To Work"
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 5:13-20, 43-48, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson: "True Righteousness," for 12/28/25.
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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- I Peter sermons
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- Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King
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Tag Archives: temporal values
Teacher’s Overview of Matthew 6:19-34, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, “Treasure,” for 1/04/2026
An overview for teachers of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Matthew 6:19-34, for Sunday, January 4, 2026, with the title, “Treasure.” Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations you can share, discussion questions for … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged anxiety, Billy Graham, Cheryl Thomas, choices, Christianity and materialism, Craig Blomberg Matthew, David McCullough Mornings on Horseback, discussion questions, Dwight Eisenhower, eternity, Explore the Bible, Explore the Bible lesson, giving, giving illustrations, God, gospel, Heavenly Father, illustrations, invest in eternity, Jesus, life application, Lifeway, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, mammon, Mark Twain Innocents Abroad, materialism, Matthew, Matthew 6, missions, missions giving, pastor Shawn Thomas, Pompeii, provision, Psalm 37, salvation, seek first the kingdom, Sermon on the Mount, serve God or money, serve two masters, Shawn E. Thomas, shawnethomas, stewardship, Sunday school lesson overview, temporal values, tithing
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“Comforting the Afflicted & Afflicting the Comfortable” (James 1:9-11 sermon)
In the early 1900’s, humorist Finley Peter Dunne said that “The newspaper does everything for us. It runs the police force and the banks, commands the militia, controls the legislature, baptizes the young, marries the foolish, comforts the afflicted and … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like
Tagged Alexander, Bible, Book of James, church poor, comforting the afflicted, death sudden, faith, Finley Peter Dunne, Hamlet, humility, identity, Imperious Caesar, Isaiah 40:6-7, James 2:5, James sermons, Jesus, love of money, Luke 12:13-21, materialism, Matthew 19:23, money, poor, poor in spirit, poverty, Prince William inheritance, real faith, Revelation 2:9, rich, riches, salvation, saving faith, self-image, Smyrna, Sylvester Stallone, temporal values, wealth, Yorick
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“Which World Are You Living For?” (Philippians 3:18-21 sermon)
Bill Borden was the heir to the Borden milk fortune. When he graduated from Yale, he was offered multiple well-paying positions on boards of directors of major corporations, and he had, materially speaking, everything that a man could want. But … Continue reading
Posted in Philippians sermons, Sermons
Tagged aging, apollumi, appetite, best days ahead of us, best days behind us, Bill Borden, Bill Borden waste, body, business, businessman, Christian and citizenship, citizenship in heaven, consequences of sin, desires, destruction, end is destruction, eternity, feels good, gay lesbian agenda, gay pride parades, glory, glory in their shame, gospel, heaven, heaven our home, hell, homosexual practice sin, homosexuality, homosexuality watershed issue, I Peter 1:4 inheritance, Jesus King, John Newton, Judges every man did what was right in his own eyes, judgment, living for heaven, living for this world, Lordship, Mark Twain The Innocents Abroad, money, Paul Roman citizenship, Philippians 3:18-21 sermon, pride, Robert Caro Lyndon Johnson, salvation, set their minds on earthly thling, St. Charles Borromeo tomb, temporal values, their god is their belly, Which World Are You Living For?
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“Where’s Your Glory?” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 sermon)
Sunday morning came to our church in Southwest Louisiana, and the crowd was exuberant. Purple and gold clothing was everywhere. People were cheerful and talking in the hallways. A festive air just covered the whole place. LSU had won their … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged church, conversation, crown, daily quiet time, Death, devotional time, discipleship, Ernest Hemingway, eternal life, eternity, exercise, glory, heaven, Houston medical center, Isaiah 55, J.I. Packer, Jeremiah 9:12, Jeremiah 9:23-24, John 17:3, knowing God, Knowing God book, LSU football, materialism, NFL injuries, Pete Rose, Philippians 3:10, prayer time, quiet time, relationships, riches, suicide, temporal values, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Washington Irving, Westminster Abbey, worship
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Do You Take The Money?
“And they took the money, and did as they had been instructed …” (Matthew 28:15 NASB) What an interesting sentence: “and they took the money.” The guards in this story knew the truth; they had been at the tomb and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged avarice, compromise, greed, materialism, Matthew 28:15, money, temporal values, temptation, truth or treasure
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