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)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 sermon)
- “Building Your Life On The Rock” (Matthew 7:24-27 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: Thanksgiving
“Neglecting God” (Zephaniah 1:1-6 sermon)
You never know what your kids are going to do with the things they hear you say. We had not been at our church in Tulsa Oklahoma very long when we pulled up to a convenience store, and Cheryl saw … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged "The Twelve", Choose whom you will serve, church attendance, compromise, daily Bible reading, decisions, devotional time, evangelism, family, family time, Gibeonites, gratitude, Great Commandment, greatest sin, heaven, idolatry, James 4:17, John 17:3, Joshua 24, Luke 17 ten lepers, marriage, marriage commitment, Minor Prophets, neglecting God, neglecting your family, Old Testament prophets, pray without ceasing, quiet time, relationship with God, Romans 15:13, salvation, seeking God, singing, sins of commission, sins of omission, thanking God, Thanksgiving, time with family, time with God, worship, Zephaniah, Zephaniah 1:1-6, Zephaniah 1:6
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Freed By The Blood
What an amazing picture we find in Leviticus 14, where the Bible describes the ceremony for the cleansing of a leper: two birds are ordered to be brought the tabernacle for the ceremony: one is sacrificed, but the other the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged bird, blood, Christ, cleansing, free like a bird, freedom, gratefulness, leper, Leviticus 14, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, taking for granted, Thanksgiving
2 Comments
“Four Ways To Worship God” (Psalm 9:1-2 sermon)
From the remotest jungle in Africa or the Amazon, to the most isolated island in the Pacific, every culture that has ever been discovered has worshiped. They have never found a civilization in which the people didn’t worship someone or … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons, Uncategorized, worship
Tagged abortion, Alabama quarterback witness, audience of one, blessings, Corrie Ten Boom, Ephesians 1:3, exult in god, Habakkuk 3:16-18, Hudson Taylor, in everything give thanks, King of Bavaria sole audience, Mark Twain Tramp Abroad, POTS, praise, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 4:7, Psalm 9:1-2 sermon, singing, singing as prayer, sole audience, song, thanks, Thanksgiving, The Hiding Place, vertical singing, witnessing, worship
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The Fount of Every Blessing
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) Ephesians 1:3-14 is notable for its list of blessings which God has given … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged blessing, Christ, Christology, Ephesians 1:3, spiritual blessing, Thanksgiving
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Our Spiritual Blessings
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) Paul opens the letter of Ephesians by giving thanks to God for all … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged blessings, Ephesians 1:3, gratitude, in Christ, salvation, spiritual blessings, thanks, Thanksgiving
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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
“How To Build A Life Of Joy” (Philippians 1:3-5 sermon)
Samuel Rutherford was a pastor in Anwoth, Scotland in the 1600’s, when the English government changed, and demanded that all ministers use the government prescribed prayer book, and submit to the rites and ordinances of the Anglican church, instead of … Continue reading
Four Ways To Praise (Psalm 9)
“I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2) Psalm 9 … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged happiness, praise, prayer, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 9:1-2, singing, song, Thanksgiving, witness, worship
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