Tag Archives: theodicy

“Finishing Well” (Psalm 92:12-15 message)

Posted on 2026/07/06 by Shawn Thomas

(Preached at Trinity Baptist Church, Norman, OK, Father’s Day, June 21, 2026) Just a few years ago, an elderly university president in South Carolina wrote: “It’s sundown, Lord … I fear not death … But I do fear that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged aging, bearing fruit, Bible, bitterness, Brooklyn Bridge, Cherry Street Mile, daily devotions, daily quiet time, David McCullough, devotional time, discipleship, evangelism, faith, finishing well, foundation, fruit, God, gospel, I Peter 2:2, Jesus, John Roebling, Mark Twain, Max Barnett, missions, prayer warrior, Psalm 92, Psalms, salvation, senior adults, Shawn E. Thomas, spiritual disciplines, spiritual foundation, spiritual growth, theodicy, Trinity Baptist Norman OK, witness, word of God | 2 Comments

Teacher’s Overview of Joshua 6:12-25, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, “Winning Strategy,” for June 28, 2026.

Posted on 2026/06/20 by Shawn Thomas

Inclues a sample introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations you can share, discussion questions for your group, and spiritual life applications you can make. A video version of this preview is available on YouTube at: INTRODUCTION: ???DISCUSSION … Continue reading →

Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged "Winning Strategy", apologetics, application, archeology, ban, Baptist, Bible, Bible study, Biblical Archeology, Book of Joshua, Canaanites killing, Christianity, commandments, discussion question, Explore the Bible, faith, God, God is just, grace, Holy Spirit, Jericho, Jericho map, Jesus, Joshua, Joshua 6:12-25, justice, lesson outline, Lifeway, obedience, salvation, Southern Baptist, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, theodicy, under the ban, walls of Jericho | 6 Comments

Teacher’s Overview of Matthew 11:1-6, 16-24, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, “Confronting Doubts, for 2/08/26

Posted on 2026/01/31 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for teachers of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Matthew 11 for Sunday, February 8, 2026. Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations you can share, discussion questions for your group, and spiritual … Continue reading →

Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged "Confronting Doubts", accountability to God, Anton Bruckner, Baptist, Benjamin Franklin mule story, Bethsaida, Bible, Book of Matthew, can't please the crowd, Capernaum, Christian doubts, criticism, doubting salvation, doubts, expectations, Explore the Bible, fruit, gift, gifts, God, gospel, Henry Adams, Jesus, John Newton, John the Baptist, judgment, Letters of John Newton, Lifeway, Matthew, Matthew 11, missions, opportunity, Shawn E. Thomas, shawnethomas.com, Southern Baptist, Sunday School, Sunday school lesson, Sunday School teacher, teacher help, The Education of Henry Adams, theodicy, woe | 11 Comments

“The Word That Sustains In Difficult Days” (Habakkuk 2:1-3 sermon)

Posted on 2023/10/02 by Shawn Thomas

After my dad passed away, I got a couple of his Ernest Hemingway books which he liked to read. In one of those books Hemingway wrote: “You know what a classic is, don’t you? A book that everyone mentions and … Continue reading →

Posted in Habakkuk "Find Us Faithful" series messages, Sermons | Tagged Bible, Bible promise, Bible Reading, classic book, conscience, counsel, devotions, Ernest Hemingway, God's word, Habakkuk, how to be saved, how to walk with God, II Timothy 3:16, input, Isaiah 55:10, Jeremiah 29:13, Jesus, judgment, morning devotions, prayer, Psalm 19, salvation, same-sex marriage, scripture, scripture reading, sin, theodicy, trials, word of God | 1 Comment

Teacher’s Overview: Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 12:1-13, “Exclusive”

Posted on 2023/06/15 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Jeremiah 12:1-13 for Sunday, June 25, 2023, with the title, “Exclusive.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRO ??? Can you share a time … Continue reading →

Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged ask God why, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Boss Tweed, gay wedding cake, God, hang on, Hosea 11, How can I give you up, Jeremiah, Jeremiah 12:1-13, Jeremiah 12:1-13 Bible Study, Jeremiah 12:1-13 Sunday school lesson, Jesus why have You forsaken Me, judgment, Lifeway Explore the Bible, love, Matthew 15:8, Prodigal Son, Psalm 43:2 why, Psalm 73, run with footmen, stick to it, Sunday school teacher help, Sweet Cakes By Melissa, theodicy, wicked prosper | 17 Comments

Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson: John 11:32-46, “I AM The Resurrection”

Posted on 2023/02/18 by Shawn Thomas

A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of John 11:32-46, for Sunday, February 26, 2023, wit the title, “I Am The Resurrection.” (A video version of this overview is available … Continue reading →

Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews | Tagged Do you believe this, Explore the Bible teacher help, faith, funeral story, he whom You love, Jesus Deity, Jesus humanity, Jesus I am the resurrection, Jesus love, Jesus power, Jesus wept, John 11 Sunday school lesson help, John 11 teaching outline, Lazarus Mary Martha, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson John 11, Lifeway John 11 teacher help, questioning God, questions for God, resurrection, salvation, the one Jesus loved, theodicy, trials, trust in God | 7 Comments

“Faith In Crisis” (Psalm 74 sermon)

Posted on 2020/04/06 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 74 “Faith in Crisis” (COVID crisis Sunday #4, 4/05/20) The verses we find here in Psalm 74 are not going to make many “verse-of-the-day” Bible calendars: “O God, why have You rejected us forever?” “The enemy has damaged everything … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19 crisis assorted messages, Current Events, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged A. Scott Berg Lindbergh, Asaph, Babylonian Captivity idolatry, C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters, Charles Lindbergh 1927 flight, commitment, commitment to Jesus, coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID-19 crisis, COVID-19 prayers, crisis, daily Bible reading, daily devotions, daily worship, Daniel 4:17-18, devotional time, faith in crisis, forsaken, girl praying, girl praying for Lindbergh, ICU doctor St. John's Tulsa, intercession, Jeremiah 7:4, Jesus is King, Jesus is Lord, Job 13:15, obedience, perseverance, prayer, Psalm 22:3, Psalm 74, questioning God, Romans 10:9, salvation, seeking God, The Temple of the Lord, theodicy, trials, Tulsa World, Why have you rejected us?, Yet, yet You are my King from of old, Yours also is the night | 5 Comments

“The Goodness of God in the Midst of Affliction” (Psalm 119:65-72 sermon)

Posted on 2019/03/31 by Shawn Thomas

In February 2012, I stood to lead prayer meeting at the church in Louisiana I had pastored for 12 years, but the longer I stood the sicker I became. I had to leave during the prayer time and have my … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged "Fall Apart" song, affliction, attributes of God, becoming like Christ, Christlikeness, cleansing, cocoon of a butterfly, confession, conformed to His image, dysautonomia, Ephesians 6, faith, faith testing, glory, God attributes, God goodnesss, God is good, God is good all the time, god is good and does good, God's purpose, good, grace, identification, II Corinthians 12:9, it is good for me that I was afflicted, John 17:3, knowing God, lessons, life, life purpose, Matthew 13 parable of the sower, maturity, minister, ministry, My grace is sufficient, pastor, pastor Shawn Thomas, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, POTS, prayers, priorities, Psalm 119 acrostic, Psalm 119:65-72, Psalm 119:67, purification, purpose for suffering, purpose for trials, purposes for affliction, Romans 8:28-29, Ronnie Rogers Trinity Baptist Norman, salvation, Shawn E. Thomas, sin, spiritual maturity, spiritual warfare, suffering, sword of the Spirit, test, teth, theodicy, theology, theology 101, thorn in the flesh, tob good, trials, word of God, You are good, You do good | 2 Comments

Trusting Providence In A Fallen World (Matt. 2:13-23 sermon)

Posted on 2017/01/16 by Shawn Thomas

I hope that you are among those who had a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year — but I know that not everyone did. Our lives are often very difficult, and if you’ve never noticed, problems don’t usually take … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged A.W. Tozer, Bible prophecy, creation, Ephesians 1:11, fallen world, God's providence, Isaiah 65, Matthew 2:13-23 sermon, nature, prophecy, providence, Romans 8:19-22, Romans 8:28, sin nature, sovereignty, The Knowledge of the Holy, theodicy | Leave a comment

He Didn’t Get Away With It

Posted on 2014/08/21 by Shawn Thomas

II Kings 21 doesn’t seem to end right. With all the evil described of King Manasseh & Judah in verses 2-16 (that they were worse than the pagan nations which had preceded them) and the punishment promised by the prophets … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged evil prosper, faith, Hebrews 9:27, II Kings 21, judgment, prosperity of wicked, Psalm 73, theodicy | Leave a comment