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)
- "Blessed Is She Who Believed" (Luke 1:45 sermon)
- "Your Response to Christmas" (Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon)
- "A 'Real Life' Christmas" (Luke 2:1-11 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: theology
“Unfathomable Treasure: Our Triune God” (Matthew 3:16-17 sermon)
Do you know that no one really knows WHAT electricity is? Look it up; they don’t. They know theories about how it works; they know how to avoid being killed by it; they know how to harness it to use … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged A.W. Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy, Deity of Christ, Deuteronomy 6:4, doctrine, doctrine of God, doctrine of trinity, Ephesians 2:18, eternity, George W. Bush, God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit, Great Commission, Gregory Nazianzen, heaven, I Peter 1:2, illustrations of Trinity, Islam, Jesus Christ, John 17:5, John 1:1, Matthew 3:16-17 sermon, modalism, modalism and Matthew 3, monotheism, Mormonism, prayer, salvation, theology, Trinitarian Christians, Trinitarian faith, Trinity, Triune God
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Test The Spirits
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4;1) Here John addresses what has become one of the weaknesses … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged discernment, doctrine, false teachers, heresy, I John 4:1, theology
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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
“That He Gave” (John 3:16 sermon)
One movie that Cheryl, Michael & I enjoy watching together is the 1960’s musical, “My Fair Lady”, in which Professor Henry Higgins takes Eliza Doolittle, a young flower girl from the streets of London and transforms her into a well-spoken … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged appease, atonement, Bible, Bible one story, bronze serpent, child sacrifice, demonstrate love, evangelism, faith, forgiveness, Genesis 22, gift, He gave, heaven, human sacrifice, I Corinthians 13, I John 4:10, I Peter 2:24, Jacob & Esau, Jehovah Jireh, John 3:14-15, John 3:16, John 3:16 sermon, love, Michael O'Neill, My Fair Lady, Numbers 21, Old Testament, President Reagan assassination John Hinckley, propitiation, religion, Romans 3:20, Romans 5:8, sacrifice, sacrificial death, salvation, Secret Service, soteriology, substitutionary atonement, take the bullet, The West Wing, theology, works
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“For God” (John 3:16 sermon)
In London, England there is a 70-foot high red granite obelisk called “Cleopatra’s Needle” that stands beside the Thames River. In the 1870’s it was given to Britain by Egypt. When they moved it to England and set it up, they put a … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Uncategorized
Tagged "For God", Bible, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, China Middle Kingdom, Cleopatra's Needle, egocentrism, Ephesians 2, ethnocentrism, grace, humility, John 3:16, Luke 18, mercy, prosperity gospel, Redemption Plan song, religion, Ron & Pat Owens, salvation, Sarah Michelle Geller, scripture, selfishness, spirituality, theology, worship
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When God Answers An Outrageous Request
“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’” “And He said, ‘Come!’” (Matthew 14:28-29) Can you imagine the gall that Peter had, to make this outrageously brash request of Jesus? … Continue reading
“The Christ of Christmas: His Humanity” (John 1:14 sermon)
A couple of years ago, the President of Ursiline College made headlines when she decided to move into the women’s dorm. So many college professors and administrators are accused of living in their “ivory towers” of academia, removed from what … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged carne, doctrine of Christ, in-flesh-ment, Jesus, Jesus humanity, John 1:14, Luke 2:52, theology
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“The Christ of Christmas: His Deity” (John 1:1-3 message)
There was an article in the paper a couple of years ago about the Nativity Scene in St. Albans, West Virginia. It included a picture of the scene, because it was so unusual: it had a stable, some sheep, camels … Continue reading
“With The Last”
“I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.” (Isaiah 41:4) God tells us two important things about Himself in this verse: — God was first. He was already in existence when nothing else was. He … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged eternal life, eternity, eternity past, Isaiah 41:4, John 3:16, Psalm 90, salvation, theology
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The Immeasurable Goodness of our God
Psalm 36:5-6 describes four qualities of God in the following manner: — :5a “Your lovingkindness, O Lord, reaches to the heavens” — :5b “Your faithfulness to the skies” — :6a “Your righteousness is like the mountains of God” — :6b “Your … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged chesed, faithfulness, God, grace, judgment, lovingkindness, Martin Luther, Psalm 36:5-6, righteousness, theology
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