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.
-
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
- 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: vocation
“Will Your Work Perish, or Last?” (John 6:27 sermon)
Every so often the U.S. economy will have a recession, or a depression — or even what they call a “Crash,” like what happened in 1929. One of the worst in our history was in 1873, when banks and businesses … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermons
Tagged 168 hours a week, 5 loves and 2 fish, baptism, Billy Graham, bread, call to ministry, Christian vocation, crash, depression, don't waste your life, Dwight Eisenhower, economic crisis, economy, endure, eternal, eternal investment, eternal life, eternal security, feeding the 5000, fellowship hall, fish, giving, I Corinthians 3:12-15, invest time, Jesus foundation, Jim Eliot, John 6:27, John Piper, ministry, missions, money, perish, priorities, recession, salvation, saved, saved yet so as through fire, service, sinners prayer, soul, stewardship, temporary, that man is no fool, This Is My Story, time, tithe, vocation, work, works
2 Comments
“The Call To Holiness” (I Peter 1:14-16)
Duncan Campbell was a Scottish minister who lived in the mid-1900’s. He was involved in an amazing revival in the Hebrides Islands in the northwest of Scotland. Years ago he said, “Holiness — a demonstration of godly living — is … Continue reading
Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged adultery immorality, Be killing sin or it will be killing you, business, business ethics, C.S. Lewis, cathedral, compromise, cross, cross of Christ, daily repentance, drug use, drunkenness, Duncan Campbell, holiness, holiness of God, holy, Holy God, holy holy holy, holy life, Holy One, Holy Spirit, I am holy, I Peter 1:14-16, I Peter sermon, II Corinthians 5:17, imputed righteousness, Isaiah 6, Ivory soap 99 and 44/100 percent pure, Job, John Owen, justification, Leviticus 11:44, Matthew 5:48, moral life, Pamela Brooks, Paula Mutina agency, pornography, repent, repentance, revival, salvation, sanctification, sexuality, snake, standard of holiness, trisagion, vocation, Yahweh, you shall be holy
1 Comment
“Pilgrim’s Progress” (I Peter 1:1-2 sermon)
The Bible is the #1 best-selling, most-read book of all time. But right behind it, is The Pilgrim’s Progress, widely considered the second most-read book in history. It was written by Puritan John Bunyan, in the form of an allegory: … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged aliens, ambassador, baptism of Jesus, Bible, Chris Boniol, David McCullough Mornings on Horseback, doctrine, evangelism, gardener, George W. Bush Muslims, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Great Commission, Gregory of Nazianzus, Hebrews 11:13, I Peter 1:1-2, I Peter 2:11, I Peter sermon, II Corinthians 5:20, Islam and the Trinity, John Bunyan, modalism, not of this world, pilgrim, Pilgrim's Progress, pilgrims, place kicker, planted, Puritans, purpose, scripture, sown, The Pilgrim's Progress, Theodore Roosevelt Sr., this world is not your home, Trinity, Triune God, vocation, when I say God I mean Father Son and Holy Spirit, witness
3 Comments
The Search For Delight (Psalm 37:4 sermon)
“Hedonism” is the belief that pleasure is the most important thing in the world, and that you should live your life, for pleasure. Most Christians would say that hedonism is wrong — but a few years ago pastor John Piper … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons
Tagged Alexander Von Humboldt, Amazon jungle, Bible Reading, Brave Companions David McCullough, C.S. Lewis, Christian hedonism, commitment, daily quiet time, delight, delight yourself, Delight yourself in the Lord, desires, devotion time, devotions, Divine Country, Ecclesiastes, effort, family, football, fulfillment, garden of Eden, heaven, hedonism, Hop on Pop, Job, John Piper, joy, Made To Crave, marriage, occupation, personal worship, pleasure, prayer, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 17:17, Psalm 37:4, Psalm 42, Psalm 4:7, quiet time, reading, river of delights, scripture memory, sin, Song This Blood, soul mate, vocation, worship
Leave a comment
It’s Not Too Much
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.’” (Exodus 13:1-2) It is striking that God has … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Abraham and Isaac, Exodus 13:1-2, giving, love, obedience, sacrifice, service, tithe, tithing, vocation
Leave a comment
God’s Work
When many of us think of “God’s work”, we think of missions and evangelism, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, and other “church”-type activities. And those things certainly ARE God’s work. But Proverbs 16:11 shows us another perspective on … Continue reading
By The Will of God
In Colossians 1:1 Paul wrote that he was an apostle “by the will of God.” This is an extremely important assertion. He had not taken this mantle upon himself; God had purposed and given it to him. It should be … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged Colossians 1:1, God's will, ministry, vocation
Leave a comment
shawnethomas 