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)
- "God's Purpose For Your Life" (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)
- Teacher's Overview of Matthew 6:19-34, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, "Treasure," for 1/04/2026
- "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"
- "Jesus' Example of Baptism" (Matthew 3:13-17 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
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- Discovering FBCA Membership class lessons
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- Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
- Explore the Bible Sunday School lessons
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- India Mission Trip 2011
- Isaiah 53 sermon series Suffering Servant Glorious King
- John 3:16 sermon series
- Luke 10:38-42 Mary & Martha series
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- Matthew sermons
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- missions
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- Philippians sermons
- POTS (dysautonomia) articles
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- The Model Prayer series (FBCA 2020)
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- worship
Tag Archives: wisdom
Teacher’s Overview of Psalm 1:1-6, Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson, “God’s Wisdom,” for June 1, 2025.
An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Psalm 1:1-6, “God’s Wisdom,” for Sunday, June 1, 2025. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at: INTRODUCTION: ??? Does … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged abundant life, Alister McGrath C.S. Lewis, ashere, Augustine, Augustine and Psalms, Augustine Confessions, Bible, Biblical meditation, Blessed, Blessed life, C.S. Lewis, Confessions, David McCullough, eternal life, Excellence is a habit, Explore the Bible, God, God knows, God's wisdom, God's word, gospel, Hebrew, J. Frank Dobie, J.I. Packer Knowing God, Jesus, John 10:10, John Adams, John the Baptist, judgment, know God, knowing God, Lifeway, meditate on scripture, meditation, Psalm 1, Psalm 1:1-6, Psalm tunes, Psalms, Psalms as songs, Psalms testimony, Reflections on the Psalms, salvation, scripture memory, sin, Sir Walter Scott, Tales of Old Time Texas, Tim Keller Psalms, water, We are what we repeatedly do, wheat and chaff, wicked vs righteous, Will Durant, winnowing, wisdom
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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 6:1-15, “Serving” for July 21, 2024.
An overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” Sunday School lesson, for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders. Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text overview and highlights, illustrations, discussion questions for your class, and spiritual life applications. A … Continue reading
Posted in Explore the Bible SS lesson overviews
Tagged Acts 6:1-15, church, church growth, complaint, deacon, deacon ministry, deacon qualificatioins, deacons, diakoneo, diakonos, evangelism, Explore the Bible, Greek, grumbling, Hebrews, Hellenistic, hurricane Beryl, Jews, Lifeway, ministry, ministry to widows, Sanhedrin, service, serving, serving food, Stephen, Sunday School, the twelve, widows, wisdom, witness
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“Real Faith Seeks Wisdom” (James 1:5 sermon)
Sometimes when a pastor preaches verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible, he might come to a passage which he’s really not sure will apply to anyone in the congregation that day. I can assure you that the scripture we are … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons
Tagged A.T. Robertson, ask for wisdom, ask of God, Bible, Bible Reading, Bible study, Book of James, chastisement, daily Bible reading, doers of the word, If any of you lacks wisdom, James, James 1, James 1:5, James sermons, James wisdom, Job, Mark Dever, maturity, perseverance, prayer, purpose for trials, Rebekah Genesis 25, salvation testimony, seeking wisdom, sophia, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, trials, where is wisdom found, wisdom, wisdom in trials
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“Where’s Your Glory?” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 sermon)
It’s football season, and many college football fans virtually live and die on the success of their football teams. Fans wear their team’s colors on game day, and get excited when they win, and bask in the glory of that … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged athletes injury, boast, college football, conversation, Ernest Hemingway suicide, glory, glory of heaven, God's glory, gospel, Houston hospitals, Isaiah 55:6-9, Jeremiah 9:12, Jeremiah 9:23, Jeremiah 9:23 sermon, Jeremiah 9:23-24, John 17:3, know God, knowing God, Knowing God J.I. Packer, Luke 12 rich man, materialism, Pete Rose batting average, physical ability, pride and joy, relationships, retail therapy, riches, salvation, shopping high, strength, Washington Irving Westminster Abbey, wisdom
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“Asking & Discerning” (Matthew 7:6-11 sermon)
I loved our Children’s Ministry Bible presentation last week, and I especially appreciated how Dr. Amanda mentioned that she is teaching our kids the importance of CONTEXT in scripture. It’s hard to overstate the importance of that in Bible interpretation. … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Acts 13:45, asking, church fundraisers, compromise, discerning, discernment, donations, evangelism, Ezra, fundraising, giving, government, Holy Spirit, III John, Johann Tetzel, Luke 23:8, Mark Twain Innocents Abroad, Martin Luther, Matthew 7:6, Matthew 7:6-11, missions, missions giving, missions support, Pandering, pearls before swine, prayer, Reformation Day, salvation, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, spiritual abuse, wisdom, witnessing
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“You Will Understand Hereafter”
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.’” (John 13:7) Of how many things that happen to us are these words true: “What I do you do not realize now, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged discipleship, faith, John 13:7, trials, trust, understanding, wisdom
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The Servants Knew
“When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom” (John 2:9) Not everyone at the wedding party … Continue reading
Be Thankful You Didn’t Say It!
Sometimes after a confrontation with an annoying person we might be tempted to think: “I should have really let them have it”, but Proverbs 29:11 says otherwise: “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back.” … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged fool, fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, Proverbs 29:11, self-control, temper, wisdom
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“Just Follow Your Heart”?
How many times have well-meaning people counseled someone by saying, “Just follow your heart”? It is one of those things which just “sounds right” to tell a person who is seeking direction. But it turns out that according to scripture, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged advice, counsel, deceit, decisions, heart, Jeremiah 17:9, just follow your heart, Proverbs 28:26, sin, wisdom
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A Good Fear
Not all fear is bad. Proverbs 14:16 says: “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.” The word “cautious” in this verse is literally “fears” in Hebrew. A wise man “fears” … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged consequences, fear, fear of the Lord, Proverbs 14:16, sin, wisdom
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