Sermons on Joseph And Potiphar:

Pain Ignores The Appointment Book Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 20, 2001

Many of us dislike dealing with unplanned events, but those who need us need us now. So either we paralyze or we panic, unless we learn to work together inside God’s grace and unless we discern that He is giving us time in which to grow our faith.

I have the utmost admiration for anybody who can live amid constant crises. I cannot do that very well. If you are the kind of person who can keep your sanity when there are ten unplanned things happening around you, I salute you. How do you do it? That’s not me. That’s not my skill. I like ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:30-56

Denomination: Baptist

Distant Country, Better Country

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 1, 2001

Funeral message for Michael Keys, age 36, whose parents requested a message from the parable of the Prodigal Son

In my study there hangs a reproduction of a sixteenth century map. My son gave it to me several years ago. He knows that I have always liked maps. I like to look at maps, study maps, even sketch maps myself. There is something fulfilling about seeing how things are laid out, how streets and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-24, Hebrews 11:16

Denomination: Baptist

Brought Down

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 3, 2001

A brief message intended to serve as a transition from a choral concert of Advent music, featuring our children and youth choirs, to the Communion table.

“He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” Children bring things down. All sorts of things. Around our place we are learning that a ten-month-old can move very quickly and has a vice-like grasp. Things will come down if they are not moved beyond reach. But ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:57-62

Denomination: Baptist

Lasting Love

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 13, 2001

Funeral sermon for Mrs. Lola Black, who died suddenly only five months after her husband’s death.

In March, when we gathered in this place to say farewell to a creative, innovative man, we did not dream that five months later we would gather again to bid adieu to his cherished helpmate. Charlie and Lola are together again, in death as in life; and it’s almost beyond belief. It just does not ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-17

Denomination: Baptist

Reach Out And Touch

Contributed by Joseph Johnson on Oct 18, 2000

(Preparation: cut out enough pages from a old copy of the phone book yellow pages that everyone can get a page folded up in the bulletin.

(Preparation: cut out enough pages from a old copy of the phone book yellow pages that everyone can get a page folded up in the bulletin. Make sure that you include advertisements for Plumbers, Electricians, Jewelers, and Movers. ) Let me begin by telling you that I had one of the hardest weeks. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:18-26

What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?

Contributed by Joseph Johnson on Oct 18, 2000

I went to Crown Hill Cemetary Thursday and walked around.

I went to Crown Hill Cemetary Thursday and walked around. Everywhere you look there are grave markers, tombstones, and monuments. As I walked through the cemetary I thought of members of the church whose graves are at crown hill Cemetary, and I thought about some of the words that I and others ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:1-12

Appearances Are Deceiving Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

A quest for truth often begins with disillusionment, but is easily diverted to something that appears good on the surface; but when you find God's truth, even if it is in a strange place, embrace it quickly and fully.

The LORD does not see as [men] see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. Ridgecrest is a large Baptist-run assembly ground, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. All summer long, every year, thousands of Christians come to Ridgecrest for training, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Screen Doors For The Kursk Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

Doing battle always requires protection, but we often try to use something flimsy, not employing the help which God gives through others.

No one in his right mind goes out to do battle without protection. You won’t last long on to any battlefield, whether it be the beaches of Normandy or the sands of Kuwait, if you don’t have some kind of armor. Tanks, flak jackets, bulletproof vests – you must have something to protect your heart, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Romans 1:13-17

Denomination: Baptist

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

If I am going to do battle for peace and justice, I need appropriate equipping -- sometimes for hard work, sometimes for self-defense, and always for a teachable spirit.

There may be some things of which it can be said that one size fits all, but shoes are not among them. Shoes are very personal, and when they’re wrong, they’re wrong. If they hurt, they hurt. With some things, you can make do with the wrong size – a belt that’s too long, pants that are a bit ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12, Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

A Lion In A Den Of Daniels Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

When you feel you are the only one who's wrong in the crowd of acceptable people, see how faith teaches us to find a shred of dignity in reaching out for help, and how complete faith gives us wholeness despite our past.

This message is dedicated to the memory of my deceased great-aunt, Adelia Miller. Aunt Dedie loved to tell how, when she was a little girl going to the Sunday School at the Cloverport Baptist Church in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, the pastor had all the children in Sunday School one day. He ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Luke 17:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Survivors And Castaways Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

The fundamental stance we have before God is critical to everything else in our lives, for personal idolatries, failed intimacies, and low self-esteem are all results of our not experiencing salvation.

When I was young, and riding a bicycle, we didn’t wear helmets. Nobody had thought of such a thing. And even if they had, no government was telling us we had to wear helmets. I haven’t even worn so much as a hat since I reached the age of 13, much less a helmet. So when we spilled, we spilled, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Who Got Revived?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2000

Pulpit drama, imaginatively reconstructing Elijah

Elijah: Zarephath! What a lovely town! It’s always good to come to Zarephath. A man wants to feel welcomed, and I find that here. Out there, in some of the towns and villages of Israel, I have to watch my back. King Ahab’s agents are everywhere, and who knows what they will do? In some places ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

More Than Hatch, Match, And Dispatch Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 13, 2000

The church is for far more than empty ceremony on occasions demanded by tradition; it is the steward of new life, with a rich and full experience that employs the diversity of gifts God has given it.

Last week you seemed to get a big charge out of my little story about going to a wedding rehearsal and wasting time waiting for a key person to arrive. When I said that I didn’t know what we’d do on Sunday afternoon if he didn’t show up, you let out a belly laugh. You assumed I was talking about ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Knee Bowed And Body Bent Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

Since body language communicates our real feelings, we must pay attention to how we present our bodies to God -- in the words of James Weldon Johnson, "knee-bowed", ready to submit our wills to His; and "body-bent", ready to work for things that matter.

You may not speak a great many foreign languages, but there is one language other than English at which most of us are proficient. That is body language. Whether our mouths can pronounce strange sounds or whether our eyes can make any sense out of different alphabets, we can see body language. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Teary Eyes, Stumbling Feet, Hands Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

Deepseated shame and objective guilt arise from a self-serving spirit, but the Cross delivers us from both and frees us to live out of gratitude.

Mark it down. Memorize this. Engrave it somewhere. It is an ironclad rule. This will always happen: when it is the least convenient for you to respond, someone will want you to respond. When it is nearly impossible for you to get up and do what someone wants you to do, that is the very moment ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19

Denomination: Baptist