Sermons on Joseph Freidman:

Heart Bypass (1996)

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 15, 2009

If we do not understand what God does for us every day, then we will not receive what He wants to do when we really need Him. Sometimes He must withdraw from us because our abundance blinds us. (Communion message)

If we do not understand what God does, every day, then we will not receive what He wants to do when we really need Him. If with both minds and hearts we do not grasp that it is God who provides for us, day after day, even when we don’t think we need Him, then our minds will be closed and our ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:45-52

Denomination: Baptist

The Great Dismal Swamp And The Evereadies

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 15, 2009

Just as comic strip characters were saved from the Great Dismal Swamp because their Eveready batteries summoned the Fleet, so also if we will use the resources we have, we can save others from this world because the risen Christ is our resource.

The travel brochures say practically nothing about it, and yet it is one of the largest features on the landscape of two’ adjacent states. Two incorporated cities encompass include a great deal of it, but very few people live there. It’s mostly hundreds of square miles of nothing. The official ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Knit Quilt

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 16, 2009

Jonathan and David demonstrate how people are joined to one another: acknowledging a Father, receiving validation, empowering one another, working together for life.

There is a group in our church which is planning a quilt. This quilt is to depict the history of our church, with each square representing a decade in the church’s life. The finished product will be put on display so that everyone can get a picture of our history. Now this is not the first time ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

What More Can You Ask?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 19, 2009

What keeps us from fulfilling Jesus’ "So send I you" mandate? Lack of information? There is the Bible. Motivation? Forgiveness is critical for all. No personal experience with Christ? Now is the time for a fresh encounter. Montgomery Hills Baptist

Some of us live in a state of perpetual unreadiness. No matter what happens, we think we are not ready. Notice how I put that. We THINK we are not ready. We may have plenty of stuff in our old kit bags. We may have assembled all that we need to accomplish whatever we are about to do, but the ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Denomination: Baptist

Hands

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 21, 2009

To a church which has prided itself on its accumulated resources, but which now faces austerity, God says that if we do not fear but trust Him, we are enough to get Him the victory.

Hands. You have two hands. A right hand and a left hand, two hands. They are the most versatile parts of the human body, the places where our creativity is expressed, the instruments through which we register emotions, the tools we use to earn our daily bread. Hands. What a wonderful gift are our ...read more

Scripture: Judges 7:1-22

Denomination: Baptist

Invisible Man

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 27, 2009

As Ralph Ellison helped us see racism as one group treating another as invisible, so today we need to discern who is invisible to us; and we need to see how Jesus is invisible to many until He is connected to the culture and until we make Him visible.

"I am an invisible man." Those words, pecked out on an old typewriter one night in the Vermont hills, began a literary work of unparalleled beauty and power. Ralph Waldo Ellison; encouraged to make music and to write by his father; inspired by the civil rights activism of his mother, began to ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Extreme Living

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Apr 28, 2009

In a world of Extreme life, we as Christians can live Extreme also

EXTREME LIVING Attitude is Everything (All my sermons use illustrations from Sermon Central and all Scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) In our world there seems to be a need to take things to another level. When I was younger I enjoyed sports, now there is EXTREME sports. Our world is ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 8:10

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Reality Check

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 30, 2009

Adherence to the Bible will teach us neither to be overly optimistic nor overly negative about human nature, but will give us both hope and harmony. Thus we must be serious Bible students.

Twenty-five years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped out of that lunar module and set foot where no person had ever gone before, on the surface of the moon. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." We were fascinated, and we still are. Nothing like that had ever been done; nothing quite like ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

In The Hour Of Trial: Open Door

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 1, 2009

The doors of the church: some are locked, but panic hardware always lets us out for mission; some are heavily locked, but it is Christ who is our security; and some are never locked, for we are to be open to embrace those who need us.

Have you ever seen a place with as many doors as this church building has! A hardware salesman would be in heaven, right here! Doors, doors, everywhere doors. There are doors leading to the outside. Eight of them, I think. There are doors inside, leading into the rooms. Some doors take you into ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:7-13

Denomination: Baptist

Knowing When To Break The Rules

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 2, 2009

Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman admits several interpretations, all of which teach us: give what is needed rather than what is wanted; teach others rather than do for them; watch your motives.

Just when you think you have your life routines down pat, settled and secure, something comes along and upsets the whole pattern. Just when you think you have your life all organized, something comes up to discombobulate it! Just when you think you know the rules by which you govern your life, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28

Denomination: Baptist

How To Drive Your Mother Crazy

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 3, 2009

Know your own self, do what is right whether you like it or not, and go beyond the norm. It will drive your mother crazy and will call from your Father, "Well done".

Our relationship with our mothers is at once the most wonderful and yet the most difficult of all our relationships. We love them deeply, and we get so upset with them we almost hate them. Few of us are neutral about our mothers; we hold them close and then push them away forcefully. We get ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

How New Is New?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 4, 2009

We live in a revolutionary time. Can we seize it for Christ. God is doing something new and is calling us to join Him in it, as walls and barriers come down.

If this winter is like most winters, you will wake up one morning, peer out your window, and find the whole scene blanketed in pure white snow. It will seem like a fairyland to you, and for a little while, at least, the whole world will appear to be new. Brand new, clean and fresh, sparkling and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Denomination: Baptist

The Inevitable Cleanup Job Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 5, 2009

Sin is inevitable and needs to be identified as the filth that is in all of us, and it needs to be acknowledged in the Christian community. But God loves us and cares for us and is in the blood of Christ cleaning us.

No matter how good it is, it has to be cleaned up. Isn’t that always the case? No matter how good anything is, it has to be cleaned up. You get a new suit of clothes, you wear it a few times -- maybe only one time, in this heat -- and before you know it, it has to go off to the dry cleaners. No ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-10

Denomination: Baptist

Lessons From Wiffle Ball

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on May 5, 2009

I loved wiffle ball as a child, some of those lessons apply to our walk with Christ

LESSONS FROM WIFFLE BALL (All my sermons use illustrations from sermon central and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) When I was a young child I loved to play wiffle ball. We would set up a small “ball park” in the back yard and pretend we were great base ball players. You can do ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:2

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Getting Past Self-Indulgence

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 6, 2009

Self-indulgence does not mean denying yourself what you actually need, but meeting needs easily turns into obsession. The way out is service to others.

Whoever first baked Pecan Sandies should be made a saint. I love Pecan Sandies cookies! The taste of crunchy pecans, the texture of shortbread. I don’t care if you are from Georgia and pronounce it pee-kan, I’ll insist that Pecan or pee-kan Sandies are the finest cookie on the market. And so ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15

Denomination: Baptist