Sermons on Joseph In Prison:

Genesis Women: Tough Choices

Contributed by Jenny Franklin on Nov 23, 2021

God introduces several women in Genesis. They did not have easy lives. They experienced difficult situations. They had to make tough choices.

Let's take a brief glimpse at some of the women in Genesis. We can learn lessons from the choices each of them made. Eve The mother of all living - Genesis 3:20 Ate of the forbidden fruit - Genesis 3:6 Consequences – sin and death entered the world Immediately – Lost her home (the Garden of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:11-12

Denomination: Baptist

Embarassment Or Witness? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 1, 2003

First-person account of Peter, at the time of the cockcrow denial, remembering the times he had embarassed himself and Jesus when he could have made a witness.

This knife, this bloody knife! Why did I keep it, why did I not throw it into the Brook Kidron while I had a chance? It could become evidence. They will have the assault weapon and they will tie me to it. Great God, I am going to be arrested! I am going to be taken prisoner. Who knows what ...read more

Scripture: John 18:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Entering The Joy: A Five Talent Man

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 7, 2002

Funeral service for Robert Cecil White, poet, jazz musician, self-professed prodigal.

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few months ago when onto the scene, here at this church, there burst like a blaze of light a small intense man, dressed in a loose-flowing shirt, speaking up frequently. People took to him immediately; he was so open and so outgoing, and we at Takoma ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Eleventh Hour Peace

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 11, 2001

Peace seems so elusive; the armistice signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was not permanent, and now we are dealing with the 11th of September. But we are never more near deliverance than when our troubles deepen, and we can wait ac

Peace! What an elusive thing peace is! Most of the time, we don’t have peace. And when we get it, we cannot keep it. Peace is hard to come by and even harder to keep. In a railway carriage in the forest of Compiegne, in France, gathered representatives of imperial Germany and of the allied ...read more

Scripture: John 16:16-33

Denomination: Baptist

Love Almighty And Ills Unlimited Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 17, 2001

When we are dealing with issues and conflicts, we may select to be babies (unlimited retaliation), children (limited retaliation), adolescents (limited love), or mature (unlimited love), toward Jesus’ command to "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. What madman spoke those words? What visionary would even in his wildest dreams suppose that you and I could be perfect? What is this raving? It is the word of Jesus, at the end of a series of challenges. Love your enemies. Give to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48

Denomination: Baptist

Promises To Keep Before I Sleep

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 8, 2007

We find it difficult to keep promises because we are focused on dealing with today’s issues. We back off our commitments to God because they are hard, but we can receive help from accountability partners, and can know joy and fulfillment.

To be a saint is not to be perfect; to be a saint is to be someone who makes promises and keeps them. Sainthood is not some magic status, conferred by the church for merit or miracles; sainthood is ordinary people living in extraordinary faithfulness, making promises and keeping them. Did you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 1:48

Denomination: Baptist

Dropped Cloths Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 23, 2008

The young man who lost his linen cloth and ran away naked may be a wealthy person, depending on status; or Lazarus, living in the past, or Mark, caught in immaturity. But He who dropped another linen cloth gives life.

Not too many years ago, Easter was the day on which everyone trotted out new clothes. It was on Easter that spring dresses sprung off the racks for young girls, and starched collars irritated the necks of young men. I don’t miss the starched collars, but I do rather miss the elaborate display of ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:51-52

Denomination: Baptist

Drowsy In The History Class

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 16, 2010

For both Transfiguration Sunday and Black History Month: We must not fall asleep to our racial and ethnic history, to the history of action for justice, or to our own personal histories and who has shaped us.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC February 13, 1994 This, as you know, is Black History Month. Black History Month. What image does the word "history" conjure up for you? It may be that you are with industrialist Henry Ford, who said, "History is mostly bunk". Well, that's short and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36

Denomination: Baptist

We The People, Breaking Bondages Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 15, 2010

God does not want merely personal religion; He desires our investment in breaking the bondages that imprison others. America post-Vietnam is strikingly similar to Judah post-Exile. Neither can afford to retreat into comfortable religion.

A great nation had been humiliated by something they had never supposed could happen. Because they saw themselves as the people of God, chosen by him for a special role in the world's history, they had imagined themselves invulnerable. God would never desert his people, they believed. God would not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

What Do You Say To A Hungry World?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 2, 2011

The clear demand of Jesus, seen against the spread of hunger in our time, is that we make lifestyle changes and that we understand that the Gospel calls for outward obedience as well as inner faith.

First Baptist Church, Gaithersburg, MD, March 9, 1980; with minor alterations at WHBC radio, June 28, 1981; Calverton Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD, Oct. 10, 1982; First Baptist Church, Camp Springs, MD, March 11, 1984; Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC, Oct. 13, 1985) If today is an ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Baptist

Facing The Consequences Of Mistakes: Thrashing Threshing Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 6, 2007

All have sinned; that holds back from being what we could be. Admit that sin is real; acknowledge responsbility for its consequences; see that always there is a price to be paid for sin, but Jesus paid it all. Montgomery Hills Baptist Church

The longer we live, the more we have to be thankful for. Isn’t that true? The longer we live, the more blessings we receive, and therefore the more we have to be thankful for. If you are thirty years old, you can count your blessings, name them one by one. If you are fifty years old, you can ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 24:10-25

Denomination: Baptist

"It's All Good Or It's All Bad”

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Mar 24, 2003

Through the cross the believer has the promise that God is working in all things for his eternal good. But it’s a different story for the nonbeliever.

The mule in the well! A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule "braying", or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Depending On God Series

Contributed by Shaila Touchton on Jan 16, 2026

Don’t depend too much on anyone in this world.

“Don’t depend too much on anyone in this world.” At first glance, this statement may sound contrary to biblical teaching, especially in a faith that values community, fellowship, and love for one another. Yet Scripture repeatedly affirms a sobering truth. Human beings are finite, fallible, and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 29:25

Hearts United By Love Series

Contributed by Mark Aarssen on Mar 14, 2009

Just like the spices in your cupboard God intends that life should be spicy and we see that in the lives of the Patriarchs.

Hearts United by Love Genesis 45:1-28 Today we close out our brief series of Pass the Patriarchs Please. So far we have discovered who Abraham is and learned about how he was called by the Living God to start a new life and a new nation through his family line. Abraham was 86 when first son ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 45:1-28

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Presence Of God

Contributed by James Draviam on Feb 15, 2024

What the Presence of God can do in our lives? How to have the exclusive access to God's Presence

Introduction: In our walk with Christ, when we are facing problems the first thing that has to come to our mind is that ‘God is with us’. Often this is the last thing that comes to our mind. In this sermon let us examine the promises of our Lord and the benefits of enjoying His presence. [Zep 3:17 ...read more

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:17