Sermons on Joseph In Prison:

Worship: Why? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 8, 2003

We worship because that is the way we can express our deepest fears and instabilities; we can be freed from ourselves; and we can gain motivation for the use of our lives.

Few things are shared in by more human beings than worship. Worship is something nearly everybody does, in one way or another. Now I didn’t say that everybody goes to church. Obviously not. Not even half of the American population attends any kind of worship on a regular basis. The Gallup Poll ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-12, 1 Peter 2:4-11

Denomination: Baptist

Revival, Reform, Renewal

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 12, 2003

For Reformation Sunday, and a followup to a week of revival services: revival is good, reformation is better, but renewal is what God is really aiming at.

My great-uncle, Ed Weber, drove an ancient car. I doubt if you’ve ever heard of its brand name. He drove a Terraplane. Anybody remember the Terraplane? Well, dearie, if you do, then you are much older than I, because my great-uncle’s Terraplane was already ancient when I was a boy. It had been ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 23:25, Zephaniah 3:14-17

Denomination: Baptist

Cutting Through The Legalese Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 17, 2003

We look for loopholes in what God has called us to do, but the Bible calls us to a proactive lifestyle, it makes us face who we really are, and it calls us to accountability.

Some of us love to take the simple and make it complex. Some of us thrive on taking perfectly obvious matters and making them as obscure as possible. My neighbor’s car has on it a bumper sticker that says, “Eschew obfuscation”. After about a half-hour with the dictionary, I found out that means, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-13

Denomination: Baptist

How Much Is The Fare To Tarshish? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 6, 2003

Jonah refused to go to Tarshish because emotionally he felt unwelcome and theologically he thought he could escape God’s oversight. He paid hidden costs, in vain: the loss of a vessel, the loss of joy, human wreckage, reckoning with eternity.

When I travel, I don’t want to spend too much money on the travel itself. I’d rather spend my money on whatever there is to buy where I’m going. I don’t want to hand much over to the airline or the railroad. I want to travel cheap. But I sometimes miss an important fact – that when I try to ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

Oneness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 13, 2003

Receiving the gifts of oneness means that we love one leader and commit to one calling. Those things are not the same as having doctrinal agreement or being socially compatible.

This week I met a young man who was very clear about what he needed. He came here to the church to participate in a wedding rehearsal. We began to talk about weddings. He expressed the hope that this wedding would not be like the last wedding he had attended. In that earlier wedding, he had ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Reform, Revival, Or Renewal

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 24, 2009

(Reformation Sunday). It is good to reform how we do church, using the Bible as our basis; it is good to revive our spiritual energies. But best of all is to renew ourselves for mission.

My great-uncle, Ed Weber, drove an ancient car. I doubt if you’ve ever heard of its brand name. He drove a Terraplane. Anybody remember the Terraplane? Well, dearie, if you do, then you are much older than I, because my great-uncle’s Terraplane was already ancient when I was a boy. It had been ...read more

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-18

Denomination: Baptist

Church Of 4-H

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Jul 29, 2010

4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands & Health, all essential ingredients in church today, EPH 4:1-16 show us how.

CHURCH OF 4-H (All my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) As we recently had our county fair, I remembered my children being a part of the 4-H and the work they did to show their animals, and the projects they were going to do, but never ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Sobering Standards Of Spiritual Success

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Aug 20, 2010

Success is so many things to so many people, but the Bible tells us what Success really is.

SOBERING STANDARDS FOR SPIRITUAL SUCCESS (ALL my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) All of us want to be successful, but first one must understand what success is. Webster’s defines success 1. Favorable or desired outcome, 2. The ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:7-8

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

United We Fly

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Sep 22, 2010

Often churches are not united because people kill the vision God has for the church, this sermon shows what kills a vision.

UNITED WE FLY (ALL my sermons use illustrations from www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) This church is about people reaching people. If a young person gets saved then they will reach 19% of their family. If a woman gets saved she will reach 32% of her family. ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Insane Courage Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Apr 3, 2014

If you want that "insane courage" which will change your life and your world, bow before Christ as your Sovereign and believe in Him as your Substitute.

The 2011 film We Bought a Zoo was based on the true story of a British man named Benjamin Mee. In 2006 Mee and his family purchased and moved into a 30-acre zoo. In his book with the same title, Mee says that his new “neighbors” included “five Siberian tigers, three African lions, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 15:1-47

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Recognizing The Redeemer

Contributed by Steve Sheek on Dec 24, 2018

Recognizing our redeemer changes our relationships, attitudes and actions. Lessons from Egypt and Emmaus

20181218 Parsha Vayigash – Recognizing the Redeemer Readings Genesis 44:18-47:27 Luke 24:30-48 This week’s Parsha is Vayigash. That means “He approached”. In the last Parsha we saw Joseph coming to power in Egypt. Egypt was just about the most powerful nation in the world at that time. ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 44:18-27, Luke 24:30-48

Denomination: *other

Understanding Service - Service And The Creator (2) Series

Contributed by Dove Inspirations on Jun 11, 2021

Encouragement for those in service

As said previously, you cannot consciously serve The CREATOR effectively or work for HIM if you ignore or reject the Person of YAHSHUA The MESSIAH and The HOLY SPIRIT. The CREATOR made and owns the entire universe and it all works towards HIS purposes, for HIS good and glory whether we like it or ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:27, John 1:3, John 16:15, Colossians 1:16-17, Ephesians 1:22  (view more)  (view less)

What John Taught (Luke 3)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Oct 5, 2024

Is what John the Baptist taught relevant to us? Let's look at Luke 3.

What did John the Baptist teach about fruits of repentance? What did he say about the poor, tax collectors and soldiers? What did God say at Jesus’ baptism? Let’s look at Luke 3. How are we introduced to John the Baptist’s ministry? Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Making Room

Contributed by Mary Erickson on Dec 26, 2024

A sermon for Christmas Eve

December 24, 2024 Rev. Mary Erickson Hope Lutheran Church Luke 2:1-20 Making Room Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord. Is there any room? I’ve been pondering a daily reflection I received on my daily online Henri Nouwen ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Lutheran

Setback Can Be A Setup For Something Greater Series

Contributed by Rev. Samuel Arimoro on Jul 11, 2025

Setbacks are often seen as moments of defeat, delay, or discouragement. Yet, for a believer, a setback is never the end of the story—it is a divine pause that God uses to orchestrate something far greater than we ever imagined.

SETBACK CAN BE A SETUP FOR SOMETHING GREATER By Rev. Samuel Arimoro Main Text: Genesis 50:20 Supporting Texts: Romans 8:28, Job 42:10-12, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Psalm 30:5, John 11:4 INTRODUCTION: Setbacks are often seen as moments of defeat, delay, or discouragement. Yet, for a believer, a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28

Denomination: Assembly Of God