Sermons on Joseph In Prison:

Come: To A Choking World

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 6, 2009

What chokes the joy out of life? Too many cares that major on minors, and the relentless pursuit of material success. Jesus came to be authentically human among us.

Nearly every time I take an airplane trip, I get a happy surprise. When we take off and rise through the congestion of earth and the grim gray clouds of our immediate atmosphere, there comes that astonishing moment when the plane bursts through the cloud cover into bright sunlight. I am always ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:3-22

Denomination: Baptist

Can I Get A Lift?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 6, 2009

August 1989: If we want to be lifted up out of our unhappiness through worship, we must bring our whole selves to the worship experience and must pray passionately even our negative wishes.

I recently became aware that some folks shop for a church much as you would shop for a car or a home appliance. In talking with some people about joining our church, they said that they were shopping – that’s their word, not mine -- that they were shopping for a church by systematically attending ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Candle And Cradle, Curse And Cross

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 6, 2009

Every positive experience has its negative side. Jesus’ coming was threatening to many, and His birth foreshadows a cross. The light of Christ, however, will never be put out.

Dr. Seuss knew that every Christmas has a Grinch. Every positive experience, it would seem, has a dark side, a negative side. Every Christmas has a Grinch to steal away its joy. Maybe you are one of those people, and there are quite a few of them, who just get tired of the whole murky business ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Conquerors All

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 8, 2009

We are bored. Feelings shut down because we strive for security and for status, and even for spirituality, but nothing works. Only allegiance to the risen Christ provides fulfillment.

Of all the diseases of our time, the most serious one is boredom. Of all the sicknesses this flesh is heir to, the most fatal is boredom. Not AIDS, not homicide, not heart disease nor cancer, but boredom. Oh, I don’t suppose any mortuary ever tagged a cadaver’s toe with "boredom". I don’t suppose ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:15-22

Denomination: Baptist

Connected, Like It Or Not

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 9, 2009

Baptist Heritage Sunday: broad as we are, we can stay together if we live out our understanding of soul competence and if we focus on missions and evangelism.

I want to introduce you to the least exclusive club in the world. A club so open that anybody can get in, whether they qualify or not, although the club says it has high standards for membership. It is a club so broad in its social standings that it has included the lowest of the low and the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

Dissin' The Homeboy Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 9, 2009

When we disrespect our own children, we disempower them, we give evidence that ours is a sick community, and we write off God’s ability to redeem.

The church was plagued with two bad boys, or maybe it was three. The two really bad boys offended nearly everybody in that church. They ran through the hails, rudely bumping those who were in the way. Elderly ladies cringed when they saw them coming. Small children screamed and hid behind their ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Completing Christ

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 10, 2009

Our lives find meaning and completeness if we first recognize what God has already done in us, if we see that God never stops working in any life, and if we devote ourselves to His purposes.

If I were to take you to my home this afternoon, I could show you a parable of the human condition. My house would tell you a whole lot about our family, of course, but it also would tell you about the whole human problem. You see, our house is unfinished. It is incomplete. Oh, it was built in ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:21-29

Denomination: Baptist

A Complete Hunger

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 11, 2009

It’s healthy to feel hunger and thirst, and if these are never satisfied, health will deteriorate. To satisfy spiritual hunger, do something for the Kingdom and for others, and you will feel fulfilled.

Hunger is something we feel at every stage of life and every day of our lives. In fact, when you are no longer able to get hungry, you know you are very sick. Being hungry is a sign of health. Hunger is something felt by the youngest infant, from the very beginning. I had the rare chance this ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Denomination: Baptist

A Dirty Altar

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 12, 2009

(Various objects on the altar). Our church altar is dirty with unresolved anger, put-downs, and prejudicial outreach. These things must be cleaned away before God accepts what we bring here.

Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? The pastor not accepting the offering! Lots of folks think that raising money is about all we ever do in church. Wish they could have seen that! But, you see, the problem is there isn’t any room up here on the altar. We have a dirty altar today. It’s ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Fervent Foot Faith

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 14, 2009

We must put feet on our faith. Evangelism is credible if we make certain our lives are clean, if we expose what we believe to others, and if we go confidently into the world with our faith.

Feet are ugly. That’s what someone suggested to me the (other day. Feet are ugly. I can’ t remember why that subject came up, but she insisted that feet are bony, unkempt, twisted, weird, and much the worse for wear after forty or fifty years of use. She said, if I recall correctly, that God must ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:9-17

Denomination: Baptist

It

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 29, 2011

Are we not looking for a simple plan to make our lives easier in Christ? Here IT is.

IT (All my sermon use illustrations found on www.sermoncentral.com and All scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) All of us what IT, we all need IT, but what is IT? Today’s culture is all about making things simpler, and I personally think there are some things that need to be just a ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Do It Now

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 29, 2011

Never put off doing today what you could do tomorrow, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

DO IT NOW! (All my sermons use scripture found on www.sermoncentral.com and ALL scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) I have been meaning to talk to you about this subject, but I just keep putting it off. It is a subject that needs to be looked at from a scriptural perspective, but for some ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:3

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hazard Ahead: Hypocrisy

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 29, 2011

A main excuse for worldly people not to come to church is that the church is full of hypocrites, well there is always room for one more.

HAZARD AHEAD: HYPOCRISY (All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and All scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) Perhaps one of the biggest reasons given by non-churchgoers is “church is full of hypocrites.” This is true to some extent, but there is always ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13-21

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Really Counts

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 29, 2011

What really counts is a follow up to a sermon entitled IT, faith expressing itself through love, simple church.

WHAT REALLY COUNTS (All My sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) A few weeks ago I presented a sermon entitled, “IT.” We talked about how simple IT really is, the scripture tells us the “only thing that ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 69:9-12

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Is Worship?

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Apr 6, 2011

So much confusion about Worship, as if it really is all about a type of music, let's see what Jesus has to say about worship.

WHAT IS WORSHIP? (All of my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com And all Scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) This morning we are missing all the other Elders of the church, I am the only one here. They are all attending worship at our sister church in Shenendoah, and will ...read more

Scripture: John 4:21-24

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ