Sermons on Joseph M Stowell:

Ark, Anger, And Assurance

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 24, 2010

We become angry at God because our prayers are self-centered, but when they are not answered we shut down and avoid God. Until we see that the blessing is in the presence of God we will not reap joy.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, September 8, 1991 (this version); preached in slightly different form at Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD, July 30, 1978; Calvary Hill Baptist Church, Fairfax, VA, August 6, 1978; Forest Heights Baptist Church, Oxon Hill, MD, Sept. 9, 1979; ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 6:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling When Others Disappoint Us Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 18, 2009

July 1989. When others disappoint us, it is often because they do not meet our expectations, and anger is natural. God feels that about us. But God allows us to reap the consequences of our sin in Christ’s cross takes into Himself that burden and transf

He was a fuzzy-faced young man with a twangy West Virginia accent and an angular chin as craggy as the hills from which he had come. You had to notice him, small though he was, because he carried a Bible as big as the side of a barn and painted in the same bright fiery color. It was obvious that he ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 11:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling Even When The Good Times Roll Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 21, 2009

July 1989: When we are prospering, we are tempted into the idolatry of me-ism and self-congratulation. This is an opportunity to do more for others and for the Kingdom, for God is the source of our bounty.

About a year ago, toward the end of July, I placed one of these up here on the pulpit as the visible sermon for the day. Remember? Do you recall what we called that Sunday? Right: we called it "catch-up Sunday" …catch-up Sunday … and the idea was that if we were behind in our giving, if we as a ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 14:4-8

Denomination: Baptist

Handling God's Success When We Wanted It For Ourselves Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2009

Ministry looks impossible, and we want to run the other way. But when we do finally tackle it, and God redeems, then we want the credit. In His grace He assures us that we are not forgotten even though we are inappropriate.

All during this month we’ve worked together on the theme of compassion. Because we are a church which urgently needs to do ministry in this community; because we are a people with much to give and much to share, and with a place to share it, by the time this week is over we will have invested four ...read more

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

What It Takes To Be Heard By God

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 5, 2009

If you want to be heard by God, make sure God and not others are your audience, make sure that it is really you who is speaking, and make sure to forgive and to receive forgiveness.

The morning worship service had reached an emotional climax during the pastor’s fervent prayer. He had carefully crafted it with fine liturgical phrases, hallowed by centuries of use. It was backed up by a throbbing organ, playing a hymn that gently drew worshipers back to thoughts of that amazing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 2, 2010

Martin Luther King Birthday 1989: Solomon began with promise, but lost his identity and squandered his gifts. African-Americans and the church must recommit to solid teaching, to evangelizing, and to fighting the scourge of drugs, lest we waste a whole

There is a kind of presumptuousness involved when a white preacher stands to offer any words on this the anniversary of the birthday of Martin Luther King. It is audacious indeed, as Janice Williams pointed out when she was teaching our foreign mission study on South Africa about a month ago, for ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

In The Spin Cycle

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 13, 2009

Addictive behaviors are sins that we simply ought not to start; and they are sicknesses that stem from low self-esteem. Christ is able to deliver from both sin and sickness.

When washday comes at our house, I go on alert. I go on alert for a certain noise. If we are washing something heavy, like bathroom mats or a bedspread, I can predict that during the washing process, I will hear great clunks and thunks arising from the basement. It will sound as though somebody is ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:29-35

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

Keeping On Keeping On

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 3, 2009

For the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor: in times of turmoil, God is still present, using war to wake up His people. Our temptation is to turn to idolatrous weapons, but He is giving us a chance to use compassion to win hearts and minds.

You will need some background and interpretation in order for you to appreciate the Scripture I’m working from today. Let me first set the stage of history, and then, as we read through, I’ll try to show you the shape of what is being said. The time in which this reading from the 41st chapter of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 41:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

The Church Of My Dreams

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 9, 2009

The church as God intended it will be affirmative of one another’s gifts, evangelical in spirit, inquiring in mind, comprehensive in compassion, and empowered by Christ.

I have two requests to make of you this morning as we continue. Two things I need for you to do: First, I am going to ask our ushers to distribute a little document that I have prepared for you. It is something of an outline of today’s message, but it is also a starter kit for your vision of ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:7-21

Denomination: Baptist

Identity 2 – The False Identity Philippians 3:1-14 Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Apr 11, 2019

The most critical teaching in the Christian faith – accepting and living in who we truly are in Christ. We call this our identity in Christ.

Last Sunday we began a series of lessons on what’s arguably the most critical teaching in the Christian faith – accepting and living in who we truly are in Christ. We call this our identity in Christ – and as I shared last Sunday – as believers in Christ – our identity is not determined by who we ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:1-14, Romans 8:5-9

Denomination: Baptist

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

A Good Soldier Of Christ Jesus

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 25, 2010

Funeral sermon for John Sheppard, retired Army sergeant, who had taken on a life of service and who had suffered with illness for several years.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then today the photographs you have selected will suffice for the message. In one of them there is a young man, wearing the uniform of the United States Army. This young man’s face displays dignity; his bearing is proud, his eyes are steady, his stance is ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

When You're Put In A Pit

Contributed by Mitchell Leonard on Mar 8, 2025

A sermon to adults when you find yourself down in a pit.

Genesis 37:13-28 “When you’re Put into a Pit” 3/9/25 a.m. 28 years ago we had bought the property that we live on today, we had moved a Mobile Home in, and my mother-in-law was out walking in the woods behind the Mobile and ... she found a PIT. A DEEP PIT. Somewhere between 15 and 20 foot deep ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:13-28

Denomination: Baptist