Sermons on Joseph M Stowell:

All Is Now Yours: Giving What We Do Not Have

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 8, 2001

In uncertain times, it remains true that giving away what we cannot possess anyway is the path to fulfillment; it must, however, be a gift that refreshes the fainting.

It seems that we do not have what we think we have. Sometimes what seems to be ours is not ours at all. Buildings as sturdy as the Pentagon and as imposing as the World Trade Center can be destroyed in a moment of awful terror. Lives promising and beautiful are snuffed out, and there is little ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 16:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

Love Like A Red, Red Rose Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 1, 2003

The coming of Christ offers hope to lives dried out in meaninglessness, beyond our limitations, and in the midst of sin-weariness. Advent series illustrated with Chrismons

“Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth, Love is like a rose the joy of all the earth, Faith is like a lily lifted high and white, Love is like a lovely rose the world’s delight. Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth, But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.” So ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10, Song of Songs 2:1

Denomination: Baptist

Gloria In Excelsis -- Deo

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 15, 2004

Ordination of a woman named Gloria; glory not in your achievements but in helping others seek God; glory not in defending yourself against predators but in receiving God’s protection; and let yourself feel passion.

Over the years I have developed the habit of focusing on a person’s name whenever it is time to do a message that relates to that individual. For example, I have done funerals for people named James, using something from the New Testament letter of James. I did a funeral service once for a woman ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 16:1-36, Luke 2:8-15

Denomination: Baptist

The Melody Lingers On

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 22, 2010

What we learn and share through the arts will build our reserves and will communicate memorably.

If you really want to leave a lasting impression on somebody, how do you do it? If you truly need for somebody to remember whatever you think is important, how are you going to make sure they won't forget? Well, one technique is, of course, to use words. Lots and lots of words. That’s ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:16-22

Denomination: Baptist

Rising, Running, And Reporting

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 21, 2010

For many, life is a panicky run. Serious things happen to us, and we run to tell somebody. The reaction may be to go home and do nothing, and to leave others weeping and perplexed. But when we encounter the risen Christ personally, not as an abstractio

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC, March 26, 1989 (Easter Sunday) When you see someone running, do not jump to any conclusions about why that person is running. If you see somebody pickin’ ‘em up and layin’ ‘em down, well, there could be a lot of reasons why. And ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

And How Hot Is Hell?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 15, 2010

Dramatic monologue, as if the speaker were "Dives" ... an appeal to move beyond "cool" and distant religion into compassion.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC January 26, 1986 I am Dives; and I have come to you today only because for this brief moment the unbridgeable is bridged, the chasm is spanned. I can speak to you only for a little while, and even then I am not certain that I can fully get through to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Denomination: Baptist

Built Up, Bound Up, Lifted Up

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 16, 2010

We are so into upward mobility; but God's version is different. It involves building us up so that the powerless have power; binding up the wounded so that they can understand brokenness; and lifting us up so that we can use our power for others.

I can remember when the word "furlough" was a happy word. It was a happy word because it meant that somebody in your family was coming home from military duty for a while. "Furlough" for me brings up a memory of standing, as a small boy, in Union Station in Louisville, waiting for the train to ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 147:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Delivered From Among The Bricks

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 6, 2009

Labor Day sermon, Calverton Baptist Church: God is able to deliver us from work we do not like and which is focused only on the bottom line. Work faithfully but do not let work consume you. Believe that God is at work even in financially difficult times

We have a love-hate relationship with our jobs. If we do not have jobs, we are anxious, because no job means no income, and no income means trouble, so we want to work. But when we get those jobs, we begin a love-hate relationship. We say that we love our work, but then we want to take as ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Too Busy Not To Pray

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 13, 2009

When we think we are too busy to pray, we are succumbing to the issue of control: either we suppose we can manage everything or we want to abdicate. Prayer is the way to find priorities and strength.

Let me throw some numbers at you. Imagine that you were in charge of an operation that involves, on the average, some ten thousand people a week, almost all of whom come together at one time. Of these ten thousand or so, not all will get there every time, but sometimes many more than that will show ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-27

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

Feelings, Prayer And Victory

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 15, 2009

September 1989: We can work through our feelings to victory if we are totally honest with God about what we feel, and then if we are able to praise Him joyfully when we are released.

Recently a television reporter followed up on the people who survived that air travel incident in which a huge section of the plane simply tore off, somewhere near Hawaii. You may remember that there was some kind of metal fatigue and a whole section of the plane suddenly broke out and about nine ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 38:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Doing More With Less

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2010

In times of scarcity or stress, two personalities respond: fear, the cup half empty; and faith, the cup half full.

A few moments ago we sang, "Drop Thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of Thy peace." Those are beautiful words; they are lofty sentiments. But how? How can such things happen? In an ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

Available For Life-Shaping

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 27, 2010

We can become what God wants us to become if we downplay disappointment, pick perceptive people, consider consequences, and accept affirmation. Revised from a 2003 message.

Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD, June 5, 2005 It is said that the Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo could sense that in a rough block of marble there was an angel struggling to get out. He said that his job was to free that angel. Isn’t that remarkable?! To know ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

In And For The World

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 15, 2011

God calls us to follow the example He set in loving the world, not simply reproaching it; and it loving it with self-giving and the intent to redeem.

Initially preached at Central Baptist Church, Lexington, KY, June 9, 1968; subsequently, with minor variations, at Capton Baptist Church, Campton, KY, August 18, 1968; Reid Village Baptist Church, Mt. Sterling, KY, March 1, 1970; Campbellsville BSU Retreat, Sept. 1970; Berea BSU Missions Banquet, ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-21

Denomination: Baptist

His Poverty, Our Wealth

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 22, 2009

Ours are uncertain times, like those into which Jesus came. But God in Christ invested for the long haul and pours Himself into something risky. So therefore can we.

These are uncertain times. And in uncertain times uncertain people do irrational things, destructive things. People who are drifting, people who have no anchor, people who have no center - in uncertain times, such people do things which destroy. The pages of the calendar are turning toward ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9

Denomination: Baptist