Sermons on Joseph M Stowell:

Knee Bowed And Body Bent Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

Since body language communicates our real feelings, we must pay attention to how we present our bodies to God -- in the words of James Weldon Johnson, "knee-bowed", ready to submit our wills to His; and "body-bent", ready to work for things that matter.

You may not speak a great many foreign languages, but there is one language other than English at which most of us are proficient. That is body language. Whether our mouths can pronounce strange sounds or whether our eyes can make any sense out of different alphabets, we can see body language. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Knowing God's Still Small Voice

Contributed by Joseph Ng on Nov 26, 2000

Disillusioned Christians need to acknowledge God's latent remnant people.

Theme: Let's acknowledge God's latent remnant. Opening: Have you ever felt all alone when standing for the truth? Elijah sure felt that way when Queen Jezebel issued a sentence on his head for showing her up at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18-19). He hightailed from Jezreel, up in the Northen Kingdom ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:9-18

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Is No Turkey

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 26, 2000

For Christ the King Sunday: This message contrasts the one-time celebrations to which we "invite" the turkey to the full-time, all-seasons lordship of Jesus.

After Thanksgiving dinner, the men in the house retired to the family room to share in that most sacred of spiritual rituals – we worshipped at the shrine of the great god football. And it was not long before someone scored a touchdown and went into a liturgical dance in the end zone: high fives, ...read more

Scripture: John 19:10-22

Denomination: Baptist

Peace: Ready, Set, Go Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 27, 2000

To gain peace in stressful times, we need, like the shepherds of Bethlehem, to be ready and open to God’s doing new things; to set out promptly to respond to God’s action; and to go back into our normal course of life, but with a difference.

These are stressful days. There is too much going on. Too much. Too much work, too much to think about, too many demands, too much. Why, we have to shop and bake and decorate and plan parties and send cards and on and on. Too much. Stressful. Too much traveling. I heard an astonishing ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Alpha Male

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 27, 2000

The Jesus of the Incarnation provides us with a more authentic leadership than "alpha males" in the wild or in politics, for in His differences He is Alpha and Omega.

Some of us learned a new term during the late and unlamented presidential campaign. Campaign observers, drawing on something learned from studies of animals in the wild, told us that one of the candidates was trying to learn to behave as an Alpha Male. An Alpha Male. What does that mean? In the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-8

Denomination: Baptist

Finishing Touches

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mrs. Betty Parker, a member of our church who had known for some time that she would die, and who had carefully thought through her relationships, her responsibilities, and her faith.

FINISHING TOUCHES (Philippians 1:3-11) I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Some tasks are never finished. No matter how much effort you put in, they are never finished. There is always more that could be ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:3-11

Denomination: Baptist

What Time Is It?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Jeremiah Reese, a businessman to whom one of our members had witnessed in his closing weeks, and who requested that his funeral focus on Ecclesiastes 3.

The other night, as all too often happens, I fell asleep in front of the television set, watching who-knows-what and who-knows-why. It’s just one of the more disturbing realities about getting a little older – that if I sit still for more than about twenty minutes, I’ll get sleepy. I’ll try to ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Touching The Cloak

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mrs. Thora Mohler, a long-time member of our mostly African-American Baptist church, but proud of her Swedish Lutheran heritage, and devoted to certain tasks in the life of our church.

Anyone who ever counted money with Thora Mohler will tell you that she was a woman with a determination to get things right. She would not let go until she had the right answer. On Mondays, Mrs. Mohler, until recent months, was one of those faithful behind-the-scenes workers our church has, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:14-22

Denomination: Baptist

A Long Night's Journey Into Day

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Wadell Wilkins, who had been comatose for years, following an apparent reaction to an anesthetic administered for orthopedic surgery

A LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY Numbers 9:15-23 When our children were small, our family would take trips back home to Kentucky. We discovered that a six hundred mile journey was better if we traveled at night. We would pack our bags, make a big thermos of coffee for me, and set out in the ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 9:15-23

Denomination: Baptist

In The Spotlight

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral for Stephanie Parker, a jazz and blues singer and spiritual seeker, done at the request of her sister, a member of our church.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He saw that most of us seem destined to live in frustration. Most of us will never be able to do what we would really want to do. Most of us will never truly fulfill what we believe God ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:6-12

Denomination: Baptist

Sharing The Journey

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. David Broadnax, a Broadway actor and filmmaker, who died in Spain. He was the brother of one of our members, who requested that we do the funeral.

I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while. Our lives are journeys, with a beginning and a destination. Many roads can be used to take those journeys. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:23-28

Denomination: Baptist

The Song Of Triumph Has Begun

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral for Mr. Arthur Capehart, a pioneering jazz musician and public school music teacher

Exodus 14:10-15:3 passim Message: THE SONG OF TRIUMPH HAS BEGUN But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Wings Of Refuge

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Ekerete Akpaete, a Nigerian immigrant who died very suddenly, in the arms of his infant daughter.

To experience great loss is difficult enough. To experience that loss in a far country, with few who understand, few who are close, is even more difficult. And when that loss means that those who depend on you will need you even more, yet the resources to help them will be scarce – that is truly ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 2:11-12, Psalm 57:1

Denomination: Baptist

Getting It Right

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 17, 2002

Pulpit monologue-drama, in which "Solomon" describes how his father’s example influenced him negatively, but his father’s repentance redeemed him.

“A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.” Would you agree? I wrote that, you know. “Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” Ah, but how do we train them? That is the question. Just by commands? Or do we train them by ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Tips For Our Daily Lives

Contributed by Joseph Louis on Jun 26, 2002

List of Scriptures on Spiritual Tips for Our Daily Lives

Spiritual Tips for Our Daily Lives * Be totally dependent on Jesus. Lean on Him for everything. ~ Phil. 4:6-7 (AMP), "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational