Sermons on Joseph M Stowell:

Up In The Air Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 4, 2003

Spiritual indecision leads to sickness and ultimately to death. We are scared of taking risks. Black history shows us, however, that without accepting risk there is no progress.

You should be a fly on the wall around our house on Friday evenings. You see, Friday evenings are our night for ourselves. We try not to take on church things on Fridays, and unless you are at the point of death, you can wait for your pastoral call until Saturday morning. The pastor and his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Denomination: Baptist

Time At Last To Open The Mystery Package Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 8, 2003

Israel, Rome, and we all think we have God figured out. God has in Christ done so much more; and when it looks as though the wrappings must be thrown away, there is more yet.

With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Every child ought to have at least one mystery package. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:8-12

Denomination: Baptist

Only The Loved Can Love Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 11, 2003

Sermon preached to address atmosphere of crisis we experienced when our Assistant Pastor resigned after a short tenure. This sermon interprets the departure as a godsend, in that it stirs us to re-examine our stewardship, our faith, and our direction, an

Some things cannot be explained; they can only be experienced. Music, for example. How could I possibly do justice to music by talking to you about frequencies, rhythm patterns, tone qualities? I couldn’t. But I can play music for you, so that you can experience it. I can sit at the keyboard ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Holiness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 12, 2003

Holiness is the gift of an identity, appearing to be too good to be true, but received by accepting forgiveness.

Today’s message is framed by incidents provided by two church members. I will not be naming the players, but they have given me both the beginning and the ending of this message on holiness. The beginning: a few days ago one of you told me that you came to worship each Sunday so that you could ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-16

Denomination: Baptist

School Supplies

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 17, 2003

Drama dialogue, written as if a conversation between Paul, a tribune, and a narrator, with "chorus" lines for the children of the congregation. Supplies we need for learning are a listening mind, a loving heart, and a desire to grow.

Narrator: I knew very little about the people of the Way, but I did know that everyone in Jerusalem was talking about one of their leaders. We were all most upset about Paul. You see, Paul – actually we knew his name as Saul – Paul had been such a mighty force in our community only a few short ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Of Florida Swamps And Brooklyn Bridges

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 23, 2003

As Jeremiah risked everything to buy some apparently worthless real estate in order to give a sign that the Lord would triumph, so I also asked our church to adopt a new but venturesome vision for its life.

Could I offer you a real estate deal this morning? Oh, it will be the deal of a lifetime! You can’t pass this up! Can I get you to buy a piece of land, sight unseen, in a sort-of shaky area? True, it might be taken over by the military, but, hey, who’s worried about that? Come on and buy! ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 32:1-41

Denomination: Baptist

Dissatisfaction Or Fulfillment? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 2, 2003

Like Judas, despite all we have, we feel dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction comes from too small a vision of where our lives must go or depending on others to give us meaning. A relationship with Jesus gives us redemption and release.

Willy Loman is the central character in Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman”. Willy had known only one thing all his life, and that was selling. Selling, pitching, cajoling, persuading, making the sale. That was it. His wife played second fiddle to selling. His children tried to please, ...read more

Scripture: John 18:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Information Overload Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2003

We have so much knowledge, but we do not know how to use it. A reverent relationship to God readies us to respond when we lack courage, reinforces righteousness when we are doubtful, and retains reticence when we are tempted to say more than we understan

Only a few years ago, we replaced the old office computer. It was a dual-floppy drive type, if that means anything to you. We decided that we would get a newer computer, the kind with a hard drive on it, so that we could not only do word processing (for the uninitiated, that just means typing, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-7, Proverbs 1:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Through An Open Window To Life

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2003

Funeral sermon for Cecil Gordon Davison, Jr., Army retiree and U. S. Marshall, member of the church’s Building and Grounds Committee.

Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him ... The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. My first glimpse of the kind of man Cecil Davison was came just a few feet from where I am standing now. It was over at that window. We had scheduled a workday to get ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:7-12, Deuteronomy 33:27

Denomination: Baptist

Worship: What? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 5, 2003

Worship will not satisfy unless it has both the elements of "spirit" and "truth". To worship without knowing the Bible is to fall for "feel-good" religion. And to worship without connecting with Christ is to go through the motions.

I am one of those who does not consider a meal complete unless it includes dessert. No matter how sumptuous the meal may be, until I have had my bowl of ice cream or my slice of pie, it just isn’t complete. And my wife is saying, under her breath, what you mean is a bowl of ice cream AND a slice ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 146:1-10, John 4:19-24

Denomination: Baptist

Available For Liberation Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 5, 2003

When God called Moses to the task of liberating a people, Moses felt self-doubt, uncertainty about God, and unreadiness. Actually these are positive values that will lead us as American Christians to take our place in the world.

How do you feel about eager volunteers? What’s your reaction to the kind of person who is always ready to step up to the plate and take a swing at some issue? How do you really feel about those who quickly volunteer when something needs to be done? Maybe you remember what it was like to ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14, Exodus 4:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

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

The Strength Of The Equilateral Triangle Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 9, 2003

Strength in families requires all three elements: faith, hope, and love. Illustrated with timbers handled to show that without all three the structure is unstable.

Some of the old-timers used to say that bad things come in threes. Did you ever hear that? There is a notion out there that you never have just one disaster, you always have three, closely grouped. If there is a plane crash in the Andes today, look out, there will be two more in the near ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 2 Timothy 1:3-7

Denomination: Baptist

Understanding From The Whirlwind Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 11, 2003

First person pulpit drama, with "Job" responding to Elihu’s counsel and God’s probing. Designed to lead worshippers to the Communion Table as a sign of God’s understanding of human suffering.

Do you hear? Do you see? The wind, the wind, the whirlwind?! Do you feel it? Is its hot breath on you as it is on me? The whirlwind, the whirlwind! I can scarcely stand up, it is so strong! Are you not blown away with these winds? Are you not devastated? No. No. I suppose not. Few there ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Available For Life-Shaping Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 12, 2003

If we want to be worthwhile, trustworthy, respected people, we must be available for life-shaping. That means to downplay disappointment, pick perceptive people, consider consequences, and accept affirmation.

Worthwhile lives are made, not born. No one gets to get be great just by dumb luck or by the genes they inherited. Worthwhile people, trustworthy people, respected people are made. They are formed. They are shaped. Somebody has to take raw material and shape it into something useful. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist