Sermons on Joseph Ondu:

Everything Is Failing, But Nothing Has Failed

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 5, 2001

Sermon for Senior Adult Sunday; Joshua’s "retirement speech" identifies his sense of God’s promises kept and focuses on claiming the future for the next generation.

Are you a little tired of all the pious platitudes about failure? You know, the folks who tell you that failure is a good thing because you will grow from failure and you will be a better person? I am a little tired of that. I do not want to grow from failure. I want to be a success. I do not ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 23:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

Jump-Starting Jabez

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 13, 2001

We have learned, thanks to Bruce Wilkinson’s writings, to treasure the prayer of Jabez; but what can we intuit that Jabez’ mother did for him: she honored his uniqueness, she owned her own pain and shared it with her son, and she move him toward faithful prayer.

You know how they say that behind every good man there is a good woman? Well, they used to say that. That is a pre-feminist proverb. Now they say that alongside every good man there is a good woman, like Newton’s Law, equal in force but opposite in direction! But I certainly find it true that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

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

Weeds In My Garden

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 8, 2003

The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane shows us what sin is like: it is ordinary, it is out of place, it is pervasive. Jesus is the master gardener who can eradicate our "weeds".

No gardener wants weeds in his garden. But every gardener has them. Weeds are inevitable. Weeds cannot be avoided. So the question is, what will the gardener do to rid his garden of the weeds? I love to walk around other people’s gardens. In other people’s gardens I don’t feel guilty about ...read more

Scripture: John 18:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Sump'n Other Than Slump'n

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 8, 2003

Churches, like individuals, have "body language". If we seem to be slumping, let’s look at our victories; and let’s look at the body language for mission: bending the knees, touching power, expecting the Presence.

Even if you cannot hear what someone is saying with his lips, you can often read his body language. The words may not be clear, but the body language may be eloquent. What is body language? Body language is posture, gesturing, facial expressions, the way you present yourself to others. And that ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21, Acts 1:8

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

We Know In Part Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 10, 2003

We know little about life after death, but we do know that heaven is not possessing things, that hell is about separation from God, and that the love of God will reach even to the most alienated.

We think that having things will make us happy. The truth is that happiness comes from sharing what you have with someone you love. Fulfillment is not measured by how much you have. Genuine fulfillment is measured by who you have it with. That is true in this life. I believe that is also true ...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

Doing A Slow Burn Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 12, 2003

Elihu listened to Job as long as he could, but finally erupted with the contention that Job had too little faith, was too hypocritical, did not know how to cry out to God to ask for help with his needs, and offered no witness.

32:1-10 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found ...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

No Better Than We Are Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 13, 2003

It is a dangerous illusion to excuse our selves by claiming that we are no worse than anyone else. We find faults in people who look too perfect or who don’t give us what we want when we want it. But help comes from Jesus, who IS better than we are.

When you get caught in some sort of blunder, how do you get out of it? How do you take care of your guilt when you are weighed in the balances and found wanting? Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that you’ve shaded the truth. I will not suggest that you have lied; you have shaded the ...read more

Scripture: Job 22:1

Denomination: Baptist

Yearning To Breathe Free

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 14, 2003

We yearn to be free. In Christ we can be transformed from a slave mentality, we can become agents of liberation, and we can come forth from self-imposed bondages. For Transfiguration Sunday and for Black History Month; uses poems (not replicated here)

The plan of God is that all should be free. All free. Free from the things that keep us from what God intends us to be. Free from oppression, free from hostility. Most of all, free from sin and death. That is the ultimate plan of God. We who have yearned to breathe free have not been ...read more

Scripture: John 11:38-44, Ecclesiastes 3:10

Denomination: Baptist

Slippery Rocks

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 15, 2003

Even the fundamentals of our faith -- the Bible, prayer, the church, spiritual experience -- can become slippery, unsure. The way to certainty is through obedience.

Although generally I stay away from stories that begin, “There were a Baptist minister, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi,” today I’ll make an exception. Sometimes you just have to be corny to get your point across. So, sure enough, there were a Baptist minister, a Catholic priest, and a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Denomination: Baptist

It's Not About Power Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 16, 2003

In the Kingdom of God, the rules about power are different. We value humility, spiritual security, and service. Sermon for Deacon Ordination and for Super Bowl Sunday!

May I take you on a small fantasy this morning? May I just tease your imagination a little? It is a 6:30 this evening. You are seated in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The ritual coin tosses have been performed, the national anthem has been sung, and we are ready to start Super Bowl 32. Out ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Down The Jericho Road Again Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 17, 2003

Sermon for Martin Luther King Day: we must go "down the road" of compassion, understanding that human hurts are both physical and spiritual, that we must see hurting people as our neighbors, and that we must devote substantial resources to caring for them

There’s something we say every time we find ourselves repeating an unpleasant experience. Whenever you see yourself about to get into the same trouble you’ve already been in, you say, “I don’t want to go down that road again.” For example: Some fellow comes to your door and says, “We’ve been ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Denomination: Baptist