Sermons on Joseph Ondu:

Go Tell It On Mt. Carmel Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 20, 2003

We turn our successes into failures because we see only the negatives, and we need approval. But in the Incarnation God accepts our incompleteness and offers us His unconditional love.

All of us want success. All of us need success. If you don’t care about doing something well, you are in sad shape. You are in trouble if you don’t want to succeed at something. And yet the problem is that we are our own worst enemies. We defeat ourselves time and time again. We take ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Greed - When Enough Is Enough Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Nov 30, 2006

A sermon series on the seven deadly sins.

Virus – Hidden Infections of the Spiritual Life Greed – When Enough is Enough? Review: We’ve been looking at the various viruses that infect and destroy our lives along w/ the antidote God supernaturally provides through the Holy Spirit and His Word.  Laziness – failing to take ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:3-12

Denomination: Baptist

Green With Envy Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Nov 30, 2006

A sermon series on the seven deadly sins.

Virus: Hidden Infections of the Spiritual Life Envy – Green w/ Envy Review: We’re in a study of the (7) deadly sins – we’ve looked at laziness, lust, anger, and pride. This AM we’re going to examine the virus of envy. The Bible provides many examples of envy: Cain envied Abel so he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

That We May Flourish

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 10, 2006

God wants us to flourish. We plead dryness, incompleteness, or sin, but in the tiny infant of Bethlehem strengthening is coming. Hillandale Baptist Church, Adelphi, MD

I am persuaded that we are intended by our Creator to flourish. He created us to blossom and to grow. God wants our lives to be colorful, joyful, full. I am convinced that God does not intend for us to live like miserable little mice, afraid of our own shadows, scurrying for cover every time ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Playing Follow The Leader

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 20, 2006

Leadership and followship demand truth, grace, and sacrifice to be effective. A story-sermon, reworked from one originally done in 1999.

The desire to be “somebody” is deep within all of us. We want to be distinguished, we need to be acknowledged, we must be somebodies, not nobodies. That desire to be “somebody” can lead us to glorious accomplishment, or it can lead to the depths of degradation. It’s all in what motivates us. Do ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:7-16

Denomination: Baptist

Investing Faith Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Mar 7, 2007

Authentic faith is generous towards God, while artificial faith is greedy.

Foolproof – A Study of James INVESTING Faith – James 5:1-6 Insert: I want the ushers to come to the front w/ the offering plates and I want you to pull out your wallets/purses. This is a stick up! I don’t want anyone to get hurt. So if you’ll calmly drop all your money and ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

A Camel, A Needle, And A Sycamore Tree

Contributed by Joseph Daniel on Mar 9, 2007

Comparison of the "rich young ruler" and Zacchaeus. Haughty verses humble.

A CAMEL, A NEEDLE, AND A SYCAMORE TREE (A Tale of Two Rich Men) (Luke 18:18-25 & Luke 19:1-10) Tonight our Scripture reading is from the Book of Luke. The first passage is Luke 18:18-25 and the second is Luke 19:1-10. Go ahead and find both of these in your Bibles, and place your fingers between ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Conflicting Faith Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Feb 8, 2007

A sermon from James dealing with the lost people people in the church who are continually creating conflict.

Foolproof – A Study of James February 4, 2007 CONFLICTING Faith – James 4:1-10 Recap: We’re in a study in James about having a foolproof faith so we won’t be fooled into embracing anything not of God if we’re saved, and so we won’t continue to fool ourselves into thinking we’re saved when ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Freedom: Devotion Or Devouring?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 11, 2007

Black History Month and Amazing Grace Sunday: there is much to celebrate about freedom, when we review history. But we either devote ourselves to freedom (political, social, spiritual) or we devour ourselves. Newton’s story illustrates. Montgomery Hill

It’s a glorious thing to discover that you are free. Freedom tastes good, smells good, feels good. But after you find out you are free, then what? What do you do with your freedom? There are only two answers to that question: freedom either leads you to devotion; or it drives you to devour. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15

Denomination: Baptist

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

The Power Of A Wind-Driven Fire

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 5, 2001

The Spirit comes to the church as fire, passion, energy, but He comes as energy to follow the Lord’s directions, not merely as excess motion.

My grandfather’s workshop held an item that was of special interest to me when I was a boy. Sitting off to the side of his cluttered workbench was a wonderful object – a model railroad locomotive. It was black with silver markings painted on it, dusty and dull by now, but obviously once shiny and ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

The Ugly, The Bad, And The Good

Contributed by Joseph Ng on Feb 26, 2001

God’s verdict on the lives of Solomon, Ahab, and Hezekiah is different from that of secular history and is what matters ultimately.

Opening: You’ve heard of the 1966 Western movie starring Clint Eastwood entitled The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. As we consider the lives of kings in the Old Testament, it will be apparent that some are ugly, bad, or good. In particular, the lives of three Hebrew kings--Solomon, Ahab, and ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stairway To Heaven Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 4, 2001

The beatitudes can be understood sequentially .. as stairsteps to "perfection" (Matt. 5:48). The first four lift us to fellowship with God; the other four bring us back down to the reality of ministry with needy people. This sermon was delivered using a ladder as a "prop".

When Stanley Kubrick made the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”, he guessed that by this time we would be flitting back and forth in outer space, visiting other planets and seeing things never before seen by human beings. The movie suggested that those who would be alive in the year 2001 would go on ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Diagnosing Illness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 11, 2001

Jesus diagnoses our illnesses as primarily spiritual and/or connective; the fatal illness He diagnoses is the one which cannot see God at work.

We all know people for whom illness is a way of life. It is not just incidental, it is every day. Every day is spent dealing with sickness or pain. Every day is invested in physicians, treatments, medications, therapies. People who struggle just to stay alive, or to manage pain. Their lives ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:1-17

Denomination: Baptist