Sermons on Joseph Phillips:

A Work In Progress Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 14, 2001

When the real Jesus is seen, he presents problems -- either he is too difficult for us to accept, or he is offensive to our sloppy ways of doing church, or we are just too tired of churchiness -- but his words of life revive our weariness.

I notice that they’ve revived one of the old-time television shows. We can once again see, “To Tell the Truth”. The idea of “To Tell the Truth” is that three people come out, and they all stand and give a name – the same name. Then someone reads a few sentences about the person who actually has ...read more

Scripture: John 6:60-69

Denomination: Baptist

Laodicea: Things Spoil At Room Temperature Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 16, 2003

The world will invade us with its values. But we are called to be "hot" to pursue such things as compassion and evangelism and "cold" toward such things as hostility and prejudice. We can sustain these values if we are connected to one another and to Go

The Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes, speaks to me. I trust he also speaks to you. In fact, that is the very title of his poem! “To You” To sit and dream, to sit and read, To sit and learn about the world Outside our world of here and now – our problem world – To dream of vast horizons ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22

Denomination: Baptist

I Never Saw That Coming

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 2, 2003

As a nation we are being blindsided by things that destroy us. Yet if we were to look more carefully and see Jesus at work in all things, we would learn to be wholistic, we would identify with the needy, and we would deal with both the physical and the s

Have you ever been blindsided? Something happened, but you never even saw it coming? The snow, for instance. After several mild winters, did you think we would be hit by repeated snowstorms? Did you see that coming? I didn’t. I laid out seven super Sundays of sermons on the churches ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Real With Your Self Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 9, 2003

Lenten series based on Mark 14 and Jesus’ encounters: Jesus was so comfortable with Himself that He could encounter threatening people without being threatened; could correct hostile people without being destructive; and could receive the heart of a tortu

We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes – This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:3-9

Denomination: Baptist

Walking, Sitting, Standing

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 29, 2003

Funeral service for Marcia Jean Tucker, single mother and immigration officer.

Our third-grade teacher was very concerned about our posture. Day after day she would command her students to watch their posture. “Sit with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor; don’t slump in your seat.” “Stand erect, with your weight equally distributed on both feet; ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 26:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Real With Your Friends Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 29, 2003

Jesus used the principle of understanding our weaknesses but trusting our possibilities in order to transform people-pleasers into persons of integrity, ambition into selfless commitment, and immaturity into responsibility.

History is full of stories of betrayal. Those who look like friends sometimes turn on you. Friendship means nothing to people who are bent on preserving privileges or feeding ambitions. Some of us have friends who would sell us for even less than Judas’ thirty pieces of silver if they ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:37-42

Denomination: Baptist

What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?

Contributed by Joseph Johnson on Oct 18, 2000

I went to Crown Hill Cemetary Thursday and walked around.

I went to Crown Hill Cemetary Thursday and walked around. Everywhere you look there are grave markers, tombstones, and monuments. As I walked through the cemetary I thought of members of the church whose graves are at crown hill Cemetary, and I thought about some of the words that I and others ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:1-12

Appearances Are Deceiving Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

A quest for truth often begins with disillusionment, but is easily diverted to something that appears good on the surface; but when you find God's truth, even if it is in a strange place, embrace it quickly and fully.

The LORD does not see as [men] see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. Ridgecrest is a large Baptist-run assembly ground, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. All summer long, every year, thousands of Christians come to Ridgecrest for training, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Screen Doors For The Kursk Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

Doing battle always requires protection, but we often try to use something flimsy, not employing the help which God gives through others.

No one in his right mind goes out to do battle without protection. You won’t last long on to any battlefield, whether it be the beaches of Normandy or the sands of Kuwait, if you don’t have some kind of armor. Tanks, flak jackets, bulletproof vests – you must have something to protect your heart, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Romans 1:13-17

Denomination: Baptist

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

If I am going to do battle for peace and justice, I need appropriate equipping -- sometimes for hard work, sometimes for self-defense, and always for a teachable spirit.

There may be some things of which it can be said that one size fits all, but shoes are not among them. Shoes are very personal, and when they’re wrong, they’re wrong. If they hurt, they hurt. With some things, you can make do with the wrong size – a belt that’s too long, pants that are a bit ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12, Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

A Lion In A Den Of Daniels Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

When you feel you are the only one who's wrong in the crowd of acceptable people, see how faith teaches us to find a shred of dignity in reaching out for help, and how complete faith gives us wholeness despite our past.

This message is dedicated to the memory of my deceased great-aunt, Adelia Miller. Aunt Dedie loved to tell how, when she was a little girl going to the Sunday School at the Cloverport Baptist Church in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, the pastor had all the children in Sunday School one day. He ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Luke 17:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Survivors And Castaways Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

The fundamental stance we have before God is critical to everything else in our lives, for personal idolatries, failed intimacies, and low self-esteem are all results of our not experiencing salvation.

When I was young, and riding a bicycle, we didn’t wear helmets. Nobody had thought of such a thing. And even if they had, no government was telling us we had to wear helmets. I haven’t even worn so much as a hat since I reached the age of 13, much less a helmet. So when we spilled, we spilled, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Who Got Revived?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2000

Pulpit drama, imaginatively reconstructing Elijah

Elijah: Zarephath! What a lovely town! It’s always good to come to Zarephath. A man wants to feel welcomed, and I find that here. Out there, in some of the towns and villages of Israel, I have to watch my back. King Ahab’s agents are everywhere, and who knows what they will do? In some places ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

More Than Hatch, Match, And Dispatch Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 13, 2000

The church is for far more than empty ceremony on occasions demanded by tradition; it is the steward of new life, with a rich and full experience that employs the diversity of gifts God has given it.

Last week you seemed to get a big charge out of my little story about going to a wedding rehearsal and wasting time waiting for a key person to arrive. When I said that I didn’t know what we’d do on Sunday afternoon if he didn’t show up, you let out a belly laugh. You assumed I was talking about ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

On His Majesty's Secret Service

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 27, 2003

Funeral sermon for Ruth Gossage, age 97, one of the first female U.S. Secret Service agents.

But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. Life is mystery. It is not just that life contains mystery, nor that there are so many unsolved questions. It is that life itself is mystery, secret and hidden, as Paul says. It has often been ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Denomination: Baptist