Sermons on Joseph Phillips:

Reality Check

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 30, 2009

Adherence to the Bible will teach us neither to be overly optimistic nor overly negative about human nature, but will give us both hope and harmony. Thus we must be serious Bible students.

Twenty-five years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped out of that lunar module and set foot where no person had ever gone before, on the surface of the moon. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." We were fascinated, and we still are. Nothing like that had ever been done; nothing quite like ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

In The Hour Of Trial: Open Door

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 1, 2009

The doors of the church: some are locked, but panic hardware always lets us out for mission; some are heavily locked, but it is Christ who is our security; and some are never locked, for we are to be open to embrace those who need us.

Have you ever seen a place with as many doors as this church building has! A hardware salesman would be in heaven, right here! Doors, doors, everywhere doors. There are doors leading to the outside. Eight of them, I think. There are doors inside, leading into the rooms. Some doors take you into ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:7-13

Denomination: Baptist

Knowing When To Break The Rules

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 2, 2009

Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman admits several interpretations, all of which teach us: give what is needed rather than what is wanted; teach others rather than do for them; watch your motives.

Just when you think you have your life routines down pat, settled and secure, something comes along and upsets the whole pattern. Just when you think you have your life all organized, something comes up to discombobulate it! Just when you think you know the rules by which you govern your life, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28

Denomination: Baptist

How To Drive Your Mother Crazy

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 3, 2009

Know your own self, do what is right whether you like it or not, and go beyond the norm. It will drive your mother crazy and will call from your Father, "Well done".

Our relationship with our mothers is at once the most wonderful and yet the most difficult of all our relationships. We love them deeply, and we get so upset with them we almost hate them. Few of us are neutral about our mothers; we hold them close and then push them away forcefully. We get ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

How New Is New?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 4, 2009

We live in a revolutionary time. Can we seize it for Christ. God is doing something new and is calling us to join Him in it, as walls and barriers come down.

If this winter is like most winters, you will wake up one morning, peer out your window, and find the whole scene blanketed in pure white snow. It will seem like a fairyland to you, and for a little while, at least, the whole world will appear to be new. Brand new, clean and fresh, sparkling and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Denomination: Baptist

The Inevitable Cleanup Job Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 5, 2009

Sin is inevitable and needs to be identified as the filth that is in all of us, and it needs to be acknowledged in the Christian community. But God loves us and cares for us and is in the blood of Christ cleaning us.

No matter how good it is, it has to be cleaned up. Isn’t that always the case? No matter how good anything is, it has to be cleaned up. You get a new suit of clothes, you wear it a few times -- maybe only one time, in this heat -- and before you know it, it has to go off to the dry cleaners. No ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-10

Denomination: Baptist

Lessons From Wiffle Ball

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on May 5, 2009

I loved wiffle ball as a child, some of those lessons apply to our walk with Christ

LESSONS FROM WIFFLE BALL (All my sermons use illustrations from sermon central and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) When I was a young child I loved to play wiffle ball. We would set up a small “ball park” in the back yard and pretend we were great base ball players. You can do ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:2

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Getting Past Self-Indulgence

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 6, 2009

Self-indulgence does not mean denying yourself what you actually need, but meeting needs easily turns into obsession. The way out is service to others.

Whoever first baked Pecan Sandies should be made a saint. I love Pecan Sandies cookies! The taste of crunchy pecans, the texture of shortbread. I don’t care if you are from Georgia and pronounce it pee-kan, I’ll insist that Pecan or pee-kan Sandies are the finest cookie on the market. And so ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Over

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 7, 2009

God wants us to be more than minimal. Acknowledge that Christ is Lord, make sure our witness is clear, go beyond quick thrills, and be faithful, and your faith will sustain you over the long haul.

Too often, we choose "getting by", when we could choose "getting over". Too often, we try to skimp on life, hoping not to invest too deeply. That’s "getting by". But we could turn to a better answer. We could choose "getting over". "Getting by" and "getting over" are not the same thing. "Getting ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17

Denomination: Baptist

Give Up Or Get Up?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 8, 2009

Never consider anyone hopeless. Pray intensely, watch out for the naysayers or for your own negativity, and then participate in the redemption Christ wants to bring.

He’s just hopeless! She is beyond redemption! I am never going to make it! They have no future whatsoever! They are hopeless! Are you ever tempted to speak like that? Do you ever feel that way about somebody, maybe even about yourself? Hopeless? Watch out. Because there is nothing more ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:40-56

Denomination: Baptist

Revived To Die?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 9, 2009

What must it have felt like to be revived, only to know that you will die again? It is true of a church that has undergone revival. Some will even try to kill the revival. Embrace it, unbind it.

We always welcome visitors in our church from wherever they may come. But I do wonder today if we have any visitors from the other side. The other side, you know. No, I don’t mean the Catholics. I mean the other other side. Do we have any visitors from beyond the grave? Thus begins the sermon ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Walls Come Tumblin' Down

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2009

We run into many walls we cannot seem to get past: estrangement, grief, illness. The way past those walls is described as Sabbath, symbol, silence, and shout.

When you are up against a wall, there will be more than one way to deal with it. There will be the conventional way. And there will be the creative way. When you are up against a wall, there will be a way to break it down that costs a whole lot less than the usual way. All of us remember Mark ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

Venus De Milo: Beautiful But Not Perfect

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2009

We are not perfect, nor are we beyond redemption. Wake up to correct the inadequacies; strengthen what is worth keeping; and remember the grace of God.

In the best of us there are deep flaws; but in the worst of us there is something worth redeeming. In the best of us there are deep, profound flaws. Every fine and saintly person I have known has been hard to get along with, had blinders on about some issue, or just hung on to some irritating ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Ghostbusters

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 15, 2009

Panicked people do irrational things, like attempt to live in the past or to live out of bad religion. Panic can be dealt with only by trusting God and living in integrity. Luther’s Reformation is a prime illustration.

Children are not the only ones who are afraid of the dark. You do not have to be a child to be subject to irrational, unreasoning fears, fears that take you over and leave you breathless. Children may be afraid of dark rooms and of monsters under the bed, but the rest of us also panic. Don’t tell ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:3-18

Denomination: Baptist

God's Bountiful Buffet

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 16, 2009

Juy 31, 1988. When we don’t have enough, materially, it’s easy to be spiritual, and we respond with gratitude. When we have enough, materially, it’s still easy to be spiritual, and we respond with responsibility.

You may not know it, but we may be in the vicinity of a piece of history. We may be in the neighborhood that gave rise to a revolution in the restaurant business. I cannot really document this, but at least in my limited observation, it was right here in this neighborhood that one enterprising ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:1-18

Denomination: Baptist