Sermons on Josephs Brothers:

The Great Dismal Swamp And The Evereadies

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 15, 2009

Just as comic strip characters were saved from the Great Dismal Swamp because their Eveready batteries summoned the Fleet, so also if we will use the resources we have, we can save others from this world because the risen Christ is our resource.

The travel brochures say practically nothing about it, and yet it is one of the largest features on the landscape of two’ adjacent states. Two incorporated cities encompass include a great deal of it, but very few people live there. It’s mostly hundreds of square miles of nothing. The official ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Remembering, Reconnecting, And Rejoicing: What God Gives To The Grieving Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 25, 2009

Grieving healthily means remembering both positive and negative; it means connecting with others who can love us and whom we can love. In His own time God will give joy.

One of the laws of life is: To get something, you must give up something. To gain, you must also lose. We call that the tradeoff principle. We operate on the tradeoff principle every day. When you go to the grocery store and fill your basket, they have the audacity to expect you to pay for what ...read more

Scripture: John 19:25-27

Denomination: Baptist

Knowledge (Not Opinion)

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 6, 2010

Some of us handle truth by simply asserting ourselves forcefully. Paul's way was to root truth in revelation rather than logic; to find authentic confidence in personal experience; and to submit himself to transformation. First Baptist Church of Gaithers

If there’s one thing I have a strong opinion about, it is that I do not like people with strong opinions! I have a hard time with the person who declares what he thinks with absolute hard-core certainty, riding roughshod over any contrary thoughts I might have. I struggle with that. I have ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:11-24

Denomination: Baptist

Compassionate Christians?

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Apr 28, 2010

Compassion is not easy in a world full of sin, how do we become compassionate christians?

Compassionate Christians? Have you ever wondered how our Lord, was, and for that matter, still is, so compassionate? Jesus gives us the greatest examples of compassion seen, ever, in our world. I guess to be compassionate, one must first understand what compassion really is. "Compassion is the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dissin' The Homeboy Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 9, 2009

When we disrespect our own children, we disempower them, we give evidence that ours is a sick community, and we write off God’s ability to redeem.

The church was plagued with two bad boys, or maybe it was three. The two really bad boys offended nearly everybody in that church. They ran through the hails, rudely bumping those who were in the way. Elderly ladies cringed when they saw them coming. Small children screamed and hid behind their ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Laborers Together With God

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 11, 2010

Annual sermon, D. C. Baptist Convention. Clergy and laity will be in conflict, but it can be creative when we recognize our humanness, turn our competitiveness in productivity, and learn to identify where God is already at work.

I've done a little work through the years in helping ministers get positions on church staffs. Every Baptist minister, I guess, has done that. Where are the bishops when you really need them? But it's been fun to help young ministers, particularly those who were students of mine from my campus ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

What Then Will We Have?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2008

Gaining authentic riches means embracing the way of life over the way of death. The way of life means constant companionship and reconciled relationships, all in the risen Christ.

They promised me an income of up to ten thousand dollars a week. It would come in the easiest of ways; all I would have to do would be to sit at home and wait for it to pour in. They said the money would mount up effortlessly. Up to ten thousand dollars a week, made by promoting certain ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:16-30

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

Boogie Wonderland Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jul 18, 2006

To Dance with the Father is to engage in an intimate relationship with the Creator. This series addresses how to relate with God by focusing on the Father instead of on the steps of the dance.

The DANCE July 23, 2006 Church – Boogie Wonderland Funny: This prim and proper lady was planning to go on a vacation to a nice campground in Florida. As she made her plans she began to worry about the restroom facilities, so she decided to write a letter to the campground to inquire ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-24

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

Triumph Through Trying Times

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 29, 2011

When trying times come, and they always do, God has a message for us.

TRIUMPH THROUGH TESTING TIMES (All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and ALL scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) After a long series of sermons on giving God room to work, it almost seems fitting, to look at scripture and find a place where God tells us, that tough ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31-32

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Keys To A Muscle Car Church

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Oct 26, 2011

We would all love to have a church that has the real "power" God intends the church to have, this sermon explores how.

All my sermons use illustrations found at www. Sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise stated. KEYS FOR A MUSCLE CAR CHURCH Recently I saw a show on television where a guy was very upset that his 1970 muscle car had been stolen. He was very attached to this powerful car, its ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Deciphering Discipleship

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Nov 17, 2011

We are all called to be floowers of Christ, but do you really know what it means to be a disciplke of Jesus?

(All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) DECIPHERING DISCIPLESHIP You and I are called to be Disciples of Christ, followers of Jesus. We are told throughout scripture that this is the way, the only way to get to heaven. Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Praying For The Right Things

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 10, 2010

We tend to pray in a panic, when we could have prayed in preparation. Our prayer must also be responsible, accepting our own measure of responsibility.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC, September 21, 1986 One young friend of mine, taking the Scripture quite seriously and quite literally, where it says, "Ask anything in my name, and I will do it" – taking that verse to the nth degree, reports that he is still waiting for the Lord ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 3:3-14

Denomination: Baptist

Absence Of Pain Or Pain Of Absence? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 9, 2008

We either want to disengage from conflict situations and save ourselves the pain, or we have to absorb the guilt of being absent and causing others pain. Trust an abundant God, who is able to take our pain and express abundant love.

We serve a God of abundance and not a God of scarcity. Ours is not a dilettante deity with nothing in His hands. Ours is the God who possesses the cattle on a thousand hills, who flung the stars into space, and who has made all things – all things. All things are made by Him and all things are ...read more

Denomination: Baptist