Sermons on Josephs Coffin:

I Have The Keys Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2003

For All Saints/All Souls: the Lord has the keys to the church, so we need not fear its future despite our locking up its resources; and He has the keys to our lives, so we need not lock ourselves in privacy; and He has the keys of eternal life.

Keys. I have keys. Lots and lots of keys. Thanks to keys, we can keep safe the things we consider valuable. But we are also kept from access to those things. Keys; we all have them, we all need them, we all appreciate them, but we all resent them at times. If you don’t have the right keys, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-18

Denomination: Baptist

Listening To I Am Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

Listening to ourselves is also listening to God. If we listen in availability, God will respond in our own history. If we listen for responsibility, God will offer His presence.

There come those times in life when we do not trust what we have heard. Something is said, our ears pick it up, but we don’t quite trust it. We don’t know whether we really heard what we thought we heard. Or we don’t know whether to believe what we heard. Or maybe we don’t trust the speaker. Or, ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Listening For Freedom Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

We fear freedom for reasons both internal and external -- "broken spirit and cruel slavery". Choose to be a liberator for someone else and you can break that slavery.

We are made to be free; in fact, we need freedom. Every person needs freedom. That’s obvious. That’s what God has made us for. The Scripture says, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” We say we want to be free. We want to be free. But therein lies a problem. The problem is that that’s not ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 6:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

Listening For Leadership Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

Our view of leadership is that it is aggressive, know-it-all. But in reality it is bearing witness to God’s power, not our own; and leaders are qualified to be leaders by what they do NOT know.

Do you know the story of the woman who liked to sit for an hour or so every evening at her front window? She would just sit, looking at the traffic racing by. After the children had been coached through their homework, after her husband had been reminded about the jobs on his "To do" list; after ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 19:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Listening For Abuse Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

Many of us are only a short step from the abuse of other races, of women, or of children. We must listen to our own hearts and must correct this by exposure to others and to the power of Christ.

I For the last several Sundays we’ve been doing an exercise in listening to ourselves. We’ve put ourselves into Moses’ life and we’ve listened to what we feel about ourselves. I hope it’s been productive. It certainly has spoken to me. I hope you’ve been able to listen to yourselves under the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 22:21-23, Colossians 3:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

Michael, Row That Boat Ashore! Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 10, 2003

We are engaged in spiritual warfare, not just minor disputes, and so must take on the enemy. God calls not only "Michaels", leaders, but also "ordinary angels". When we engage evil, we create the opportunity for salvation, wholeness, to be done. Victor

Imagine that it’s Sunday afternoon. You are on the turf at FedEx field. You have been assigned to play defense for the Deadskins ... er, I mean, the Redskins. Yes, you. You have been assigned to play defense; why not? Nobody else is doing it! Spurrier says to you, “When one of them gets the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:7-12

Denomination: Baptist

Three Plus One Equals Infinity Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 14, 2002

Dramatic monologue, done as if I were Daniel, reporting on his three friends in the fiery furnace. Focus on spiritual identity in a power-hungry world.

(Singing) “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, His grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee, He only designs thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.” Whew! Does it seem hot in here to you? Does it feel as though the very fires of hell are about ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 3:1-30

Denomination: Baptist

An Officer Who Cared

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 14, 2002

Message for the funeral of Carroll A. Reed, Major, U. S. Army, Ret.; combat veteran of WW II, Korea, and Vietnam; deacon

This past summer I did a series of sermons based on Romans, chapter 12, and Paul’s admonition that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. I built the sermons around various parts of the body, and suggested how we might present our eyes, our ears, our hands, our mouths, and our ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Amanda: Loving Because She Was Loved

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 18, 2002

Funeral sermon for Mrs. Amanda Foye Jackson, who had suffered through two massive strokes and the loss of her son.

In Biblical times, a person’s name revealed something about who he was or what she was intended to be. In the creation story, there is Adam, meaning earth, and Eve, meaning mother. Their names told you who they were and what they were intended to be. Abraham, father of nations; Isaac, laughter; ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-19

Denomination: Baptist

The World Demands A Life-Giving Vision Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 20, 2002

Sermon delivered in support of our theme for 2002, and on the occasion of our annual meeting. A vision brings death if it is not communicated; it is discerned in prayer; and it always calls for repentance for the incompleteness of our obedience.

Two things you learn, if you are at all observant about churches. First, that church people do not agree on their vision of what the church should be about; and, second, that the world knows what the church ought to be about better than church people know. We who gather week by week as the church ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 2:1-45

Denomination: Baptist

Keep Hold

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 21, 2002

Funeral sermon for Helen Hastings, long-time church financial secretary

In a throwaway world, it is good to have known someone whose life reminds us that there are some things worth keeping. In a society where last year’s fashions are pitched out and yesterday’s values are passé, it is important to have known someone who understood how to keep hold of the right ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Denomination: Baptist

The Psalm That The Devil Can Quote

Contributed by Joseph Wallis on Jan 22, 2002

Sermon on Psalm 91 emphasizing the blessings of dwelling is the secret place of the Almighty

THE PSALM THAT THE DEVIL CAN QUOTE TEXT - Psalm 91 INTRO. - Surveys have proved this is one of the favorite Psalms of the people of God. It was found to be one of the 50 favorite passages of many Christians. It is the Psalm that carried many of the missionaries in China through the turmoil of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

Heaven

Contributed by Joseph Wallis on Jan 22, 2002

Sermon on heaven

HEAVEN TEXT - Revelation 21 - 22 INTRO. - Let us look for a few moments this hour at two of the more favorite chapters of the entire Bible. These two chapters have been blessed of God to lift up the discouraged, to comfort the bereaved, to resist temptation, to strengthen the dying, and to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

How Will It All Turn Out

Contributed by Joseph Wallis on Jan 22, 2002

Sermon on heaven and how it will be in the days preceeding the Return of Christ

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE TITLE - How Will It All Turn Out TEXT - Rev. 22 (whole chapter) INTRO. - This is the last chapter and last message of the Bible. I want us to look at what we find when we come to the end of the Bible and the end of the "Bible Age". How will it all turn out? I. THERE IS STILL ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 22:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Jude -- The Forgotten Book Of The Bible

Contributed by Joseph Wallis on Jan 22, 2002

Sermon on the message of the Book of Jude

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE TITLE - How Will It All Turn Out TEXT - Rev. 22 (whole chapter) INTRO. - This is the last chapter and last message of the Bible. I want us to look at what we find when we come to the end of the Bible and the end of the "Bible Age". How will it all turn out? I. THERE IS STILL ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:1-25

Denomination: Baptist