Sermons on Josephs Coffin:

When To Be Stubborn

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 25, 2002

There are times to be definite, clear, even stubborn: when you know the truth, when you understand your own motives, and when you can turn your stand into good news. Parts of the sermon were drawn from testimonies solicited earlier in the service around

Indelibly etched on my mind is the photograph of one of our members, now deceased. If you go to Frances Flippen’s apartment, you can see a picture of her late husband, John, a military man, in full battle dress, helmet and all, standing with his legs spread apart and his arms folded, and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:14-17, Proverbs 25:25-26

Denomination: Baptist

Too Late

Contributed by Joseph Marshall on Aug 25, 2002

The rich man in hell did everything that the poor man did on earth; however he did them simply TOO LATE!

Introduction: As we look at this story in the Bible, we must realize that it is an aweful yet true story. It is aweful because one man had so much suffering in this life and the other man had so much suffering in the next life. It is aweful because one man ended up in hell. We know this story ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Denomination: Baptist

Entering The Joy: A Five Talent Man

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 7, 2002

Funeral service for Robert Cecil White, poet, jazz musician, self-professed prodigal.

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few months ago when onto the scene, here at this church, there burst like a blaze of light a small intense man, dressed in a loose-flowing shirt, speaking up frequently. People took to him immediately; he was so open and so outgoing, and we at Takoma ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Windows Blown Out Or Open? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 8, 2002

God’s mercy is available to us, whether we call on Him in disasters only or whether we are constantly in His presence. But how much more ready we would be for disaster if we cultivated His presence. A sermon for the 9/11 anniversary.

(Singing): “Sitting by the window praying, waiting for the break of day; sitting by the window praying, hearing what God might say.” (Repeat) Of all the images which linger, a year later, of the events of last September 11, none is more haunting than the picture of people falling from the ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 6:1-23

Denomination: Baptist

All Your Diseases

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 12, 2002

Funeral sermon for Melvia Jean Harrison, victim of interstitial lung disease.

“Bless the Lord ... who heals all your diseases.” What an astounding claim! What an extravagant promise! The Lord heals all your diseases. Not some of them, not most of them, but all of them. Do we believe that? Do we think that is true? Then, if the Lord heals all our diseases, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Two Ways To Reclaim The Season Series

Contributed by Joseph Hughes on Dec 7, 2002

Jesus’ words in Mark 13 sound strange this time of year, but they remind us that the season is about the redemption of the world not the resurrection of the "bottom line."

First Sunday in Advent -December 1, 2002 The Holy Gospel - Mark 13:24-37 13:24 "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 13:25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 13:26 Then they ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:24-37

Denomination: Lutheran

Be Careful What You Pray For, You Might Get It Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 15, 2002

There are only two motives for prayer: fear and hope. If you pray and live in fear, you will live a lie and deny God, and you will become destructive. But if you pray and live in fear, you will find satisfaction and will become a life-giver.

God answers prayer. Let there be no doubt about that. God answers prayer. God responds to what His people ask. So it has often been said that you had better be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it! There is something awesome, something even dangerous about prayer. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-16, Psalm 106:15

Denomination: Baptist

Philadelphia: Que Sera Or Carpe Diem? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 5, 2003

It’s hard to go forward if we continually look back. God puts before us an open door of opportunity, but we must know that we are capable of good, and we must know our identities.

Well, let’s get this over with. New Year’s resolutions: how many of you made New Year’s resolutions? Now how many of us have already broken at least one resolution? Come on, hands up, confession is good for the soul. How many have already, five days into the new year, broken at least ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:7-13

Denomination: Baptist

Reconciliation

Contributed by Joseph Comage on Jan 10, 2003

Dr. King had a dream of reconciliation for all people. It is up to us to keep the dream alive.

REV. JOSEPH M. COMAGE RECONCILIATION ACTS 15:36-41 "...THEIR DISAGREEMENT WAS SO SHARP THAT THEY SEPARATED....." 2nd TIMOTHY 4:11 ".... BRING MARK WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME, FOR I NEED HIM". INTRO: RECONCILIATION: TO RESTORE TO ...read more

Scripture: Acts 15:36-41, 2 Timothy 4:11

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sardis: Alarm Bells Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 12, 2003

God is working to get our attention. Sometimes He uses alarm bells when we must respond immediately. Sometimes He uses alarm clocks to focus us on our daily disciplines. What is best, however, is the inner body clock, the inner drive to be a Kingdom pe

The greatest challenge any speaker has is to gain and to hold the attention of his audience. Speech teachers tell us that if we are going to practice anything, practice both the opening and the ending of a speech. That may be all that anyone remembers. So how does a speaker gain and ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Transfusion

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 18, 2003

Funeral sermon for Henry Allen, who had lingered in weakened condition for many months, and who had become distanced from everyone, particularly his family.

What you see is not always what you get. What your eyes tell you is not always the whole truth. Sometimes there is more going on than you can see. Have you ever been tricked by an optical illusion? An optical illusion is something that, when you first see it, you think you know exactly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Denomination: Baptist

Smyrna: Some Things Money Cannot Buy Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 19, 2003

Money may actually distract us from Kingdom priorities. Some things money cannot buy are compassion for the needy, passion for the lost, and love for one another.

I begin this morning with an invocation from my favorite poet, the bard of Baltimore, Ogden Nash, who addressed our favorite god in prayer: “Oh, money, money, money; some may think thee holy. But I cannot figure out how thou goest out so fast and how thou comest in so slowly.” Ogden Nash, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11

Denomination: Baptist

Window Of Opportunity Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 15, 2002

Through prayer, God will open a window of opportunity for us to work past our stresses, our conflicted feelings, and even our sins and shortcomings.

Life is tough. Am I going to get any argument about that? The philosopher Thomas Hobbes said that human life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Wow! Not the kind of stuff we expect on Sunday morning. Supposed to be all, “Praise the Lord”! But deep down, lots of people do ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:21-33, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Denomination: Baptist

Babel And Bubbles, Babies And Beginnings

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 6, 2002

God gives confusion when we act out of pride; but He wants in His church to reconcile all of us to one another, and does so through the model of the Christ of the cross.

I am becoming an expert in baby talk. Thanks to two young granddaughters, I am learning all over again the special language of infants. What their tiny mouths utter is not nonsense. They have their own language. Just because I have become accustomed to the language of the adult world – ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

Revived In God's Love: Revisioning

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 20, 2002

Post-revival sermon, calling us to see in our midst the possibilities of the new Jerusalem -- a church/community built on the basis of the old one, where all persons of all backgrounds are invited by our people and where those with challenges are given he

My mother had the habit of walking with her eyes fixed on the ground. Wherever we would go, my father and my brother and I would be looking all around, enjoying what there was to see, but mother would be plodding along behind us, looking at the ground. We used to tell her, “You’re missing ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:9-27

Denomination: Baptist