Sermons on Josephs Coffin:

Were You There? No, But We Are Here

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 21, 2009

To know real and lasting power means admitting that we fail at what we do (repentance), giving over the control of our lives to Christ (faith), and obedience.

The speech choir has asked us a pointed question, "Were you there?" "Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?" They went on, "Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?" And finally, "Were you here when He rose up from the grave?" Were you ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:4-11

Denomination: Baptist

Seeing Through The Darkness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 22, 2009

This is a time of profound darkness, when many things we have depended on fail. We may be among the curious crowd or the concerned companions, but we will eventually see. Who will be the next converted centurion?

When you are suddenly plunged into darkness, that darkness is profound, and you cannot see anything. But wait a while, let your eyes adjust, and if there is a glimmer of light anywhere, you will begin to see and you will make your way through. The darkness will not be quite as dismal as you first ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:44-49

Denomination: Baptist

Wacky Wall Walkers

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 23, 2009

We Christians will be seen as wacky, using our own value system; we are wall-builders, giving the world something it really needs; and we are walkers, plodders, keeping at the task faithfully.

Anybody who is reading today’s newspapers can understand at least a part of Nehemiah’s frustration. The newscaster reported from Saudi Arabia this week that when fall comes in a few more weeks the midday temperature will drop all the way down to 110°! Tough times in the Middle East! But I’m sure ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 6:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

War Of The Walls

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 26, 2009

Just as God used two American generals to rebuild a wartorn world after WWII, so he used Nehemiah to build Jerusalem and will use us to rebuild our society and our church, despite the naysayers and those who say it cannot be done.

No one was quite sure when sundown came, for it was already too dark too see. The enormous clouds of dust and debris had filled the air for hours, and a choking darkness engulfed the sky. The moments of destruction had been so horrible, so swift and so complete, that those left alive could ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Turn Aside And Look Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 1, 2009

We so often live with tunnel vision. But if we turn aside and look at what God is doing, we will find an experience that will not end, a mission that will direct our lives, and a presence that will never leave us.

I confess to a malady known as “tunnel vision”. Tunnel vision is being able to see only what is straight ahead, as if I were going through a tunnel, and there is nothing to see on the sides, only the light at the end of the tunnel. Tunnel vision is not so much a condition of the eyes as it is of ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Seeing A New Thing

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2008

Some of us are just not observant and do not see what God is doing. We let fear paralyze us, we do not see what an international church means, and we need to bear a testimony of excitement about all that God is doing in this church.

Many of you know that I recently spent a week in Kentucky and Indiana doing a family history search. My companion for that week in archives rooms and on cemetery grounds was my younger brother, who is a professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Texas. We planned for that particular week, as ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

The Bald Eagle Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 6, 2008

Micah’s symbol of the bald eagle, a sign of grief, applies to America. We are abandoning justice, kindness, and the humble walk with God. Our collapse is from within rather than from without. Yet God has sent a different kind of conqueror to redeem us.

What we see is more powerful than what we hear. The visual always trumps the audible. I learned a long time ago that what people see is more powerful than what they hear. I learned it when I sat through an education professor’s hour-long lecture about why lecturing was the least effective way to ...read more

Scripture: Micah 1:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

In This House Of Peacemaking Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 13, 2008

Peace is something the world needs to learn from the church. To be peacemakers we must teach all of God’s truth, we must model peaceful resolution, we must equip with real skills, and we must find peace with God through Christ.

We entered the conference room in stony silence. For several weeks I had noticed the two of them – mature women, well-established, well-grounded in the Lord – but at odds with one another. They had been planning a special event, but had disagreed over the menu. One of them wanted an item dear to ...read more

Scripture: Micah 4:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Ripe Ritual And Redemptive Righteousness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 20, 2008

Dramatic monologue as if it were from Micah himself, summarizing the entire book around the contrast between practicing ritual in order to avoid judgment vs. living God’s requirements of justice, mercy, and the humble walk.

[Outside the sanctuary] Justice, O God! Justice! We must have your justice! And righteousness! Without that we are lost! Oh, Lord God, the Temple and the city – what I see there sickens me. That ripe and rotten ritual, those empty gestures, those paid and padded priests! O God, ...read more

Scripture: Micah 7:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Barabbas

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

This is an sermon to show a sinner 1) the need of salvation, but also 2) the necessity of accepting the pardon that Jesus offers.

Text: Matthew 27:21-23 “The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:21-23

Denomination: Pentecostal

Contradiction Or Conversion?

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

A sermon of the majesty of God’s grace. This displays the ability of Christ to draw a man and save him, even when the penitent is at death’s door.

Texts: Matthew 27:33-44 Mark 15:27-32 Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 “And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Glory Of The Cross

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

This sermon is to help us understand why Paul gloried in the Cross of Christ, and see how this motivated him in ministry.

Text: Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Intro: On this day we have gathered together for this special service to commemorate the Resurrection Morning nearly 2,000 years ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:12-14

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Crowd's Miscalculation

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

This is an expository sermon preached to demonstrate the foolishness of turning away from Christ and seeking fulfillment apart from Him.

Introduction: Have you ever placed little value on something, only to miss it dearly once it was gone? We’ve often heard the saying, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Example: Earlier this year while itinerating to raise up our missions support, after completing a missions service ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:9

Denomination: Pentecostal

El Manto

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

Un mensaje que prediqué en una campaña. Prediqué como una drama. Es una exposición de la vida de Eliseo.

Texto: 1 Reyes 19:19-21; 2 Reyes 2:1-14 I. El llamamiento de Eliseo A. Fue mandado por Dios (I Reyes 19:16b “…a Eliseo hijo de Safat, de Abel-mehola, ungirás para que sea profeta en tu lugar.”) B. Elías “echó sobre él su manto”. (I Reyes 19:19b) C. El punto de decisión de Elías: ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:19-21

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Plagues Of The Priesthood

Contributed by Joseph Barraclough on Jul 29, 2008

A message for ministers about some pitfalls into which clergy may fall. It looks at the hypocrisy of the priesthood in the days when Jesus was on the earth.

I Peter 2:5,9-11 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ…But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:6-7

Denomination: Pentecostal