Sermons on Josephs Coffin:

If It's Light, Let It Lead Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 18, 2009

MLK Sunday: to work in the darkness, we need light, lots of it, but it may show us things we don’t want to know. The Bible is light for life; the church makes us see its truth in ways that claim us; and Christ leads us to a healthy integrity

If you are going to work in the darkness you need light. There is only so much you can do by feeling your way. You need light and lots of it. Last Wednesday night as my wife and I left Montgomery Hills Church, I noticed some poor soul in the driveway of the house next door. He had the hood of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:22-23

Denomination: Baptist

The Price Of A Kiss

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 19, 2009

Black History Month: There is a price to pay for friendliness: Christlike behavior even when others disappoint us, commitment to the development of others.

The passage I am about to read is the very ending of the Second Corinthian letter. It includes a verse which has a warm place in my memory because it was the favorite verse of lots and lots of male seminarians back in the 60’ s when I was in school. You see, in the 60’s there were not very many ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:5-13

Denomination: Baptist

The Price Of A Secure Peace

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 20, 2009

Peace is secured if a nation will repent, think realistically, and work to produce righteousness. The support of Christian missions is a step for peace.

In a few days the leaders of two great nations will sit down for a summit conference, designed to promote the cause of peace. One of those nations is passing through unprecedented trials. A year ago who would have predicted that the Soviet Union would look shaky and might even break apart? Six ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 8:4-13

Denomination: Baptist

Marked Men

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 22, 2009

Cain’s problem is ours: we are fearful and anxious if someone else seems to be getting ahead of us, and our anxiety is the root of our violence. But in God’s curse there is a mercy and a clue for brotherliness.

For today’s message we are going back to the earliest moments in human history to look at one of the most basic issues in human life. We are looking at the way we feel about differences, and what we do about that feeling. The Book of Genesis, in its opening stories, teaches us about what it means ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

One Dark Blot

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 24, 2009

Many of us are given to obsessive behavior. Healing comes when we name it for what it is and accept a healthy substitute. A relationship with Christ will erase destructive obsessive behavior.

Success in life is about one-half drive and one-half perspective. To get anywhere, to accomplish anything, you have to mix both drive and perspective. You have to blend both drive and push, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the ability to back off and look at your drivenness. Most of the ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-30

Denomination: Baptist

The Parable Of The Lighted Cabinets Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 25, 2009

Story form sermon about a man who put all the symbols of recognition on display, but no one noticed. Finally someone asked who helped him attain all this. The world does not need to see display cabinets; it needs to see the God who empowers us.

Like it or not, every day, every moment, we send out messages about who we are. Whether it is about our work, our home, our civic life, our possessions, or our spirituality, we send out strong signals about what is in our very core. Those around us will receive those signals, make no mistake; ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Denomination: Baptist

On That Great Gettin' Up Morning

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 26, 2009

For Remembrance Sunday: getting past grief means crying out honestly and insistently for help, and it means having confidence in the God who raised Christ from the dead and thus defeated death itself.

The hymns we have sung and the Scriptures we have read have one important word that is common to all of them. That word is "morning". "Morning", as in "good morning". "Morning" is an important Biblical image. I am leading us to worship around the symbol of morning today because I want us to use it ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-3

Denomination: Baptist

Lofty Lord, Live Lips, Long Layby

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 28, 2009

Where do we get the motivation to keep doing what the Lord wants us to do? We affirm that we are called by a God of power, who is able to equip us; He will give us victory eventually even though it may come slowly (Deacon Ordination Sunday).

This evening two very good football teams will face each other under the dome. The outcome will hinge not only on physical condition and coaching strategy and just plain luck; it will hinge also on motivation. Who really, really wants to win? Who is hungry to win? One of the great personal issues ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

On Your Mark, Get Set, Grow

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 28, 2009

Growth can come by pruning, cultivating, or simply letting it happen. God wants the church to grow, and all these methods are used.

Growth takes place in one of three ways. Things grow because one of three things happens. First, some things grow just because it is in the very nature of those things to grow. You don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to feed them or nourish them or encourage them. Some things just grow. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:4-16

Denomination: Baptist

Rahab: Marked By Scarlet Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 29, 2009

God is ready to forgive all sinners and use them for His purposes; and God’s people must receive them, no matter the nature of their sin, for all have sinner and are forgiven. (Spools of scarlet thread were distributed for people to unroll and hold).

Soon through your hands will be passing a scarlet thread, a scarlet cord. I do not say a red cord, but a scarlet cord. Scarlet, you see, is a special kind of red color. The art books tell us that scarlet is a bright red with just a tinge of orange in it. And scarlet has some special ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 2:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

Promises: Barnabas

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 30, 2009

As we grow older we find meaning in encouraging others, especially the young. Trusting them is equivalent to trusting God.

We like to say that age is a state of mind more than it is a set of numbers on the calendar. We tell each other, "You’re only as old as you feel." But you know, I’m finding that it is important to know what you feel. It is important to listen to yourself as you age. I am not referring to aches ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Love People, Use Things

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 31, 2009

Thanksgiving Eve sermon 1989: We have a hard time giving up our attachment to things material. We do need to feel, however, that what we use makes a difference for someone -- a way to love them.

When we read that the city of Washington is going to get everybody out of an infamous homeless shelter by Christmas, because that shelter is no longer fit for human habitation, we have a variety of reactions. Some react at the thought that we still have not come very far at settling the issue of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

The Land Of The Midnight Sun Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 1, 2009

Our culture has lived in sheer optimism, but that time is fading. We must seize the opportunity to minister while it is here; and if we do so, we will see bountiful rewards.

My besetting sin, if you must know, is procrastination. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow, for somehow tomorrow always seems to be even more than only a day away. It seems to be an eternity away, and so what if I do not do today what my To-Do list says I am to do? Who will know ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Men And Their Macho Machines

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 4, 2009

Men have sadly learned to use machines as status symbols and instruments of power, but that only leads to destruction. Learn from Him whose ride was a lowly beast and whose symbol is a cross.

I had been away from home for about three months, working in Akron, Ohio, as an engineering student. The three months were over, and it was time to go back home. I went back the way college students traveled in 1957 … not in a plane, not in a car of my own, not with my father coming to transport ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 9:14-28

Denomination: Baptist

Promises To Keep Before I Sleep Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 4, 2009

We make promises to God but do not keep them because we let life overwhelm us, but if we listen to those who care for us, they will bring us back to our promises.

The shouts of today are so loud that I do not hear the echoes of yesterday, nor do I listen to the faint whispers of tomorrow. All I really know is what is clamoring in my ear right here, right now. That makes me lose perspective. The shouts of today are so insistently loud that I do not hear the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 1:48

Denomination: Baptist