Sermons on Josephs Coffin:

Worship: Sense And The Senses

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 3, 2008

Too often it is true that those who pray do not work and those who work do not pray. Real worship will engage our entire beings and will empower us for action.

I’m sure you know the statement which Jesus made, "God is a spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." We want to think today about both spirit and truth. Worshipping in both modes. Over the door of the monastery hung a sign. It read, "To pray is to work; to work ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Mothers And The Sword

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 3, 2008

Mothering in our time is mirrored in the one prostitute, who decided just to take what she could, though it was destructive. But the true mother was willing to sacrifice that her child might live.

Preface Who is the real mother? How do you measure authentic mothering? Is it by the mere accident of birth, or is it by something deeper? Who is the real mother, who is the authentic mother? Is it simply the woman you gave you birth and who wiped your messy nose during your growing up years, or ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 3:16-28

Denomination: Baptist

A Motley Crew, In Chains

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 3, 2008

Tychicus, Onesimus, and Aristarchus chose to chain themselves to ministries of encouragement, inclusion, and support.

If you follow the rock music scene, I guess I should hurry to assure you that the sermon today is not about a heavy metal group, nor is it about some kind of kinky fetish. The theme, "A Motley Crew, In Chains" is evoked by the long list of names which Paul singles out as he finishes the Colossian ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:7-18

Denomination: Baptist

My Gospel

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 4, 2008

Dramatic monologue as if given by Paul. Against trusting in ritual, correct ideas, or emotion, trust the grace of Christ given in personal relationship with Him.

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Oh.. almost didn’t see you there. See what large letters I make when I am writing ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:6-13

Denomination: Baptist

My Home In God's Heart

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 6, 2008

Dramatic monologue as if Hosea were speaking; his mixed feelings of anger and compassion toward Gomer become the clue for understanding God’s feelings about Israel.

It had been a hard day in the fields. The sun had beat down without mercy on my back. Twice or three times, my team of oxen had stumbled and I had had to stop and help them up out of the miry clay, lest they break their legs and be useless. I’ve always found that it’s not hard to stop and care for ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Healed Hearts His Home Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 7, 2008

Two obstacles must be removed before we may receive the peace God wants to give us, so long delayed and frustrated: our false pride and our negative spirit of self-accusation. Then His victory will be ours.

The neighborhood, if you could call it that, was one of the most rundown and poverty-stricken in the city. For fifty years the housing had decayed, and, as the original residents left, absentee landlords jammed far too many people into the old dwellings. Diseases became epidemic, and fires not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 57:14-21

Denomination: Baptist

My Three Sons

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 7, 2008

Dramatic monologue as if David were speaking: he starved emotionally his son Adonijah, he indulged his son Solomon, and he distanced himself from his son Absalom.

"Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and do not forget all his benefits ... as a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him." As a father has compassion for his children … When I first ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 18:1-33

Denomination: Baptist

Whatever You Get, Pass It On

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 8, 2008

Deacon ordination: Christ has won the victory, so yours is the opportunity to roll up the score with no fear of losing. Pass on what you have received in comfort, conversion, gifts.

Some things, once they get started, cannot be stopped. There are just some things, once they get rolling, which cannot be interrupted. It’s just impossible. You’re a student and have an exam tomorrow. When the morning dawns and the sun begins to rise, no amount of wishing that the day light would ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Denomination: Baptist

Within, Without Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 11, 2008

Paul and John Mark, a study in maturing relationships. John Mark starts out young and conflicted; he is insecure around the powerful Paul; but Paul grows to accept him and think of him as useful.

The Scripture texts I will be using today are scattered through several chapters in the Book of Acts, plus other locations in the New Testament. And so instead of simply reading passage after passage, let me put together a vignette, a character sketch, in order to make the life of John Mark ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Without Shifting From Hope

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 12, 2008

For Day of Prayer for World Peace: Peace is shattered because of social, personal, and spiritual relationship breakdowns. It is restored through spiritual healing, which leads to personal and then social healings.

Introduction A All around us lies the evidence that peace is a sometime, fragile thing. Everywhere we turn we discover that peace has been broken, peace has been shattered. 1 We have the international scene to remind us. A few years ago we hardly knew where Yugoslavia was, but now we are having to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:21-23

Denomination: Baptist

Come Out And Be New

Contributed by Joseph Nordyke on Dec 13, 2008

God wants us to come out and be new in Christ

Come out and be new 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Helen – Tom – Sarah, Story of the lost ladle Helen was a wonderful Christian woman, She was a single mother raising her only son Tom as best she could to love God. Helen was very worried when Tom told her he was moving to the Big city. A year went by and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Denomination: Pentecostal

Lining A Diliberate Life

Contributed by Joseph Nordyke on Dec 13, 2008

We must live for God deliberatly, not blown to and fro.

Living a deliberate life LUKE 14:28-35 Carefully weighed considered; studied; intentional. A person tells a deliberate lie. *When living for Christ we MUST live deliberate lives * We cannot afford to live haphazardly, or spur of the moment 1) A deliberate life is one that is carefully ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:28-35

Denomination: Pentecostal

Without One Plea Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 13, 2008

Like Paul, we cannot plead that we are either too broken or too privileged to engage in service. Brokenness is what God can use for the Kingdom.

No excuses. No excuses. We are accountable for what we do. We are accountable to God. And what God has called us to do, we can do. No excuses. If God has chosen us, then He has expectations. There are Kingdom tasks to be performed, there is a witness to be made, there is something that each of us ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Denomination: Baptist

The Carpenter And His Timber Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 14, 2008

Just as this amateur carpenter used rejected timber to repair a door and inserted misfit timber into a cabinet gap, so God uses rejected people and misfit churches to build the Kingdom.

I love to watch buildings take shape. I guess it’s the frustrated engineer in me, because that is what I would be involved with if the Lord had not, some fifty years ago, told me to build churches and souls instead of structures. But I love to see buildings take shape. There is a special joy in ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Wonderful Words Of Life

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 17, 2008

Knowledge of the Bible is essential for us to life fruitfully, and it is critical to pass on that knowledge to our children, for whom it can be made exciting.

I’m glad they’ve brought "All in the Family" back on TV. I never did see what the fuss was, frankly, when it came out the first time. And now it still seems fresh and insightful and funny. To me, the best pieces of business in "All in the Family" are those scenes in which Edith starts out to ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:44-47

Denomination: Baptist