Sermons on Joseph Smith:

Making Sense Of Life And Death

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 3, 2009

Life has to be more than what many in our time think it is. It does have meaning, as does death, if we live out of our sense of the purposes of God and if we have Christ as our constant companion.

He was all of thirteen years old, just beginning to emerge from boyhood and to fill out a little. He seemed, to look at him, alert, intelligent, full of the mischief you would expect from somebody entering the awkward years. His voice wavered between high-pitched laughter and the creaking croaking ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Heart Bypass (1986)

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 16, 2010

We are divided over whether to invest more in charity or more in the church program. A key element must be the compassion that gives from the core of our beings.

It seems as though just about once a week someone will phone from one of the charity agencies -- the Purple Heart, the Good Will, the Disabled Veterans -- and I always know when they are calling, because they will ask for Mrs. Smith. Nobody asks for Mrs. Smith when they could ask for Margaret ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:11-18

Denomination: Baptist

Time Out, Time In Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2003

After vacation -- time out -- it would be ridiculous if there were no "time in", engagement. God calls us to full engagement with Himself, which in turn calls us to live in newness and not in old habits. There is no time for anything that is not a serio

There are certain intense situations in which the best answer, maybe the only answer, is to take a “time out”. Time out, to get perspective; time out, to get emotions under control; time out to back off and take a better look. There are certain serious situations in which your instincts tell you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:1-7

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

Fervent Foot Faith

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 14, 2009

We must put feet on our faith. Evangelism is credible if we make certain our lives are clean, if we expose what we believe to others, and if we go confidently into the world with our faith.

Feet are ugly. That’s what someone suggested to me the (other day. Feet are ugly. I can’ t remember why that subject came up, but she insisted that feet are bony, unkempt, twisted, weird, and much the worse for wear after forty or fifty years of use. She said, if I recall correctly, that God must ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:9-17

Denomination: Baptist

Friend Of The Hopeful Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 22, 2009

In fearful times, there are also signs of hope. Some turn everything into a sign of fear and conflict. Others can see hope if they allow others to succeed. The child Jesus is a sign of such hope.

"The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope." These words were spoken in the most unlikely of situations. A French novelist, Tristan Bernard, and his wife, were being put into prison by the Gestapo, after the Nazis had overrun France. They were being sent to a concentration camp; ...read more

Scripture: John 3:25-30

Denomination: Baptist

Ishmael And Isaac: From Mistake To Mission

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 20, 2009

We live with dreams deferred, and act hastily, out of impatience. Either we then go into denial or we try to make do with a substitute. But Christ makes all dreams ever new.

The playwright Lorraine Hansberry asks it: "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?" A dream deferred. A dream deferred is something you’ve put heart and soul into, for a long time, but it’s delayed. It hasn’t come. It’s incomplete. What happens to a dream ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Honor, Love, And Reverence

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 5, 2009

Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, Va: To be good citizens means that we follow Peter’s counsel and honor everyone by supporting the public good; love the church by investing in it; and reverence God by making sure of our personal relationship to Him.

This is a day to celebrate being a people of God in a nation shaped by the will of God. This is a day to remember who we are, where we came from, and to what we are called. This is a day for honor, love, and reverence. Two years ago, the last time I was here, I mentioned that I had been doing ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:10-25

Denomination: Baptist

Sophomore Or Saint? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 10, 2008

We tend to use our limited knowledge to bludgeon others who do not know what we know or whose behavior does not match our standards; but we are called to be in Christ first and to love them, letting behavior flow from the relationship.

There is an old, corny story – and please don’t stop me if you have heard this one – a story about the young man who was the first in his family to go to college. In fact, he was the first in his small town to go to college. And so when he came home after his freshman year, he was the apple of ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-23

Denomination: Baptist

We Have Much To Learn From Joseph And How He Obeyed God.

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Dec 18, 2016

Joseph was human, more human than we believe; he was the same as us. He had his own share of problems that we can relate to, problems relating to a tight knit community that was quick to condemn. Could we to overcome such difficulties.

This sermon was delivered at Holy Trinity, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland on Sunday the 18th December 2016; Holy Trinity is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries. The readings for today are: Isaiah 7:10-16 Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 Please join ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Denomination: Episcopal

I Know You Are Watching Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 18, 2007

We think of God’s watching us as His attempt to hurt us, to shame us, or to rescue us. But it is His availability when we trust Him. Preached at Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD

“I can’t let you out of my sight for one minute!” How many parents here have ever said that? “I can’t let you out of my sight for one minute.” You said it to a small child, bent on doing something that would hurt. You said it to a teenager, on the phone instead of doing homework. You maybe ...read more

Scripture: Job 10:1-22

Denomination: Baptist

I'm Not Perfect, But ... Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 21, 2003

We justify not being mature by claiming that we are just like everyone else, or that we are at least working on that goal. But our example is Jesus, who gathers up our incompleteness into Himself and shows us the way to mature.

When I first announced the title of this message, “I’m Not Perfect”, somebody was sharp enough to reply, “Yes, we’ve noticed, we’ve noticed.” Well, thanks a heap! Don’t you know by now that when I say something self-deprecating, you are supposed to shower me with compliments and bathe me in ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:1-10, Hebrews 2:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Am I Seeking Human Approval? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 20, 2007

First message in revival series at Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, VA: We may so need human approval that we forget to seek God’s approval. Either we look backward too much, returning to old habits, or we look forward too much, expecting some "magic" wor

There are certain questions all of us need to ask ourselves. There are certain ways in which we need to probe our own minds and figure out just what we are doing. It never hurts to look inside and be honest and dig out our own motives. For example, since I am now in that wonderful status of ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:6-12

Denomination: Baptist

How To Lie With Statistics

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 5, 2008

For the Festival of Christ the King; We rely on false comparisons or we use half-truths to justify ourselves. Far better to find justification in committing ourselves to what God is about in the world.

There are lies, and then there are lies. Little lies and big lies. Deceptions of all kinds. Some say it was Mark Twain, others British Prime Minister Disraeli, but someone remarked that there are three kinds of lies: plain lies, flat-out lies, and statistics. Plain lies, flat-out lies, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Denomination: Baptist

Together In Sin, Alone In Jesus

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 18, 2009

Done as a pulpit dialogue between a spectator at the stoning of the woman taken in adultery and a prosecutor trying him for not sharing in the stoning. JMS, my initials; HM, initials of the church member who played the prosecutor.

JMS: What are you doing to me? This is outrageous! You have no business putting me on trial! I didn’t do any more than anybody else did. Let me go! This is crazy! HM: You know exactly why I’m putting you on trial. That woman was as guilty as sin, and so are you. You were with her. You ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Denomination: Baptist