Sermons on Joseph Smith:

Ambassadors With Wide Open Hearts

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2001

The cross teaches us to allow ourselves to be misused in the name of giving so that others might find salvation; the alternative is to hoard and thus to lose.

The woman answered a knock on her door, and found there a homeless man who said that he was looking for odd jobs to do so that he could earn a little money. “Well,” she said, “around the back of my house I do have a porch that needs painting. Can you handle a paint brush?” He said that he could, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Chilling Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 10, 2002

Jesus understood when, how, and why to "chill": when His emotional energies had been drained; how to back off the need to be needed; and for the purpose of providing a still point of healing for others.

If there is any one thing that distinguishes my generation and later generations, like the Gen-xers, it is that we have totally different attitudes about work and play. We are light years apart about what we expect from work or what we want from play. People born before and during the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:45-56

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus In Love Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 18, 2002

Jesus, in dealing with sexual sin, did NOT make an object out of the woman involved, nor did He feel it necessary to do anything but give her space to work out her own spiritual issues. He DID determine that His aim was redemption, not shame, and He love

All these years of preaching and teaching, and no one has ever asked me why Jesus didn’t have a wife or a girl friend. No one has even so much as wondered out loud whether Jesus the man felt what most men feel. Are you afraid of that question? Or do you just suppose that, after all, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Partying Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 24, 2002

We have taken our cues about how to have fun from the wrong places. When Jesus parties, he includes rather than excludes the misfits; he goes not to participate nor to criticize, but to listen and redeem; and when you party with Jesus, you have joy and z

Suppose you gave a party and Jesus showed up! What would that do to your party? He wasn’t on the invitation list, He didn’t RSVP, but here He comes, making a beeline straight at you, with arms outstretched in greeting, and about twelve of his best buds looking eagerly at the buffet table. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-38

Denomination: Baptist

At The Last He Will Stand Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 8, 2003

We search for permanence through accomplishments, wealth, legacies; but Job discovered that he needed a Redeemer who would stand in his place and bring him a lasting relationship with God.

Have you discovered that nothing which you call permanent really is permanent? Lots of things are called permanent, many things are described as lasting, but they aren’t. Not really. Not long ago I wanted to mark two plastic containers so that I could be sure they would stay permanently ...read more

Scripture: Job 19:7-27

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Ignorance, Jesus Is Mine Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 9, 2003

We claim to know too much, as we want to make ourselves elite, we want to close off new ideas. Know nothing but the servant heart (a sermon for deacon ordination).

The psalmist says, “He has put a new song in my mouth.” And so I took that very literally and composed a new song for church today. Do you want to hear me sing it? It’s called, “Blessed ignorance, Jesus is mine” You say you don’t think you know that one? You say you think I got that wrong? ...read more

Scripture: John 7:45-52

Denomination: Baptist

Bridges Swamped, Swamps Bridged

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 10, 2003

In times like these the very things we have created to solve human problems are easily swamped; but God wants His people to flourish and will build bridges over the difficulties.

In June of 1972 I was standing in the middle of Colesville Road, not far from my home. I was standing safely in the middle of the road because no traffic was coming through. Why not? Hurricane Agnes had done. Remember Agnes? We’ve had a lot of storms around here, but not many that did as much ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Can The World Take Me Away? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 12, 2003

So much in our lives seems temporary; but God can give us a fresh start, can transform our incompleteness, and can give us hope.

Somebody asked me, when I was getting ready to take study leave, “Why are you doing this? Are you going for another degree? Are you preparing to take another job? And did the deacons make you do this?” Well, I said, I’m taking the study leave because I don’t get much reading time under normal ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Can't Shake Off Mom's Voice

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2003

Mothers (or parents) communicate an atmosphere as much as they communicate specific ideas; we as children cannot rid ourselves of that atmosphere, good or bad. But faith in God can lift us to a new self-esteem.

Just about everybody has a story that involves Mom’s voice. Just about anyone can tell you something distinctive about the things Mother used to say. We can remember not only what she said, but also the way she said it, the tone of voice she used. It’s surprising how many of us can remember ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Channeling Anger Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2003

Dramatic monologue: Jonah analyzes the sources of his anger, but prays that God will use all of his misdirected energy for Kingdom purposes.

Hmmph! Blah! Of all the fool things! Repent and be saved! Who would have thought it? Why in the world? I am angry. Yes, I don’t dispute it. I am angry. And why wouldn’t I be, after all I have gone through? I am angry. And with good reason. I went through hell and back, and with what ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Consequences Or Freedom Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 15, 2003

Jesus gave Barabbas the chance not just for a shortened sentence, but for a rebuilt life. When we break the law, we will face consequences; but our experiences can become the basis for redemption from what has happened to us.

Let’s play Jeopardy this morning. I’ll be Alex, you can be the contestants. The category is institutions. The answer is: The following people all spent time in this kind of institution: the prophet Jeremiah; Al Capone; the apostle Paul; Marion Barry; Bugsy Siegel; Nelson Mandela; John Dillinger; ...read more

Scripture: John 18:38-40

Denomination: Baptist

Consider The Source Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 16, 2003

Job, struggling to find his source of meaning, is frustrated with Bildad, who finds meaning in the past; and with his own feelings, looking for meaning in the present. Look to Christ, who provides meaning from the future.

Sooner or later, we all come to a point where we wake up and ask ourselves what life means. This life we are living: does it matter? All this energy we are putting in on studying or working or church or family or whatever: is it really necessary? I submit to you that most of us at one time or ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Cutting Through The Legalese Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 17, 2003

We look for loopholes in what God has called us to do, but the Bible calls us to a proactive lifestyle, it makes us face who we really are, and it calls us to accountability.

Some of us love to take the simple and make it complex. Some of us thrive on taking perfectly obvious matters and making them as obscure as possible. My neighbor’s car has on it a bumper sticker that says, “Eschew obfuscation”. After about a half-hour with the dictionary, I found out that means, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-13

Denomination: Baptist

Carry Me Back To Old

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 18, 2003

Nostalgia is a fatal disease, because the burdens of the past are idolatrous and wearisome, and will bring us down with them. But remember who God is and what His purpose is.

This past February I received a diagnosis, and, I’m sorry to say, it’s serious. I have a disease, commonly fatal. If it is not treated, it will destroy me, and I will gradually lose my abilities. I’m telling you about it, because, if we do not take some protective efforts, it will become ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 46:1-4, Isaiah 46:9-10

Denomination: Baptist

More Than Hatch, Match, And Dispatch Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 20, 2003

People expect only the ceremonial from the church. But God wants to give us a rich, varied, and outward-reaching life.

Last week you seemed to get a big charge out of my little story about going to a wedding rehearsal and wasting time waiting for a key person to arrive. When I said that I didn’t know what we’d do on Sunday afternoon if he didn’t show up, you let out a belly laugh. You assumed I was talking about ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Denomination: Baptist