Sermons on joseph smith: showing 406-420 of 26,523

A King In The Gate

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2001

David’s emergence from grief over Absalom was marked by his "sitting in the gate" -- a sign of healthy recovery in that he had begun to care for others more than for his own wounds, he had returned to the work of justice, he faced vulnerability, he resumed leadership, he could face his own grief.

I This day the noise of battle, the next the victory’s won. Or so the king hoped. Much was at stake. His own future was uncertain; the nation’s stability was shaky; the confidence of those around him was low; and, most of all, his relationship with his son was in jeopardy. There had been a ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Denomination: Baptist

Ambassadors With Contradictions

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2001

We live with contradictory feelings about many things, including our church. We do not get the gift of reconciliation fully until there is conflict, but God wants to give the gift of reconciliation now, if we will accept it.

Church, some say, should be a place of peace. Church should be a place where we can come after a week of dealing with conflicts, fears, and doubts, and find peace. I was told we don’t want conflict at church. And I do understand. I do understand why, when we come to the hour of worship, we want ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, 2 Corinthians 6:2-10

Denomination: Baptist

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

Where Peace Begins Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 10, 2000

Peace begins in the heart, and is not imposed from outside, for discord also begins within; but in a committed relationship there is a matrix for genuine peace.

It had been a long, tiring day. A day full of frustrations. Plans so carefully laid in the morning had been forcefully set aside by evening. Good intentions for a day of accomplishment had been ruthlessly destroyed by many intrusions. Now it was night, and cold, and lonely. No one around. No ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Peace: Ready, Set, Go Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 27, 2000

To gain peace in stressful times, we need, like the shepherds of Bethlehem, to be ready and open to God’s doing new things; to set out promptly to respond to God’s action; and to go back into our normal course of life, but with a difference.

These are stressful days. There is too much going on. Too much. Too much work, too much to think about, too many demands, too much. Why, we have to shop and bake and decorate and plan parties and send cards and on and on. Too much. Stressful. Too much traveling. I heard an astonishing ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Alpha Male

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 27, 2000

The Jesus of the Incarnation provides us with a more authentic leadership than "alpha males" in the wild or in politics, for in His differences He is Alpha and Omega.

Some of us learned a new term during the late and unlamented presidential campaign. Campaign observers, drawing on something learned from studies of animals in the wild, told us that one of the candidates was trying to learn to behave as an Alpha Male. An Alpha Male. What does that mean? In the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-8

Denomination: Baptist

Finishing Touches

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mrs. Betty Parker, a member of our church who had known for some time that she would die, and who had carefully thought through her relationships, her responsibilities, and her faith.

FINISHING TOUCHES (Philippians 1:3-11) I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Some tasks are never finished. No matter how much effort you put in, they are never finished. There is always more that could be ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:3-11

Denomination: Baptist

What Time Is It?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Jeremiah Reese, a businessman to whom one of our members had witnessed in his closing weeks, and who requested that his funeral focus on Ecclesiastes 3.

The other night, as all too often happens, I fell asleep in front of the television set, watching who-knows-what and who-knows-why. It’s just one of the more disturbing realities about getting a little older – that if I sit still for more than about twenty minutes, I’ll get sleepy. I’ll try to ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Touching The Cloak

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mrs. Thora Mohler, a long-time member of our mostly African-American Baptist church, but proud of her Swedish Lutheran heritage, and devoted to certain tasks in the life of our church.

Anyone who ever counted money with Thora Mohler will tell you that she was a woman with a determination to get things right. She would not let go until she had the right answer. On Mondays, Mrs. Mohler, until recent months, was one of those faithful behind-the-scenes workers our church has, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:14-22

Denomination: Baptist

A Long Night's Journey Into Day

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Wadell Wilkins, who had been comatose for years, following an apparent reaction to an anesthetic administered for orthopedic surgery

A LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY Numbers 9:15-23 When our children were small, our family would take trips back home to Kentucky. We discovered that a six hundred mile journey was better if we traveled at night. We would pack our bags, make a big thermos of coffee for me, and set out in the ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 9:15-23

Denomination: Baptist

In The Spotlight

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral for Stephanie Parker, a jazz and blues singer and spiritual seeker, done at the request of her sister, a member of our church.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He saw that most of us seem destined to live in frustration. Most of us will never be able to do what we would really want to do. Most of us will never truly fulfill what we believe God ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:6-12

Denomination: Baptist

Sharing The Journey

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. David Broadnax, a Broadway actor and filmmaker, who died in Spain. He was the brother of one of our members, who requested that we do the funeral.

I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while. Our lives are journeys, with a beginning and a destination. Many roads can be used to take those journeys. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:23-28

Denomination: Baptist

God's Unbroken Family

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mrs. Annie McNeile, the mother and aunt of members of our church.

Everyone who lives in a family knows what it is to be responsible for another family member. If you are a mother, you feel responsibility for those whom you brought into the world; in fact, some mothers spend their whole lives and much of their energy feeling utterly responsible for everything ...read more

Scripture: John 19:25-27

Denomination: Baptist

The Song Of Triumph Has Begun

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral for Mr. Arthur Capehart, a pioneering jazz musician and public school music teacher

Exodus 14:10-15:3 passim Message: THE SONG OF TRIUMPH HAS BEGUN But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Wings Of Refuge

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 9, 2001

Funeral message for Mr. Ekerete Akpaete, a Nigerian immigrant who died very suddenly, in the arms of his infant daughter.

To experience great loss is difficult enough. To experience that loss in a far country, with few who understand, few who are close, is even more difficult. And when that loss means that those who depend on you will need you even more, yet the resources to help them will be scarce – that is truly ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 2:11-12, Psalm 57:1

Denomination: Baptist