Sermons on joseph smith: showing 721-735 of 26,527

I Know Where I Need To Be Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 25, 2007

Our sin is that we do not know who or where we are, or where we need to be. We can discover that by setting no boundaries, taking risks, and finding that in God we are already where we need to be. Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD

“Watch where you plant your feet!” That’s the command I hear every time I work in the garden. “Watch where you plant your feet!” My job is to clear out dead leaves and old twigs. I open up the flowerbeds for spring. But to do that I have to step into the flowerbeds; I cannot reach all the ...read more

Scripture: Job 13:1-27

Denomination: Baptist

Declare If You Know Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 1, 2007

Declare if you know. Interesting word, “Declare”. As in the Declaration of Independence, or the Balfour Declaration. The word suggests speaking with force and clarity, with certainty and intensity. Some folks do not declare, they merely suggest.

Declare if you know. Interesting word, “Declare”. As in the Declaration of Independence, or the Balfour Declaration. The word suggests speaking with force and clarity, with certainty and intensity. Some folks do not declare, they merely suggest. They offer timid little ideas and apologize ...read more

Scripture: Job 38:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

How Can You Compel? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2007

Second message for revival, Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, VA; done in costume as if Paul were the preacher. How can you compel others to live as you would want? You cannot; you can, however, love them and lead them toward the new creation.

This is astonishing! This is absolutely, totally astonishing! That you – YOU – in whom I invested so much and to whom I taught the Way so diligently, would turn away. It is just incredible. Do you not care about how hard I worked with you? Did you not think twice before you listened to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Did You Experience So Much For Nothing? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2007

Third in revival series at Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, VA: Dialogical (sought testimonies from audience at selected intervals). We may feel that our investment in faith is a waste; but it will not be if we can learn to grow in relationships.

I hate waste. I despise it when I find out I have wasted something valuable – time or money or effort. Don’t you? Doesn’t it just frustrate you immensely if all your good work goes down the tubes? When I first learned to use a computer, I didn’t know you could set a word processor on auto-save. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:1-28

Denomination: Baptist

Who Prevented You From Obeying The Truth? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2007

We must take responsibility for our failure to obey the truth. Two personality factors that contribute to disobedience are self-indulgence and competitiveness. Final message in revival at Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, VA

I’ve lived in the Washington area long enough now that I know the lingo. I understand what you do when you get caught doing something you are not supposed to do. I’ve discovered that if you cannot get away with a “no comment” and you don’t have a lawyer to send people to, you stand up and you ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:7-25

Denomination: Baptist

Windswept

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2005

America is a land swept by the winds of change. Are they destructive? Yes, if we invest in religion without integrity and if we accept leaders committed to materialism. But refreshing winds are possible as we the church are in touch with the Spirit.

In the hills of eastern Kentucky, not far from where we once lived, there is a hidden-away estate called Windswept. If you crawl up the winding grade of US 421 to the wide place in the road called Morrill, off to your left there is a driveway that leads to a lovely stone house. Windswept was ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 8:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

From Goodness To Going

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 11, 2005

Preached at the National Baptist Memorial Church -- a congregation facing selecting a pastor, dealing with an aging building, and in decline. The issue is whether we will stop depending on just being "good" and will live out of grace to bear our witness

I heard not long ago about a very special automobile. It was built in the 1920’s by the Italian firm Bugatti, and it was designed for the outrageously wealthy. This car had 450 horses under the hood, it was 22 feet long and weighed 6000 pounds. It was hand-crafted of the finest materials, it ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

Free At Last

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 13, 2003

Funeral sermon for Yvan Vital, Haitian freedom fighter. We lose our freedom if we allow ignorance and apathy to take us over; but to learn and to feel is to claim the justice that God will complete.

I God has made us free. That’s the very essence of what God did when He created us. He made us free. He gave each of His creatures a measure of freedom, limiting them to a degree, of course, but nonetheless free. The eagle that soars in the sky, the great whale that plays in the ocean, the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13-14

Denomination: Baptist

Go Tell It On Mt. Carmel Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 20, 2003

We turn our successes into failures because we see only the negatives, and we need approval. But in the Incarnation God accepts our incompleteness and offers us His unconditional love.

All of us want success. All of us need success. If you don’t care about doing something well, you are in sad shape. You are in trouble if you don’t want to succeed at something. And yet the problem is that we are our own worst enemies. We defeat ourselves time and time again. We take ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Go Tell It On Mt. Calvary Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 24, 2003

For Christmas Eve Communion: Jesus remembered in the time of trial that He was born for a purpose, and He intentionally declared that purpose. He fulfilled the mission for which God sent Him.

On Sunday I offered the opinion that I was probably the only preacher in town who was using the Old Testament on the Sunday before Christmas. Well, maybe some used those Isaiah passages about a child named Immanuel and the Prince of Peace. But Elijah? Who would have thought that Elijah and his ...read more

Scripture: John 18:28-38

Denomination: Baptist

A New Year: Will Anything Really Change? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 3, 2004

Some fear change, and others think it never really happens. But either of those approaches writes off what God can do. Embrace change, know who you are, and there will be joy.

Some of you look like you just woke up, so maybe I need to tell you that we have started another new year! We have crossed over into a new year. Maybe you marked it with prayer at the midnight hour, or a quick kiss with someone you love, or – well, we’ll not get into some of the less-than-Baptist ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

A Time To Dance

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 8, 2004

Funeral sermon for Vera Byars, court information specialist and amateur dancer. Ballroom, minuet/ballet, tap -- whatever style she used, it all witnessed to a life of joy. This is not any longer a time to mourn.

I agree with the Scripture, where it says that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” I agree with that, because we know that some things are fine, in their place, but they are not appropriate in other places. There is a time and a season for everything, ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Joys False Or Complete Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 10, 2004

For Epiphany: As Richard Foster wrote about "Money, Sex, and Power", is it possible the Wise Men’s gifts are warnings to Jesus and His family about these things? Complete joy comes from what Jesus did with these issues.

Who we are and what we have are two entirely different things, but we confuse them. We insist on identifying who we are by what we have. Who we are and what we have are not the same thing. We are more by far than the material goods we possess. And yet everywhere we are identified by our stuff. ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 2:11-12

Denomination: Baptist

Standing On The Rubbishes Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 17, 2004

For our Annual Theme focus: all that we have accomplished as a church, fine as it is, is flawed. Much remains to be done, but it requires different leadership. This pastor’s departure, however, will not diminish the bond of love.

Some things end, but are not completed. Other things are completed, but do not end. There is a world of difference between the two. Some things end, but are not completed. Some things stop, unfinished. The tragic accident out on I-95 the other day is a reminder of this. Several lives ended ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Do We Have A Printout?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 22, 2004

Funeral service for Kathleen Brown Hardman, adult learner and president of a Sunday School class designed for beginning Bible students. Curiosity is good; curiosity for the Bible is better; a thirst for the life offered in the Bible is best.

The portrait says it all. A triumphant face, not especially youthful, but in a cap and gown, the symbols of academic achievement. The portrait says, “I’ve done it. I’ve learned something.” Whose is this smiling face? Is this some malingerer, who put off, for far too long, getting her basic ...read more

Scripture: John 20:30-31

Denomination: Baptist