Sermons on Joseph Smith:

Guiltless Grief

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 22, 2009

We can deal with grief if we allow ourselves to recognize its complexity, if we accept the love of caring friends, and if we permit God to use the grief to change us.

They stood at the gravesite, looking at the flower-covered casket of their father. The committal service had been over for ten or fifteen minutes. Everyone else had gone back to the cars. But the two sisters stood there, lingering long, staring into space. Their faces were masks: no emotions, no ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

Handling God's Success When We Wanted It For Ourselves Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2009

Ministry looks impossible, and we want to run the other way. But when we do finally tackle it, and God redeems, then we want the credit. In His grace He assures us that we are not forgotten even though we are inappropriate.

All during this month we’ve worked together on the theme of compassion. Because we are a church which urgently needs to do ministry in this community; because we are a people with much to give and much to share, and with a place to share it, by the time this week is over we will have invested four ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Raising The Roof: Sickness Down, Dander Up

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2009

It will be necessary to do some unusual things that will raise the anger of some Christians and will not be understood in the larger community. But the bottom line is getting help to those who need it.

Several years ago, when housing prices began to shoot up into the stratosphere, we began to see something new in my neighborhood. We saw many of the houses being opened up from the top, and then construction of new second stories or new dormers or even decks and balconies, way up high. What was ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

The Pharisees: Stuck In Correctness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 30, 2009

It is easier to be smug than satisfied, to be correct than compassionate, to be religious than real. What we need to do is to cry, "Lord forgive my sin."

The surest formula for unhappiness is have to be right, all of the time. If you are expected to be one hundred percent correct, never making a mistake, no blunders allowed, then you are asking for a serious heart attack, for high blood pressure, and for plain old unhappiness. It’s an awesome burden ...read more

Scripture: John 10:31-39

Denomination: Baptist

Hidden Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 17, 2008

God always reveals Himself in personal ways. Three times "hidden" appears in Colossians: to show that there is meaning in our suffering, to demonstrate that transformation can come, to call us to personal commitment, all at the right times.

Every child loves to play “Hide and Seek”. And every grandparent loves to play with them. But the lesson I learned is that playing “Hide and Seek” is a delicate operation. It is a test of grandpa’s interpersonal skills. “Hide and Seek” is about more than using your powers of observation to find ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Remember My Chains Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 24, 2008

Like some of Paul’s companions in prison, we may be held back by tasks too small, by shame, or even by our own prejudices. But once we accept our limitations as part of God’s will, they become ways to help others and fulfill our life callings.

If you suffer severe limitations, what do you wish for? What is your prayer, if you are bound by something that keeps you from doing what you really want to do? Do you wish you could be free from it? Likely you do. Do you even pray that you might have that limitation removed? I expect that I ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-18

Denomination: Baptist

The Price Of Peace

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 6, 2008

Conflict is fundamentally spiritual, not just interpersonal, founded in insecurity and elusive. But persistence in prayer will ultimately provide peace.

When Jesus spoke of those who cry, “Peace, peace” when there is no peace, He must have foreseen the pain of the present time. Never before in human history, I would suspect, have more people felt less peace than now. Everywhere you turn there is the evidence of a generation which is deeply ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

The Time Came

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 9, 2008

When God comes, it seems inconvenient to us, but it is the right time. And when we cannot get Him to arrive when we want Him, that simply is not the right time.

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. The time came? Whose time? What kind of timing is this? A child deserves to be born in the surroundings of home, not in some strange place scores of miles away. A young woman wants to give birth to her child with her own ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7

Denomination: Baptist

Nights Of Miracles

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 10, 2008

A Communion meditation that compares and contrasts the night of the Lord’s birth with the night of His betrayal and the night on which He shall return. Designed to be spoken in sections during the Communion service.

A night of miracles?! Yes, it was. A night of miracles, more than one. A miracle that the child of promise should finally be born, a miracle that a virgin should conceive and bear a son and we would call His name Immanuel, a miracle that from lowly shepherds to lofty wise men to angelic choirs ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Hands Touching Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 14, 2008

Ordination sermon for new deacons. God’s gifts are not found in timidity, but in the power to encourage, the touch of love, and the skill of self-discipline, all symbolized in the laying on of hands.

Of all the ways we can use our hands, none is more authentically human than touching. Touching, not grasping, for some of the apes can do that too. Touching, not hitting, for that is a perversion of our humanity. Touching, not taking, for that is part of our fallen nature. We are most human ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Hands Open Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 21, 2008

Hands open may be a handshake or a salute, signalling friendship or respect. Just as those gestures affirmed Saul, we also must approach others by leading them to safety and by affirming their potential.

f I come toward you with an open hand, what does that mean? If I approach you from across the room with either one hand or both hands open, how would you interpret that? Well, of course, it would mean different things for different kinds of open hands. There is more than one way to be ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

Overwhelming Or Overcoming? It Depends

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 23, 2008

Autobiographical account of memories of race relations. Christ gives us the power to overcome backgrounds that might overwhelm us.

If you find yourself facing a monstrous evil, there are really only two choices: either to run or to fight. Either to run or to fight. Now most of us will try a third choice; we will try to ignore the problem. But that won’t work. That won’t work. Massive, monstrous evil demands a response: ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:14-21

Denomination: Baptist

Hands Reaching Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 28, 2008

Missions emphasis message; Jesus’ hands, bearing the marks of crucifixion, have lifted us out of sin and now empower us to reach out to places of pain.

I had thought that this past Wednesday I was going to get a little time to myself, maybe to sit down and read, or take a walk, or drink coffee on the deck, gazing into nowhere. I had thought there might be a little leisure, as somehow the calendar had no entries on it! But no!! She who has for ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-29

Denomination: Baptist

Memory Strings And Purse Strings

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 21, 2009

We remember what matters to us. God asks us to remember what He has done for us, but our attachment to money competes with that memory. We need to remember what God has done among us and that His mission is for all to experience it. That will loosen ou

Memory is a very tricky thing. You never know what you will remember and what you will forget. The other day one of my friends told me if he is in a group and he is asked to introduce the members of the group, by the time he gets halfway around the room he is forgetting the names of people he ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 46:3-11

Denomination: Baptist

What Happens Behind Closed Doors Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 21, 2009

In worship God provides a way for us to deal with the lingering dirt in our lives, and offers us a vision of life’s beauty and possibility.

How many househusbands do we have here? Are there any househusbands? Not housewives … we don’t even say that word in these politically correct times! You know what I mean … how many of us men will admit that we get into the housework routine? Come on, I know about some of you! You have a working ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15

Denomination: Baptist