Sermons on Joseph Stowell:

Knee Deep In Sheep

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 10, 2005

For Advent III, preached at First Baptist of Gaithersburg, MD. "We may be knee deep in sheep, but let this keep you as you sleep, it is joy we reap". God in Christ transforms the ordinariness of everyday, humdrum life.

We may be knee deep in sheep, but let this keep you as you sleep – it is joy we shall reap. Did you get all that? Too many rhyming words? Ah, but every one of them is important. Listen again: we may be knee deep in sheep, but let this keep you as you sleep – it is joy we shall reap. Now you ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Denomination: Baptist

Promises To Keep Before I Sleep

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 8, 2007

We find it difficult to keep promises because we are focused on dealing with today’s issues. We back off our commitments to God because they are hard, but we can receive help from accountability partners, and can know joy and fulfillment.

To be a saint is not to be perfect; to be a saint is to be someone who makes promises and keeps them. Sainthood is not some magic status, conferred by the church for merit or miracles; sainthood is ordinary people living in extraordinary faithfulness, making promises and keeping them. Did you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 1:48

Denomination: Baptist

Gifted For Ministry

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 10, 2007

We are a gifted church, with diversely gifted members, and we need to turn that into creative expressions of love for our community.

I don’t get to watch the Miss America pageant any more. Used to be, every September I would hunker down in front of a TV set and prepare to ogle. Gorgeous gals, we called them, in those Neanderthal days, before our language had to become politically correct. Beauty contest, we called it, before ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

A Harvest Of Peace

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 11, 2007

As gardeners grow beauty, so also we must grow peace: speak truth without prejudice; pass judgments but do something to help the troubled grow; pay attention to our own hearts; and settle for nothing less than Christ as the full truth.

As if we did not have enough yard work to do at home, my wife and I have taken on a gardening project at the church to which we belong, Montgomery Hills Baptist Church. The landscaping had deteriorated, and so a gardening team was formed to take care of it. My wife volunteered; I got volunteered. ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 8:9-17

Denomination: Baptist

Enough

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 12, 2007

Wealth leads us to illusions wherein we lose sight of God; poverty leads us to spiritual disease. Pray for enough to satisfy real needs and to be able to give for others.

You don’t have to raise your hands on this one. But I do wonder how many of you spent some time this week fantasizing about that Powerball lottery. What would you have done with $250,000,000? What dreams would you have indulged? What unthinkable thoughts did you think? Well, now, I, being a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 30:8-9

Denomination: Baptist

Living With A Ministry Outlook

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 17, 2007

Pulpit drama monologue as if Naaman the Syrian were reporting his healing. God’s gifts are free, contrary to what Gehazi thought.

It’s incredible. Truly remarkable. That I should look this good, after all I have been through. Maybe you wouldn’t understand. You did not see what I looked like only yesterday. Leprosy! I had leprosy! Great scabs on my skin. Whitish blotches here and there. Horrible sores, everywhere. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-27

Denomination: Baptist

Living At Four Corners

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 25, 2007

For Christ the King Sunday and in support of international missions: using a metaphor of a complex intersection, we are to give, teach, heal and share as the four corners of our Christian life.

May I introduce you to my neighborhood? For two months now I have been burning up the Beltway and 270 coming up to your place two or three times a week. It would seem only fair that you should come down to where I live, if only in your mind’s eye. Let me introduce you to Four Corners. Four ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 11:10-13

Denomination: Baptist

Hunger And Thrist For Righteousness Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Feb 14, 2006

An 8 Week sermon sermon series on the attitude we are to possess as children of God.

Be-Attitudes January 29, 2006 Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness Trans: We’re in a series focusing on the (8) attitudes Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount we’re to have as His disciples. Each of these attitudes determines our altitude. They testify to our disposition and determination ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Pure In Heart Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Feb 14, 2006

An 8 Week sermon sermon series on the attitude we are to possess as children of God.

BE-Attitudes Blessed are the Pure in Heart Sunday AM Trans: We’re in a series focusing on the (8) attitudes Jesus said we’re to have as His disciples. Each of these attitudes determines our altitude. They testify to our disposition and determination in life. Jesus offered ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 5:10

Denomination: Baptist

Mournful Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Feb 14, 2006

An 8 week series on the characteristics every Christian is called to possess as citizens of God’s kingdom.

Be- Attitudes January 15, 2006 Matthew 5:4 Story: On a visit overseas, a wealthy man was fascinated w/ a powerful microscope that allowed him to study the petals of a flower. He was amazed at their beauty and detail, so he decided to purchase a microscope and take it home. He enjoyed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Peacemakers Series

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Feb 23, 2006

Week 7 of an 8 week sermon series on the Beatitudes that focuses on our call to bear His peace.

Be-Attitudes February 19, 2006 Blessed are the Peacemakers Note: We live in a world characterized by fighting and rivalry. From sibling rivalry to civil war, we see is the affects of animosity at every level of society. It is everywhere. Funny: Lady Astor once said to Winston Churchill, “If ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Persecuted

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Mar 4, 2006

Week 8 of an 8 week sermon series on the Beatitudes that focuses on our call to stand in persecution.

BE-Attitudes February 26, 2006 Blessed are the Persecuted Funny: A Texan billionaire w/ a beautiful daughter loved having parties at his pool which was home to a 20 ft. great-white. Every night he’d issue a challenge to the men: “½ my fortune or my daughter’s hand in marriage to the man who ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

Expressions Of Love

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Mar 6, 2006

This message focused in on how baptism and communion are expressions of worship to God’s. We show Him love because He first loved us.

Expressions of Love March 5, 2006 Baptism and Lord’s Supper Intro: I am reading a book entitled, The Air I Breathe, by Louie Giglio. In the book Louie defines worship as “the pursuit of that which you value most.” I like that b/c I believe our greatest purpose for living is to honor God through ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:11-25

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Real With God Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 26, 2007

We treat God as though He were not present. Jesus shows us how to get real with God by admitting His feelings, by telling what He wanted, and by enlisting His friends in prayer, however inadequate. Montgomery Hills Baptist Church

We are not going to debate this morning whether there is or is not a God. That’s settled, I would think, in this room. The issue is not whether God is real, but whether we know how to get real with God. Let me play out a little scene with you. Picture a home in which there is a parent and a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:32-42

Denomination: Baptist

Caring With A Difference

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 30, 2007

A Labor Day message on providing caring services, but not simply as self-fulfillment, but as a means to witness.

The true test of whether what you are doing is real is not how you feel about it when you start. The true test is whether you can keep going and complete your task. Anybody can get excited about a new job. But not everybody can stay by the stuff and finish. Some people get bored, or ...read more

Scripture: John 4:31-38

Denomination: Baptist