Sermons on Joseph The Saviour:

Different Kind Of Legacy

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 19, 2009

Our legacy is not in monuments, but in a spiritual and relational community, one which is ultimately redemptive. Washington Plaza Baptist Church, Reston, VA

The older I become the more interested I am in those who have gone before me. Before I join my ancestors out there, I’d like to know more about them. It might make for some very interesting conversation up on Cloud Nine if I know about not only my parents and my grandparents, but also some of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Tripping Over The Big Obstacle

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 21, 2009

We struggle against sins (actions), sin (attitude), and evil (forces greater than ourselves). We must have Christ’s help to keep from falling. (Delivered by gradually stretching down the chancel steps).

Walking looks like the simplest thing in the world, unless and until. Walking is something we do without even thinking about it, unless and until. Unless you are a toddler, just learning to use your legs; then walking becomes a matter of holding on to the coffee table for dear life, taking two ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:9-28

Denomination: Baptist

Troubler Of Israel

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 22, 2009

First-person monologue, as Elijah: the voice of God is not in the winds of popularity, nor the earthquake of instability, nor the fires of self-destruction. It is in the One in whom God has spoken and who will never leave us.

I’m so lonely. So desperately lonely. It’s been so long since l’ve seen a friendly face. So lonely. So completely alone. I feel … deserted. No one even cares whether I am alive or dead. After all I’ve done for them, would you not think that somewhere in Israel there would be a good word for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:17-18

Denomination: Baptist

Two Full Plates Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 23, 2009

We are given the plate of growth gifts: space, quiet, renewal, guidance; and the plate of opportunities: to be present at ultimate times, to enter dangerous places, to receive responsibility.

If you approach someone and ask him to take on a responsibility, but his answer is, "I have a very full plate," what does he mean? Does he mean, "I can’t do it right now because I just sat down to dinner. Let me finish eating and I’ll do it"? No, if you ask someone to do something and he replies ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Two Peoples, One Nation

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 25, 2009

Blacks and whites must develop together and learn from one another; we will also be judged together. Together we must work on issues of justice and righteousness.

The world is full of divisions. Every sort of difference and distinction you can imagine has been magnified. Who of us knew anything a few years ago about six or more different ethnic groups in Yugoslavia!? About all I knew about Yugoslavia was that they made a little car called a Yugo, which ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

To The Out Of Control: Son Of God Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 26, 2009

Christmas Eve 1989: The strong Son of God is what we need when we are out of control in terms of life direction, life circumstances, or sin.

May God help you if you are going shopping this afternoon! And may God forgive you if you woke up this morning and said, "I guess it’s about time I thought of something for her. “ The trouble is, most of us mere males are reduced to jelly by the trauma of shopping. In the first place, we don’t ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

For Such A Time As This

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 27, 2009

Compassion must be owned personally, and we must know that we do have the resources to meet needs. However, it will be costly to do so.

If we suppose that the essence of being compassionate is simply to have mushy feelings about somebody, we are dead wrong. If for us the word "compassion" suggests nothing more than feelings of sympathy and maybe the willingness to dole out a few dollars of welfare, then we’ve missed it. We’ve not ...read more

Scripture: Esther 4:11-16

Denomination: Baptist

A Loaf Of Bread, A Jug Of Wine, And Laughter

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 3, 2009

Dated 1989. Our faith is not joyless. God uses the simplest of things to bring us support and gladness in the midst of difficult times.

Says the poet, "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and Thou beside me singing in the wilderness … Wilderness were paradise enow" The very picture of romantic fulfillment. All I need is a chunk of good fragrant bread, a flask full of the vintner’s art, and you whom I love, and I will be fulfilled. ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 10:19

Denomination: Baptist

The River Jordan: How We Got Over Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 3, 2009

Many things look impossible, particularly if we are worn down by the "too much" of survival. But there are those who go before us and test the waters and make a way for us. We need to do the same for others. Black History Month

Have you enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics? Isn’t it amazing what those skaters and the skiers can do? Isn’t it astounding that human bodies can plummet down slopes and whiz through channels at what seems like supersonic speed? I’ve only seen snatches of the Olympics, but I’ve thoroughly ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 3:7-16

Denomination: Baptist

The River Nile: Drawn Out Of The Waters Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 4, 2009

Racism grows out of the fears of the oppressors and attacks the leaders of those they fear. But God draws out of the waters that were intended to drown those whom He will use to lead His people to victory.

The River Nile. The great river of Egypt, a historic stream that rises in the heart of Africa and flows northward for hundreds and hundreds of miles, bringing life to Egypt. Langston Hughes says, "I’ve known rivers; I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

What It Takes To Be Heard By God

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 5, 2009

If you want to be heard by God, make sure God and not others are your audience, make sure that it is really you who is speaking, and make sure to forgive and to receive forgiveness.

The morning worship service had reached an emotional climax during the pastor’s fervent prayer. He had carefully crafted it with fine liturgical phrases, hallowed by centuries of use. It was backed up by a throbbing organ, playing a hymn that gently drew worshipers back to thoughts of that amazing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Moving Out Of Our Comfort Zone Series

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 11, 2009

A look at Luke 15 showin the objective of he church and the reason we don’t achieve it.

WHEN WE MOVE OUT GOD CAN MOVE IN Part 2 (Moving Out of Our Comfort Zone) (All my sermons use illustrations from www.sermoncentral.com and scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) Last week we started a five part series entitled “When We Move Out, God Moves In” ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-29

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Life Turns Sour Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 15, 2009

When life turns sour, tell yourself the truth, complain to God, and He will deliver. Message focuses on Dylan Thomas’ poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night; rage, rage against the dying of the light."

On a warm spring evening in 1952, at his home in Swansea in Wales, David John Thomas lay on his deathbed. Once a soldier who had fought in the Second World War, later an English teacher, Thomas had become very frail in his later years. There was no doubt that he would die soon. There was no ...read more

Scripture: Job 10:1-22

Denomination: Baptist

Letting The Pro Do It: Job's Friend God Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 17, 2009

We want to manage our own spiritual lives, but the truth is we do not understand,nor do we know enough. Trust God, who has vindicated our hope in Christ the sufferer now victorious.

There is a certain kind of person who seldom trusts anybody but himself to get things right. Some of us want to have our hands in every stewpot, we want to be up to our ears in every enterprise, we want to do it ourselves, or else we are afraid it won’t be done right. Do you remember that a few ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Moving Out In Trust Series

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Mar 17, 2009

Part 3 of a five part series on Giving God Room to Work in Our lives Our Church and Our world.

When We Move Out, God Moves In Part 3 “Moving Out In Trust” ( All my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) We are in the middle of a five part series entitled, “When We Move Out, God Moves In” and we have seen the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ