Sermons on Joseph: showing 1,696-1,710 of 21,508

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

If I am going to do battle for peace and justice, I need appropriate equipping -- sometimes for hard work, sometimes for self-defense, and always for a teachable spirit.

There may be some things of which it can be said that one size fits all, but shoes are not among them. Shoes are very personal, and when they’re wrong, they’re wrong. If they hurt, they hurt. With some things, you can make do with the wrong size – a belt that’s too long, pants that are a bit ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12, Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

A Lion In A Den Of Daniels Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

When you feel you are the only one who's wrong in the crowd of acceptable people, see how faith teaches us to find a shred of dignity in reaching out for help, and how complete faith gives us wholeness despite our past.

This message is dedicated to the memory of my deceased great-aunt, Adelia Miller. Aunt Dedie loved to tell how, when she was a little girl going to the Sunday School at the Cloverport Baptist Church in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, the pastor had all the children in Sunday School one day. He ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Luke 17:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Survivors And Castaways Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 24, 2000

The fundamental stance we have before God is critical to everything else in our lives, for personal idolatries, failed intimacies, and low self-esteem are all results of our not experiencing salvation.

When I was young, and riding a bicycle, we didn’t wear helmets. Nobody had thought of such a thing. And even if they had, no government was telling us we had to wear helmets. I haven’t even worn so much as a hat since I reached the age of 13, much less a helmet. So when we spilled, we spilled, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Denomination: Baptist

Who Got Revived?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2000

Pulpit drama, imaginatively reconstructing Elijah

Elijah: Zarephath! What a lovely town! It’s always good to come to Zarephath. A man wants to feel welcomed, and I find that here. Out there, in some of the towns and villages of Israel, I have to watch my back. King Ahab’s agents are everywhere, and who knows what they will do? In some places ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

More Than Hatch, Match, And Dispatch Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 13, 2000

The church is for far more than empty ceremony on occasions demanded by tradition; it is the steward of new life, with a rich and full experience that employs the diversity of gifts God has given it.

Last week you seemed to get a big charge out of my little story about going to a wedding rehearsal and wasting time waiting for a key person to arrive. When I said that I didn’t know what we’d do on Sunday afternoon if he didn’t show up, you let out a belly laugh. You assumed I was talking about ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Knee Bowed And Body Bent Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

Since body language communicates our real feelings, we must pay attention to how we present our bodies to God -- in the words of James Weldon Johnson, "knee-bowed", ready to submit our wills to His; and "body-bent", ready to work for things that matter.

You may not speak a great many foreign languages, but there is one language other than English at which most of us are proficient. That is body language. Whether our mouths can pronounce strange sounds or whether our eyes can make any sense out of different alphabets, we can see body language. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Teary Eyes, Stumbling Feet, Hands Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

Deepseated shame and objective guilt arise from a self-serving spirit, but the Cross delivers us from both and frees us to live out of gratitude.

Mark it down. Memorize this. Engrave it somewhere. It is an ironclad rule. This will always happen: when it is the least convenient for you to respond, someone will want you to respond. When it is nearly impossible for you to get up and do what someone wants you to do, that is the very moment ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

This Day The Victor's Song

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

The enemies of God's people are entrenched oppression and their own loser's heart, but God is a God of victory, who calls us to participate in His victory.

I like winning. I do not like to lose. If I am going to compete, I want to be the winner. Number two is not good enough. Silver medals are not good enough. Almost is not good enough. I like winning. I do not like to lose. Grantland Rice may be more deeply Christian than I, as he wrote, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Secrets Of A Beautiful Face

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

The beauty of a nation, like that of a human face, is not cosmetic, but comes out of generosity, self-control, sacrificial love, and a vision that accords with God

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth … Beauty. When I was a boy, my parents decided to take a trip to Niagara Falls. They wanted my brother and me to be exposed to one of the world’s great ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 48:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Gatekeeper, Gateopener

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2000

The pastor has two roles that must not be reduced -- a gatekeeper to guard against useless ideas and hateful attitudes, and a gateopener to let in God's surprises.

Do you think the Lord has a sense of humor? I do. I see a delicious little coincidence that God’s word drops in our laps today. Some of us remember a 70’s TV program, the Mary Tyler Moore show. If you remember that program, you will recall that sweet, nice, loveable Mary lived in an apartment ...read more

Scripture: Acts 12:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Basic Aeronautics And The Blessings Of Christian Unity

Contributed by Joseph Ng on Nov 26, 2000

A study of pitch, roll, and yaw in the New Testament church.

0003 BASIC AERONAUTICS AND THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY Colossians, 1 Corinthians, & Galatians Theme: Inattention to the different forces acting upon Christianity puts to risk the unity of the saints. (MIRRORED AT http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/alexandra/849/0003.htm ) Opening: It was ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:8-18, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Knowing God's Still Small Voice

Contributed by Joseph Ng on Nov 26, 2000

Disillusioned Christians need to acknowledge God's latent remnant people.

Theme: Let's acknowledge God's latent remnant. Opening: Have you ever felt all alone when standing for the truth? Elijah sure felt that way when Queen Jezebel issued a sentence on his head for showing her up at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18-19). He hightailed from Jezreel, up in the Northen Kingdom ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:9-18

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Is No Turkey

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 26, 2000

For Christ the King Sunday: This message contrasts the one-time celebrations to which we "invite" the turkey to the full-time, all-seasons lordship of Jesus.

After Thanksgiving dinner, the men in the house retired to the family room to share in that most sacred of spiritual rituals – we worshipped at the shrine of the great god football. And it was not long before someone scored a touchdown and went into a liturgical dance in the end zone: high fives, ...read more

Scripture: John 19:10-22

Denomination: Baptist

Laughing Away The Burdens

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 4, 2000

Abraham laughed in the cynicism of old age; Sarah laughed in the denial that defends against what is inevitable; but beyond both of them God laughed in joy at the triumph of His purposes, fulfilled in two aged followers.

You have heard it said, “He who laughs last, laughs best.” Let me expand on that: I may laugh, you may laugh, but God will have the last and best laugh, for God’s purposes will be served. Laughter. There are all sorts of reasons to laugh. Some will laugh out of frustration; unable to do what ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 17:15-17, Genesis 18:10-15, Genesis 21:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Do I Really Have A Choice?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Dec 4, 2000

When we are offered great choices, although we think we have no real freedom, we can choose to live emotionally, we can choose to give and affirm life for the most vulnerable in our society, and we can always choose to receive God’s gift of eternal life.

“Do I really have a choice?” That question was posed the other day by one of our teenagers. She was talking about whether she had to go to school. She felt cornered. She felt boxed in. She was speaking for a great many of us. We feel as though we really do not have any choice about many ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Denomination: Baptist