Sermons on Joseph: showing 2,566-2,580 of 21,516

Seeing Now

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 6, 2009

People and churches can settle down and forget where they came from and lose sight of where they could be going. Now is the time for the church to venture forward, or lose its place in God’s plan.

There are two problems with settling down: one of them is that you forget about where you came from. The other is that you lose sight of where you could be going. Here is a young couple. They start out married life in just a small place, with room for themselves and maybe that first child. They ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

When Good Things Happen To Bad People

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 9, 2009

Rewritten for Calverton Baptist Church: In a world of injustice, "bad" people get good things they do not deserve. But grace gives us gentle gifts, gives us the satisfaction of outwaiting our enemies, and allows us to wait for God’s justice.

I was in my office at Takoma Park church, and, as so often happened, someone stopped by to ask for help. The story was very much like most of the stories I had heard. He said that he just needed a few dollars to get by. Tomorrow there would be a job and, “Pastor, if you’ll just give me ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Shakedown Spirit

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 9, 2009

The time has come to invest in our church facility so that it glorifies God and serves today’s circumstances. God has placed the resources among us and will be shaking us to let go and move toward excellence.

I hope you’ve noticed that I try to come at preaching from a wide variety of different angles. There are many aims I bring to the preaching task. Most of the time, of course, I am trying to work with you in seeing in the Scriptures something that will help you live out your daily life in the ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 2:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Diagnosing Your Heartburn

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 10, 2009

All of us get "heartburn" feelings over the questions "What is our world coming to?" and "What do I do with my life?". The risen Lord gives us better answers than we are able to develop on our own.

"Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?" Every now and then, when you’re tired, or you’ve worked too hard, or there’s been a lot of stress ... every now and then, do you get a strange, tight feeling in the chest? Do you sometimes feel peculiar, a little ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling To Be A People Of Integrity

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 12, 2009

Preached 1989. A people of integrity will not act as though God is automatically on their side, apart from righteousness; and they will pay attention to the way in which leadership is chosen.

On this Independence Day weekend we think about our nation’s history, our nation’s life. As we do so I want to assure you that we will be wrestling with the word of God, not just scattering political opinions over the landscape like birdseed. I am not here as political pundit, but as a pastor and ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 8:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Three Score And Ten

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 12, 2009

For 1989, 70th anniversary of the church. Three Scriptures with the number "70" in them ... life includes pain and conflict; but we are to forgive without reservation; God knows the plans He has for the next 70 years of this church.

We’ve reached a milestone, a real milestone. Seventy years old. That’s a good long while. That is, in fact, a lifetime, according to one of the Scriptures I’m going to read, the typical, average lifetime of a human being. And it’s not too bad for an institution like a church. We’ve been here, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Faith, Freedom, And The Future

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 13, 2009

God is always giving the gift of freedom. In revolutionary times, value the past, know that the present is incomplete, step forward in faith for the future.

God is always ready to give the gift of freedom. The one thing you can be sure that God is always about is freedom, freeing His people from the things which hold them back. In every time and place, our God is working to give the gift of freedom. When He does that, we call it a revolution. We see ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

First Things First Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 14, 2009

Use what you have before you ask for more; put the work of the Lord first in your priorities; and expect the church itself to live in faith and with godly priorities.

It is very important to put first things first. It’s important to get things in the right order. If you don’t get first things first, life just does not work out right. For example, speech. Language is tricky, and if you don’t get the words in the right order, the meaning can be drastically ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

The Dawn's Early Light

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 15, 2009

Just as Key saw that the darkness is intense before the dawn, that during battle we see enough to know that our freedom is won, and that we are at our best when we claim freedom for others, so also at the empty tomb we learn of our freedom from sin.

At 9 o’clock the firing from the ships anchored in the harbor slackened and then stopped. It seemed as though the siege of the city might be over for the night. But an hour or so later 20 small beats set out, under cover of darkness, with a driving rain pelting down. Their oars muffled, they ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Living At Four Corners

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 16, 2009

Rewritten for Montgomery Hills Baptist Church: a Silver Spring intersection is a metaphor for priorities in giving, teaching young people, engaging in healing, and sharing the Gospel with all.

To be a Christian is to live in tension with the world around you. You cannot live out your spiritual life in a cocoon; you live it out in the real world, in a community. Some, it is true, go to convents or monasteries; but that’s not an option for most of us, is it? To be a Christian, living ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 11:10-13

Denomination: Baptist

Soups, Sheets, And Socks

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 17, 2009

In support of a drive to collect items for a missions organization: genuine spiritual feeling comes when we deal with the real world and provide food, shelter, and clothing to the needy.

Let’s suppose that this is God’s issue of Time magazine. Someone has sent God a lifetime subscription to Time magazine; I guess you would have to say an eternity-time subscription. And when God’s Time magazine arrives ... by the way, do you know God’s zip code? You don’t think God has a zip code? ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiving Close Ears

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 18, 2009

Deacon ordination service: deacons, like Stephen, must forgive and heal those who have chosen to close their ears to the truth.

When my son Bryan was small, sometimes he would go into a kind of daydream. He would sit there and seem to stare off into space, and if you spoke to him, he just wouldn’t hear. He would get so far into himself that we would have to wave our hands in front of his face and shout to get his ...read more

Scripture: Acts 7:54-60

Denomination: Baptist

Flesh And Spirit: Love And Self-Control Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 20, 2009

Self-control is difficult for us because we are afraid of responsibility. But to have no form of control is to choose chaos. The answer is to build a relationship with Christ so close that His will becomes ours.

Scene One: You are standing in front of your freezer. You opened the door just to explore, nothing particular in mind, just to see what’s there. In front of you is a container label1ed, "Gourmet Ice Cream: Cherry Almond Fudge". Lifting the lid, again just to explore, just to see what’s there, you ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-25

Denomination: Baptist

Flesh And Spirit: Love And Peace Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 20, 2009

Achieving peace in the world must come from those who have achieved peace with themselves. That in turn comes from achieving peace with God. For the Day of Prayer for World Peace, for baptism, and for Communion

My mother-in-law made an arresting comment the other day. She had been reminiscing about what it was like to take care of two small children in a British bomb shelter, and then our conversation turned to the present situation with Iraq. "Oh, you men", she said. "You men, always getting us into ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-25

Denomination: Baptist

Flesh And Spirit: Love And Gentleness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 21, 2009

Treating others with gentleness begins with understanding that God uses gentleness with us, and then moves to our being gentle with ourselves. Gentleness does shape the behavior of others.

Why is it that some situations cause us to lose our tempers? Why do we sometimes lose all sense of reason and just get angry all over? Why is it that when we are trying to get someone else to do what we want them to do, we can barely control our rage? A few weeks ago I introduced you to our new ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-25

Denomination: Baptist