Sermons on Joseph:

Experiencing The Fullness Of The Lord's Supper

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

An Encouragement to the church regarding the privilege of partaking in the Lord’s Supper.

Experiencing the Fullness of the Lord’s Supper June 6, 2004 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Sunday AM Intro: Initially I had intended for our series on the “I am” statements of Jesus to have concluded last Sunday so that together this AM we might partake of this special meal together in the full awareness ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Denomination: Baptist

High Privilege High Price

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

A Message on the Lord’s Supper.

High Privilege – High Price Feb. 16, 2003 Communion Service Sunday AM Verse: 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:10-13

Denomination: Baptist

Why We Partake Of The Lord's Supper

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

A message on the Lord’s Supper.

Why We Partake in the Lord’s Supper 10-27-02 1 Corinthians 11:17-14 Sunday AM Intro: Little girl trying to find out why her mom cuts of the end of the ham – b/c her mom did it – little girl discovers from Nana the pan was too short. Note: Sometimes we do things for the wrong reason or out of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Denomination: Baptist

The Qualifications Of Deacons

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

A message concerning the calling and responsibilities of Deacons.

The Qualifications of a Deacon July 13, 2003 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Sunday AM Intro: “Everything rises and falls on Leadership.” Setting: The Ephesian church had been blessed w/ great leadership. Acts 20 tells us it was founded by Paul who later turned it over to Timothy. During his time in Ephesus, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:3-15

Denomination: Baptist

The Cost Of The Cross

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

A message concerning the cost of following Jesus.

The Cost of the Cross Introduction The Curiosity of the Call Burning Bush The Chiseling of Character 40 Years The Challenge of Conviction The Lord said The Crisis of Commitment Red Sea Cul de Sac Note: I believe I have inherited a church somewhere between Egypt and the Red Sea. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11, Luke 9:18-27

Denomination: Baptist

Becoming Fishers Of Men

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Jun 6, 2004

A challenege to share your faith to a lost world in need of Christ.

All on the Altar – Becoming Fishers of Men Aug. 11, 2002 Matthew 4:19 and Luke 5:1-11 Sunday AM Intro: This morning I want to speak with you about something that all of us know as Christians that we are supposed to be doing, yet few of us, due to fear, ignorance, busyness, and other excuses and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:19, Luke 5:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

You Were Shaped For God's Service Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 6, 2003

Part of a series on Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life. Worship without service is idolatry; fellowship without service is self-indulgence; discipleship without service is perfectionism. Pay the price of service.

Not long ago an insurance salesman called, wanting to sell me long-term care insurance. I was tempted to tell him I had an unbeatable plan for long-term care, called heaven, but I didn’t. Not this time, anyway, because some aches and pains we had been feeling did remind us that we might actually ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

You Were Made For A Mission Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 13, 2003

One in a series on Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life book. Our mission is to drive with others toward a destination. But between invitation and destination there is hesitation, born of diversion, dissension, and dissipation.

People who are on a mission move; people who are on a mission let nothing stop them. They are not distracted by side issues, they focus all their energies on getting their mission accomplished. People who are on a mission do whatever it takes to get to their goal. But people who are not on a ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 22:16-21

Denomination: Baptist

Promises To Keep Before I Sleep Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 18, 2003

As young people we make many naive promises, which are diluted by the demands of the day. But God sends people to intervene with the truth, so that at the end we are able to praise Him for the grace that helps us feel some degree of fulfillment.

The shouts of today are so loud that I do not hear the echoes of yesterday, nor do I listen to the faint whispers of tomorrow. All I really know is what is clamoring in my ear right here, right now. That makes me lose perspective. The shouts of today are so insistently loud that I do not hear ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 1:1-48

Denomination: Baptist

I Shall Never See The Greatest Tree

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 20, 2003

For World Communion Sunday: Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom is large, but the weakness of the church makes it unlikely we shall see it fulfilled. Yet we must affirm the small beginnings that are being made, even by us, for they have potential, when they are

So how do you feel about trees? Did Hurricane Isabel change your feelings about living in a city of trees? When some of them fell on the power lines and cut you off – our house was out for six whole days – how did you feel about trees? I didn’t ask you how you felt about Pepco. That’s another ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:31-32

Denomination: Baptist

Thrashing Threshing Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 22, 2003

In an attempt to give meaning to our lives, we "thrash" -- do something impulsive that has to be acknowledged as sin and has inescapable consequences. But as we confess our sin God "threshes" us, dividing the positive from the negative, so that we recove

The longer we live, the more we have to be thankful for. Isn’t that true? The longer we live, the more blessings we receive, and therefore the more we have to be thankful for. If you are thirty years old, you can count your blessings, name them one by one. If you are sixty years old, you can ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 24:10-35

Denomination: Baptist

I Have The Keys Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2003

For All Saints/All Souls: the Lord has the keys to the church, so we need not fear its future despite our locking up its resources; and He has the keys to our lives, so we need not lock ourselves in privacy; and He has the keys of eternal life.

Keys. I have keys. Lots and lots of keys. Thanks to keys, we can keep safe the things we consider valuable. But we are also kept from access to those things. Keys; we all have them, we all need them, we all appreciate them, but we all resent them at times. If you don’t have the right keys, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-18

Denomination: Baptist

Listening To I Am Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

Listening to ourselves is also listening to God. If we listen in availability, God will respond in our own history. If we listen for responsibility, God will offer His presence.

There come those times in life when we do not trust what we have heard. Something is said, our ears pick it up, but we don’t quite trust it. We don’t know whether we really heard what we thought we heard. Or we don’t know whether to believe what we heard. Or maybe we don’t trust the speaker. Or, ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Listening For Freedom Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

We fear freedom for reasons both internal and external -- "broken spirit and cruel slavery". Choose to be a liberator for someone else and you can break that slavery.

We are made to be free; in fact, we need freedom. Every person needs freedom. That’s obvious. That’s what God has made us for. The Scripture says, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” We say we want to be free. We want to be free. But therein lies a problem. The problem is that that’s not ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 6:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

Listening For Leadership Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2003

Our view of leadership is that it is aggressive, know-it-all. But in reality it is bearing witness to God’s power, not our own; and leaders are qualified to be leaders by what they do NOT know.

Do you know the story of the woman who liked to sit for an hour or so every evening at her front window? She would just sit, looking at the traffic racing by. After the children had been coached through their homework, after her husband had been reminded about the jobs on his "To do" list; after ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 19:1-9

Denomination: Baptist