Sermons on Joseph:

Drowsy In The History Class

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 16, 2010

For both Transfiguration Sunday and Black History Month: We must not fall asleep to our racial and ethnic history, to the history of action for justice, or to our own personal histories and who has shaped us.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC February 13, 1994 This, as you know, is Black History Month. Black History Month. What image does the word "history" conjure up for you? It may be that you are with industrialist Henry Ford, who said, "History is mostly bunk". Well, that's short and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36

Denomination: Baptist

Who Am I?

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Nov 16, 2010

Who are we? Those who claim Christ are promised so many things, and yet do we stand upon the pormises? This sermon speaks loudly about who we are.

WHO AM I? (ALL my sermon use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and ALL scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted) ** This sermon was preceded by a Special “Who AM I” by Casting Crowns ** Who Am I? For many teenagers, this is a question that is routinely asked. In High School ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Aquarius: Pointing The Way

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 16, 2010

The anonymous water-carrier whom Jesus asked Peter and John to watch for is like a sure signpost because he was available for God's purpose, immune to ridicule, and credible.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC March 29, 1987 When you are lost and do not know the way, nothing is as reassuring as a timely and well-placed signpost. You are roiling down the highway and suddenly you come to a place where the sign says, "Road Closed Ahead - Detour". Aside from ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:7-13

Denomination: Baptist

Becoming

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 17, 2010

The popular notion of "the spirit of Christmas" does not recognize that pain and suffering are involved. But the coming of Christ foreshadows His cross.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC December 2, 1984 Here it is only the second day of December, and already we are bombarded with Christmas carols in the stores. Already the annual countdown of only so many more shopping days until Christmas has taken on an urgent tone, and some of ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

Be Still, My Foolish Heart

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 18, 2010

There is a worldwide awareness that God exists, but also a worldwide infection of sin. God in Christ comes to get our attention so that never can anyone say, in foolishness, that God is absent or does not matter.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC October 5, 1986 In some of the more strict religious communities there is the practice called “shunning.” When someone is shunned, usually because he or she has violated the moral code or has broken the way of behaving expected in that ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 14:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

I'm Late, I'm Late

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 19, 2010

Our witness is compromised because we dash about with urgency but no direction. We have not yet gotten past our fear of embarrassment when sharing our witness, nor have we acknowledged the urgency of witnessing.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC January 12, 1986 It was the Mad Hatter, wasn't it, who in one version of “Alice in Wonderland” spent his energies darting around the scene, here and there, hither and thither, screaming at the top of his voice, "I'm late, I'm late, for a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

The Hands Of The Living God

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 20, 2010

When we are unwilling to finish our spiritual growth, we are inviting judgment. We need to seek the counsel of others and remember and learn from our victories. The same hands that hold us in judgment are nail-scarred for mercy.

Takoma Park Baptist Church, Washington, DC March 9, 1985 My house, I’m afraid, is a museum of unfinished masterpieces. Unfinished masterpieces. In every room of the house, in every nook and cranny you will find unfinished masterpieces. Now that is not to say that I have found the last ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:23-26

Denomination: Baptist

Living The Gospel: Black And White

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 21, 2010

We are prone to reduce tensions by choosing not to live in diversity. But the Gospel calls us to embrace diversity and yet to recognize that all sin, all are worthy, all need the Gospel. Our issue is our own insecurity, which Christ’s death can address.

Takoma Park Baptist Church February 21, 1988 All of us, it seems, have a tendency to choose comfort. All of us appear to prefer to choose a way to live that involves as little tension, as little discomfort as possible. I am not talking just about luxuries and material things; I ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:21-28

Denomination: Baptist

Christian Compassion Risks Others' Criticism

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 10, 2009

To be an effective and compassionate church, we must risk the criticism of those who would like us to do church within our old confines. But not to take risks may cause our best to leave us. This is a time to work for peace, family life, community.

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; and makes gaps even two can pass abreast.” "Something there is that doesn’t love a wall …” So speaks the poet Robert Frost, reflecting on the ravages of a New ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Without Wavering

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 11, 2009

Funeral sermon for Howard Abernethy, the church’s longest-standing member. He lived without wavering from old values, from his church, from his friendships.

Howard Abernethy approached me after worship one Sunday and said that he and his wife wanted to invite Margaret and me on a little excursion. It would be a day on the railroad. He had learned that my grandfather had been a railroad mechanic, and thought maybe we were kindred spirits. Howard ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 26:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Christian Compassion Believes The Best About The Worst

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 12, 2009

Delivered as if Ananias were telling his story about encountering Paul: The Spirit calls us to believe that others can be changed, that if we do not go to them the consequences are large, and that others need a human touch from us.

I had always prided myself on understanding people. I had always thought I knew enough about the human mind that I could predict what a man would be like on the basis of what he had always done. After all, if a person is a thief when he is a child, you expect that he will be a cheating thief when ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

The Old Rules Uncloaked

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 13, 2009

MLK Sunday: In the beloved community we no longer need to think of over and under. The old way is a prison; Christ sees us as sinners in need of grace, and therefore all children of His, family.

When our children were small, they liked to play games with us. But they liked it best when they could win. Whether it was crazy eights, or chutes and ladders, or just hide-and-go-seek, our children loved to play games as long as they could win. If they lost too much they would burst into tears and ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:25-28

Denomination: Baptist

Supercharged

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 14, 2009

A renewed mind finds energy in working because it discerns God’s will, thinks in terms of service, and focuses on the meaning of the Cross.

In 1960, John Kennedy was running for the presidency, and was campaigning near a coal mine in West Virginia. One of the miners put a series of questions to Kennedy: "Is it true that your father is one of the wealthiest men in the world?" Kennedy admitted that this was true. "Well, then, is it ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

The Talented Tenth

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 16, 2009

The old Wshington-DuBois debate is mirrored in Jacob: his trouble was from his own foolishness as well as from others’ deceit. The way out was to receive God’s promise of greatness and to act now to offer concrete help to those coming after.

Almost exactly a century ago, American listened to a debate between two great thinkers, two men who had unquestionable credentials, first-rate minds, and powerful pens. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. In September 1895, in a speech in Atlanta, Booker Taliaferro Washington advocated ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 28:10-22

Denomination: Baptist

The Anatomy Of Rebellion: Forehead, Heart, And Mouth

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 17, 2009

We rebel against God when we refuse to learn anything new, when we resist His love, and when we refrain from telling others about Christ.

Parenting is the toughest job in the world. Nobody has it harder than parents. Amen? Now this insight didn’t come out of a book somewhere. This is not just some Freudian theory, cooked up in the psychology lab. I learned this truth, that parenting is the toughest job in the world, in another ...read more

Denomination: Baptist