Sermons on Josephs Process:

Earthen Vessel, Feet Of Clay

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 29, 2009

Ordination of Troy L. Dixon, Nov. 1989: We pursue the trappings of religion instead of what is truly value. As a common clay vessel, be wary of power games, know that your foundation can crumble, focus on the treasure of the Gospel.

Somehow in men’s minds the paraphernalia of religion get to be more important than the faith itself. It is one of the enduring problems of religious life, how it is that we get far more caught up and invested in the trappings of religion than in the faith itself. In your average church, you ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18

Denomination: Baptist

The Elbow Test Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 31, 2009

We may test our spiritual maturity by assessing who Jesus is for us, whether we live with a sense of victory, and whose opinions matter to us.

During our stay in England, we visited my wife’s cousin and his wife, who have a nine-month-old baby son. One night they needed to go out for a while on an errand, so they asked us if we would take care of the baby for a couple of hours. Of course we were delighted with the chance to do so, since ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

The Road Work Is Finally Finished

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 1, 2009

Neither grief nor guilt are productive, take us anywhere. The Cross is God’s signpost that will put an end to our continuing struggles with both.

Just a few days ago we celebrated, if that’s the right word, the thirtieth anniversary of something we all love to hate. Imagine observing the anniversary of something that has cost us dearly in dollars and also in blood and tears. Something we cannot live without, but sometimes wonder if we can ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

A Child-Sized House

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 2, 2009

Let us commit to building a church building with room for personal response to Christ and not business as usual; with room for spontaneity and not control; with room for those who need healing and not for exploitation.

When our children were small, we often took them to the Smithsonian museums, to try and cram a little culture into heads usually preoccupied with cartoons or sports. The best place to go was the Museum of American History, because there were so many different kinds of exhibits and so many ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:12-17

Denomination: Baptist

Echoes That Will Not Die

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 3, 2009

In the song of the angels we hear echoes of our ancient problems -- meaning, sin, peace -- all of which are dealt with in the coming of Christ.

The drama of Christmas is focused on a starlit night at a manger, on a mother and a babe, on the small things of life. And yet it is also wide open to eternity, it is a window into past and present and future. The drama of Christmas seems to play on such ordinary things. Tax legislation; taxes, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 14:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

That Old-Time Religion: Job's Friend Bildad Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 4, 2009

When we are in distress, we do not want doctrine. We want a fresh encounter with God, we want listening friends, and most of all, we want, and have, a Redeemer.

Years ago the church of which I was then a member had an evening ice-cream social and service out on the church grounds one summer Sunday. It was a gently warm night, and as the sun went down and a little chill crept into the air, as the stars began to come out and faces began to disappear into the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Sun Do Move

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 5, 2009

Dramatic monologue as if Joshua were speaking: we are to be courageous, for God is with us when we do battle for Him. The ultimate victory will come because Joshua/Jesus has won it for us.

"We are soldiers, in the army; we are soldiers, in the army; and we have to fight; and we have to fight". We have indeed had to fight. We have fought long and hard. We have fought our way against scores of chieftains and their armies; we have fought our way against scorching heat, fearful hearts, ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 10:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Since You're Going Anyway, Teach

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 6, 2009

Jesus’ call to us is to use the natural intersections of life to share what we know, to learn together with others, and to claim the victory of the Lord who will always be with us.

My wife and I made the rounds of the carpet stores one evening last week. She is a member of the church’s Building and Grounds Committee and has been given the assignment of refurbishing my office. It was an educational experience, but not a particularly entertaining one. At one carpet store we ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Denomination: Baptist

Cast Down, Scattered Down, Sent Down

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 8, 2009

World Hunger Sunday: God’s judgment will come on a people whose consumption habits oppress others and whose patriotism masks greed. But God will continue to send blessings on a people who will invest more in others.

The laws of physics say that what goes up must come down. You pitch a rock into the air and right away it comes down with a thud. Hendricks throws a football in a long arc out over the New York Giant defenders and knows that it will come down, he hopes into the hands of Monk or Clark or Sanders who ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 147:1-20

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

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