Sermons on Josephs Process:

A Deadly Virus

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 3, 2010

Sin is not excused by good works, and unrepentant self-indulgence is destructive. Sexual integrity is not just a private matter; how we handle it will determine what happens with our church.

This has the potential for being the shortest sermon I’ve ever done. At first glance, it seems all I need to do with this text is to praise the church for doing so well, declare myself to be against sin, and wrap it up. The shortest sermon I’ve ever done, and maybe the shortest on record! Anybody ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29

Denomination: Baptist

Every Barrier Down: Mary Magdalene

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 6, 2010

Commitment to the living Christ will let Him break down circumstantial, cultural, and spiritual barriers to our success. Illustrated with the story of Marian Anderson.

I think it was John Lennon, one of the Beatles, who once observed, "Life is what happens while you are making other plans." That really is the issue, isn't it? Getting a fix on our lives. Getting hold of life. Being able to make it go the way you want it to go. And the trouble is that life just ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Every Mother's Child Matters

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 7, 2010

Sarah's me-ism blinded her to Ishmael's value; Abraham's comfort blinded him to how best to support Hagar and Ishmael; Hagar, like many of our mothers, had to trust God in the desert. We today must support the Hagars of this world.

The barren landscape seemed to dance before her eyes, as she looked toward a horizon littered with debris, strewn with the rubbish of thousands of careless people who had gone this way. Filthy and dirty as it was, though, it seemed to dance before her eyes, for the sun was high above and hot; the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 21:8-20

Denomination: Baptist

Eyewitnesses Of Majesty

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 8, 2010

We tend to see only what we expect to see, and thus at Christmas we do not see the glory and majesty of the Christ child in the homeless, the downtrodden, the ashamed.

They say that "seeing is believing". Well, that depends. That depends on whether you can trust your eyesight. And it depends on whether you have decided to see what is really there or just what you think is there. "Seeing is believing." It depends on whether you can trust your eyesight. My ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-19

Denomination: Baptist

God Operates Value Village, Not The Landfill

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 6, 2009

For Senior Adult Sunday: There are legitimate concerns about aging; but there are also those who would prey on the elderly. God is our ultimate refuge and the protector of those who are to be valued, not thrown away.

If it’s old, it has to go. That used to be the message. In the years after World War II, once we got our economy back on a peacetime basis, we all wanted only new things. Bright, shiny, new. And so, if it’s old, it has to go. Do you remember? Do you remember, if you go back that far, how, during ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 71:4-12

Denomination: Baptist

Hope Does Not Disappoint

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 8, 2009

Suffering, endurance, character, hope: the formula is not automatic. All depends on whether we learn to live in the resurrected Christ.

One of my friends begins nearly every conversation with the phrase, "You just can’t win.” "You just can’t win." One day recently he was wearing a long, long face. He had just gotten his car repaired, but some inebriated partygoer had slammed into it. He had just worked off his debts, but suddenly ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

How Much Does God Care About Us?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 9, 2009

The word "while" alerts us to the sources of our frustration: weakness, pride, and broken relationships. But God in the crucified Christ has an answer to each of these issues.

Why are so many people so unhappy? Why is it that there are so many people with so much ability and with so many resources, but they still feel profoundly unhappy and frustrated? A great many people do, you know. Some of them show it in the obvious ways; some of them are angry and even ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Ignorance Is Bliss -- Not!

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 14, 2009

First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg, MD: We avoid too much information because we know we will have to respond. Some escape into private piety; some escape from knowing themselves. But true bliss comes from knowing how to invest in Kingdom concerns.

You can buy it anywhere in Pennsylvania Dutch country – a banner, an apron, a towel, anything really – and it proclaims, in pidgin German, “Ve get too soon oldt und too late schmart”. Your preacher this morning is a walking example of that ancient truth. Too soon oldt und too late schmart. The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 92:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

How Much Do We Care About God?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 15, 2009

We can measure our care for God by our willingness to equip ourselves for witness and to share the Gospel with our neighbors and to be missions supporters.

The plumber came this week. You remember, those of you who were here last Sunday, how I was waiting for the plumber to come and solve our drainage problems? The plumber did come this week. He did the job I wanted, and even did it better than I knew it could be done. Not only did he unstop the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:9-15

Denomination: Baptist

I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 16, 2009

Sin at its worst is the inability to understand ourselves and to control ourselves, leading to separation from self, others, and God. The cross, the empty tomb, and Christ’s life rescue us.

Well, are you ready today for the fourth step, the step that’s all the way down at the floor level? Those who were not here last Sunday do not know what I’m talking about. Those who were here will need a little review. Let me explain. Last Sunday we walked the first mile on the Roman Road ... ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:15-25

Denomination: Baptist

Is It Worth It To Disciple Everybody?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 18, 2009

The death and resurrection of Christ give Him the authority to command us to disciple beyond superficiality, to reach even the marginal, and to have a global scope to our mission.

Somebody out there has a plan for your life. Somebody has a plan for the world you live in. Time and again I see evidence that there are those who believe that with enough planning, enough energy, and enough work, they will get you into their orbit. They have a plan for your life and for your ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Denomination: Baptist

It's All So Simple Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 19, 2009

To the issue of why bad things happen to good people, Eliphaz’s answer is spiritually lazy and assumes that we can earn God’s favor. Job’s response is to have faith in a God who will ultimately accept responsibility for sin.

You and I are about to enter the realm of mystery together. I know of nothing which challenges the mind and the imagination quite so much as the mystery of human suffering. Why men and women should have to suffer physically or emotionally – that has never been answered completely. In recent weeks ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

A Hiding Place With Noble Plans

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 20, 2009

We all need a place of quiet in which to hide and reflect; it will be the community of faith. Here we know one another as we really are, but love one another anyway. That is transformative.

Just a little less than a month ago, as many of you know, my wife’s father passed away very suddenly. Of course, we all hurried to get together, and then, as families do in times like that, we began to tell stories. We remembered how he used to say this or how he once did that. And one story we ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 32:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Paternal Pleas To Posterity

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 21, 2009

Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, DC: We will never achieve maturity until we come to terms with our paternity and accept our posterity. Understand that those who shaped us were also maturing; the transforming power of Christ will open wide our hearts.

All of us aspire to maturity. All of us hope to become mature and complete, grown up in every way, accomplished, respected, and honored. It’s a worthy goal. It’s a proper ambition. But we will never achieve maturity until we come to terms with both our paternity and our posterity. Our ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

Handling God's Success When We Wanted It For Ourselves Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2009

Ministry looks impossible, and we want to run the other way. But when we do finally tackle it, and God redeems, then we want the credit. In His grace He assures us that we are not forgotten even though we are inappropriate.

All during this month we’ve worked together on the theme of compassion. Because we are a church which urgently needs to do ministry in this community; because we are a people with much to give and much to share, and with a place to share it, by the time this week is over we will have invested four ...read more

Denomination: Baptist