Sermons on Moments Joseph:

Skepticism Or Commitment? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 30, 2003

You can read "What is truth?" as cynical skepticism, as playful intellectualism, as the plaintive cry of a battered soul, or as the hopeful sound of a hungry heart.

It was our first Thanksgiving on our own; always before we had traveled to our parents, but now, with a baby in the house and with other responsibilities, we had elected to do it our own, complete with a full-fledged roasted turkey. Margaret had done a magnificent job. Brother turkey presented ...read more

Scripture: John 18:28-38

Denomination: Baptist

Available For Liberation Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 5, 2003

When God called Moses to the task of liberating a people, Moses felt self-doubt, uncertainty about God, and unreadiness. Actually these are positive values that will lead us as American Christians to take our place in the world.

How do you feel about eager volunteers? What’s your reaction to the kind of person who is always ready to step up to the plate and take a swing at some issue? How do you really feel about those who quickly volunteer when something needs to be done? Maybe you remember what it was like to ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14, Exodus 4:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

The Olive: Exhaustion Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 2, 2003

How do we replenish our exhaustion? The world into which Jesus was born was spiritually weary. We too are worn out from conflict, moral uncertainty. God has acted to come among us and to give us power to become.

“All ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way, with painful steps and slow, Look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing: O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!” You don’t have to look long to find examples ...read more

Scripture: Job 15:17-35, John 1:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Consider The Source Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 16, 2003

Job, struggling to find his source of meaning, is frustrated with Bildad, who finds meaning in the past; and with his own feelings, looking for meaning in the present. Look to Christ, who provides meaning from the future.

Sooner or later, we all come to a point where we wake up and ask ourselves what life means. This life we are living: does it matter? All this energy we are putting in on studying or working or church or family or whatever: is it really necessary? I submit to you that most of us at one time or ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

But Nails Hurt! Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2003

Nails were distributed to the congregation, so that they could test: if you wish to endure, you have to endure some pounding. Holes may be punched in you, too. But if you persist, ultimately you will be built up.

If you really want to grow, it’s going to cost you. If you truly expect to be built up, there will be some pain involved. No growth ever takes place without pain. That’s a law of life. That’s not negotiable. No pain, no gain. No hurt, no growth. No rough edges, no building up. If you truly ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Dead Man Walking

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 26, 2003

There is a kind of death in family life today. Jesus offers unconditional compassion, used His authority to give life, and gives us as gifts to one another.

One sweltering afternoon, on the dirty streets of a dangerous section of New Orleans, a man approached a woman with some papers in his hand. He asked Helen if she would agree to write letters to a man on death row at Angola prison. Helen agreed, rather absent-mindedly. She was used to people ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:11-16

Denomination: Baptist

Life Is Not Fair Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 29, 2003

Life seems unfair to the disappointed, the cheated, the cynical. It was unfair to compel Simon to carry the cross -- injustice piled on. But God uses injustice to stir His people to action, to help us get beyond mere survival, to give us to one another.

Life is not fair. It just isn’t. The playwright MacLeish has his character “J.B.” scream out something we are all afraid to say, but it might be true: “If God is God, He is not good; if God is good, He is not God.” What an awesome thing to think, let alone speak! “If God is God, He is not ...read more

Scripture: Mark 15:21-24

Denomination: Baptist

In The Nick Of Time Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 8, 2003

Sermon illustrated by Chrismons: Jesus came at the right time, into a world of spiritual hungers, social unrest, devaluation of life. So He comes to our time, when ultimate questions are being asked, when much seduces us, when we are weak. He will be Lo

Infants, not yet born, seem to have a mind of their own. Infants, not yet born, pay very little attention to the doctor’s predictions, the mother’s preferences, or the father’s fears. When they want to arrive, they arrive; and if they don’t want to emerge into this cold, cruel world, they don’t, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

School Supplies

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 17, 2003

Drama dialogue, written as if a conversation between Paul, a tribune, and a narrator, with "chorus" lines for the children of the congregation. Supplies we need for learning are a listening mind, a loving heart, and a desire to grow.

Narrator: I knew very little about the people of the Way, but I did know that everyone in Jerusalem was talking about one of their leaders. We were all most upset about Paul. You see, Paul – actually we knew his name as Saul – Paul had been such a mighty force in our community only a few short ...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

I Know You Are Watching Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 10, 2002

When we consider that God is watching us, we may ask, as Job did, whether He is watching us to hurt us, to humiliate us, or to rescue us. Actually He is watching us in love to empower us.

“I can’t let you out of my sight for one minute.” How many parents here have ever said that? “I can’t let you out of my sight for one minute.” How many have said it at least a thousand times? You said it to a small child, bent on doing something that would hurt. You said it to an older ...read more

Scripture: Job 10:1-22, 2 Timothy 1:12

Denomination: Baptist

How Did All This Happen?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 26, 2001

For the Festival of Christ the King, and in celebration of a round of studying Blackaby’s "Experiencing God". God empowers His church by cutting away barriers, supplying resources, and giving His own presence.

This morning I invite you to a football game. Thanksgiving Day wasn’t enough! I see the men grinning and I hear the women groaning. What, football, again, even at church? But imagine this morning a very peculiar football game. On one side you have our Redskins. The Redskins of the last ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 45:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Some Assembly Required

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 1, 2002

Designed for a day devoted to reclaiming inactive members, this sermon argues that the spiritual life is like a piece of equipment: unpack, read the instructions, assemble, plug in the power.

Nothing you purchase comes ready to go. You can’t buy anything ready to use. Everything takes finishing and finagling before you can use it. You would think that when you have paid good money for your purchase, it would be ready. But not so. Something else always has to be done. You ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-25

Denomination: Baptist

Taking Risks For Homeland Security

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 29, 2005

For Men’s Day at Emmaus Baptist Church, Quinton, VA. Aquila is an example of taking risks to secure his self-knowledge, his relationships, and his contribution to the church.

Anything worth doing involves risk, doesn’t it? Nothing great has ever been accomplished by people afraid to take risks. I have seen a poster that showed a small fish, closing in on a worm and a fishhook, but unaware that he was about to be gobbled up by a large fish, which was itself about to be ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-28

Denomination: Baptist

God's Bookkeeping Method Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 6, 2004

Unlike the world, which assumes that we must make a profit and we get what we pay for, God’s bookkeeping says that giving is receiving, and you get more than you pay for. You get grace paid for by the blood of Jesus.

In the last several months I have learned more about bookkeeping than I ever wanted to know. Because the church is converting from bookkeeping by hand to an accounting software, and because our financial leadership does not yet have access to all of that, I began to record transactions on the ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:13-18

Denomination: Baptist