Sermons on Mufti Ebrahim Smith:

A Prayer For People Who Have Everything Series

Contributed by Joel Smith on May 4, 2009

Jesus must be the source of your confidence if you’re ever going to stand up and stand out for God.

Back in my teen years a co-worker at the Red Barn Fish Camp #2 in Tyro, NC introduced me to a club that he said I never wanted to be a member of if I could help it. It’s called the WSC Club. The subject came up because one of our buddies in the kitchen wanted to ask a girl out on a date, but he ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23

Denomination: Baptist

How New Is New?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 4, 2009

We live in a revolutionary time. Can we seize it for Christ. God is doing something new and is calling us to join Him in it, as walls and barriers come down.

If this winter is like most winters, you will wake up one morning, peer out your window, and find the whole scene blanketed in pure white snow. It will seem like a fairyland to you, and for a little while, at least, the whole world will appear to be new. Brand new, clean and fresh, sparkling and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Denomination: Baptist

The Inevitable Cleanup Job Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 5, 2009

Sin is inevitable and needs to be identified as the filth that is in all of us, and it needs to be acknowledged in the Christian community. But God loves us and cares for us and is in the blood of Christ cleaning us.

No matter how good it is, it has to be cleaned up. Isn’t that always the case? No matter how good anything is, it has to be cleaned up. You get a new suit of clothes, you wear it a few times -- maybe only one time, in this heat -- and before you know it, it has to go off to the dry cleaners. No ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-10

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Past Self-Indulgence

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 6, 2009

Self-indulgence does not mean denying yourself what you actually need, but meeting needs easily turns into obsession. The way out is service to others.

Whoever first baked Pecan Sandies should be made a saint. I love Pecan Sandies cookies! The taste of crunchy pecans, the texture of shortbread. I don’t care if you are from Georgia and pronounce it pee-kan, I’ll insist that Pecan or pee-kan Sandies are the finest cookie on the market. And so ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15

Denomination: Baptist

Getting Over

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 7, 2009

God wants us to be more than minimal. Acknowledge that Christ is Lord, make sure our witness is clear, go beyond quick thrills, and be faithful, and your faith will sustain you over the long haul.

Too often, we choose "getting by", when we could choose "getting over". Too often, we try to skimp on life, hoping not to invest too deeply. That’s "getting by". But we could turn to a better answer. We could choose "getting over". "Getting by" and "getting over" are not the same thing. "Getting ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17

Denomination: Baptist

Give Up Or Get Up?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 8, 2009

Never consider anyone hopeless. Pray intensely, watch out for the naysayers or for your own negativity, and then participate in the redemption Christ wants to bring.

He’s just hopeless! She is beyond redemption! I am never going to make it! They have no future whatsoever! They are hopeless! Are you ever tempted to speak like that? Do you ever feel that way about somebody, maybe even about yourself? Hopeless? Watch out. Because there is nothing more ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:40-56

Denomination: Baptist

Revived To Die?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 9, 2009

What must it have felt like to be revived, only to know that you will die again? It is true of a church that has undergone revival. Some will even try to kill the revival. Embrace it, unbind it.

We always welcome visitors in our church from wherever they may come. But I do wonder today if we have any visitors from the other side. The other side, you know. No, I don’t mean the Catholics. I mean the other other side. Do we have any visitors from beyond the grave? Thus begins the sermon ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Plight Of The Living Dead Series

Contributed by Joel Smith on May 13, 2009

"I see dead people."

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Sixth Sense. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychiatrist working with a young boy played by Haley Joel Osment who claims to be able to see dead people. The kid figured out that the dead people, who he alone can see and converse with, don’t know that ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Walls Come Tumblin' Down

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2009

We run into many walls we cannot seem to get past: estrangement, grief, illness. The way past those walls is described as Sabbath, symbol, silence, and shout.

When you are up against a wall, there will be more than one way to deal with it. There will be the conventional way. And there will be the creative way. When you are up against a wall, there will be a way to break it down that costs a whole lot less than the usual way. All of us remember Mark ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

Venus De Milo: Beautiful But Not Perfect

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 14, 2009

We are not perfect, nor are we beyond redemption. Wake up to correct the inadequacies; strengthen what is worth keeping; and remember the grace of God.

In the best of us there are deep flaws; but in the worst of us there is something worth redeeming. In the best of us there are deep, profound flaws. Every fine and saintly person I have known has been hard to get along with, had blinders on about some issue, or just hung on to some irritating ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Ghostbusters

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 15, 2009

Panicked people do irrational things, like attempt to live in the past or to live out of bad religion. Panic can be dealt with only by trusting God and living in integrity. Luther’s Reformation is a prime illustration.

Children are not the only ones who are afraid of the dark. You do not have to be a child to be subject to irrational, unreasoning fears, fears that take you over and leave you breathless. Children may be afraid of dark rooms and of monsters under the bed, but the rest of us also panic. Don’t tell ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:3-18

Denomination: Baptist

God's Bountiful Buffet

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 16, 2009

Juy 31, 1988. When we don’t have enough, materially, it’s easy to be spiritual, and we respond with gratitude. When we have enough, materially, it’s still easy to be spiritual, and we respond with responsibility.

You may not know it, but we may be in the vicinity of a piece of history. We may be in the neighborhood that gave rise to a revolution in the restaurant business. I cannot really document this, but at least in my limited observation, it was right here in this neighborhood that one enterprising ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Flirting With An Old Flame

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 17, 2009

Cowardice keeps us from a relationship with God. Rekindle God’s gifts: power to make a difference, love that stays by those in need, and self-discipline to choose a lifestyle of ministry. Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD

Are you that rare person who married your first love and you are still just as much in love today as you were at first sight? If you are such a creature, I salute you, but there are not many like you. When I attended Betty Noe’s funeral here not long ago, it was said that she was Hulon’s first ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Clueless On Purpose

Contributed by Joel Smith on May 18, 2009

Choose Christ rather than cluelessness.

When I was growing up one of the highlights of the year took place every September. We were all euphoric when the Davidson County Agricultural Fair rolled into town. As a kid I liked the rides and the cotton candy and candy apples. As a teenager and young adult, I enjoyed the fair because it was a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:28-44

Denomination: Baptist

God's Opinion Of Popular Opinion

Contributed by Joel Smith on May 18, 2009

If you will let Christ change your mind, through you He will change the world.

This year has been quite a learning experience for me. I’ve learned much about World History and American Government because those are the two main subjects I teach, but I’ve also learned a lot about the why the church in America is so ineffective in our modern culture. I’ve gained this knowledge ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-10

Denomination: Baptist