Sermons on Oswald Smith:

But ... But ... But

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 19, 2010

Introverts do not think they are ready for ministry, but actually their personality is a resource for ministry, for they can enable God to empower them.

The way we live out our lives depends on the kind of personality we have. What we do, how we do it, the way we go about our daily tasks, the ways in which we relate to one another … all these things come out of the kind of personality we have. You can argue, if you want, that cultural ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Automatic Door Openers

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 19, 2010

For deacon ordination: God has provided the wide door through which all may come, but also the narrow gate that calls for discipline and setting boundaries.

We seem to be fast coming to the place where we will scarcely have to deal with people at all. We can just deal with computer-driven machines to get what we want. I frankly cannot remember when I have dealt with a bank teller. I just roll up to an Automatic Teller Machine, punch in a few numbers, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7-14

Denomination: Baptist

Ark, Anger, And Acceptance

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 20, 2010

We who are successful want instant gratification, but must know that God’s timing may be different, and that it is important to do something that enables others to succeed. In prayer we learn that we are accepted and so our efforts have meaning.

Success brings with it its own set of problems. If you get used to being successful, you soon expect it, and then if it eludes you, that can be very hard to take. I know that I am speaking this morning to reasonably successful people, by and large. Most of you, when you face a challenge, are able ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-27

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Warfare

Contributed by Steve Smith on Feb 22, 2010

A reminder of 3 truths taken from Paul's letter to the Ephesians: 1- we are in a Battle, 2- It's Invisible, and 3- we must Make a Stand. We are reminded that God's Armor is available for the believer but it must be fitted - fitted by spiritual growth and

INTRODUCTION Chip Ingram developed a new DVD Teaching series called “The Invisible War”. Many thoughts began to run over situations in MY LIFE & the LIVES OF OTHERS recently. - Questions asked recently (sickness, death, constant struggle, financial) - Battles Christians are ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-13

Denomination: Baptist

A Good Soldier Of Christ Jesus

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 25, 2010

Funeral sermon for John Sheppard, retired Army sergeant, who had taken on a life of service and who had suffered with illness for several years.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then today the photographs you have selected will suffice for the message. In one of them there is a young man, wearing the uniform of the United States Army. This young man’s face displays dignity; his bearing is proud, his eyes are steady, his stance is ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Hurry Up And Wait

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 25, 2010

Funeral message for Thelma Harper Brown, who exhibited extraordinary patience during a long decline.

What must it feel like to spend every day waiting? Just waiting. Not going anywhere, not keeping appointments, not concerned about a schedule, but just waiting. Waiting through interminable days and dark nights; waiting to be fed, to be turned, to be spoken to. What must it feel like just to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-39

Denomination: Baptist

Six Miles Of Obedience

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 25, 2010

Funeral message for Eva Myers, whose distinctive discipline was six miles of walking daily ... a metaphor for walking with Christ.

"Whoever obeys [God’s] word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ’I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he walked." At first I didn’t believe it. Six miles a day?! How could anybody, especially one up in her years, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 26:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Knowledge (Not Opinion)

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 6, 2010

Some of us handle truth by simply asserting ourselves forcefully. Paul's way was to root truth in revelation rather than logic; to find authentic confidence in personal experience; and to submit himself to transformation. First Baptist Church of Gaithers

If there’s one thing I have a strong opinion about, it is that I do not like people with strong opinions! I have a hard time with the person who declares what he thinks with absolute hard-core certainty, riding roughshod over any contrary thoughts I might have. I struggle with that. I have ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:11-24

Denomination: Baptist

Marriage Is A Triangle

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 13, 2010

January 1988. Marriage is more than a contract between two people. It must involve God and working toward the purposes of God; otherwise it is a divorce, whether the law is involved or not.

There are all sorts of reasons not to preach this sermon! There area all kinds of problems kicked up because I have felt led to conclude our series of studies in the prophet Malachi with one of his most pointed and deliberate passages: his passage on marriage and divorce. Getting into this topic ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 2:13-16

Denomination: Baptist

We The People, Breaking Bondages Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 15, 2010

God does not want merely personal religion; He desires our investment in breaking the bondages that imprison others. America post-Vietnam is strikingly similar to Judah post-Exile. Neither can afford to retreat into comfortable religion.

A great nation had been humiliated by something they had never supposed could happen. Because they saw themselves as the people of God, chosen by him for a special role in the world's history, they had imagined themselves invulnerable. God would never desert his people, they believed. God would not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

What God Wants On Sunday Morning

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 16, 2010

We are incurably religious, thinking that if we use the right formulas, we will be acceptable to God. But God wants our personal involvement and our investment in understanding Him.

Our most persistent sin is that we are religious. Of all the sins that men and women commit, of all the wrongheaded directions we take, of all the wayward wanderings on which we go, none is more persistent than this: that we are religious. As someone has put it, we are incurably religious. ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-26

Denomination: Baptist

The Melody Lingers On

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 22, 2010

What we learn and share through the arts will build our reserves and will communicate memorably.

If you really want to leave a lasting impression on somebody, how do you do it? If you truly need for somebody to remember whatever you think is important, how are you going to make sure they won't forget? Well, one technique is, of course, to use words. Lots and lots of words. That’s ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:16-22

Denomination: Baptist

Peter: The Power Of Peer Pressure

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 5, 2010

Calverton Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD, 1983: Our denials, like Peter's, reflect our confusing loudness with loyalty and our seeing ourselves as victims rather than victors. But Christ is able to look at us, evoke repentance, and turn us around.

The fire crackled in the crisp air, casting shadows on the walls not five yards away. It looked inviting, this bonfire, for not only was the night air chilly, but also this whole episode had been so draining, so terrifying, that the body cried out for comfort, for something, anything, that would ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31-62

Denomination: Baptist

May Day Mayday

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 11, 2010

We are called to turn the world upside down, as revolutionaries. But our energies dissipate and we become frightened. Let us look to the one who did not flinch from His mission.

The winter of 1780 and 1781 had looked bleak indeed for the American cause. If the English control of the seas continued; if the French did not move more decisively to help; if the supply arsenals could not be stocked and if the men did not keep their courage, all would be lost. Even General ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Dynamic Tension Body Building Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 18, 2010

Montgomery Hills Baptist Church: As the old Charles Atlas method used muscle against muscle to build young bodies, so the church may use its forces against the values of the world to build itself. Inclusion rather than clannishness, love rather than comp

If you are male and of a certain age, you will remember the little cartoon stories that ran in every comic book or came wrapped around your Bazooka bubble gum – stories about a 97-pound weakling who was always about to approach a curvaceous bathing beauty but was invariably upstaged by a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:7-21

Denomination: Baptist