Resources by Smith, William H.

To answer my own question, I hope so. I very much hope so. I am not a fan of hell. I bow to God’s sovereign wisdom and justice, but I wish there were no hell. I wish that every life were sooner or later redeemed, set free from the scourge of sin, and released from […]

REFORMATION DAY 2014 The date that marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is October 31, 1517. No one could have known it then, but what happened that day set in motion an earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt in the western churches today. That earthquake had three epicentres, one in Wittenberg with Martin […]

Bill Wilson’s Salvation ‘What must I do to be saved?’ is the urgent question of anyone who knows he is a sinner. It is a question Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, faced after repeated attempts to get sober followed by devastating failures to maintain sobriety. He describes his long history of alcohol abuse in […]

Bill Wilson’s god The beginning of Bill Wilson’s sobriety was a visit from an old friend and drinking buddy, Ebby Thatcher. When Bill offered Ebby a drink, he refused stating that he had ‘got religion.’ Ebby was under the influence of the Oxford Group. (Unfortunately Thatcher’s sobriety did not last.) The Oxford Group (not to […]

The material below is dated in that it was published once before 13½ years ago, but also in that the always-trendy-but-always- behind kind of evangelism it describes continues in its evolution of outreach methods. A pleasant consequence of the publication of this article was that the author received a letter of appreciation from Dr John […]

It is beyond question that God wants ‘clean hands and a pure heart.’ What God desires is not one or the other, but both – doing the right thing for right motives. However, when we do what is as right as best we know it with as sincere hearts as we are able, we, our […]

At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s […]

After World War II there was a movement in the arts known as minimalism. This approach involved stripping down a work to its most fundamental features. What was really essential to the existence of a piece of music, an object of design, or a sculpture? We live in an age of church maximalism. Churches provide […]

Many years ago I was taking a class with Dr. R.C. Sproul. He said that most people find their identity either in ‘being’ or ‘doing.’ He pointed to his wife Vesta, who was sitting in the class, and said, ‘If you ask her what she does, she’ll answer, “I don’t do anything, I be.”‘ My […]

Many ministers of my vintage (coming up on 38 years since ordination) have a few texts to which they have returned time and again. In my case, two of those are Acts 2:42 and 1 Thessalonians 5:14. In late summer of 1969, just after Susan and I were married and just before we went off […]

Many today assume that things are best when nature rules. Examples we see are such things as a market for ‘natural (organic) foods’, ‘natural (alternative) medicine,’ and for the preservation of ‘natural (unmanaged) resources.’ There are not a few Christians who readily accept this outlook – that nature is best when left alone and allowed […]

‘A kind and merciful Providence.’ To my knowledge I first encountered that phrase reading a biography of Robert E. Lee. A little quick research indicates that the phrase was often used in the 19th century. People thanked ‘a kind and merciful Providence’ in their last wills and testaments for what he had entrusted to them. […]

Most Christians all over the world confess their faith in worship using one of two ancient, historical creeds: The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. When we confess the faith using one of these creeds, we not only confess those things we believe, but we remind ourselves that Christianity is a lot older than we […]

During my seven years as a campus minister, there were two different women in our ministry who became pregnant out of wedlock. In these cases, since they were associated with a group of students, it was among those students that they had most of their relationships. Of course, a campus ministry group is not a […]

The annual National Prayer Breakfast meets ‘in the name and the Spirit of Jesus Christ.’ Pastors at the recent Promise Keepers National Clergy Conference affirmed their unity by shouting ‘Jesus’ in answer to the call to name ‘the Messiah in whom you have trusted your souls.’ These are but two movements that represent an attempt […]

The New Testament uses the experiences of Israel in the New Testament to teach the Church important lessons about itself. It uses what Israel experienced, not just as illustrations, but as experiences God’s people have had before, which can occur again in different historical circumstances. See, for example, the use made of Israel’s idolatry in […]

Church growth experts tell us that Christmas Eve surpasses Easter as the time when people are most likely to go to church. It’s a recent development but should not be surprising. Religious practices have caught up to cultural preferences. Santa Claus has always won out over the Easter Bunny. It’s an important piece of information […]

Even in the midst of temporal troubles, there is always something to be thankful for. Thanks-giving isn’t easy. Two things make it difficult. (1) Our sinful natures act like a ship’s anchor let down at sea. When we try to stir ourselves to give thanks, we find our souls are ‘dragging anchor.’ In the Bible, […]

When I was a young minister, a man who never attended church (though formally a member) died unexpectedly. Some time later I was visiting with one of his sons and the son’s wife. During our conversation the young man said to me, ‘My Daddy believed that the Second Coming was near and would occur, if […]

The word reveal means ‘to uncover.’ Suppose there is a plate of cookies on the table covered by a towel. When the towel is removed, then you can see what’s there – a plate and cookies. You see what you could not see before. When we use the word revelation in theology, we are talking […]

The Son of God came into the world to do the will of God. He did nothing but the will of God. He did all the will of God. His life perfectly conformed to God’s will. Those who follow him will want to know the will of God, and they will want to know it […]

All of us know the experience of reality not matching expectations. Sometimes the problem is with the reality. We buy a cruise on the internet. But, when we take the cruise we find that it falls far short of what was advertised. Other times the problem is with expectations. We get married expecting we are […]

(A sermon preached at the Memorial Service for Donna Cunningham, a single sister in Christ who died of cancer at age 58, and who served the kingdom unselfishly and sacrificially, especially in the education of church at Grace Christian School. She was also a faithful member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Louisville, MS, who endured in […]

The Worship of God (Christian Focus Publications) is a collection of lectures and sermons, most of them given at the 2003 Spring Theology Conference at Greenville Theological Seminary. Like most collections the quality of chapters is uneven, but overall all it is a helpful contribution in defense of historic Presbyterian worship which is centered on […]

(Note: What follows is not a sermon manuscript or transcript, but notes made in preparation for preaching.) Gospel Reading: Luke 10: 38-42 We live in an age of busyness: Families: Work, school, housekeeping, shopping, and cooking, soccer, baseball, music lessons, youth group, church committees, and, of course, a little time has to be found for […]