Sermon Shorts with Ben Smith

If you enjoy spending a few minutes with Sermon Shorts, I’d like to invite you to another way to reflect on Scripture and everyday Christian life.

Ponderings is the audio companion to my Ponderings blog. In each episode, I read one of my articles, with small changes for natural spoken delivery. The reflections consider Scripture, faith, culture, the local church, and everyday Christian life.

Some begin with a Bible passage. Others begin with an ordinary experience or a question worth considering in light of God’s Word.

Start with the first episode, “Play for the Coach, Not the Crowd,” explore the written articles, and follow Ponderings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify using the links on its podcast page. Ponderings has its own feed, so follow it separately to receive the readings.

Each reading links to the original article and related sermons or Bible study resources when available.

Listen and follow Ponderings

Find episode one: Play for the Coach, Not the Crowd

Follow Ponderings on Spotify

Read the Ponderings articles

Explore sermons and Bible study resources

Hosted and read by Ben Smith, Sr.

Ponderings with Ben Smith, Sr. — Thinking out loud about faith, culture, and life.

In this episode of All for the Kingdom, Pastor Ben Smith teaches from 1 Chronicles 16:28–34 on the call to worship the Lord.

David summons the people of God to ascribe glory to the Lord, tremble before Him, and worship Him in the splendor of holiness. This sermon short shows that when worship falters, the problem is not that God has become less glorious. The problem is that our hearts have turned away and become distracted by the worthless idols of this world.

Pastor Ben uses the illustration of whale watchers who missed a spectacular moment because they were looking in the wrong direction. In the same way, we can miss the glory before us when our attention is captured by lesser things.

Helpful themes in this episode include:

1 Chronicles 16:28–34
Worship the Lord
The glory of God
Ascribe glory to His name
Spiritual distraction
Worthless idols
Biblical worship
The majesty of God
The greatness of God
Turning back to the Lord

To learn more, visit BenSmithSr.org.

From the sermon Life Through the Spirit, Romans 8:5-17

In this Swermon Short, Pastor Ben Smith teaches from Romans 8:5–17 on why a person cannot please God without the Spirit.

Paul’s teaching in Romans 8 shows that pleasing God is not merely a matter of outward action. It begins with the heart. A person may be religious, morally disciplined, generous, or faithful in church attendance, yet still lack the one thing necessary to please God: the indwelling Spirit of God.

This sermon short explains that the Spirit only comes through salvation. External righteousness, religious activity, and sincere effort cannot replace knowing Jesus. Apart from Christ, even our best efforts cannot make us pleasing to God. But through salvation, believers are filled with the Spirit of the living God and given true spiritual life.

To learn more, visit BenSmithSr.org.

In this sermon short from “The Nature of Man” (Genesis 1:26–31), Pastor Ben Smith draws a powerful connection between Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness and man’s true nature. When Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up,” he was undone—not proud or self-assured, but humbled before God’s glory. In the same way, we must see ourselves rightly before God. Man is not autonomous or self-defined, but an image bearer of God, created to serve His purposes and steward His creation according to His sovereign will.

Resources:

Listen to the full sermon at: https://www.bensmithsr.org/bensmith-allforthekingdom/genesis1-26-31

Listen to more Sermon Shorts at bensmithsr.org/shortspod

In this Sermon Short from the sermon “God Created, Genesis 1”, Ben Smith reminds us that believing God created all things from nothing is not only a matter of faith but also foundational to Christianity itself. From the early church’s Apostles’ Creed to the Nicene Creed, Christians throughout history have affirmed God as “Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.”

This truth shapes how you view the world: God is the Creator, God is sovereign, and His creation is good. The hymn This Is My Father’s World echoes this conviction, calling us to rest in God’s power and goodness even when wrong seems strong—because Christ has already won the victory.

Key Takeaways

Creation is central to Christian faith. Every heresy begins with denying God’s sovereignty as Creator.

Historic creeds affirm this truth. Both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed begin with the confession of God as Creator.

God’s sovereignty is our rest. Despite evil and brokenness, God rules over His world, and Christ will bring all things to completion.

Hymn Highlight: This Is My Father’s World

The episode closes with the beloved hymn, celebrating God’s presence and power in creation, and reminding us that:

“This is my Father’s world,
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.”

Resources

Listen to more Sermon Shorts at bensmithsr.org/shortspod

Hymn: This Is My Father’s World (public domain)

From the sermon: Stand Firm, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 preached on June 8, 2025. Pastor Ben Smith teaches how salvation and sanctification are inseparable works of God. When God saves, He also sanctifies. And if one is not being sanctified, then neither have they been saved.

From the sermon: Do Not Be Alarmed, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 preached on June 1, 2025. Pastor Ben Smith encourages sinners to trust in Christ alone for salvation and the church to trust in the sovereignty, authority, and power of God.

I am excited to announce a new podcast project titled View from the Pulpit. Each episode will feature interviews with pastors and church members exploring the role of preaching, the labor of preparing to preach, the effectiveness of how one preaches, and so much more. This podcast is about preaching, but it is not just for preachers. So whether each Sunday you are behind the pulpit or in the pew, I hope you will tune in for engaging conversations that will help you better understand why preaching is vital to the church’s health. The podcast is available in Apple Podcast, Spotify, and many other podcast apps. Subscribe today so that you will not miss an episode.

Is your life worthy of imitation? If new believers imitated your walk with God, would it be to their benefit? If fellow members of the church imitated your holiness, would they walk in righteousness? If the younger members imitated your worship attendance practices, would they be pleasing to God? The answer to these questions for Christians must be "Yes."

A life transformed does not un-transform. It is possible to fake transformation for a while. It is possible to imitate transformation for a while. However, the transformation of God does not lose power, wear out, or grow old. What God begins, he always finishes (Philippians 1:6). Those who have been truly saved by God will remain steadfast in hope until the Lord returns.