2025 - The year-end Review
2025 - The year end Review with guests Dana Smith and my dad, Ben Smith
In this special year-end episode of All for the Kingdom, Ben Smith is joined by his wife, Dana Smith, and his father, Ben Smith, for a thoughtful reflection on expository preaching and the sermons preached throughout 2025. Together, they consider how Scripture-driven, verse-by-verse preaching shapes the church, guards against imposing personal ideas onto the text, and forms believers who read the Bible within its redemptive context.
Drawing on personal experience as listeners, teachers, and family members shaped by the preached Word, the conversation explores how expository preaching helps believers engage the whole counsel of God—including difficult passages often avoided. They discuss both the benefits and challenges of faithful preaching, the temptation to soften hard truths, and the growing need for pastors to prioritize the labor of the Word amid modern ministry pressures.
The episode also looks back on key sermon series from the year, including Thessalonians, Genesis 1–4, and John 1 during Advent. As the discussion unfolds, a central conviction emerges: the health of the church depends on preaching that allows Scripture to set the agenda, shape conviction, and continually draw God’s people deeper into the unity of His redemptive plan.
More sermon resources:
Enhance your sermon engagement with this comprehensive 3-page study resource and listening guide for "Love what Lasts" on 1 John 2:15-17.
How can Christians know that their faith is genuine? False teachers may claim spiritual knowledge while their lives remain marked by disobedience, pride, and hatred. John teaches that genuine salvation produces visible evidence: a growing desire to obey God’s commands, love others as Christ has loved us, and mature in the faith.
This expository sermon from 1 John 2:7–14 explains how Christ gives believers a new understanding of God’s commands, a life that increasingly reflects God’s character, and encouragement toward spiritual growth. These evidences do not earn salvation; they reveal the transforming work of Christ in those who walk in His light.
Enhance your sermon engagement with this comprehensive 3-page study resource and listening guide for "Reflect the True Light" on 1 John 2:7-14.
Christians who understand God’s holiness and recognize their own sin often wrestle with a painful question: How can I know that Christ is truly my advocate and that my sins are forgiven? The gospel neither minimizes sin nor grounds assurance in personal effort. It directs believers to Jesus Christ the righteous, whose atoning sacrifice satisfies God’s wrath and secures forgiveness for His people.
In this expository sermon on 1 John 2:1–6, Ben Smith explains how Christians receive assurance through an abiding relationship with Christ, obedience to God’s Word, and the transforming work of sanctification. The sermon distinguishes gospel obedience from legalism and encourages believers to find peace in what Christ has accomplished for their salvation and what He continues to do in their lives.
Enhance your sermon engagement with this comprehensive 3-page study resource and listening guide for "Abide in the Light" on 1 John 2:1-6.
Counterfeit faith is eternally dangerous because it can look genuine while leaving a person in darkness, deception, and destruction. In 1 John 1:5-10, the apostle John writes with pastoral urgency to help believers discern the difference between empty profession and true fellowship with God. Because God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, those who know Him must be transformed by His truth, brought into fellowship with the saints, and led into honest confession of sin.
Enhance your sermon engagement with this comprehensive 3-page study resource and listening guide for "Walk in the Light" on 1 John 1:5-10.
A Comprehensive Study Through the Foundation of Scripture
Dive deep into the opening chapters of Genesis with this collection of 11 expository sermons by Ben Smith, Sr. This resource provides both profound theological insight and practical application as it explores God's creation, man's nature, the curse of sin, and the foundation of redemption.
Physical Format
This 291-page booklet is printed on 5.5 × 8.5-inch pages and bound with durable plastic comb binding (6.25 × 8.5 × 1 inches), making it easy to lay flat for study, teaching preparation, or note-taking. The convenient size fits perfectly in a Bible study bag or on your desk.
A Comprehensive Study Through the Foundation of Scripture
Dive deep into the opening chapters of Genesis with this collection of 11 expository sermon manuscripts by Ben Smith, Sr. This resource provides both profound theological insight and practical application as it explores God's creation, man's nature, the curse of sin, and the foundation of redemption.
What's Inside
This 291-page volume contains complete sermon manuscripts and study materials covering:
God Created (Genesis 1) - Exploring God as creator, sovereign, and good
The Nature of Man (Genesis 1:26-31) - Understanding humanity as God's image bearers
Goodness of Work and Rest (Genesis 2:1-3) - Biblical foundations for labor and Sabbath
Breath of Life (Genesis 2:4-17) - Man's unique creation and purpose
Blessing of Marriage (Genesis 2:18-25) - God's design for the union of husband and wife
Fall of Man (Genesis 2:25-3:7) - How sin entered the world through deception
Curse of Sin (Genesis 3:8-19) - The devastating consequences of rebellion
Death for Life (Genesis 3:20-24) - The first glimpse of redemption through sacrifice
Right with God (Genesis 4:1-7) - What makes us acceptable before God
Sin's Ruinous Rule (Genesis 4:8-16) - The progression of sin without repentance
Purposeless Prosperity (Genesis 4:17-24) - The emptiness of worldly success without God
Ben Smith
Originally from Columbus, GA, pastor Ben Smith has served churches in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. Ben and his wife, Dana, make their home in Waycross, GA.
An audio podcast of Ben’s sermons is published weekly. Pastor Ben also hosts the podcast View From the Pulpit, dedicated to helping the church recover an understanding of expository preaching.
The world continually competes for our love, tempting us to devote our time, attention, possessions, and lives to things that cannot last. Although salvation transforms what Christians love, believers must remain watchful against sinful desires, rebellious thoughts, and arrogant pride.
This expository sermon from 1 John 2:15–17 explains what it means not to love the world or the things of the world. John calls believers to give their hearts to what God loves, guard against worldly temptation, and devote their strength to God's eternal will.