By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly

Focal passage: Galatians 2:11-21

My first pastorate was in a small church in a very rural area in north Florida. We saw God do many incredible things but one will always stand out. Joe was fresh out of prison when he came to us and received Christ. When he got saved he got serious about following Jesus. He wanted to be baptized, join the church and serve God with us. He was set to be the first black church member in our history. I was excited, but also nervous how this might be received in my all white, traditional, Southern congregation. [Read more…]

By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly

Focal passage: Galatians 1:1-10

“Who do you think you are?! Do you really think that there is anything you can do that is so good that it is better than the righteousness of Jesus? Do you really think there is anything you can do that is so terrible that it is more horrible in the eyes of God than seeing His Son on that cross?” This was the verbal berating I endured which opened my eyes to the beauty of eternal security and the sureness of God’s grip. [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: II Samuel 24:10-25

According to the author of Hebrews, if one is left without discipline, then he or she is liken to an illegitimate child (Hebrews 12:7-10). Parents love their children; therefore, a mom or dad disciplines their children when they are disobedient. In a similar way, God disciplines His children because He loves them. We may not understand why God doesn’t want us to do certain things or why He wants us to do other things. [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 22:26-36, 50-51

One year ago this month, my wife Tonya underwent a 12-hour HIPEC surgery to treat her peritoneal carcinoma. Her surgery went well, but recovery was brutal. Months later, she underwent an additional surgery due to an intestinal blockage. Tonya’s suffering was difficult to watch; however, we are so thankful. Being brought through such a storm has taught us lessons about both suffering and thanksgiving. One must be thinkful of God in order to be thankful to God. Furthermore, in order to express thankfulness to God, one must continue to be thoughtful for God. [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 21:1-6, 10-14

Commentator on the narrative of I and II Samuel, David G. Firth wrote, “Sin takes us farther than we want to go, and its reach is far greater than we ever could have imagined.” Heath Thomas and J.D. Greear surmised: [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: II Samuel 20:1-2, 14-21

On June 14, 2000, J.P. Morgan & Company, a bank worth $21 billion at the time, could have averted a one-day internet shutdown by simply paying a $35 bill. The venerable Wall Street firm found itself without a website or an e-mail connection to the outside world because it had failed to renew the registration of its domain name that served as its online address. Client after client was unable to visit the website or exchange e-mail messages with the firm’s bankers and traders.  [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 19:1-15

Emotional intelligence in leadership is critical. Daniel Goleman, in his book, Working With Emotional Intelligence, defined emotional intelligence as “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing our emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.” In The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus: Relational Smarts for Religious Leaders, Roy Oswald and Arland Jacobson described emotional intelligence as “how we manage our emotions so as to function effectively in relationships.” [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 15:10-16, 24-30

It was news to me. I had no idea that modern day refrigerators now come with a Sabbath mode. I didn’t even know we had such a mode available on our refrigerator until recently. According to my wife, on occasion, she accidently turns on the Sabbath mode on our fridge. [Read more…]

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: II Samuel 13:15-20, 31-39

Futurologist, Alvin Toffler, in his book, The Third Wave, suggests three waves in American culture and their impact on the family. The agricultural wave was the time when Americans lived on farms out in the country. The industrial wave was the time when American families moved from the country to the city. The information wave is the present time when American families are living in a digital age. Toffler concluded: “If we define the family in today’s third wave as a husband, a wife, and two or more children, and ask how many Americans still live in this type of family, the answer is an astonishing seven percent. Ninety-three percent do not fit the normative second wave model of the family.” Throughout the halls of history and regardless of the waves of time, the family has always been and will always be under attack. [Read more…]

JULY 8: ACCOUNTABLE

By Sam Greer
Senior Pastor, Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 12:1-14

Practical accountability breeds personal responsibility. Personal responsibility bleeds without practical accountability.  [Read more…]