By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: John 1:26-34; 3:26-30

John had one job — to go ahead of Jesus and prepare the way for Him to preach and teach, and minister. Isaiah had prophesied that one would do just that (Isaiah 40:3), and John identified himself as that one (John 1:23).

But John’s job was to work himself right out of a job — sort of like the opening act of a concert. The plan was to gather up followers (through baptizing and preaching) and then get those who were following him to shift their tracks to following Jesus. When they started to do exactly that, some of his followers got a little concerned (John 3:26), but he quickly reassured them that this was the plan all along (vv. 28-30). In this he showed tremendous focus. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Acts 4:36-37; 9:26-27; 11:19-26

Courage is slippery. It’s not something that is cemented in someone once for all time. Like any one of the number of feelings we have, it can wax and wane, come and go. In this way, we are not like God. He is immutable, unchanging — the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). However, we do change — daily, even hourly sometimes. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Ruth 1:8-17

Everyone loves a good story of redemption. To watch tragedy befall someone, see them endure the hard road set before them, and rejoice when the patience pays off and hope is restored is wonderfully pleasing to us. However, in the middle of the story — after tragedy and before redemption — there is tremendous heartache and doubt. Will this situation be redeemed? Is it even possible for good to come about through this? If so, how in the world could it actually happen? [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: I Kings 3:3-14; 4:29-34

We are terrible at seeking two things at once. In fact, we cannot seek two things at once. Only one thing can actually occupy the primary place of prominence in our lives. We will use our energy, time, and resources to seek something or someone first, and anything that pulls us toward something or someone else will take us away from that first priority. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Numbers 13:26-30; 14:6-10, 21-24

Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1a). If we’re hoping for something, how can we also be assured of it? Faith. It brings the future reality into the present and lives as if it exists now because it will one day be a present reality.

Faith is “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1b). If we can’t see the unseen things, how in the world can we have a conviction they exist? Faith. It’s the connection between us and whatever we’re believing. We can’t comprehend the unseen by our senses, but by faith we know it’s there and it’s true. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Matthew 4:1-10

Jesus can sympathize with us. He’s been in similar situations that we have, faced similar temptations, and felt similar heaviness of heart. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect had been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). When we read the account of His temptation in Matthew 4, we see some rich truths.

We failed in the garden and Jesus succeeded in the wilderness. The contexts couldn’t be more different. The temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 was in the midst of a garden where they had everything they could ever need, including food, freedom with one another, and perfect fellowship with God. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Ephesians 6:10-20

No lawyer goes into the courtroom without a good argument. No athlete enters the field at game time without being dressed for the competition. No surgeon enters the operating room without being prepped with the knowledge, cleanliness, and right tools for the procedure.

I guess it’s presumptuous to say no one does any of these things because I’m sure there have been some who have. But they haven’t lasted. When the stakes are high, and the job is important, excellent preparation is essential. The right argument, a good helmet, and a scalpel and sutures are all necessary for both success and self-preservation. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: 1 John 4:1-6

Not all discrimination is bad. Sometimes it’s appropriate, even necessary. In general, when speaking of excluding someone based on gender or skin color or ability, then yes, discrimination is not good and doesn’t glorify God, who’s made all people with His image imprinted on them.

But when it comes to the words and beliefs put forth by those who purport to be speaking truth, we must filter what they say through the Word of God. We must discriminate. Just because someone has a winsome personality and a speaking platform doesn’t mean he or she speaks truth. Not every preacher who stands behind a pulpit also stands behind the cross. Some may in fact stand in front of the cross and obscure it so badly that the gospel is unrecognizable in their preaching. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage:  Deuteronomy 18:9-18

It matters which voices we listen to. We are shaped, both in our thinking and in our feeling, in large part by the information we take in through our ears. This is why Jesus said, “Take care what you listen to” (Mark 4:24). It’s why He repeated often when He taught, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). It’s why the Father said at the transfiguration, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him” (Mark 9:7). With all the voices and noises competing to be heard in our world today, we must find the one voice of truth — that of the Lord Jesus. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: Mark 9:17-29

Demons believe in God. They are not atheists (who claim there is no God), and they are not agnostics (who claim that we can’t know whether there’s a God). No, demons are monotheists — they know and believe there is one God — and they even fear him. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!” (James 2:19). However, while they believe in Him and fear Him, they also hate Him. They can’t stand Him, and they are against everything He’s for. [Read more…]