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

Focal Passage: 2 Samuel 1:22-27; 2:1-7

In his book, Immeasurable, Skye Jehtani writes: “Compare two leaders. Leader A lifted an entire nation, mobilized his people with clear vision coupled with inspiring passion and launched a movement that has impacted literally everyone alive today. He set in motion an industrial and scientific revolution that produced the first computer, the first jet airplane, began human exploration of space and unlocked the mystery of nuclear war. By the time he died at 56, everyone on the planet knew his name. Leader A changed the world. Leader B lived during the same era and died just 21 days before Leader A, but his life was much different. At the height of his influence, Leader B ran a school with 100 students and he wrote a few books, but he was not widely regarded. When he died, almost no one knew his name.” [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10; 13:2-8

Speech was the last class I registered to take my final semester of junior college. One of my greatest fears through the years has been speaking in front of people. The main reason for this fear is my propensity to stutter. I am a stutterer. When God called me to preach, like Moses, I reminded God of my weakness. How will I preach as a stutterer? God reminded me that He never strengthens the strong, He strengthens the weak. I still have a propensity to stutter, but God is greater than any stutter or stutterer. 

In II Corinthians 12:7b-10 and 13:2-8, Paul reminded the church at Corinth that God strengthens the weak through their weaknesses. As a believer, if you want to find strength, then look no further than your weakness. Paul offered four reminders when it comes to finding strength.

First, don’t exalt yourself! Paul the apostle was a sinner saved by grace. God’s grace was enough to save Paul. God’s grace was also enough to sustain him. Paul was a human being with the same bent that we all have, in the flesh, to make much of ourselves. In II Corinthians 12:7, the apostle was transparent about his “thorn in the flesh.” Paul the apostle was not one of the Avengers, like Thor, he was not a superhero. If he were an Avenger, then his name would have been “thorn” not Thor. Why “thorn”? After asking the Lord three times to remove the “thorn,” the Lord told Paul, that His power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness, which was the “thorn” in his flesh. (v. 9). Never exalt yourself, leave that to God!

Second, expose your weakness! Never discount your weakness, God specializes in using the weaknesses of the weak. Paul was not ashamed of his weakness because he realized that when he was weak, God made him strong. For Paul, the only way to become strong was to remain weak (v. 10). Furthermore, he not only became content in his weaknesses but he boasted in his weaknesses (v. 9). As a believer, don’t be ashamed of your weaknesses, God isn’t!

Third, don’t exempt yourself! Paul was the apostle of the apostles! Yet, he would not allow himself to exempt himself when writing to the local church. When calling the believers at Corinth to test themselves, Paul includes himself as one who had not failed the test (II Corinthians 13:6). No human being, this side of heaven, is exempt from having their faith tested or being tested in the faith. Don’t exempt yourself, Paul didn’t!

Fourth, examine yourself! What a powerful word in II Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether or not you are in the faith.” Why was Paul so adamant about these believers examining themselves? In II Corinthians 13:10, Paul gave his reasoning. The apostle wanted them to examine themselves and adjust their hearts and lives appropriately before Paul arrived. Upon his arrival and under the authority given to him as an apostle, Paul was required to examine the believers. Depending upon their spiritual condition, he would either build them up or tear them down. 

Paul’s coming to the church at Corinth is a forecast of Jesus’ coming for His church. How important it is for people to examine themselves in this life before God gets the last word in the after life. Examine yourself before Jesus comes! Why? Strength is found not in the avoidance of fatigue, but in the presence of faith! Are you in the faith? B&R

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

Focal Passage: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

In a report released by Oxfam, an international charity dedicated to finding solutions to global poverty, the richest 80 people on earth are now as wealthy as the world’s 3.5 billion poorest people. To put this into perspective, 80 people control as much wealth as half the population of planet earth. One of these multi-billionaires enjoys playing basketball on one of his luxurious yachts. Following closely behind this multibillionaire’s yacht is a powerboat to retrieve any balls that bounce over the railing.

Having that much money may be hard to imagine. Truth is, what matters is not how much money one may or may not have; rather, what matters is how one spends one’s money. Regardless of what value lies in our wallets, we show what we value with our wallets. Furthermore, how we give with our hands shows what we value in our heart. Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to take up a generous collection for their fellow believers in Jerusalem. In 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, the Holy Spirit gives three principles of giving faithfully. [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: II Corinthians 5:16-21; 6:1-2

Think about your most recent conflict. Do you believe that conflict can be resolved or do you believe that the word “conflict” is inherently a bad word? Does conflict always hurt a relationship? Conflict can be resolved by attacking the problem and not the person, by not overreacting, by not letting problems fester and by clearly defining the issue that needs to be resolved. Resolving conflict is possible, but rarely enjoyable.  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: II Corinthians 4:5-18

After a laboring but rewarding week of sermon preparation, my wife Tonya and I celebrate with a Friday night date night. Friday is sermon manuscript day, that is, the day of the week when the writing of the sermon manuscript for Sunday is completed. Going to the “picture show” (the movie theater) is what we like to do on date night. My favorite part of going to the movies is watching the previews. If we are too late to watch the previews, then I would rather not go to the movies at all. Seeing what is “coming soon” comes with an anticipated excitement attached. In fact, sometimes the previews are much better than the movie itself.

In II Corinthians 4:5-18, Paul was arguing that as believers and followers of Jesus, we are to display the gospel of Jesus. We are not to “proclaim ourselves” but we are to proclaim “Jesus Christ as Lord.” As people take a seat in the movie theater of our lives and watch us follow Jesus, they are not to see us but Jesus. We are to be like the previews before a movie, using the movie of our life to show and proclaim who and what is to come. [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: II Corinthians 1:3-14

Webster’s Dictionary defines empathy as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being senstive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience” of someone else. [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

What is love? How might love be defined in our world today? According to Neil Genzlinger, there are over 10,000 songs on file at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C., that begin with the words “Love is ….” Some of those songs, which attempt to define love, are as follows: “Love is Like a Dizziness,” “Love is Like a Shoogy Shoo,” “Love is Like the Influenza,” “Love is a Sickness Full of Woes,” Love is a Traitor,” “Love is Doggone Mean,” “Love is Good for Anything that Ails You,” “Love is for Suckers,” and “Love is a Losing Game.” From the world’s perspective love is often connected with that which is erotic or romantic. [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:4-12, 21-26

The three smallest bones in the human body are found in the middle ear ossicles, more commonly known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup. Although these bones work in obscurity, totally invisible to the outside world, they are essential to our ability to hear. [Read more…]

By Sam Greer Senior Pastor
Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga

Focal Passage: I Corinthians 11:17-29

Anytime death invades our lives we respond in different ways. When a loved one dies some lash out in anger, or fall into depression, or retreat into isolation, while others grieve in a host of other ways. [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: John 20:2-9; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

In his sermon, “Easter is for Everyone,” Greg Laurie shared about an athiest who was upset because of all the holidays that people of faith celebrate. The atheist said to a friend, “You Christians have Christmas and Easter. And Jews celebrate their holidays, like Passover and Yom Kippur. But we atheists don’t have recgonized holidays. It’s unfair discrimination.” His friend thought about it for a moment and said, “Well, you atheists could celebrate April 1. That could be your holiday. You know, April Fool’s Day. It fits, because the Bible says, ‘the fool has said in his heart there is no God.’ ”

April Fool’s Day and Easter Sunday fall on the same day this year,  April 1, 2018.  Those who are like the criminal on the cross who rejected Jesus may be called the greatest of fools on April Fool’s Day 2018. At the same time, those who are like the criminal on the cross who accepted Jesus may truly call April 1, 2018 Easter Sunday. Which is it for you?

The resurrection of Jesus the Christ is the hinge on which the door of Christianity swings upon. What’s more, the resurrected Jesus is the foundation on which Christianity is built. Easter Sunday is the day where churches all over the world celebrate with laser-like focus the resurrection of Jesus. How can we avoid being fools and have assurance of the resurrection of Jesus?

The resurrection of Jesus is real. John and Peter raced with anticipation and excitement to the tomb of Jesus that first resurrection day. Upon arriving, John peeked in and Peter barged in while both realized that the body of Jesus was gone (John 20:3-9). When something is gone it means it’s gone. Some people’s hair is gone. Some people’s original hair color is gone. Jesus’ body was gone because Jesus’ resurrection was real. He really did bodily resurrect from the dead. John saw that Jesus’ body was gone and he believed (John 20:8).

Although one disciple believed, neither disciple understood the Scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead (John 20:9). They didn’t strategically lie about Jesus being resurrected to fit with the Scriptures; for they didn’t understand the Scriptures which spoke of Jesus’ resurrection. These two disciples’ inabliity to understand the prophetic passages of resurrection is further evidence that their account of the empty tomb was factual. We can have assurance in the resurrection because of the empty tomb.

The resurrection of Jesus is relevant. We know the resurrection of Jesus really happened in the past, but how does that affect us today? Paul wrote about the relevance of Jesus’ resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23. All people are sinners by nature and by choice. Adam, the first to sin, passed his sinful nature on to all of mankind. Therefore, all are dead because of the sin of Adam. Yet, all are made alive who trust in Jesus because He died for the sins of all and was resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 9:22). Jesus was not the first to be resurrected; however, Jesus is the first to be resurrected to never die again (1 Corinthians 9:23). Jesus’ death put death to death. Jesus’ resurrection resurrected ressurection to the point that those who die in Christ will be rasied never to die again.

The resurrected Jesus reigns everyday as we look forward to that Day. Easter Sunday is not the only day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrected Jesus reigns everyday (1 Corintians 9:25-28). Celebrate the resurrected Jesus every day! B&R