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

Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27; 10:31-33; 11:1

One hot and humid Mississippi day, I was jogging on a neighborhood street. The last leg of the run was uphill. About half-way up the hill, I noticed an SUV coming down the hill. While panting for air and pouring sweat, I realized the vehicle was drawing closer to me. The window rolled down and an arm extended out with a cold, refreshing soft drink in hand. I grabbed the soft drink and said “thank you!” At that moment, I heard the lady in the front seat of the SUV scream, “Wait, stop!” I stopped. The SUV stopped. The lady who handed me the drink said, “Could you open this bottle for me?” As they pulled away, the lady in the front seat laughingly said, “He thought that drink was for him.” [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I Corinthians 7:1-13

Marriage is work, but the way God designed it, it works! In our social media saturated culture, the work of marriage continues to get tougher. In a recent issue of Computers and Human Behavior, the authors noted that those who didn’t use social media sites at all reported being 11.4 percent  happier with their marriage than heavy social media users. And heavy social media users were 32 percent  more likely to think about leaving their spouse, compared with 16 percent for a nonuser. Very few, if any, would argue that marriage is indeed work, but there may be some, if not many, who might question whether or not marriage works. How can we know that marriage, the way God designed it, works?  [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: I Corinthians 6:12-20

According to dailywire.com, in 2016, Americans dedicated well over four and a half billion hours to watching porn on one porn site. The site had over 90 billion video views and 44,000 visitors every minute of every day. It all adds up to over 500 thousand years worth of porn consumed in the span of 12 months. Since 2015, human beings have spent one million years watching porn. The porn industry grosses more in a year than Hollywood and the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. Has porn become America’s favorite pastime? [Read more…]

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

Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:10-25

Every four years the Winter Olympics are headline news. The 2018 Olympic games in Pyongyang were no different. One of the most fascinating stories from the 2018 Olympics regarded the nation of Korea. The sister of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un attended the 2018 Olympics, as she was the first North Korean Dynasty member to visit South Korea since the Korean War. What is more, she called for the “unification” of North and South Korea. Is the spirit of the Olympic games enough to unify a divided nation?

In I Corinthians 1:10-25, Paul was dealing with divisions in the local church at Corinth. Yes, even churches in the first century were dealing with divisions. Paul argues that the church is only united in Christ alone. Furthermore, Paul reminded these believers that he came to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to promote divisions. The purpose of this commentary is to unpack I Corinthians 1:10-25. [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 28:17-28

Years ago I was a part of the “Appalachian Preaching Mission,” where churches in the tri-cities of East Tennessee came together once a year to highlight gospel preaching. You’ll know it was many years ago when I tell you my role was to be the “school” preacher. I actually preached in assemblies at the various public schools every day. The main preacher for the evening gatherings that particular year was Manuel Scott. He was an African-American, very small in stature, with an unforgettable style of gestures and body movement. One of his sermons stays with me to this day: “The Save Some Strategy of the Church.” Using Paul’s phrase in I Corinthians 9:22 “that I might by all means save some,” Scott reminded us that our churches won’t reach everybody, but we’re to reach all we can. [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 26:19-29

The Apostle Paul’s final days of ministry clearly fulfilled a promise God had given him. In Acts 23:11, Jesus had appeared to Paul in a night vision, telling him to ‘cheer up’ because he would “bear witness at Rome.” In the next three chapters of Acts, even before arriving as promised in Rome, Paul witnessed to Roman citizens, soldiers, and public officials. He spoke to three of Rome’s high-ranking officers in chapters 23-26: Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. I like to call those three ‘Felix the cat’ (because he walked the fence, putting Paul’s appeal off to a more convenient time), ‘Festering’ Festus (because of his angry outburst during Paul’s testimony), and “Agrip’pa,” (because he wouldn’t get “a grip” on the gospel). Today’s focal passage, Acts 26:19-29, portrays the encounter with Agrippa and Festus. [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 20: 22-35

Since “retirement” I’ve given away many of my books, but I’ve retained some that are especially precious to me. One I’ve kept is Parting Shots, written by the late Landrum Leavell II, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary president, 1975-1994, and the father of current TBC President David Leavell. Parting Shots is a compilation of Dr. Leavell’s messages challenging seminary students at graduation. I love the brief, pointed, practical Bible messages and the title! “Parting shots” could also describe our focal passage, Acts 20:22-35, the final exhortations of the Apostle Paul to leaders of the Ephesian church during his third and last missionary journey. Read verse 28 carefully. Five words from that verse summarize the entire passage: [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 18:24-28; 19:1-7

In 1653, an Englishman named Isaak Walton wrote The Compleat Angler. A contemplative fisherman’s guide, it went on to become the second-most republished book in the English language, next after the Bible. Walton’s old English spelling of ‘compleat’ has spawned many modern book titles. It seems to describe something stronger than complete: if someone is “the compleat (whatever),” he or she is the quintessential, the perfect example for practicing his or her craft. Today’s focal passage, Acts 18:24-28; 19:1-7 describes an individual — and a church group — that eventually became “compleat.”  [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 16:16-19; Psalm 139:13-16

Two mischievous boys hid away in a large department store at closing time. They didn’t steal anything during the night; they just changed the price tags on hundreds of items. When the store opened, customers were surprised to see an item that had been $5.99 now had a price tag of $49.99; something that was $150 now had a sticker price of two dollars! That is exactly what Satan has done in our culture: he has cunningly changed the “price tag” — the value — on just about everything. Things that once were considered valuable are now “sold” cheap, and items of no real lasting value are held in high regard. Human life, for example, was once sacred and precious; today’s world has greatly underestimated it. Purity, modesty, and courtesy are things that once were treasured, but now are often disregarded and even mocked.  [Read more…]

By Mike Dawson
Interim Pastor, Santa Fe Baptist Church, Santa Fe

Focal Passage: Acts 17:22-34

Many years ago, shoe shops advertised “Shoes Repaired — While You Wait.” Customers could hang around in their ‘sock feet’ while their shoes were being repaired. Few shops of any kind offer such services today; people in our culture don’t wait for anything. In Acts 17:16-21, prior to today’s study passage, we see how to wait.

The Apostle Paul had arrived in Athens, having left Silas and Timothy in Berea and sending word for them to join him immediately. “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Paul couldn’t just hang around and wait. Never simply a tourist — even in such a dazzling city as Athens — he “saw … observed … found … proclaimed!” Here among the idol-worshiping, knowledge-seeking philosophers of Athens, Paul used every object in view to share Christ.     [Read more…]