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Houston's First Baptist Church is a relevant biblical community where we gather our hearts, grow our souls and give our lives as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). This podcast provides weekly messages from Pastor Gregg Matte and others. Visit HoustonsFirst.org to learn more, and visit us in person the next time you're in Houston!
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A theology podcast for the church. The pastor theologians podcast consists of conversations and teaching resources at the intersection of theological scholarship and life and ministry in the local church. The vision for this show is to help equip pastors to be theologians for today’s complex world.
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Jack Franicevich, a parish priest in the Anglican Church of North America, joins the podcast to discuss his book, Sunday: Keeping Christian Time (Athanasius Press, 2023), that focuses on the nature of the Sabbath, what it means in the biblical narrative, and how the social imaginary of Christians might be formed by a deep understanding of the Sabba…
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Dan Brendsel joins the podcast to discuss his recent book Answering Speech: The Life of Prayer as Response to God (Crossway, 2023). Paul commands the church to "pray without ceasing." What does that mean? In what ways do we misunderstand prayer? How might reframing prayer as a whole-life response reform and renew the lives of the saints and the lif…
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Joel is joined by Brad Gray, CEO of Walking the Text, a non-profit organization that specalizes in helping pastors and Christians understand the cultural, linguistic, and literary context of the Bible. What are the "lenses of context" for reading scripture? How does understanding this context correctly enable Christians to live out the vision of sc…
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Pastor Gregg continued our "Let's Chat" series, focusing this week on mental health. His sermon focused on 1 Kings 18 & 19 as he encouraged us that we are loved, hope can be found and to steward our mental health God's way.Di Gregg Matte
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For our July episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading: Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (2024) Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot (1975) Cynthia L. Haven, Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard (2018)Di The Center for Pastor Theologians
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Kaitlyn Schiess joins the podcast to talk about her recent book The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here (Brazos, 2023). She shares her background of education and how she began interacting with the question of the relationship between church and state, Christians and the politi…
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Pastor Gregg opened a new message series entitled "Let's Chat", focusing this week on happiness. His sermon focused on Psalm 84, teaching us that the beginning place of happiness is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.Di Gregg Matte
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Di Boto Joseph
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Russell Moore, Editor-in-Chief of Christianity Today, joins the podcast to talk about his journey of faith, major influences on his faith, and current reflections on the state of American Evangelicalism. Why is fiction so profoundly impactful on his thinking? Why is the American church prone to cultural nominalism and pragmatism? What does the Amer…
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Following the hurricane and violence that took place last week, Pastor Gregg shared an encouraging word from Acts 27. He reminded us that, when battered by the storms, we are to cling to the Lord.Di Gregg Matte
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Ryan Fields, senior pastor of Faith Evangelical Free Church, joins the podcast to tell his story of coming to faith and his journey of education and ministry.Di The Center for Pastor Theologians
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Brian McCormack, Executive Director of Breakaway Ministries, Texas A&M University, preached from Luke and Acts. In his sermon entitled "Lest We Forget: 3 Things to Remember About the Plan", Brian shared a message about how the church can be "on mission" daily.Di Brian McCormack
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Matt O'Reilly joins the podcast to discuss and share the presentation he gave at the Reconstructing Methodism conference earlier this spring, explaining why the new Global Methodist church needs to be firmly planted on strong theological rock, with pastor theologians doing the necessary hard building work. In his presentation he focuses on why the …
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Richard Lints joins the podcast to discuss his recent book Uncommon Unity: Wisdom for the Church in an Age of Division (Lexham 2022). Pressing into the given difference that exists, he argues for a deeper unity funded by the inclusion narrative of the gospel. Lints calls for a renewed unity that doesn't march according to the orders of the cultural…
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Paul Chitwood, President of the International Mission Board, preached from Romans about "The World's Greatest Problem" and why we, as Christians, are called to work together to present the solution of Jesus Christ.Di Paul Chitwood
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This week, Pastor Gregg preached a special message for Father's Day where he reminded us that we are all children of the Heavenly Father, and His love for us is infinite.Di Gregg Matte
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Gregg Allison joins the podcast to talk about his journey of faith and ministry and his theological work on the Holy Spirit. He discusses common misperceptions about the Holy Spirit, encouraging believers to think about the Spirit as the greatest gift God gives to his children. In what ways do we make the Spirit the potentiator of our own works? Ho…
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Collin Hansen joins the podcast to discuss Tim Keller's legacy as a public theologian and his work in New York City to both a modern and orthodox Christian, engaging the world and seeking the good of the city. We address such questions as the influences on Tim Keller's vision for public engagement, his drawing together of diverse traditions, and wh…
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In this week's sermon, we concluded our study of Titus, focusing on the importance of living a faith led life of devotion to the Lord and difference making in the lives of others.Di Gregg Matte
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Preston Sprinkle joins the podcast to talk about his recent book Exiles: The Church in the Shadow of Empire, to discuss a biblical theology of Christian engagement with politics, and to preview his upcoming contribution to the CPT conference. Why is it so easy to mingle ecclesiology and politics? Why is this a matter for Christian discipleship? Wha…
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Di Jason Swiggart
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Chris Bruno joins the podcast to share his story of becoming a pastor theologian. He talks about his journey of faith the path the Lord led him on to pursue higher education, as well as sharing about the current work he is doing to train pastors on the Hawaiian Islands through Training Leaders International and Oahu Theological Seminary.…
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This week, we showed reverence for Memorial Day, and our study took us into Joshua and the Memorial Stones.Di Gregg Matte
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Gayle Doornbos joins the podcast to talk about her journey of faith and education and current ministry at Dordt University. Gayle brings us into conversation with Herman Bavinck and the importance of his work as a theologian who sits patiently with Scripture and the tradition as he works to apply theology to his own day, helping us learn what it me…
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In this study of Titus, Pastor Gregg reminds us, in the midst of the challenges our city has faced due to recent storms, that the world's generator is nothing compared to the power of eternity's God.Di Gregg Matte
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Dr. Dan Treier, Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Theology at Wheaton College, joins the podcast to discuss his recent book on Christology, Lord Jesus Christ. In this conversation, we dig into questions of methodology, pastoral theology, and the strengths and weaknesses of evangelical understandings of Jesus. What does faith seeking understanding me…
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In this week's study of Titus, we took a close look at the characteristics of the family of God - the church.Di Gregg Matte
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"In order to understand the third commandment, we have to understand how it relates to the greatest commandment." Josh Stone shares a sermon he recently preached on Exodus 20:7: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." He unpacks what it means to take his name i…
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In this week's sermon, we continued in Titus, studyinghow to spot and address false teaching.Di Gregg Matte
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Why are is the CPT hosting a conference on Kingdom Politics this September? Joel Lawrence and Zach Wagner preview the 2024 CPT conference, explaining why creating space for intentional conversations about the church and politics fits within the mission of the CPT to equip pastors to be theologians for today's complex world. What will the conference…
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Josh Stone joins the podcast to tell his story of becoming a pastor theologian. He discusses the influence of significant medical diagnoses in his family, his journey of education, his studies in gender, and what it means to be a pastor theologian. Some of the questions we discuss are how does a PhD help serve the pastorate? What are unique challen…
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The text of Genesis 1 helps us understand who God is, who we are, and what our purpose in the world is. In this sermon, Charles Anderson explains the structure and purpose of Genesis 1 to help us understand how God is purposefully at work in creation and in our lives, even the midst of seeming chaos.…
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Pastor Gregg concludes The Ultimate Finish Line series as he encourages us to keep walking with God...be a finisher!Di Gregg Matte
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Pastor Gregg shares a message from 2 Timothy 4:9-13 as he encourages us to make the most of our time and to make people a priority.Di Gregg Matte
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Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), joins the podcast to discuss the mission of the church in the present political climate. Along the way, he shares about his journey of faith and call to ministry, the work of the NAE, and how Deuteronomy can inform a holistic vision for church discipleship and engagement with …
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