Burnt Hickory | Sermons

You can attend church, know the right answers, and believe in God. But does the way you live actually reflect your relationship with Jesus?

In Revelation 3, Jesus speaks to the church of Laodicea about the danger of lukewarm faith. This was a community with wealth, resources, and plenty of reasons to feel secure. But their confidence in themselves had replaced their dependence on God.

In this episode, we unpack what Jesus meant when He described the church as neither hot nor cold, why spiritual self-sufficiency is so dangerous, and five traits that can reveal when our faith has become more about routine than following Jesus.

We also look at the hope found in Jesus' invitation to the church. His warning wasn't meant to push them away. It was a call to repent, surrender control, and return to Him.

As you listen, consider where you might be going through the motions and what it would look like to let Jesus lead those areas of your life again.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Revelation 3:14-22

Speaker: Matt Petty

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We Are the Church | Groundbreaking Sunday

Why does church matter? And is there really a difference between going to church and being part of the church?

In We Are the Church, we look at what Scripture says about the purpose of the church and why Jesus calls us to something more than showing up on Sundays.

Acts 20 reminds us that Jesus gave His life for the church. Matthew 16 shows us that Jesus is the foundation of His church. And Psalm 92 gives us a picture of what happens when we're planted in God's house.

Along the way, we talk about church membership, community, serving, accountability, and why our commitment to the church matters for the next generation.

If you've ever wondered whether you really need a church family, struggled to feel connected, or simply gotten comfortable attending without getting involved, this message offers an invitation to reconsider what belonging could look like.

Because church isn't just somewhere we attend. It's a family we're called to be part of.

Key Insights:

Speaker: Matt Petty

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Love Is… | Marriage Sunday 2026

We say we love our spouse, our kids, fall weather, pizza, and plenty of other things. But with one word carrying so many meanings, how do we know what real love actually is?

Scripture gives us a clearer definition.

In Love Is..., we explore love as a complete commitment rather than simply a feeling, why being real with God helps us become more honest with one another, and what it means to give without keeping score.

First Corinthians 13 also gives us a different way to think about the familiar qualities of love. Before treating patience, kindness, and the rest of the chapter as a checklist of everything we need to do better, we can see them as a picture of the way God already loves us. Love Is… Marriage Sunday 2026

Because the more we experience His love, the better equipped we are to pass it on.

Insights:

Speaker: Matt Petty & Kenn Kington

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Special Guest: Kenn Kington.

Shining to the Final Word | Thriving in Babylon

What happens when you pray and the answer doesn’t come right away?

Daniel 10 tells us that Daniel prayed for 21 days before receiving an answer. But the delay didn’t mean God hadn’t heard him. Behind what Daniel could see was a spiritual battle he knew nothing about. Shining to the Final Word

As Daniel 10–12 unfolds, we get a glimpse of that unseen battle, a reminder that Daniel is greatly loved by God, and a look toward resurrection and eternity.

Daniel doesn’t understand everything God shows him. His response gives us a model for our own lives. We don’t have to figure out every detail before we trust God. We can pray, remember who we are in Christ, invest our lives in what lasts, and keep moving faithfully toward the finish.

Shining to the Final Word closes our journey through Daniel with a reminder that the same God who carried Daniel through Babylon can be trusted with our lives too.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Daniel 10

Speaker: Matt Petty

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Praying in the Pause | Thriving in Babylon

Have you ever wanted to pray but struggled to know where to begin? Or wondered whether God hears you when an answer seems slow to come?

Daniel 9 gives us a look into the prayer life of a man who has followed God for decades. When Daniel reads a promise about the end of Israel’s exile, he doesn’t stop praying because God has already spoken. He prays because God has spoken.

In Praying in the Pause, we walk through Daniel’s example of wholehearted attention, praise, confession, requests, and listening. We also see Gabriel arrive while Daniel is still praying, bringing an answer that reaches beyond the return from exile and points toward Jesus.

The invitation is practical: keep praying, keep following God, and don’t waste the pause.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Daniel 9:1-25

Speaker: Matt Petty

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The Whole World in His Hands | Thriving in Babylon

Daniel 7 and 8 take us from the story of Daniel’s life into visions of beasts, kingdoms, rulers, and events that would unfold long after Daniel was gone.

Why did God show him all of this?

Not simply so we could make charts about the future. Prophecy shows us that the God who was faithful in the past will be faithful in the future.

In The Whole World in His Hands, we look at the four beasts of Daniel 7, the ram and goat of Daniel 8, the rise and fall of world empires, and the future Daniel was allowed to see. But all of those details ultimately lead us somewhere bigger: the Ancient of Days is still on His throne, and the Son of Man will receive a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

When the future feels uncertain, our hope isn’t found in figuring everything out. It’s found in knowing the One who already holds it.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Daniel 7:1-8:25

Speaker: Matt Petty

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God Still Delivers | Thriving in Babylon

Daniel had spent decades faithfully following God. So when a new law threatened his life if he continued praying, he didn’t panic, protest, or hide his faith. He went home and prayed just as he had done before.

In Daniel 6, we see why the habits we build before a crisis matter when the pressure arrives. Daniel’s integrity and consistency were so visible that even King Darius knew exactly who he served.

Then came the lions’ den.

In God Still Delivers, we look at what Daniel’s story teaches us about prayer, courage, influence, trials, and trusting God when we don’t know the outcome. And ultimately, Daniel’s deliverance points us toward an even greater Daniel: Jesus, who didn’t simply escape death but defeated it.

Key Insights:

Speaker: Matt Petty

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The Writing Is on the Wall | Thriving in Babylon

The Babylonian Empire had survived for generations, and King Belshazzar believed his kingdom was secure. Even with an enemy army outside the city, he threw a party and used what had been set apart for God for his own pleasure.

Then the writing appeared on the wall.

In Daniel 5, Daniel explains the message God gives Belshazzar: his days are numbered, he has been weighed and found lacking, and his kingdom is about to fall.

This message from Thriving in Babylon looks at pride, judgment, living set apart for God, and the danger of hearing the truth without responding to it. But the story doesn't end with judgment. The same hand that wrote the warning points us toward the salvation God offers through Jesus.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Daniel 5

Speaker: Matt Petty

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Look Up to the True King | Thriving in Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar had seen God work again and again. He recognized God's power, but he still hadn't surrendered his life to Him.

In Daniel 4, everything changes. At the height of his success, Nebuchadnezzar's pride is confronted, and God uses an unexpected season of humbling to turn his focus away from himself and toward heaven.

This message from Thriving in Babylon explores the danger of pride, God's sovereignty, repentance, restoration, and the hope found in knowing that no one is too far gone for God to reach. Nebuchadnezzar's story challenges us to consider who is really sitting on the throne of our lives and reminds us that when our true focus changes, our lives change.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Dainel 4:1-37

Speaker: Matt Petty

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When the Heat Gets Turned Up | Thriving in Babylon

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew God was able to deliver them. They believed He would. But even if He didn't, they still wouldn't bow.

In Daniel 3, we see a faith that isn't dependent on circumstances or outcomes. This message from Thriving in Babylon explores idolatry, cultural pressure, godly conviction, and what happens when following Jesus comes with a cost.

Sometimes God's will isn't to deliver us from the trial but to give us strength to endure through it. And when we stand for God, we don't just experience His protection. We experience His presence.

Key Insights:

Scripture Focus: Daniel 3:1

Speaker: Matt Petty

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