Second Thoughts with Austin Gentry

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Matthew's gospel puts forth two main themes: prophetic fulfillment and God's kingdom. Over the first 26 chapters, those themes unfold like parallel tracks — mirroring one another, carrying the freight of the plot line, and carrying the readers on a journey towards a clear destination.  But by chapter 27, those tracks powerfully converge, where the prophetic and kingdom themes come together in one moment: the cross. There, we see God's ancient symbols come to substance. And then we see how everyone responds. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | For the people of Israel, everything has come to a head - and they now find themselves at a life-defining point. For 54 chapters, they have tried and trusted everything except God. Now at chapter 55, God meets them in their exhaustion with invitation - where only life can be found.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In Matthew 24, Jesus provides His disciples with the main signs of the end times. What are they? And how are we to live in light of it? 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In Isaiah 30, God speaks to His people about a coming crisis and their godless response. Just like His people back then, crisis often reveals who we are, where we run to, and what we cling to. Will we spin more webs of our own making, or will we abide in the Rock of Ages?

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Jesus encounters a man who has it all - yet still feels like he is missing something. But he's lacking not a material or social or relational piece to his life - he lacks spiritual assurance; peace; true security. As Jesus uncovers, the man's assumptions are flawed, his heart ruled, and his righteousness insufficient. This man is a story of all of us who, by default of our pride and sin, try fulfilling our deep, spiritual needs with shallow, earthly means. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | The cross was not just a moment in time, but the fulfillment of all of time. Though many prophesies were fulfilled throughout Jesus' life, many more were fulfilled at the hour of His death. On the cross, all that the Old Testament prepared for... finally came to pass.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | John 4 provides a masterclass of how to effectively evangelize, and it's modeled from the greatest Evangelist Himself. By tracing the nuances, tactics, and trajectory of Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well, we too can find a template for our own evangelism efforts ourselves.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In Matthew 16, Jesus brings the disciples to Caesarea Philippi for one of the most powerful object lessons about who He is and what He has come to do. Jesus' position is clear: we can hope He follows us, or we can hope in and follow Him.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | God's call to give is more than just a 'transaction' - it is a foundation for the Christian life. In giving, we demonstrate a posture of heart to God that is essential for relating rightly with Him: right response, true trust, real devotion, and genuine lordship. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Prayer is one of the most important spiritual disciplines, but oftentimes, our experience of it can be marked by disillusionment, distraction, and even detachment. Jesus, however, teaches His disciples how to pray, because it's not intuitive for us. His instruction to them back then is the same as it is for us today: not technique mastery, not spiritual mantras, but simple invitation.