Second Thoughts with Austin Gentry

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | The wilderness can be a place of complaint, but it will always be a place of crossroads. In fact, the complaints we choose to make in the wilderness will often impact what direction we tend to take at the crossroads. What happens at their crossroads? And what can we learn from them when we arrive at crossroads in our lives as well? 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | 1 Samuel 7 marks the first time in approximately 70 years where there is national revival in Israel. After a long, slow, steady spiritual descent, their sudden drop-off perfectly aligns with God's long, slow, steady ascension of Samuel to help bring the nation back to righteousness and peace. Their national 'turning point' involved 5 critical el...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Numbers 9 charts  a 'new beginning' for the people of God: namely, moving from Mount Sinai and into the wilderness. The end of chapter 9 gives an assessment of the whole journey: How did God lead in the wilderness? And how did the people respond? How should we? 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Psalm 139 features one of the most moving, emotional, and awe-inspiring prayers in all of Scripture about how fully, completely, and intimately God knows His children. How do you think God thinks about you? That may very well be the difference-maker of a faith that is happy and hopeful versus a faith that is pessimistic and weak. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Like the proverbial Invisible Man, the reality of power is always around us, moving among us, and affecting us in different ways. In fact, we not only live in power dynamics, we also wield power as well. How does Jesus operate in power? How should we?

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | If a picture says a thousand words, Psalm 23 says more. In only 6 verses, God gives us a panoramic view of past, present, and future; a motion-picture story of our lives; a moving portrayal of His care through it all. If we are His sheep, everything we could ever need, we have in the Shepherd.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In Psalm 32, David writes about his spiritual journey - from committing a grave sin, to crafting a dark coverup, then to finding forgiveness and freedom and relief. In it, we see the penalty and power of sin, many principles on forgiveness, as well as faint prophesy about the Person who holds the keys of forgiveness and freedom in His nail-scarred, loving hand...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Psalm documents David's long, grueling journey of hardship that was met with long grace and long deliverance. When we are walking through long difficult seasons of life, David gives us 7 truths that give us long grace for a long journey of long deliverance. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Psalm 110 stands as one of the most mysterious, yet marvelous pictures of the Messiah. In it, we see 7 different truths about who this King is, and how we can live in light of them each day. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Mark 8 records a unique moment in Jesus' ministry where He pulls back the layers and filters of His disciples' perception of  Himself. But by doing so, He leads them to a clearer understanding of who He is - and He does the same with us today.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Psalm 96 gives us a window into the nature of worship, in general, and the effect it has on our life. When we worship God, an activity of restoration, hope, healing, and perspective take place that affects us at the deepest level.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus says things that do not "fit" into people's categories, expectations, desires, or ideas; but in chapter 5, he does something that does "fit" according to people's sensibilities or timelines. Namely, He calls them to wait when they feel like they shouldn't have to and when it even feels ina...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Psalm 1 introduces the entire book of Psalms, all 150 chapters, around the idea of what it means to be "blessed." The psalmist shows us that when it comes to blessing, there are only two distinct paths of life, two distinct experiences, and two distinct destinies. There is no 'middle ground' to spiritually, an underlying principle that reso...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Jesus begins His public ministry by addressing 4 different faulty frameworks of the people of God. In order to rightly be seen for who He truly is, He begins to 'deconstruct' their frameworks that stand in the way of them seeing, believing, and experiencing the reality of His rule and kingdom.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Every incoming college student eventually comes across important "forks-in-the-road" moments, even within the first three weeks of stepping foot on campus. So, what do you do at the fork? How do you make the right decision? Who do you walk with? What if you fail? The acrostic "F.O.R.K." provides a couple of truths to hold on to and action-s...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Peter leaves us with a message to endure through the hardships of sin and hostility of the world. One of the ways Peter encourages us to do this is by assessing our Judge, his judgment, and his glory. When we live with this end in mind, our lives reorient with new love, rest in new peace, and strengthen with new resiliency. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Isaac Watts' famous hymn, "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" remains one of the most popular hymns of all time. Inspired by a heart-felt passion that worship ought to be heart-felt, Watts pens this hymn drawing from the deep well of Galatians 6. In 5 stanzas, he paints a picture of a cross that is, against all worldly paradigms, "wondrous.&...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In 1 Peter 3, Peter addresses an age-old issue: cultural push-back in the form of questioning, shaming, and mockery. He encourages the believers to endure, specifically by telling them what to expect, how to prepare, and where to hope. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | The Ironman's Men Ministry has been going through a series entitled, "Greatest Hits," an exegetical-exploration of the very hymns that stock the backs of church pews and choir lofts, across the world, across the years. The famous hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," derives from Lamentations 3, a deep cry of faith in God's love and...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Some of the most daunting questions in young adulthood are, "What am I supposed to do with my life?" and "What career should I choose?" and "Do I have a specific calling or purpose?" Drawing on the 4 'Greats' in Scripture, we can see God's purpose for everyone. Then, looking deeply at the 3 'As' in our uni...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | The book of Esther ends in a rather dramatic fashion, as the climactic reversal of the book in chapter 7 cascades into more reversals throughout the Empire. Altogether, we see God's promises and protections unfold in increasing measure, challenging us today, and painting a picture of our true Advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ.

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | To the modern ear, the book of Leviticus might sound far-fetched, distant, and even primitive. But underneath its many stipulations and legislatures and systems, there remains the linchpin of the entire Bible: namely, how to be right with God. In Leviticus, God shows us 'how' back then and also 'how' today. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Chapter 4 opens with high alert: chaos rips through the Persian Empire at the edict that the Jews will be terminated in only a matter of time. Mordecai grieves, processes, and pleas. Esther stresses, strategizes, and risks. In this story, we can see how to grieve, how to help those who do, and what to do in the midst of grief. 

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | In our modern day Christianity, the book of Esther typically finds itself packaged and advertised as a Bible Study for women, but it's a book that's just as relevant, applicable, and convicting for men. In chapter 1, we see the full import of man's depravity, the beginning of a kingdom's downfall, and the hiddenness of God's sovereignt...

Second Baptist Church - Houston, TX | Exodus 14 features the most climactic moment in the book: the parting of the Red Sea. In this account, God shows us how and why He's worthy of our trust as He works on our behalf.