First Baptist Church Longview

What does it mean to carry guilt as though it somehow makes you more acceptable to God? Reflecting on Luke 22 and the Last Supper, Pastor Collin traces how Jesus used the Passover meal to reveal the full meaning of the cross. Jesus is the true Lamb of God — His body and blood accomplishing what centuries of sacrifice only foreshadowed: salvation from judgment, freedom from sin's mastery, and the b...

What does the cross of Jesus Christ actually mean — and why does it matter more than anything else demanding your attention today? Walking through Romans 3:21–26, Pastor Collin explains how every human being shares the same core problem: sin that cuts us off from the glory of God and leaves us deserving judgment. The breathtaking answer is that God, in an act of both perfect justice and staggering...

Why would anyone make an instrument of torture the central symbol of their faith? Drawing from Mark 15 along with Deuteronomy, Galatians, and Romans, Pastor Collin opens the series "The Wonderful Cross" by focusing on not just the fact of Jesus’ death, but the significance of how He died. The cross was the only place where Jesus could bear humanity's deepest shame and absorb the full curse of the...

Where do you draw the line on who deserves your love? Closing a series in 1 Corinthians 13, Pastor Collin focuses on Paul’s description of love that always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, and never fails, alongside Jesus’ call in Luke 6 to love even enemies. The result is a clear picture: it is never a mistake to imitate the love of Jesus Christ without limits or exceptions. Ask yourself what...

What if the confusion, division, and deception you see in the world — and in your own heart — isn't random? Through 1 Corinthians 13 and John 8, Pastor Collin shows how deception, not force, is the primary weapon used to distort truth and keep people in bondage. Love and truth cannot be separated because genuine love only grows when rooted in truth. Examine what you're taking in, bring hidden thin...

Is there someone in your life whose debt you're still quietly keeping track of? Looking at 1 Corinthians 13 and Ephesians 4, Pastor Collin reveals how unresolved anger creates destructive footholds in both relationships and the heart. Love shaped by the gospel does not keep a record — it cancels it completely, just as God has done through the cross. If forgiveness feels impossible, Pastor Bullard...

Are you exhausted from keeping score in your relationships, always calculating what you're owed? Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13 and Philippians 2, Pastor Collin shows how Jesus willingly laid down His rights, choosing to serve rather than be served. Love is not self-seeking; it moves in the direction of giving, not getting. This week, surrender your sense of entitlement, give generously and sacrifi...

Why is it so hard to say "I'm sorry" — or to let someone serve you without objecting? In 1 Corinthians 13 and John 13, Pastor Collin highlights how Jesus, fully aware of His authority, humbly washed the feet of His disciples, including His betrayer. That single act redefines greatness, showing that in His kingdom, the highest place belongs to those who choose the lowest. Embrace the grace that dis...

Why is it so hard to genuinely celebrate someone else's success? Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13 and James 3–4, Pastor Collin exposes envy as a hidden force that quietly poisons relationships and distorts our view of God’s design. At its core, envy is not primarily about others but reflects dissatisfaction with how God distributes His gifts. The invitation is to break the cycle of comparison by brin...

In a world full of bitterness, clamor, and slander, is genuine kindness even possible anymore? Looking at Ephesians 4:31–5:2, Pastor Collin contrasts the call to put away anger with the invitation to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving as God in Christ forgave us. Because God has already extended undeserved kindness through the cross, kindness remains available to His people in every situation....

What if the most powerful thing you could offer someone today wasn't advice, money, or even time — but patience? Centered in 1 Corinthians 13, Pastor Collin focuses on Paul's declaration that love is patient, connecting it with Paul’s testimony in 1 Timothy 1. True patience flows from recognizing how patient God has already been with us. Listeners are challenged to bear with others’ faults, listen...

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by the world's needs that you quietly stopped trying? Preaching from Galatians 6:9–10, Pastor Collin reminds us that we are not called to fix everything but to faithfully sow where God has placed us. God does not ask you to do for everyone; He asks you to do for *one* what you wish you could do for everyone. Don't grow weary — seize the opportunity in front of you...

Have you ever looked at your own family tree and wished you could leave a few names out of the Christmas card? Opening Matthew 1, Pastor Collin highlights why Jesus’ genealogy includes Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, women with complicated and painful stories. The result is a powerful reminder that Jesus didn’t just come *for* sinners, He came *from* sinners, fully entering the brokenness of hu...

Have you ever kept someone at arm's length, unsure of what closeness might cost you? Tracing the thread of God's presence from the tabernacle in Exodus to the cross in John 1:14, Pastor Collin shows how "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us," bringing grace and truth together without barrier. Jesus is not merely God explained, but God *with* us — the fulfillment of every promise th...

Have you ever longed for something more than information about God — something personal, something certain? Anchoring the Christmas story in Matthew 1 and John 14, Pastor Collin highlights Jesus’ claim to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, revealing that Christmas is about God Himself coming near. The breathtaking claim is not merely that God sent a message, but that He crossed the infinite dist...

What do your reactions to stress, fear, and uncertainty reveal about where your attention really rests? Drawing from Luke 1, Matthew 14, and 2 Timothy 1:7, Dr. Kip Salser compares the lives of Mary, Peter, and Timothy to show how focus shapes faith in the midst of life’s storms. When our focus shifts from circumstances to God, we experience steadiness, courage, and trust even when nothing around u...

In the wake of a divisive election, where fear and anxiety dominated the cultural conversation, what does it look like for the church to remain unshaken? Drawing from Hebrews 11, Pastor Collin points to Abraham, Sarah, and the great cloud of witnesses as examples of a faith anchored in God's promises even without seeing the full picture. The church's hope has never depended on political outcomes,...

Do you ever live as though this world is the best thing you'll ever experience — as if heaven is merely your backup plan? In Revelation 21–22, Pastor Collin draws attention to the vision of a renewed creation where God fully dwells with His people, bringing the story of Scripture to its completion. Heaven is better — not because earth is bad, but because everything beautiful here is only the fragr...

What if the very thing most people never think about is the thing that changes everything? Looking at Jesus’ own teachings about hell, Pastor Collin explores it as a place of justice, separation, and the sobering result of rejecting God. The unavoidable truth is that the cross itself points to the reality of judgment, because Jesus only dies in our place if there is something real to be saved from...

What happens the moment you close your eyes for the last time — and does how you live now actually matter then? Through Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, Pastor Collin opens a series on the afterlife by exploring what Scripture reveals about the state between death and resurrection. The soul does not sleep — believers are consciously present with Christ, awaiting the day when...

Have you ever wondered why some parts of the Bible seem to apply to your life while others feel distant or confusing? Anchoring the discussion in Hebrews 8 and Jeremiah’s promise of a new covenant, Pastor Collin explains how the Old and New Testaments fit together through the work of Jesus Christ. The old covenant was never meant to be permanent; Jesus fulfilled and replaced it, establishing a new...

What does your screen time actually say about what you love? Addressing how Christians navigate entertainment and media, Pastor Collin draws from Philippians 4:8, Romans 14, and 1 Corinthians 10 to offer three guiding principles about wisdom, conscience, and the goodness of creativity. He challenges listeners to consider a seven-day media fast as a first step toward inviting God to speak into this...

Have you ever felt the pull of creation — the mountains, the ocean, the stars — and yet sensed something is still not quite right? In Genesis 1–2, Pastor Collin highlights how these chapters were never meant to answer modern scientific curiosity but to reveal both a transcendent King and an intimate Creator who gives life to dust. The most important truth Genesis offers is not *how* God created, b...

What was God doing before the universe existed — and could a truly solitary God ever really be love? Moving from Exodus to John, Pastor Collin shows how God has always revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — one in essence, yet genuinely distinct persons in eternal relationship. The breathtaking truth is that love isn't something God decided to do; it's who God has always been within Hi...

Have you ever wished God would just hand you a roadmap for every major decision in your life? Addressing the tension between God's sovereign plan and our independent choices, Pastor Collin anchors the discussion in Romans 12:1–2. Discerning God's will is inseparable from surrendering to and being transformed by His love. Listeners are invited to stop searching for a blueprint and start painting —...