First Baptist Church Longview

Have you ever experienced something so real and life-changing that you simply couldn't deny it, even if you couldn't fully explain it? Drawing from John 9 and the story of a man born blind, Pastor Collin shows how the formerly blind man's response — "I was blind, but now I see" — cuts through every demand for explanation with the undeniable power of personal experience. You don't have to understan...

Can science really disprove miracles — or has that assumption gone unexamined for too long? Focusing on the feeding of the five thousand recorded across all four Gospels, Pastor Collin draws attention to the interlocking details that place the event in a real time and place. The miracles of Jesus aren't random anomalies; they are the natural outworking of God entering history to redeem it. If we t...

Can you really trust the Bible, or is it just an ancient collection of myths with no historical grounding? Examining the detailed locations and named individuals throughout the Gospels, Pastor Collin presents evidence that points clearly to eyewitness testimony. The Gospels hold up under rigorous historical scrutiny precisely because they preserve real memories from real people. Yet Pastor Bullard...

What would it take to convince you that Christianity is actually reasonable? By drawing from Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15, Pastor Collin anchors the Christian faith in the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus rather than personal experience or emotion. The resurrection is not a later legend, wishful thinking, or mass hallucination; it is the one event that explains everything else. If...

What if, in the middle of your most pressing need, God isn't trying to fix something — He's trying to say something? Through moments in Mark 1, Mark 6, and Luke 5 where Jesus withdraws from the crowds to be alone with the Father, Pastor Collin highlights a consistent pattern of intentional solitude. Intimacy with God requires not just talking to Him, but carving out intentional space to hear Him....

Have you ever received a gift that made you wonder exactly how much you were worth to someone? Opening John 1, Pastor Collin shows that the Christmas story is ultimately about your value — that the eternal Word who existed before creation has been in constant, never-ending pursuit of you. The staggering truth is this: God didn't come merely to forgive you, but to adopt you as His own child, giving...

Where do you turn when your heart feels restless and the world seems full of conflict? Centered on Luke 2:8–20, Dr. Kip Salser highlights the angels’ announcement that Jesus’ coming brings peace—not just outwardly, but peace with God through salvation. True and lasting peace is found through faith in Christ, who reconciles us to God through His life, death, and resurrection. This invites us to rec...

What keeps us from seeking Jesus when He's only six miles away? Tracing the journey of the Magi in Matthew 2, Pastor Collin contrasts their wholehearted pursuit with the self-satisfied indifference of Jerusalem's religious leaders. The matchless name came as a nobody from a no-name place to save the nameless — and that humble Savior still knows your name. Lay down your pride, bend low before the K...

Have you ever waited so long for something that you began to wonder if it would ever come at all? In Luke 1, Pastor Collin connects the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth to the centuries-long anticipation for the Messiah, highlighting how God works according to His appointed time. Even when He seems silent, He is faithfully preparing something far greater than we can see. This invites us to trust t...

Why is it that the more money we have, the more we seem to worry about it? Exploring the tension between financial anxiety and genuine joy, Pastor Collin draws from 1 Timothy 6 and Jesus' teaching that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." The pathway to joy with money isn't found in accumulating more — it's found in contentment and generosity. Using the inspiring example of John Wesley, P...

What does it actually look like to live a truly blessed life? On a hillside in Matthew 5:1–12, Jesus describes a kind of life that runs completely counter to the world’s expectations, and Pastor Collin walks through the Beatitudes to bring that picture into focus. The path to joy, it turns out, runs straight through poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, mercy, and purity of heart — not through se...

What if the direction you've been chasing joy is exactly backwards? On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus kneels to wash His disciples’ feet and calls them to love one another in John 13 and 15 — a moment Pastor Collin uses to reveal that this sacrificial love is the very pathway to joy. The stunning truth Jesus reveals is that self-giving, sacrificial love isn't the cost of joy — it's the so...

What if the joy you've been chasing your whole life has been just out of reach — not because it's hidden, but because you've been looking in the wrong place? In opening a series on joy, Pastor Collin grounds it in a simple but profound truth from Romans 5:1: joy is a relational outcome, and the deepest joy available flows from peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ. True, lasting happiness i...

What do you do when you're stuck in the middle of a painful story, desperate for answers that never seem to come? As Job’s story reaches its conclusion and the promise of Romans 8:28 comes into focus, Pastor Collin closes the *Life after Loss* series by pointing to a God who works *all things* together for good for those who love Him. The God who governs the flight of hawks and the birth of mounta...

Why does God allow suffering that seems to have no explanation? Through the healing of the man born blind in John 9 and several key passages, Pastor Collin shows that while we may never receive an explanation for our losses, God is purposefully at work through them. Drawing from his own experience of losing his father, he unfolds five ways Scripture reveals suffering being made to serve God's rede...

Why would a loving God allow devastating loss — and why wouldn't He stop it if He could? Reflecting on Job chapter 2, Pastor Collin explores how suffering can come through Satan, evil people, and natural events, yet never falls outside the sovereign permission of a good and loving God. We are offered the choice to receive our loss as something that has passed through the hands of a wise, merciful,...

What do you do when loss arrives without warning and leaves you with nothing but questions? Beginning in the opening chapter of Job, Pastor Collin establishes that God remains sovereign even in the midst of devastating, undeserved suffering. The church is called to walk alongside those who grieve by showing up, offering presence over explanations, and refusing to minimize anyone's pain through com...

What if the struggles in your marriage are actually pointing you toward something far greater than you realize? By drawing from Ephesians 5:21–30 alongside the Song of Solomon and Genesis, Pastor Collin unpacks the profound mystery that marriage is designed to reflect Christ's self-giving love for the church. Marriage is not a hierarchy of authority but a union of one flesh — a mutual expression o...

Have you ever felt genuinely disappointed for forgetting your phone on the way to the bathroom? Looking at the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10, Pastor Collin highlights how easily good things can crowd out what matters most. Technology functions as a helpful tool when it draws us closer to God and the people we love, but it becomes a distraction the moment it replaces them. This week, ask your...

Is there a name — a brother, a parent, an old friend — that makes your palms sweat the moment you hear the word *reconciliation*? Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 5:14–20, Pastor Collin draws attention to Paul’s description of Christ’s love that compels us, leaving no other direction to go. The staggering truth is that God, the innocent party, initiated reconciliation with us while we were still guilty...

Why do we fight with the people we love most — and why does it keep happening no matter how hard we try? In James 4:1–3, Pastor Collin uncovers how the real source of conflict lies not in others but in the desires warring within our own hearts. The most disarming thing you can say in any argument is simply, "Part of the problem is I'm not getting what I want." Before the next conflict erupts, brin...

Have you ever wished you could take back words the moment they left your mouth? Looking closely at Ephesians 4:29, Pastor Collin explores the remarkable power words carry to either build up or tear down those around us. Words are not equally weighted — they carry permanence, they reflect the condition of our hearts, and they can shape a person's confidence and identity for decades. The challenge i...

What would it look like if your family was the *first* place you practiced your faith? Grounded in Colossians 3, Pastor Collin opens a new series on relationships by pointing to Paul’s call to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and forgiveness. The driving conviction is this: the cross of Jesus Christ is the most powerful relational dynamic in the world, and it should...

Have you ever wondered how much of history's most important work happens in the fine print, carried out by people whose names we never learn? By tracing the life of Barnabas in Acts 4, 9, and 11, Pastor Collin highlights how this often-overlooked figure invested in the early church, stood up for a mistrusted convert named Paul, and recognized the right person for the right moment. The church Jesus...

What if the seemingly ordinary, unseen moments of your life are shaping history in ways you'll never fully know? Drawing from the life of Susanna Wesley and the story of Joseph and Jacob, Pastor Collin highlights how quiet faithfulness echoes across generations. Our significance is not measured by what we accomplish, but by the lives we shape. Resolve to live faithfully in the hidden places, becau...