Houston's First Baptist Church

Pastor Gregg Matte continues his “Words With Friends” series in 2 Peter by taking a closer look at the concept of growth. Growth is something God desires for all of us. Growth can heal us and help us to overcome, making us stronger, but growth can be painful. We have to face our insecurities and insufficiencies in order to gro w. It is through our failures that God may indeed grow us the most, bec...

Continuing with his “Words With Friends” series, Paster Gregg Matte examines the concept of power in 1 Corinthians. God's power is unlimited and unmatched. Our power should never rest upon ourselves, but rather on the power of God. His power trumps man's wisdom and gives us the ability to have victory over temptation, endurance in trials and experience life with impact.

David Self continues the “Words With Friends” series by examining the concept of kindness from Ruth 2. Difficult circumstances will either make us bitter or better. Our kindness should be continual, not situational. The kindness embodied within the story of Ruth demonstrated by its various characters serves as a real example for how we are called to show this same kindness today.

Pastor Gregg Matte begins his “Words With Friends” series by taking a closer look at the concept of holiness from 1 Peter. Holiness means to be set apart and special, and it is one of the essential attributes of God's character. We are called to be holy as He is holy. Our helplessness precedes our holiness at the cross. Three applications to our walking in holiness are: living as obedient children...

Peter Williams shares the story of Thomas from John 20 for the purpose of asking a powerful question: “Who are we seeking?”. Doubt is a common feeling we have all experienced, especially when we are seeking to find reassurance of whether or not to believe in something. The key to knowing who we are seeking is found in the value of knowing scripture. Know your evidence, but not at the sake of over-...

Pastor Gregg Matte shares from Acts 28 that Jesus changes everything! He reflects on the universal Lordship of Jesus Christ and how He wants to be the King of our hearts. Christ rescued us personally, not just historically. He loves us and is the only One who can clean and change our hearts. Change comes from the King--neither success, nor religion nor good works can save us—only Jesus.

Pastor Gregg Matte challenges believers from Acts 28 to reflect upon the goodness of God in our lives as we press on to the destinations He has in store for each of us. Along this journey, we will need to cultivate close friendships to help strengthen us. As we grow in Christ, we need to see that God's plans are bigger than we realize, and we are called to live above circumstances and remember God...

Pastor Gregg Matte discusses from Acts 27 how God uses the unexpected storms and “shipwrecks” in our lives to perfect us. Storms turn up the volume on our headphones and microphones, causing us to change who and what we listen to. It is during these difficult times we can choose to “Anchor” ourselves in an active faith, a secure hope in Christ, good support (family & friends) and a sifted/prio...

Pastor Gregg Matte shares from Acts the three characteristics of a strong heart in the Lord. A strong heart cherishes the resurrection and repentance, declares the gospel to everyone, and can stand up in the face of ridicule. God will strengthen our hearts in order to stand against the problems we cannot see how to overcome on our own.

Pastor Gregg Matte shares from Acts how we can boldly share Jesus with others through addressing the concepts of righteousness, self-control and judgment. Our righteousness must come from Christ. It is a gift and cannot be attained by our own strength. Self-control is living with "intentionality" rather than impulsively. And lastly, judgment--God is the One who will right every wrong.

Pastor Ben Stuart delivers a powerful message from 1 John on the love of God. We know we are loved when our lives are marked by fearlessness and freedom. God's love for us is evidenced by three things: He initiates, He sacrifices, and He is always present with us. When we know we are loved, we are not anxious for anything but feel complete freedom to share that same love with others!

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from Acts 20: 17-38 and asks us: What would be your last words to someone? The backdrop of a great legacy is a great life. Notoriety and Fame do not equal impact and legacy. A great life consists of Humility, Courage, and Surrender to Jesus.

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from Acts 19 that God’s path is often point A to point B via point R, because God is not interested in efficiency as much as He is interested in our Faithfulness. Life always turns out different than you think it will. The Christian life is no exception and will encounter opposition, but we must trust that God knows what He is doing even when we don’t!

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from Acts 19 that Evil and Satan are real and active. As Christians in the battle of good vs. evil, we don’t fight FOR victory –We fight FROM victory, the victory of Jesus on the Cross.

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from Acts 19 on some difficult passages and shares how to dive into scripture to understand it more clearly.

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from Acts 17 that you can’t intimidate God. If you look at the culture today, you may be tempted to think God abandoned us. Have faith, we serve a BIG God and He is at work all around us. Be Bold, Brave and Devoted in your faith and watch for God to do great things….more than we could imagine!

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from 2 Corinthians 9. We are making a difference in the world through Mission 1:8 at Houston’s First. Our generosity should create gratitude for what we have not guilt. God doesn’t need our money but we need his Joy and generosity usher that in. Jesus is the ultimate gift of generosity as He gave himself completely for us on the Cross!

Pastor Gregg Matte teaches from 2 Corinthians 9 with a call out for spiritual revival in our nation. Too many times Believers are not investing in prayer, time, ability, and finances—and we miss out on what God is doing all around us. It is preparation that creates generosity. When God is the priority of our heart, we are cheerful givers of our time, prayers, business skills, resources….and our na...

Pastor Gregg Matte preaches from 2 Corinthians 8 and reminds us Mission 1:8 is about making a difference. Jesus causes a perspective change in our heart and from that our priorities and our practices change. Being a part of Mission 1:8 is something God wants FOR us, not FROM us. It is not about what we don’t have…but what are we doing with what we do have.

Pastor Gregg Matte starts the year in Jeremiah 2:11 with 4 principles that to live by. These principles keep Jesus first, encourage fresh growth in our Christian lives, and stem from a heart surrendered to Christ. No matter what happens in 2014, if we choose the Living Water of Jesus Christ we will be stronger at the end of the year.