Matt Petty
Co-Host of Burnt Hickory | Sermons
Matt Petty has been leading church ministries since 1997 and has seen thousands of students and adults give their lives to Jesus and begin to serve God. Matt joined the Pastoral team of Burnt Hickory in July of 2001 as the Student Pastor.
For 18 years Matt has given leadership to the RADIATE students and staff team that walks with middle school, high school, and college-aged students here at Burnt Hickory. Matt has been a key leader in student ministry here in this community as well as in the state of Georgia and nation. His love of the next generation has been on display consistently within and outside the walls of Burnt Hickory.
Matt is a native of Cobb county, and one of his desires as Senior Pastor is to see all people of his home in West Cobb and Paulding County know Jesus, serve Jesus, and for the church to be a place of love and healing that Burnt Hickory has been since its beginning.
Matt is married to his college love, Melissa, and has two boys Blake and Dalton. If not doing ministry at BHBC, you can usually find the Petty family on a sports field somewhere in Georgia or enjoying all things outdoors. Matt has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of West Georgia in Business Finance, and Masters from Liberty University in Theology.
Matt Petty has hosted 181 Episodes.
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Christmas At Burnt Hickory | God’s Absolute Love
Episode | December 10th, 2023 | 43 mins 58 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
In our sermon series around the themes of Advent leading up to Christmas, we explore absolute love this week. God is always faithful and always fulfills His promises. God’s love deeply knows all of each of us, from the beginning to the end, and He constantly provides His life-giving power to us. Because of His love, He richly extends His eternal mercy to us and will reward a humble heart. Because He fulfills every promise, we can trust Him with everything in life. Just like Mary did in scripture when she was told about the birth of her son being the Messiah, we should glorify the lord and rejoice in our soul because of God’s saving love.
Is your faith at a point to where nothing matters more than answering the call of God? Have you set out to glorify yourself or is your soul magnifying the Lord and His saving love? Are you truly believing and placing your faith in the promises of God? If you’ve got questions or need prayer, we’d love to connect with you, answer any questions you have, and take time to pray with you. Just reach out today! And if you want to take the next step in your faith journey, visit burnthickory.com/next. -
Christmas At Burnt Hickory | True Hope
Episode | December 3rd, 2023 | 39 mins 1 sec
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We begin the Christmas season with a sermon series diving into the aspects of the advent – hope, joy, love, and peace. This week as we look at the source of our true hope, we see that it comes from a God who has come to earth to be among us. Hope is the expectation of future blessings and the confidence that the best is yet to come. As Christ followers, we can have true hope because Jesus removes our past, reshapes our present, and refocuses our future. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come to His people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant Daved, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. That’s what brings us hope this Christmas – Jesus.
If you’ve got questions about Jesus or want to know more about placing your hope in the finished work of Christ as you call Him savior, then reach out today. We would love to take the time to answer any questions you’ve got and pray with you. As always, you can take the next step by visiting burnthickory.com/next -
Holy Spirit Led Kingdom Living
Episode | November 19th, 2023 | 32 mins 55 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
God’s presence is no longer to be celebrated for falling on a place, because it has now fallen onto and into His people. We see in Acts what it truly means to be Spirit led as we trust and submit to God’s timing. As we study scripture, we learn that following God means standing assured in God’s promises and not in our own strength. The power of the Holy Spirit comes in the form of us as Christ followers walking in the confidence that we have in Him and His finished work in our salvation.
If you’ve got questions about who Jesus is, or want to talk more about speaking in tongues, then reach out today. We’d love to connect with you and answer any questions you’ve got as well as take time to pray with you. You can also take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Standing for the Vulnerable
Episode | November 12th, 2023 | 40 mins 2 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We celebrate vulnerable children’s day this Sunday by learning about a new mission partnership and diving into scripture. We learn that God has a special place in His heart for kids, especially vulnerable kids. Rescuing hurting kids is not just a charity for us to support, it’s a rescue mission for all the church. Our compassion is what leads us to action, and because we are no longer slaves, we are adopted sons and daughters, we should be rescuing the hurting and vulnerable around us.
Our prayer today is for God to point out the places in our personal purity that we need to offer up to Him, to give us a personal sense of responsibility to serve and show us how we are to be used in the process of rescuing a child. We ask that God push our church to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and rise up on behalf of the fatherless. Join us in the mission of rescuing vulnerable children by visiting our site, or take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Celebrate Baptism
Episode | October 29th, 2023 | 32 mins 3 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
Today, we celebrate believers’ baptism. We see from scripture that baptism doesn’t save us, its purely a symbol of the change that has already happened in the heart of a believer. An outward public declaration that through Jesus’ saving work, you know have spiritual life as His follower. But even though it’s a symbol, we cannot be indifferent to baptism, we should follow Jesus in this proclamation. We proclaim that we are taking hold of salvation by letting go of our former life. We realize that we are no longer slaves to sin but are free in Jesus. And we are telling the world that our faith in Jesus has changed us.
We’d love to answer any questions you’ve got about Jesus and believers’ baptism, so reach out today. You can always take the next step and sign up to partake in believers’ baptism by visiting burnthickory.com/baptism. -
Freedom in Christ | One Another’s Burdens
Episode | October 15th, 2023 | 41 mins 5 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We conclude our sermon series throughout Galatians called Freedom in Christ by studying chapter 6. We learn that to experience Holy Spirit power, we must live lives constantly pointing to the gospel, and when we try to seek glory from anything but the gift of the gospel, we will stay empty. Walking in the spirit requires healthy and loving responsibilities and relationships within the body of Christ. Through studying the scripture, we see that church, specifically here, Burnt Hickory is not just an event to attend, it’s a family to belong to, because as Christ followers, we do not have to carry our burdens alone. The ministry of burden bearing is for all believers.
Do you seek glory from anything other than the gift of the gospel? Are you bearing the burdens of your fellow believers? Do you have a church to belong to that helps you bear those burdens and build relationships? We’d love to answer any questions you’ve got and take time to pray with you, so reach out today! As always, you can take the next step by visiting burnthikcory.com/next. -
Freedom in Christ | Holy Spirit Fruit
Episode | October 8th, 2023 | 43 mins 54 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
As we continue our sermon series through Galatians, we look to chapter five this week for our Freedom in Christ. We learn that God’s desire is for our heart to be so in love with Him, that the commands to love, experience, and submit to God feel like freedom because it is who we truly are and what we joyfully desire. You cannot simply experience the gospel, justification, adoption, and the infusion of the Holy Spirit inro your soul and not be a free person that overflows with God’s love. As we walk through the fruits of the Spirit, we see that it’s only by first walking in the Spirit that we avoid producing the fruits of the flesh, and true spiritual fruit is produced through deep spiritual roots.
Do you have and experience freedom in Christ? Are you walking in the fruits of the Spirit and not of flesh? Have you encountered the love of God and been set free? If you’ve got questions or want to know more about Jesus, then reach out today. We would love to connect with you, answer any questions you have, and take time to pray with you. As always, you can take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Freedom in Christ | Just In Time Adoption
Episode | October 1st, 2023 | 41 mins 26 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We dive into Galatians Chapter 3 in today’s sermon and discover that salvation is not just a change of attitude or thinking, it’s a literal transformation of our core identity, our desires, our purpose, and our future. Paul is reiterating to the church of Galatia that our justification makes us right before God the Judge, but the gift of adoption into God’s family shows us that we are deeply and eternally love by God the Father. We know that we are adopted as sons and daughters because of our belief in Jesus and His finished work on the cross for our redemption, that’s what gives us the position in the family of God. And because God the Father sent His Son to the cross and gave us His Spirit, we might have the privileges of sonship in that family.
Has God redeemed you and filled you with His Spirit? Are you a child of God who can approach Him in complete intimacy? Are you an heir who is guaranteed blessings from God? If not, we’d love to talk to you about Jesus, answer any questions you’ve got, and take the time to share the gospel with you. You can always take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Freedom in Christ | Oh Confused Galatians!
Episode | September 24th, 2023 | 33 mins 52 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
As we continue our study through the book of Galatians, we learn that as we grow in Christ, it’s through the same way we began our walk, by focusing on the finished work of Christ. If you first received the Holy Spirit by faith, then why would you think that you grow in the Holy Spirit any other way? As we continually renew our faith in the finished work of Jesus, the power and clarity of the Holy Spirit is continually released in us. Our key direction and focus of life are laid out through God’s law, but the law does not have the power to propel us forward without the Holy Spirit. The law shows us how far we are from God, but Jesus shows us how close we can now and forever be to Him.
Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? Do you believe in His finished work on the cross on your behalf? Is the Holy Spirit leading you forward in your faith? If you’ve got questions, we’d love to connect with you, pray with you, and take time to answer them. Reach out today! You can always take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Freedom in Christ | Live Like You’re Alive
Episode | September 17th, 2023 | 43 mins 27 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
The gospel, the good news of Jesus, is not just the ticket that gets you into God’s kingdom. The gospel is the fuel, the power, and the map that enables you to live the Christian life out. As we continue through the book of Galatians in the bible, we learn that we are justified through our faith in Jesus, which means that God’s grace is given freely to us to forgive us, pardon us, and make us right before Him. If you are a Christian, you have been made eternally alive through Jesus through your faith in what He has done. Justification is a universal need of all mankind, and we rejoice that God has made a way for us as sinners to be forgiven and brough into right standing considering His holiness.
Have you been forgiven and made alive in Jesus? Do you care enough about the gospel to defend it? How are you living out your justification? If you’ve got questions, we’d love to connect with you and take the time to answer those questions, pray with you, and celebrate your next step in your faith journey. Reach out today or take the next step here – burnthickory.com/next. -
Freedom in Christ | The Life-giving True Gospel
Episode | September 10th, 2023 | 42 mins
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We begin our new sermon series through the chapter of Galatians where we explore the tension of the law and freedom in Christ. Today, we define what the gospel means. It’s the good news that Jesus, the perfect Son of God; died for our sins, rose again, conquered sin, and now gives eternal life to those who believe, repent, and trust in Him as their Savior and Lord. Some truths we discover about the gospel is that it’s founded on the grace of God and secured by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It’s unchangeable by anyone or anything at any time, and the gospel is the only way to have an eternally meaningful life. The opposition to the good news of the gospel is driven by Satan and his kingdom, but when we put our faith in what Jesus did on behalf of us through dying for our sins, we can truly celebrate the good news.
Have you experienced the gospel? Have you believed, trusted, and repented? Do you need to accept Jesus today? We’d love to connect with you, answer any questions you’ve got, and take time to pray with you. We’d love to know about your salvation story and if you’ve decided to trust Jesus as Lord. Feel free to reach out. You can always take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next. -
Fallen but not Finished
Episode | September 3rd, 2023 | 44 mins 30 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We finish our sermon series called God’s Not Done With You by studying arguably the best comeback story in the bible, David. Davis was blessed by God in so many ways, but he was isolated and in a place to be tempted. The truth is everyone sins. It’s our response after the sin that makes the difference. Whether you cover it up, hide it, move on, or try to make up for our sin, God loves us, even in our sin. When we approach God with a humble and repentant heart, He will not reject us. Sin will never satisfy us and always leaves us empty, but repentance aligns us back to God’s loving heart.
How are you dealing with sin in your life? Have you trusted Jesus to save you and received the forgiveness of God? Do you have questions about what to do with guilt? Then reach out today, we’d love to answer any questions you’ve got, take time to pray with you, and help you discover a loving and forgiving God who wants to save you. You can also take the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next.