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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The Transformed Life | Woman at the Well
Episode | January 22nd, 2023 | 41 mins
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We continue our sermon series called the Transformed Life where we’re looking at the lives of people from scripture and how their lives were changed after coming face-to-face with Jesus. We are studying John chapter four and the woman at the well. We learn that how we perceive Jesus will shape everything about us. Jesus fully sympathized with what this woman was going through, and he fully sympathizes with us too. In fact, Jesus desires to reach into the deepest depths of our souls so that he can heal us from the inside out, and the good news is that he saves people who no one else would normally think are worthy to be saved. Thank God that we have such a merciful and wonderful savior!
Have you found the life of dignity, meaning, and kingdom purpose that Jesus promises? Have you been saved? Do you want to know more about this compassionate and merciful Jesus? We’d love to answer any questions and take time to pray with you, so reach out today. You can always take the next step by visiting – burnthickory.com/next. -
The Transformed Life | John the Baptist’s Prison Doubt
Episode | January 15th, 2023 | 42 mins 39 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We continue our study of people who came face to face with Jesus in scripture with our focus this week on John the Baptist. Even though John knew that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, the one he had proclaimed, he faltered with doubt while in prison. His doubt shows us that serious doubt can creep into true faith and dealing with long term struggles can challenge even the most faithful of believers. We can find hope in our personal testimony of what God’s done and our future blessings. If you’re dealing with doubt, remind yourself that God loves you and His wisdom is far superior that ours, and know that you are not alone in your doubt.
As always, we’d love to take the time to answer any questions or take time to pray with you. Feel free to reach out today, and you can always take the next step by visiting – burnthickory.com/next -
The Transformed Life | Man Born Blind
Episode | January 8th, 2023 | 44 mins 34 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We begin the new year with a new sermon series where we look at the impact Jesus had on the lives of people who came face to face with Him. As we study scripture, we see in John chapter 9 the story of the man born blind. And we learn that God’s eternal purposes in our sufferings are always more important than our understanding of the causes of our sufferings. In other words, Jesus cares deeply for those suffering, and He has compassion, and His purposes are eternal. We may not be able to understand why we are suffering, but we know the one who can make us whole again. We also learn about the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees and religious people and Jesus gives us a stern warning about being spiritually blind to Him. Paul David Tripp puts it this way - “Spiritual blindness isn’t like physical blindness. When you’re physically blind, you know you’re blind, so you compensate for this significant physical deficit. But spiritually blind people are not only blind, but they are also blind to their own blindness. They think they see well, so the spiritually blind person walks around with the delusion that no one has a more accurate view of himself than he does”
Are you making the hurting a point of discussion? Have you given your suffering to Jesus? Do you believe that He knows you and has compassion for you? As always, we’d love to connect with you to pray for you or answer any questions, so reach out. You can always take the next step – burnthickory.com/next -
Christmas At Burnt Hickory | Live Worship December 25, 2022
Episode | December 25th, 2022 | 37 mins 55 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
Merry Christmas! We celebrate the birth of Jesus through worship and a short message of hope. The real reason for Christmas began some 2000 years ago in a most peculiar and unimportant place, but impacted the entire world. The importance of this day is that Christ came to earth as an infant, to be Emmanuel, God with us.
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Peace is Worth the Wait | God With Us
Episode | December 18th, 2022 | 42 mins 9 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
As we draw the advent season to a close and move into celebrating Christmas Day, we look at Simeon and Anna in our final sermon in the series God With Us. We learn that it’s the Holy Spirit that give us clarity and insight into the things of God, and waiting is a key element of the Christian life. We have to remember that God sees us. He has not forgotten us. Out act of waiting doesn’t mean that we have done something wrong. We also see that God’s answers do not always match our limited expectations and timing.
In fact, Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it this way – “The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.”
As you learn to trust in God and his timing during life, it’s beneficial to be a part of a faith community that encourages you and reminds you constantly of God’s promises. We encourage you to join a church like Burnt Hickory, plant yourself, and be a part of God’s plan and purpose. You can find out more about discovering membership at Burnt Hickory here - https://www.burnthickory.com/next-steps/discover-membership/
As always, if you’ve got questions or want to take the next step in your faith journey, just reach out today – burnthickory.com/next -
Magnify The Lord | God With Us
Episode | December 11th, 2022 | 41 mins 10 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
In our sermon series God With Us, where we are looking at the story of the birth of Jesus and how it changed the lives of the people around him, we look to Mary. We learn that there’s a difference between clarifying questions about God’s plan and doubting God. God is not like man, and he always fulfills his promises, and this was a serious task for Mary to trust God and believe in his plan. We also learn that God’s love knows all of us from the beginning and it extends his mercy to us. The real question is, have you truly seen yourself as a sinner in need of the mercy of God? Is your faith at a point to where nothing else matters more than answering the call of God, even if there are consequences? Learn more about the consequences Mary faced as she placed her faith in God, and how if we have the same approach to listening to God it will change our life.
If you’ve got questions or need someone to pray with, then reach out today. You can always take the next step in your faith journey by visiting Burnthickory.com/next -
The Wise Still Seek & Worship Him
Episode | December 4th, 2022 | 37 mins 49 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We reflect on the wise men as they sought and worshiped Jesus this week as we continue our sermon series God With Us. We learn that despite the distance, discomfort, and danger, the wise men worshiped Jesus at his birth. What led them to him was the Holy Spirit, the scriptures, and a star God placed in the heavens. Even today, the wisest thing you can ever do is to drop what you’re doing and seek and worship Jesus. Take time to assess how you are responding to Jesus, and may God fill your heart with overwhelming Joy.
What does worship mean to you? How are you responding to Jesus? We’d love to connect with you if you’ve got questions or want to pray. You can take the next step – burnthickory.com/next. -
Joseph’s Underrated Faith | God With Us
Episode | November 27th, 2022 | 38 mins 46 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
It’s the beginning of Advent, a time to celebrate God with us through the birth of Jesus as we look towards Christmas. Pastor Matt will walk through scripture in this sermon series not only looking at the miraculous birth, but also how it affected those around Jesus and how it should affect us as believers today. We begin by looking at Joseph’s faith and how it was tested in his response from the angel of the Lord telling him to marry Mary as planned. We learn that sometimes, it’s God who shatters our dreams to give us better ones. We often don’t see or perceive the fact that God is working, and we need to trust in Him and His plan. We also learn that how we respond to God in a time of crisis reveals a lot about our walk with Him.
What does it look like to completely trust in God’s plan for you? What does absolute obedience look like? It’s time to embrace worldly inconvenience for the sake of eternal blessings. Do you have questions about Jesus? Do you want someone to pray with? Do you need to take the next step in your faith journey? We’d love to connect with you – burnthickory.com/next -
Persistent Prayer | Wisdom From The Master
Episode | November 20th, 2022 | 46 mins 21 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
As a Christian, you’ve probably asked the question: how much good does prayer do? Today, as we conclude the Wisdom From The Master sermon series, we are going to explore what it means to pray persistently. We study in Luke as Jesus teaches us about knocking on the door of a friend and of the widow who kept asking for justice. When we pray desperately, boldly, persistently, and trustingly, we will see our prayers answered. And even when God is not answering, we must keep praying. We also learn that many times God answers our prayers by giving us what we would have asked for if we knew what He knows.
What is it that you need to put back into your prayer life that you have just stopped praying? Are you frustrated at the ineffectiveness of your prayer life currently? What do you need to change? As always, we’d love to connect with you and take time to pray with you. You can reach out and take the next step – burnthickory.com/next -
Who is My Neighbor? | Wisdom From The Master
Episode | November 13th, 2022 | 38 mins 9 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We look at one of the most well-known parables Jesus taught this week as we study wisdom from the master, the parable of the Good Samaritan. When we study Luke chapter 10, we see that an expert in the law, or a religious person, was trying to trip up Jesus and capture him in a battle of wits. What we see is the Maker of the Universe turning this simple question of “who is my neighbor” into a wonderful lesson for us as Christians. Many of the largest problems in our lives as believers are not gross iniquities, but gross interferences. We choose not to do anything for those in need. We see in this story that two religious people encounter the poor man on the road, but only the Samaritan stopped, saw him, and took action for him. We should see our world through the loving eyes of Jesus and take action for the vulnerable no matter what their circumstances are.
What ways are you seeing or not seeing people around you through the loving eyes of Jesus? How can you take an action for someone vulnerable today? If you have questions or want to get connected and put your faith in action, then take the next step or reach out – burnthickory.com/next. -
Ministering Where God Has Put You | Missions Sunday
Episode | November 6th, 2022 | 29 mins 28 secs
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
This week during Missions Sunday, we get to hear from our mission partner Oleg as he shares what’s ben happening in Ukraine during the war. Even though trauma is everywhere around, and the future is so uncertain, people are sharing the gospel and ministering to emotional and physical needs. Learn about how Radooga Ministries is caring for children in the midst of war and turmoil.
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Ready Living | Wisdom From The Master
Episode | October 30th, 2022 | 42 mins
baptist, bible, church, preaching, scripture, sermon
We can only live wisely in the present through clear thinking about the future. This principle guides us through continuing our study through the book of Luke in our sermon series called Wisdom From The Master. This week we dive into Luke chapter 12 as we learn from Jesus what it means to be ready for his return. We need to keep our lamp burning and live as a faithful and active steward as we wait and watch. We also see what it means to not be faithful in stewarding what God has given us. Pastor Matt gives us 3 practical tools for ready living: to be aware of your calling, to be confident in Jesus’ return, and to be faithful to your charge. Learn about how you can be ready living and be found a faithful steward as Jesus has commanded us.
As always, if you’ve got questions, we’d love to answer them and take time to pray with you. Take the next step in your faith journey today by reaching out – burnthickory.com/next.