Meet our Pastor

Matthew Wigton has been the pastor of Rockport Baptist Church since 2009. He holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University and an M.Div from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.  He’s married to Megan and they have three young children, Alistair, Ainsley and Addison. Matt served as an elected member of the Rockport Housing Authority from 2013-2018. He is the 2023-2024 President of the Rotary Club of Rockport and the 2023-2024 Moderator of the Adoniram Judson Association of the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts. He has a passion for church revitalization in the local and historical churches of New England. You can find out more about Matt here: Pastor’s Ordination Paper

 

Sermon Schedule – December 2023

     Matt’s Suggested Reading List

Overall Must Reads
The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends on It by OS Guiness
Here I stand by Roland Banton
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll
Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan
The Reason for God by Tim Keller
Confessions by Saint Augustine                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Tish Harrison Warren                                                                                                                 Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund          

Christian Discipleship                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren

Biography
To the Golden Shore by Courtney Addison
Here I stand by Roland Banton
John Adams by David McCullough

Culture
The Twilight of Atheism: the Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World by Alister Mcgrath
Believing in the Future: Toward a Missiology of Western Culture by David J Bosch
The Courage to be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World by David Wells
The Road to Character by David Brooks                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby                                                                         Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley

Philosophy
Warranted Christian Belief by Alvin Plantinga
Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by James Porter Moreland
Life’s Ultimate Questions by Ronald H. Nash

Sanctification
When Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
How People Change by Timothy S. Lane and Paul D. Tripp

Theology
Knowing God by J. I. Parker
What is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen
How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D. A. Carson
Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavink

 Worldview
Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview by Albert M Wolters
Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Study Guide Edition) by Nancy R. Pearcey
Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World by J. Mark Bertrand

 Science
The Science of God: An Introduction to Scientific Theology by Alistar E. McGrath
Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach by Vern Sheridan Poythress
The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy by Nancy Pearcey, Charles Thaxton, and Marvin Olasky
The Language of God by Francis Collins

Gospel

What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
God is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself by John Piper
Salvation Belongs to Our God: Celebrating the Bible’s Central Story by Christopher J. H. Wright
God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller

General Apologetics
Faith and Reason by Dr. Ronald H. Nash
Faith Has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity by Kenneth D. Boa
Unshakable Foundations: Contemporary Answers to Crucial Questions about the Christian Faith by Norman L. Geisler
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Historical Apologetics
Is the New Testament Reliable? by Paul Barnett
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig L. Blomberg
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony by Richard Bauckham
Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus by Mr. Michael J. Wilkins and J.P. Moreland
On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K. A. Kitchen
The Parabolic Teaching of Christ by A.B. Bruce, D.D.

Marriage and Family
Soulmates by David Horn
The Faithful Parent by Martha Peace and Stuart W. Scott
Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family Paul David Tripp                                                                                                               The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home by Russell D. Moore