First Baptist Church, Milton, LA

Greg Thomas, one of our elders at FBC Milton, begins our new series where we seek to lay out the doctrinal foundations for our church. In this first sermon, we look at the doctrine of Scripture. In particular, Greg shows how the Scriptures are authoritative, inerrant, reliable, infallible, and sufficient. 

Embedded within the Biblical accounts of Jesus's death and resurrection are three portraits of the Gospel message - three stories of three different people that show us three different aspects of the Gospel. These portraits help us see what Christ did for us and how we can respond to His work in faith. 

In this last sermon on the book of Ecclesiastes, we see the big, final answer the question, "What is good for man in this vain life?" We’ll answer that from the text with what is good, what is better, and what is best.

The major theme of Ecclesiastes 10 is that there are two ways of life - the way of the wise and the way of the fool. And really that’s Old Testament language for the way of righteousness and the way of sinfulness. In this sermon, Pastor Matt shows us from Ecclesiastes and other passages that it is only by faith in Christ that we can follow Him on the path of wisdom. 

Ecclesiastes 9 is about as pessimistic as the Preacher gets, if you can imagine that, but also includes the sixth and strongest of the calls to joy in the book. How do we do good and live a God-glorifying life when life is so full of big unknowns? By finding joy in all that we do know - in all that God has given us to enjoy for His glory. 

How do we continue doing good and pursuing righteousness when the systems of the world suppress righteousness and encourage evil? In this sermon from Ecclesiastes 8, Pastor Matt shows how knowing Christ and His Word helps believers navigate the complexities of living in a sinful world with wisdom and joy. 

What is good for man in this short life? That's the big question of the first half of Ecclesiastes (chapters 1-6). In Ecclesiastes 7, the Preacher begins to answer that question by considering how to have a good life in light of suffering/hardships and the fact that humans are sinners. 

Money is a good gift from God that can be enjoyed to His glory, but it is also incredibly dangerous and is itself a terrible god.  

Listen in as we see from Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 the various ways  that money makes a bad god, how the Gospel frees us up from the love of money, and how we can use and enjoy our money to the glory of God. 

In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, the Preacher addresses worship and gives us instructions for how we ought to worship God in light of His transcendence. In this sermon, we look at God's transcendence and immanence and then see how that effects how we come into worship and what we say during worship. 

Ecclesiastes 3:16 through 4:16 is, in some sense, the Preacher’s Festivus, his airing of grievances. He’s got a lot of problems, 5 in particular, and we’re gonna hear about it. These are all real problems - injustice and oppression, death, work, loneliness, and government. But when you apply biblical wisdom and God’s commands to all of these areas, you get a really compelling vision of what life ought to be like.

In Ecclesiastes 3, the Preacher (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12) considers meaning and purpose in life alongside the reality of time. Time itself is part of God’s good creation and He, even though He stands outside of time, is actively working within time to carry out His good purposes on time. So, as Christ-followers and sons of God, how we think about time and use our time matters. So let’s think about time with Ecclesiastes' Preacher. 

The Preacher's quest for meaning in life begins in Ecclesiastes 2. He begins with hedonism before moving on to materialism. Along the way, he makes some depressing observations about life and death. Using a running illustration of losing his new remote control, Pastor Matt shows us how relatable Solomon's search for meaning really is and how ultimate meaning and purpose is found in doing all things for the glory of God. 

Sermon 1 in a new series through Ecclesiastes. In this sermon, Pastor Matt introduces the book and then walks through Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 and shows how the search for meaning and purpose in this life is ultimately pointless apart from Christ. 

On New Year's Eve 2023, we had the chance to hear from one of our elders, Gary Barnes. Gary's sermon, "Contentment - The Rare Jewel," comes from 1 Timothy 6:6-10 and Philippians 4:11-12. 

During our special Christmas Eve service, Pastor Matt delivered a much shorter than usual message. This message, from John 1:14, shows the importance of Christ's incarnation - His coming in the flesh - to the Gospel message itself. We hope you'll listen in and be encouraged to "repent and believe in the gospel." 

Sermon 3 in our Advent series for 2023, "Behold This Child." Luke 2:22-38, Joseph and Mary bring the infant Jesus to the temple, where they encounter Simeon and Anna, two people who were waiting for the redemption of Israel. These verses show us that Christ came to fulfill every requirement of the Old Covenant, every prophecy made about Him, and all the hopes and longings of His people.

Sermon 1 in our Advent series for 2023, "Behold This Child." In this sermon, we look at Gabriel's visitation of both Zechariah and Mary. Our plan for such a large portion of Scripture is to read a little bit and talk, pointing some things out along the way. Then we close with 6 observations from the text, 6 applications regarding what we ought to believe and how we ought to live.