First Baptist Church, Milton, LA

A Trinitarian Salvation - 1 Peter 1:1-2

1 Peter 1:1-2 is probably labeled “Greeting” in your bible. This is not only the most theologically dense greeting of all the epistles - the New Testament letters, but it also ranks up there with the most theologically dense two verses in all the Bible. In these verses, we see what it means for Christians to be "elect exiles" and how each person of the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit - is at work to secure for you an eternal salvation. 

Peter: From Fisherman to Apostle

In 1 Peter 1:1, Peter identifies himself as the author of 1 Peter and as an apostle of Jesus Christ. In this sermon, we look at Peter's journey of faith from fisherman to apostle - from his call to follow Christ on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to his restoration on those same shores after he denied Christ the night before his crucifixion. In this sermon, we see that Peter's journey of faith was a lot like ours - full of ups and downs, victories and defeats, and courage and fear - and if Christ can use a man like Peter for his kingdom work, he can use people like us.  

Peter Walks on Water

Before we begin a new series on the book of 1 Peter, we're going to spend a week or two looking at the man behind the book - Peter the fisherman turned disciple. Today we’re in Matthew 14 verses 22 through 33. It is the story of Jesus walking on water. This is such a great passage of Scripture, and it serves as an illustration of the truth of Hebrews 12:2, that we run the race of the Christian faith by looking to Jesus, by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, especially in the midst of crazy circumstances. We hope you'll listen in and be encouraged in your own faith. 

The Minor Prophets: Malachi

Malachi’s ministry is several decades after Haggai and Zechariah, somewhere around 480-450BC. The temple has been rebuilt. God’s covenant presence is being restored to Jerusalem following the Babylonian exile. There is a functioning priesthood, but the people’s zeal for walking in faithfulness to God has waned. They have fallen back into some traditionalism and they’ve gotten lax with the commands of God. And he’s going to call them back to covenant faithfulness. In this sermon, we see what it looks like to walk in covenant faithfulness with God. 

The Minor Prophets: Zechariah

Zechariah is one of the most difficult of the Minor Prophets to read, interpret, and apply. It is full of prophetic language - there are visions, apocalypse, warnings of judgment, and an appearance by Satan. In spite of those things, Zechariah is the second most quoted prophet in the New Testament, and that's because it teaches us so much about the coming Messiah. Our hope in this message is that you understand Zechariah a little better, see its place in the story God is telling, and are encouraged in your efforts, and our efforts as a church, to advance Christ’s Kingdom. 

The Minor Prophets: Haggai

Haggai is a prophet to the returned exiles in Jerusalem. After starting off strong in the process of rebuilding the temple, they soon drifted off into misplaced priorities and faced discouragement from within themselves and from the people around them. God sends Haggai to call them out for their sin and encourage them in the kingdom work He has for them. The issues the people of Jerusalem were facing are common to us today. We would do well to listen to the prophet Haggai, just as the people did then. 

The Minor Prophets: Joel

The prophet Joel is best known for its locust plagues and its focus on the Day of the Lord. Joel uses this imagery to teach that God is a God is a God of great justice and great mercy. The question for us is whether or not we will receive justice or mercy from God. Joel gives us the answer, showing how we can receive God's mercy and how God can bring restoration to what our sin has destroyed. 

The Minor Prophets: Obadiah

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Its 21 verses fit on two pages in my Bible. But this little book is both a powerful warning against the deceitfulness of pride and a powerful message of hope for the people of God. We hope you'll listen in and be both convicted and encouraged by God's Word! 

Amazed By God - Greg Thomas

Listen in as Greg Thomas fills in for Pastor Matt this morning. Drawing from Genesis 1, John 1, and other scriptures, Greg exhorts us to be amazed by God's power of creation, authority over creation, and purpose in creation. 

The Minor Prophets: Habakkuk

If you’ve ever been confused, or maybe a little confounded or even frustrated, at what God seems to be doing, or seems to NOT be doing, if you’ve ever been in circumstances that you just couldn’t make sense of and couldn’t see how God might work them all out, if you’ve been praying for something for what seems like forever and God just doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it, then Habakkuk is the book for you. Listen in as we discover how "the righteous shall live by faith" in the midst of difficult circumstances.