First Baptist Church, Milton, LA

Ecclesiastes 9 - Joy in the Unknown

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. 

Ecclesiastes 8 - When the System is Flawed

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. 

Ecclesiastes 7:1-29 - The Beginning of Good

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. 

Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 - Money: Bad god, Good Gift

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. 

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 - Careful Worship

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 3:16-4:16 - Festivus

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.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 - Nothing But Time

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. 

Ecclesiastes 2:1-26 - All The Wrong Places

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. 

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 - What is Life?

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. 

Contentment - The Rare Jewel

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.