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.

In Ecclesiastes 11:1 through 12:8, we have the last words of the Preacher. He brings his quest for ultimate meaning and purpose in life to a close. The Preacher gives us three matters of the heart, matters of faith and thinking, that are universally true - they are true no matter where or when you live. If, with the Holy Spirit’s help (and you’re going to need it), these can be true of you, you’re going to live to a good, satisfying, God-honoring life.  

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.