First Presbyterian Church (Dothan AL) Podcast

Pastor Rusty Milton "Praying in the Spirit" Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV Galatians 5:25 ESV Paul describes prayer as something that is woven into everything we do. We can have all the other armor of the Spirit, but without prayer, we are at a disadvantage. Prayer in the Spirit is a movement of the heart towards God. Paul, therefore, exhorts believers to pray always (Vs. 18) so that they are in...

Reverend Randy Pope "The Three Most Unwanted Gifts from God" 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Proverbs 30:7-8, James 1:2-4  When we go through difficult times, it reveals our view of God and his relationship with us. It's our presuppositions about God which lays the faulty groundwork for failing faith. To better understand our presuppositions, we must ascertain our view of man, God, and God&a...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 6:17 ESV "The Sword of the Spirit" Of all the graces given to us, there is none like the sword of the Spirit. What makes it different is that it is both a defensive and offensive weapon. To understand this, don't disconnect the Spirit from the Word of God. It is the Spirit that makes the word a sword in our lives. The word functions like a sword in the...

Pastor Caleb Galloway Matthew 28:16–20 ESV “What am I to do with my life?“ What is the central focus of your life? In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus sends out his disciples with the great commission, promising his power and presence. Two points are significant in Jesus‘ words. First, he calls us into “action” by challenging us to go and make disciples of other people. This is to be one of the central foc...

Adam Commeens "Two Foundations" Luke 6:46-49 ESV If a house's foundation is off, everything will be off. In the Sermon on the Mount, our propensity might be to see the teaching as too hard for us. We might be tempted to look for "spiritual shortcuts." But when real life starts to happen, if our lives are not built on Jesus, we will fall apart. What does it mean to build on...

Dr. Charles Lewis Ephesians 4:32  Genesis 50:19-20 We live in a day when a lot of turmoil is happening. There are wars, division, political conflict, and polarizing views. Statistics also show that great division exists within the church as well. In these times, we often say things that are hurtful. This division leads to ill-will, maliciousness, divisiveness, and negativity in general. The outcom...

The Helmet of Salvation Ephesians 6:17 Rusty Milton July 10, 2022 The whole armor of God allows the believer to “withstand evil” and “stand firm.” (6:13) The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, and the shield of faith are parts of the armor previously discussed that fit the believer for battle. The helmet of salvation is the next piece of armor the Bible...

Pastor Caleb Galloway Ephesians 6:5-8 ESV "Freedom from the Pit of People Pleasing" Why do you do what you do? Is it for the approval of others around you, or is it out of love for God? Your status in Christ liberates you from the crushing demands of people pleasing. In verses 5-6 of Ephesians 6, Paul challenges the church to submit to authority as you would Christ, and to pursue excelle...

Mike Palmer Psalm 73 ESV "Envy's Antidote" Worship of the Lord is the antidote for an envious heart.  In Psalm 73, the psalmist is seeing the wicked thrive, which is confusing to him. Aren't God's people the only ones who are supposed to experience shalom? He comes away with a rash conclusion: the wicked are always at ease, and obedience to God is in vain. There is a turni...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV "Our Daily Battle" We don't wrestle with flesh and blood (mankind), but with the demonic forces of darkness. In these verses, Paul's exhortation gives us insight into the nature of spiritual warfare: it is an ongoing, lifelong battle with evil spiritual beings whose territory is the fallen world. The ongoing nature of spiritual warfare...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 6:5-10 ESV Those with authority must lead carefully. God is concerned not only with what we do, but how we do it. Are your methods of leading Biblical? God is concerned with how we lead people, commanding us to do so without threats or coercion, but with the perspective of ourselves as subjects of our heavenly Master. Paul outlines three objectives to guide leaders: t...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 6:4-5 ESV "Children Honoring Parents" As parents, are we raising up our children in the way God desires us to? The greatest command parents have from God is to train and instruct our children so that their hearts are disciplined. Good questions to ask ourselves are: Is our home Christ-centered? Are we intentionally gospelizing our children?  If our answers t...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV "Children Honoring Parents" Why should you obey your parents? In Ephesians 6:1-2, we read that this is a command from God: obedience to parents should be immediate and complete, with honor, and toward both mother and father. This is accompanied by a promised blessing: i.e. "that it may go well with you." How should we understand this bles...

Pastor Caleb Galloway "Go Ask Your Father" Matthew 7:7-11 ESV What prevents you from regularly praying to your heavenly father? He loves you and desires you to draw near to Him in prayer. Nevertheless, we often feel distant from God and forget who he really is. He is our Father, in whose eyes we are justified and accepted as children. We have but to ask, seek, and knock in order to have...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Triumph of the Son of Man" Luke 24:1-9 ESV There were three thing necessary for salvation: Jesus had to be the Son of Man, he had to be crucified, and he had to rise on the third day. While not explicitly foretold in the Old Testament, the resurrection was specifically foreshadowed in both Genesis 22:4 and Hosea 6:1-2. It is because of Jesus' divine nature that...

Pastor Rusty Milton "On the Road to the Cross" Luke 19:11-27 ESV In Luke 19, Jesus tells the story of a shrewd and severe ruler who holds his servants accountable for what they are doing with his kingdom resources. This story should challenge us to ask what we are doing with the Gospel message. At first glance, the story is a shocking one, but the listeners of Jesus' time would have...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Husbands Sanctifying Their Wives with the Word" Ephesians 5:25-32 ESV Husbands, love your wife by pursuing her sanctification. When filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the capacity to minister to one another out of reverence to Christ. Every disciple is called to die to themselves, and to submit to one another. This is played out very clearly in the marriage relatio...

Pastor Rusty Milton “Husbands, love your wife“ Ephesians 5:21-25 esv  To love sacrificially means to be more concerned with what I can give rather than what I can get it. Selfishness is the opposite, seeking only one you can get from other people. Husbands are commanded to love their wives and selfishly just as Christ loves the church. But what does it mean for a husband to truly love his wife on...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 5:22-25 ESV "Be Filled with the Spirit: Part 3: Submission" A wife's submission to her husband's spiritual leadership demonstrates the church's relationship to Christ. All throughout the Biblical narrative, we see evidence of sin ruining the glory of marriage, as God's purpose in the institution was oneness and equality with both men and...

Pastor Caleb Galloway 1 Samuel 17:24-37 ESV "Rooting Out Cynicism" How cynical are you? However cynical you are, what led you to that point? Cynicism grows quickly because we don't want to be let down. It's a form of self-protection that can overgrow our soul and kill hope. God calls you away from cynicism into a dependent, child-like faith. We see both cynicism and faith playe...

Reverend Stephen Spanjer "To What End?" Matthew 5:10-12 ESV To what end are you living? What are you trying to achieve? All of our fleshly trophies and accomplishments will turn to dust and shame before the face of God. Are you willing to show others Christ? Everyone is on a mission. All of our actions are working on changing the world around us. What version of the world are you working...

2/20/22 Pastor Rusty Milton "A Call to Send Missionaries and to Live Missionally" Luke 14:12-24 ESV The kingdom of God is like a finished banquet feast. As Christians, Jesus sends us to tell people the Gospel message that salvation is accomplished by Christ. Live, therefore, to entreat people to come to the finished banquet of salvation. Remind ourselves that there is no other banquet, a...

Pastor Rusty Milton Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV The Spirit-filled heart is to give thanks always for all things. Give thanks to God through Christ, because he gave his life for us. Because of his sacrifice, and his freeing us from sins, we can give thanks to God in all things, knowing our suffering is for a purpose. Ephesians 5:15-21 English Standard Version 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as u...