First Presbyterian Church (Dothan AL) Podcast

Pastor Rusty Milton "Fruit of the Spirit: Love" Galatians 5:22-25 ESV True love is from the Spirit and enables the heart to love God and others. Human love is centered on whatever pleases us in the moment, decays and deteriorates over time, and focuses on the very things which destroy us. God's love centers on what is righteous and pure, good, and filled with mercy and grace (1 John...

Adam Comeens Luke 15:1-7 ESV "A Savior Who Gives and Forgives" Jesus interacted with people who were social outcasts because of their evident sin. If He had not done this, we would have no hope. To God, the one who is lost has so much value; God gives of Himself and forgives so those who are lost might be saved. If you feel convicted because of your judgmental attitude toward the lost, G...

Pastor Rusty Milton Galatians 5:16-25 ESV "Led by the Spirit" A true Christian is one who not only has peace of conscience, but also a war within. In Galatians 5:16-18, Paul exhorts the church to walk in the Spirit; in other words, to submit, be governed by, and filled with the Holy Spirit daily. This allows believers to escape the controlling grasp of the flesh, which exerts its dominan...

Pastor Caleb Galloway "The War Within You" Galatians 5:16-18;25 ESV True Freedom in Christ is living in daily dependence on God through the Holy Spirit. In Verses 16 and 25, Paul exhorts the Galatian believers to walk by the Spirit; in Vs. 17 he encourages the church to be led by the Spirit. In doing so, believers are able to be free from the law of sin and death. But how are we able to...

Pastor Rusty Milton Luke 2:22-34 ESV Don't write your afflictions in stone while writing God's faithfulness in water. The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he saw Christ. Simeon was righteous and devout, and he was waiting for the "Consoler" to come as promised. Simeon warns Mary that a sword will pierce her soul, and that the child is appointed for the...

12/15/19 (Abbreviated sermon due to the Christmas Contata) Pastor Caleb Galloway "Building the King's Highway" Luke 3:1-18 ESV God calls you away from self-glory to focusing on His glory. How do we do that? Repentance (Vs. 3,8), recognizing Christ as our savior (Vs. 15-17), and running to him.  Luke 3:1-18 English Standard Version (ESV) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In the fif...

12/8/2019 Pastor Rusty Milton "Christ Formed in You" Galatians 4:12-20 ESV Something is always influencing us, and we, in turn, influence others. If we are controlled by the self-centered beliefs of the world, we will seek to accomplish all our own desires and dominate others (Vs. 16-17).  If, on the other hand, we are being lead by the mind and love of Christ, we will encourage others t...

Pastor Caleb Galloway Galatians 4:8-20 ESV In what ways are you tempted to run toward either legalism or licentiousness after you are in Christ? In our culture, as in the cultures surrounding the Galatian church, emphasis is placed on self-centeredness, man-centered belief systems, and religion/deity being for the purpose of making mankind happy. But when we rest in our identities as sons and daug...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Adopted into the Family of God" Galatians 3:26-4:6 ESV First and foremost, our identity is a child of God, adopted into his family. The chief way God has shown his glory is by adopting rebels into his family, regenerating their nature and giving them rights and privileges as true children of God. God gives rights as his children through what Christ has done: because...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Law is a Servant of Grace" Galatians 3:19-26 ESV The function of Law and Grace in the Christian's life can sometimes be confusing. Paul addresses the church's perplexity in Galatians 3, where he explains that Law is the servant of Grace. Specifically, Law is the guardian and tutor, showing us the truth of our sin and helping us understand God's Grace i...

In our sinful flesh, we often turn to works and our own ability to earn holiness and salvation in Christ. But Galatians 3:6-18 teaches the truth that our only hope for salvation is by faith alone through Christ alone. As righteousness is given to Abraham by grace, so it is given to you. Nothing is earned by your works. Verses 6-9 show that we receive the foundation of faith in Abraham. He simply b...

11/3/2019 Pastor Rusty Milton "Bewitched Believers" Galatians 3:1-5  ESV In Galatians 3, Paul reprimands the church for receiving the Spirit (and even partaking in miracles) by faith, yet nevertheless turning back to religious practices for certainty of salvation. Like the church in Galatia, we often turn back to religious observance as a means to feel secure in our salvation. But Paul&a...

Pastor Rusty milton "The Magna Carta of Christian Freedom" Galatians 2:15-21 ESV Christianity is not about what you've done for God, but what God has done for you. Many Christians believe God's love is conditional depending on how they are doing. In Galatians, however, Paul holds out the two arms of faith to combat this tendency: resting and receiving. Resting in Christ, and re...

Pastor Rusty Milton  "Out of step with the Gospel"  Galatians 2:11- 15 ESV   We cannot live in line with the gospel unless we understand  God's provision for salvation. Living under the law makes us more fearful of the sin around us than the sin  in us. This leads us to become a mass of pride, self righteousness, judgmental attitudes, and fear. This fear naturally leads us to hypocr...

Adam Commeens "The Peace of God Through the Providence of God" Exodus 1:8-14; 2:23-25; 3:1-10 ESV Biblical peace is the confidence and security which comes from knowing that God will work things out for our good; there is, therefore, no peace without the presence of God. More specifically, it is trust in God's providence which strengthens our faith while producing peace within our h...

Pastor Caleb Galloway "The Unadulterated Gospel" Galatians 2:1-10 ESV The true Gospel calls us to relinquish control of our lives, and of our ability to save ourselves. Salvation is a gift; it's not earned. What should our response be? To listen and respond to the teaching of the Gospel, and to allow the truth to saturate our thoughts. Galatians 2:1-10 (ESV) Paul Accepted by the Apo...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Not Man-Pleasing, but What God Was Please to Do" Galatians 1:11-24 ESV Do you yearn for the approval of those around you, but feel overwhelmed with the fear of rejection ? To follow Christ is to be free from the slavery of man-pleasing. Paul addresses this notion in Galatians 1, declaring that his message is focused not on pleasing those in the church, but on spreadi...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Grace for the Hard Boiled Sinners" Galatians 1:1-10 ESV God calls us in Gospel-grace. God gives us his righteousness through Christ, not through any of our own righteousness. The world calls us to a different "gospel," one which emphasizes political, ceremonial, or legal righteousness, and is human-centric. The true gospel, however, is focused solely on Chr...

Pastor Rusty Milton "Repairing Our Strength and Restoring Our Condition" Isaiah 65 ESV When Jesus returns to make all things new, all the effects of the curse will be reversed. Our hearts and minds will be renewed to the degree that we will no longer dwell on the struggles of life. We will rejoice and be glad in all that God creates (Vs 18), because the effects of sin and misery are gone...

8/18/2019 Pastor Caleb Galloway "The Rescuer King" Isaiah 61 ESV Jesus was sent to redeem us so we could enter into the joy of fellowship with him forever. In Isaiah 61, the prophet speaks of the coming Messiah and his mission to bring total salvation to God's people by leading the redeemed in power, bringing good news to the poor and afflicted, binding up the brokenhearted, proclai...