My Last and My All--"Come to the Wedding"

I have preached my last sermon at the Brunswick and Camden Seventh-day Adventist churches. It is called, "Come to the Wedding" based on Mathew 22:1-14, the parable of the Wedding Feast.

For the past eight-and-a-half years I have been their pastor, the people of Brunswick and Camden. And I have given them my all. I can say like the Apostle Paul, "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

Leaving is a bittersweet experience as Tracie and I have built some significant relationships with the people of these churches, and we will never forget them. Yet, I know for certain that God has called me to another church district, the Griffin and Thomaston Seventh-day Adventist Churches located right in the heart of Georgia.

I know for certain, because my faith has prevailed through patience to wait on the Lord. I have waited and watched as He has opened what initially appeared to be doubtful doors. So, we are moving from coastal Georgia to the heart of Georgia. And God is working that out for us. Yes, even before we knew how it would work out, many of the usual fears have now fallen. Fears like, would we be able to handle it financially? Could we find an affordable, yet comfortable home? And a few other uncertainties fading as well. Fading to our faith in our Lord who has called us to this life. The life of a pastor and his wife.

     "I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,
      And I keep Your law.
      This has become mine,
      Because I kept Your precepts." (Psalm 119:55-56)

Yes, I meditated on that passage called Zayin in Psalm 119. Because it helped me, God spoke to me about that. He spoke to me in my heart.  And I knew that I needed to preach about Zayin before I left. And so I did. On January 9, 2016 I preached from Zayin about how I, Dean Read study and meditate on God's word. Apparently the LORD thought, and so did I, that would be helpful to the churches.

But, on my last official day as their pastor, I preached "Come to the Wedding." It was my last sermon to them, given on January 16, 2016. Ironic isn't it? For this parable was one of the last sermons Jesus preached, for He spoke it to a skeptical crowd just a day or two before He was crucified.

I did not have time to write it. But God gave it to me in my mind and my heart. I mused over it for the past few weeks, just like I did with Zayin. I believe both these sermons will be a blessing to those who want to hear them, and even those from Brunswick and Camden who may want to hear them again. Therefore, I have shared them here to be downloaded and heard.

The links are above in the text and also below. Make sure you listen with your Bible open and your notepad close by. You will be blessed. Shalom!

Zayin preached at the Camden Church.

Come to the Wedding preached on my last Sabbath to both churches gathered together in Brunswick. This sermon also includes a special music rendition of "In the Garden" sung by Dell Alarcon with his wife Cherry accompanying him. The music, a new melody was written by Jim Moon, a young pastor in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference who shared it with us.

Moving Faith

It has been a while. I have written and preached several sermons, since I last wrote a post on this blog. It is not that I haven't been writing. It's just that I haven't been sharing my thoughts here. And now, I am in the process of moving. Wow! What a process. I have been called to pastor another church district. And this requires us to move to another part of the good ol' State of Georgia. So, in this processing I am also considering what to do with this blog.

What to do? Over eight years of sharing here on this site, mostly from my sermons. And the desire in me to share is strong.  That is from the LORD. Yet, I now have a backlog of sermons which have not been shared outside when I first preached them. I am confident the Lord will guide me, as He always does, and soon I will be writing publicly again.

In the meantime, my wife Tracie and I are trying our best to process through this moving thing. And that requires more faith, because some significant things have yet to be determined. Like, how to find a home that will meet our comfort needs without going broke in the process. No easy task, considering our current home lost much appraisal value since we first bought it in 2007, before the housing bubble burst.

But God is good! My faith is in His will. He will supply all our needs, including a job for Tracie.