Charles Allen Reed

Feeding the Lord's Flock Charles Allen Reed

It is my conviction that people are fed up with not being fed in church. People want to be fed from the Word of God. The apostle Paul gave a charge to Timothy to "Preach the Word!" (1 Tim. 4:2a, NKJV). That same charge was given to me when I was ordained by my home church, First Baptist Church, Pittsburg, Texas. When I accepted God's calling on my life to be a pastor and preacher of His Word, I took seriously my responsibility of Feeding the Lord's Flock. It has been a daily labor of love for me to pray for the leadership of the Holy Spirit as I've prepared my sermons and then for His enablement to present it to our congregation with clarity and conviction each Lord's day. In his first volume of The Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren W. Wiersbe reminds us that the Greek word for "sheep" at the end of John 21:17 means "dear sheep." He then writes, "Our Lord's sheep are dear to Him and He wants His ministers to love them and care for them personally and lovingly . . . A pastor who loves the flock will serve it faithfully, no matter what the cost" (Page 398). These sermons were preached from the pulpit of First Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, Texas, where I have had the privilege of Feeding the Lord's Flock for thirty-five years. They are presented here that they might continue to be a source of spiritual nourishment for all who read them. I dedicate this book of sermons to the beloved members of our church for their encouragement and support through the years. It is still written in the Bible, "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:21, KJV). In his book, How to Make Your Church Hum, Dr. Paul W. Powell writes: "If you want to see the church come alive, become excited, begin to grow, preach the Word. If that won't do it, it's not worth doing."