Timeless and Changeless Truth

Timeless and Changeless Truth is a collection of short sermons highlighting some of the major teachings of the Christian faith. In an age when religious cultures are clashing, many Christians are struggling to believe in the exclusive truths of the Christian faith. This book articulates some of these truths in an effort to preserve their everlasting integrity.

Dr. David Wesley Reid retired three years ago as the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Reading, Massachusetts, a position he held for 38 years. He has mentored more than forty seminarians in his career, most from Gordon Conwell Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. He also has led numerous support and home Bible study groups. He is married to his wife Nancy, a graphic designer and a former member of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts. Together they have five children and ten grandchildren. Dr. Reid has published more than twenty-four sermons with Logos Books and fifteen ministry related articles in various professional journals.

It is a privilege for me to write the foreword to the book Timeless and Changeless Truth by Rev. Dr. David Wesley Reid. David is a man deeply committed to the Christian ministry. He is an experienced pastor who has served as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Reading, Massachusetts for thirty-eight years. He loves the Lord with his whole being. As I reflect on the life and ministry of David, the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18, as quoted from Isaiah 61:1-3, come to my mind. Here, Jesus describes the nature of his work. He declares that his work was to preach good tidings to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, to give recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Isaiah also said of him that he would give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Hence, the task of the preacher is very important. Using God's Word, one has to proclaim the good tidings about Jesus Christ in all ages. This is exactly what David loves to do. Anytime, anywhere, he is always willing and ready to preach the Word of God.

There is no higher calling in life than the call to be a preacher of the gospel. Medical doctors heal the body. Psychiatrists heal the mind but a pastor has the responsibility and privilege of touching and bringing healing to the soul. His task is to "rightly divide" the Word of God, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, in order to transform each soul and prepare it for life eternal with our blessed Lord. Truly, preaching is not something to be taken lightly. A preacher once defined the soul as that unseen interior place of spiritual geography within every human being 'I like that definition. It's decidedly cryptic, but in a way it's imaginatively descriptive. Pastors have the duty to preach the Word correctly, energized by the Holy Spirit, to transform the landscape of that unseen place of inner spiritual geography into the image of Christ. I can honestly say that in 45 years of active preaching, I never stepped into the pulpit unprepared because of the seriousness with which I regarded the preaching task. I was always keenly aware of the sacred nature of the job God called me to do and I went into worship each week having done everything I could to be responsibly equipped.