I feel deeply humbled and highly privileged to have the opportunity to speak to you this morning. And if you missed the ten o'clock sermon, you missed a masterpiece. I thought of the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 10, which says, Be ye kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another. Dr. Cook, I've known you only a few weeks, but I would gladly right now sit down and recognize you as the superior, myself as the inferior, and learn something new and sweet at your feet. And Brother Hal, he does remind me of Papa Parker. But the thing that reminds me is his hair. And I thought of Proverbs 16 and 31 that says, the hoary head, or the gray head, is a crown of glory. if it be found in the way of righteousness. And every move Dr. Cook made, every word that he spoke, every action he made, you could just feel the moving and the tenderness of the Spirit of God. And my heart was touched and lifted, and I'm glad to have heard that sermon. When Hal asked me to come, I said, I don't know how to preach an anniversary sermon, and I don't. So you're going to have to pray for me. Mr. Webster says that an anniversary is the yearly return to the month or date of the same event. the yearly return to the monthly date of the same event. And I've chosen for my subject, lately, I've been thinking about home. And as I think about home, I think about the home of my residence, by family. And certainly, as you look back upon the time when you were first married, that is an anniversary you don't want to forget. In sixty years of married life, I only missed one anniversary being at home, and I have always regretted that. Then I think of another home, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the home of our faith. Ephesians 3.21 says, Now unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. And then I look forward to the home of my future. And I read in Revelation 21, verses 1 through 4, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. There was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. God will be with them and be their people. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things are passed away. And then let me read you the verse of Scripture that has to do with our residence, the home of our family. In the book of John, some of the most tender words that I find in the entire New Testament are in the nineteenth chapter, verses twenty-six and twenty-seven. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. Jesus would not leave his mother in the care of his unsaved brothers, because they did not believe upon him until after his resurrection. So let's think of this anniversary as the anniversary of our residence, our home. Let's think of this anniversary as the anniversary of this great and wonderful church that God has blessed so abundantly, which is the home of your faith. And then let's briefly think about heaven, the home of our future. I've been thinking about home. Number one, the home of our residents, the home of our family. Every family should have a family altar. In the book of Joshua, chapter 24, verse 15, Joshua said, But if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the God which your fathers served, which were over on the other side of the flood, or the God of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And every residence here ought to have a family altar. Every residence here ought to have a family pew. In Psalm 84, verse 4, David said, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will still be praising thee. In the tenth verse, of the same chapter, he said, for a day and by course is better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 122, verse 1, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go. into the house of the Lord. Psalm 55, verse 14, we took sweet counsel together and walked under the house of God in company. Every resident ought to have a family altar, ought to have a family pew, and every family Every residence ought to be interested in the salvation of every member of your family. In the fourteenth chapter of the book of Proverbs, in verse twenty-five, the Bible says, a true witness delivers souls. But a faithful witness speaketh lies." The next verse, "...and the fear of the Lord is strong confidence." Now listen, "...and his children shall have a place of refuge." And I can tell you by the authority of God's Word, if you are dedicated and faithful and serve the Lord as the Bible teaches you to serve the Lord, you have the promise that somewhere down the line your own children will have a place of refuge. And if that's not shouting ground, I don't know where it is. That's the home of our residents. the home of our faith, the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. And in this church, the home of our faith, it is a faith that contends, in the book of In the third verse, he begins to write as he is moved by the Holy Spirit. And he said, what I wrote to you concerning the common salvation, it was needful that I write unto you and exhort you that you earnestly contend for the faith which was once or once for all delivered unto the sites. And I'm glad that the First Baptist Church of Parker has a membership that's not ashamed to let people know what they believe. It's a faith that contends. It's a faith that saves. He quoted Ephesians 2, 8 and 10, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Acts 13.39, And by him all that believe are justified from all things for which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. A faith that contends is a faith that saves. Galatians 3.24-26, Wherefore The law was our schoolmaster, our pedagogue, our child conductor, to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith has come, you are no longer under a schoolmaster, for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Paul said to young Timothy in II Timothy 1 and 5 that he rejoiced in the fact that faith dwelt in him, which dwelt first in his grandmother, Lois, and then in his mother, Eunice, and he was persuaded that in him also. And then he said in II Timothy 3 and 15, and listen very carefully to this, that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, a church that has faith that contends is a church that has faith that saves and secures. In the book of Luke, the twenty-second chapter, the Lord looked at Simon Peter, in verses 31 and 32, and he said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he might sift thee as wheat, talking to a child of God. Does the devil ever give you any trouble? I was visiting with a pastor some time ago, And we were visiting with a lady past 80 years of age, and we started to leave, and she said, I want to ask you preachers something. And we stopped immediately. She says, does the devil ever give you any trouble? And we both said, yes, ma'am. She said, well, he bothers me so much, I didn't think he bothered anybody else. But you can rest assured, as long as you're in this world, the devil's going to give you some trouble. So listen to the verses, Luke 22, 31 and 32. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he might sift thee as wheat. I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, not saved, he was already saved, but when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. I can tell you by the authority of the Word of God and by my own experience, you don't want to be sifted by the devil. Then the home of our faith, the church, is a faith that serves. My hero, if absence makes a heart grow fonder, some people really love the church. James said in James 1.22, Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only. In 217, same book, he said that faith without works is dead, being alone. I rejoice this morning that we have a residence, a home of our family. I rejoice that we have the church, which is the home of our faith. And I rejoice, though I have not seen it, I have seen it by faith we have heaven, which is the home of our future. Let me tell you something. We're not pilgrims of this earth journeying to heaven. We are citizens of heaven sojourning upon this earth. In Hebrews 11 and 10, speaking of the patriarch Abraham, said, For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Still speaking of the heroes of faith, in the sixteenth verse of the same chapter, he said, But now they desire a better country that is heavenly. Wherefore he is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city, and of this future home, heaven, it is a prepared place. Jesus said, Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. in my father's house or many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and receive you unto myself where I am. There ye may be also." It is a pretty place. Psalm 87, verse 3, glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Verse 7, as well as the singers, the players' own instruments shall be there. All my springs are in thee. Not only is it prepared and pretty, but it is just palatial. Revelation 21, 23, And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. So you see, I don't know how to preach an anniversary sermon. But if you have a home, a residence, you ought to remember that anniversary. And if you have a church, you ought to remember that anniversary not just once a year, but you ought to remember the commemoration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus 52 Sundays a year. And if you're washed in the blood of Christ, then you have a home in the future. And you're just as sure of heaven if you're washed in the blood as if your feet were already walking down the streets of gold. Lately, I've been thinking about home. Lately, I've been thinking about home. A penny for your thoughts, I said to the old man, As he sat there on the front porch all alone with silver hair, a wrinkled brow, eyes gleaming, he smiled and said, just thinking about my home. I sat down and we shared some laughs together and the cinema of remembrance, it did roll. He talked about life's gains, yes, its losses, but most of all he talked about his home. He said, I'm thinking about my home and what it's like. I'm dreaming. about leaving, ready to be moving on. It won't be very long until the sun will set and I'll be gone, but until then I'll be thinking about my home. I said, tell me, sir, where is your home and what's it like? He said, Ain't nothing around here that compares. You see, a king had it built and gave the deed to me. And most of my family are already there. He said, I'm thinking about home, thinking about going home. I'm dreaming about leaving here, ready to be moving on. It won't be long before the sun will set and I'll be gone. But until then, I'll be thinking about home. It won't be long before the sun goes down and I'll be gone. But until then, I'll be thinking about home. Thank the Lord for your residence, the home of your family. Thank the Lord for your church, the home of your faith. Thank the Lord for heaven, the home of your future. May this be an anniversary that will long be remembered, and should the Lord not come, may you prosper and may you see many more in God's kind and wise providence. Love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.