Sermon of the Week: Albert Martin's Farewell Addresses

Albert Martin has served as the Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey for 46 years, having commenced his ministry there in July 1962. He announced his plans to retire two years ago and will be moving to Western Michigan. Martin has been an influential and, at times, controversial leader in the "Reformed Baptist Church" movement (though he does not like the term "Reformed Baptists"). He preached his farewell sermon last Sunday, June 15, from Paul's counsel to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:17-38, the final installment of a larger nine-part series titled "Parting Words of Counsel."

Also of interest are two Sunday School classes he taught leading up to his departure. In part one, he offers his personal biography and testimony. Of note here is the fact that Martin is a Virginian originally (born in Northern Virginian) and that his parents raised him in the Salvation Army Church. In part two, he gives a first-person history of Trinity Baptist Church. Of note here is the record of reformation in a local church, with all its ups and downs, and the roots of the independent Reformed Baptist church movement.

JTR