Good morning on this Saturday morning, the last day of March. I just finished reading the gospel of John and was deeply moved as I read again the description of the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How great was His sacrifice for us and oh, the price He paid for you and me. Tommorow is Palm Sunday followed by the week remembering the final days and events of His life culminating with the celebration of His glorious resurrection, next Sunday on Easter. This final week of Jesus life on earth is called the Passion Week. May I suggest that you read the gospels this week and focus on the incidents in Jesus life as He made His way to the cross and tomb to fulfill His God-given destiny. Begin reading with John chapter 12 (description of His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday) through John chapter 20 (His resurrection). Here is a list of the events which took place during Passion Week and the references in the other gospels to it. Passion Week is also described in Matthew chapters 21-27, Mark chapters 11-15, and Luke chapters 19-23. Passion Week includes: the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, Jesus cleansing the temple for the second time, Jesus giving His Olivet Discourse on the end times, Jesus' Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus' arrest and trials before the chief priests, Pilate, and Herod, Jesus' scourging at the hands of the Roman soldiers, Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus' death and burial, and Jesus' glorious resurrection. This final week is referred to as the "Passion Week" because in that time, Jesus Christ truly revealed His passion for us in what He lovingly and willingly went through on our behalf. Our attitude during Passion Week should be one of passionate worship of Jesus Christ and proclamation of His Gospel. Each day this week as you meditate upon the final events of His life and ministry, celebrate them with praise and worship as they apply to your live and faith.
I continue to make slow but sure progress in my recovery. I thank you for continuing to intercede for me before His throne of grace. Your prayers on my behalf are precious.
Tomorrow the Children of the World choir will be performing in all the AM services. You won't want to miss their inspiring, God-filled presentation. Lord willing, I'll see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this 24th day of March. Barb just mentioned to me how quickly this month is flying by. It is hard to believe that Easter is now just two short weeks away. I plan, Lord willing, to preach all three service on Easter and would appreciate your prayers about the entire day. Usually because it is the one day of the year when people are most likely to attend church either on their own or because someone has invited them, we have the highest attendances of the entire year. The first two services are huge and the 11:00 AM service is normally the lowest in attendance. I had thought about preaching the first two and having another staff member preach the last service, but decided I will do them all unless some unforeseen circumstance prevents it. If I'm exceptionally tired during the last service, I'll use my stool as a perch as I did when I first finished my chemo treatments. Please take this great opportunity to bring others to Easter at Edgewood - someone(s) might be saved because of your prayerful efforts of asking others to attend as your guest. Many are today faithful followers of Jesus Christ because someone took the opportunity to invite them to church on Easter.
Tomorrow's message is the next to last in the series, Peter's Prescription for Getting Along with Others. Some of you have inquired about how many messages there will be in the series so you can get all of the CDs in the set. There will be a total of eight messages with the final message delivered a week from tomorrow. I hope to see you in church.
Mel Brown

Good morning, it is Saturday, March 17th. I have continued my pattern of gradual improvement this week and can visibly see the difference and feel yet a little stronger and sharper. I continue to improve in both my strengthening and stamina-increasing exercises. I have been reading in the Gospel of John and this morning read the passage about the raising of Lazarus from the dead in chapter 11. Of special note was when Jesus said that Lazarus' sickness was for the glory of God and added so that their faith might be increased by giving them new reasons for their belief. I know that my experiences of the last months have influenced the faith of many others in addition to myself. Thank you to the many of you who have mentioned that these blogs have encouraged, taught, and strengthened you and your faith. That is surely one way that this sickness has been to the glory of God. The glory of God is really the character of God and includes all that God is (omnipotent, omniscient, loving, unchanging, just, omnipresent, compassionate, etc.) and is capable of doing. When those are in evidence, we can always see the fingerprints of God. Many turned to Christ because of Lazarus and many who were already believers had their faith "charged" and changed through his experience. It is so often through the lives and experiences of others that our faith is influenced. I know that so many of you have influenced my faith as I have seen the way you have faced life's trials and hopefully vice versa. This is God's plan because our lives are the "bible" that many will read. As always, I thank you for remembering me in your prayers. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I'll be preaching another message in the series, Peter's Prescription for Getting Along with Others. I hope you'll be able to be there.
Pastor Brown

It is Saturday morning, March 10th. I continue to gradually improve and find each week a little better than the week before. Planning activity levels, avoiding germs, strengthening exercises, controlling diet, and limiting stress producers are all critical factors in my continuing recovery. Of course, the most important of all is the work of the Great Physician throughout the process. It is essential to begin each day by filling your mind with the encouragement and inspiration found by reading God's Word. It is God's voice given directly to our mind and heart each day. Then continuing God consciousness throughout the day brings the Lord into our thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and actions. He provides the ultimate attitude adjustment by applying Scripture to our circumstances. God knows exactly what we need and will provide it if we allow Him to do it. His continuing strengthening and encouragement are available throughout the entire day regardless of what we face. He is our ever-present help in time of trouble. Prayer is our personal hotline to Heaven. Through it we can count and share our blessings with the Lord, share our needs, pour out our feelings and concerns, and seek His presence and help as well as intercede for others and their needs. Counting and sharing our many blessings reframes our problems and praying for others helps us refocus away from them. What a powerful combination, God's Word allowing God to speak to us and prayer allowing us to speak to Him. Please continue to pray for the following things: that I will be cancer free, that I will have no further complications, that my shingles will be completely healed, and that I will regain my strength and stamina. Thank you for praying for me and my needs.
Tomorrow's Sermon is Part 5 of the series, Peter's Prescription for Getting Along with Others. It will be a very practical presentation on not returning evil for evil. Lord willing, I'll see you then.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this third day of March. My apologies for not posting a blog last week. I tried to do so but had trouble getting into the site because Blogger was changing over to a new format using Google and it refused to admit me until the changeover was complete. It seemed strange not to do the blog since I have now been doing it faithfully for many months. At last all of the changes have been made and, hopefully, I'll have no further problems in posting my blogs. Each week I continue to gain strength and am grateful for the progress. The severe case of shingles continues to slowlllllly improve. No, the word slowly is not a typographical error but is a reflection of the speed of recovery. I am doing some exercise to increase my stamina and regain some much-needed aerobic recovery after being laid up with inactivity for so long. Again I find the key word is patience in this process. I have always tended to want to do too much too soon and not rushing the process is all important to avoid setbacks. Thank you again for faithfully praying for me. Your prayers have been and continue to be so vital. James reminds us, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Tomorrow, Lord willing I'll preach the fourth message in the series on Peter's Prescription For Getting Along With Others. I hope to see you then.
Pastor Brown