Good morning on this last day of June. Soon our adult groups meeting in the multipurpose center during the 9:30 Sunday school hour will begin a new series of studies about prayer. Spurgeon called prayer the power plant of his church and Jesus taught that it was an essential ingredient of an intimate and and meaningful relationship with God. Who among us would not say that our prayer life could use some growth and development. Even the venerable evangelist, Billy Graham, has recently said that one of his regrets as he looks back over his nearly ninety years of life and nearly seventy years of ministry is that he did not pray more. However, it is not merely the how often or how much of prayer that is important, but the how itself. These studies will focus on all of these important points with an emphasis on the practical aspects of successful prayer. I hope you will avail yourself of this opportunity to stoke up the power plant of God in your life. See my wife or call the church office if you are interested in participating.
Thank you again for your continuing prayers for me; they are always so very much appreciated. I've been fighting a sinus infection this week but am now beginning to feel better.
Tomorrow's message is entitled, The Holy Spirit Working Through Men. It will concentrate on how the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of four men, Stephen, Philip, Simon the sorcerer and the Ethiopian eunuch. I'll look forward to seeing you there.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this rainy 23rd day of June. I have been studying the Bible for nearly forty-five years. Since I am currently preaching a series from the book of Acts entitled, Acts: Believer's in Action, I have been re-reading and re-studying every chapter of that New Testament book. Even though I have read and studied its pages many times over the years, God has shown me many new truths and provided numerous fresh insights as I am examining this powerful book yet again. This is not surprising based upon the teaching of Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." The Word of God is indeed a word fitly spoken. The imagery is of a bowl of silver beautifully decorated with ornamentation which makes it attractive and appealing in appearance, but upon closer inspection, apples of precious gold are revealed inside the bowl. This is so true about the Bible. Its pages at first present the truth as a bowl of silver (so simple and evident that even a child can receive its message), but at the same time, so deep that the greatest minds have poured over it and never exhausted its depths because it reveals the very mind of God. There is an important difference between reading the Bible and studying it. Each is important and both are necessary to mine its great truths. Both the preaching services and Edgewood's many classes are offered so as to provide both the bowls of silver and the apples of gold as well. The sequence of offerings in adult Bible studies at 9:30 on Sunday mornings include a thorough understanding of salvation, Godliness and its achievement, victorious Christian living to become a genuine Christian overcomer, the developing of practices necessary to develop the very character of Christ in our lives, the secrets of prayer both in learning how to powerfully pray and how it will change your life and relationship with God and others, and the methods to study your Bible to receive from God and understand the truths He has intended for you. Are you seeing the apples of gold in the settings of silver?
Tomorrow's message will focus on the growing pains among the early Christians. Those growing pains are remarkably similar to what many encounter today. I hope to see you in the services tomorrow.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this, the 16th day of June. Beginning tomorrow I will meet with the college and career singles to answer a variety of questions they have posed to me. I am looking forward to addressing their excellent questions which represent numerous areas of concerns, unclear understanding, and inquisitiveness. Some are reflections of the challenges to their faith provided in college courses; others reflect issues which have troubled or confused them especially in recent days. It is understandable that in this "information age" in which an estimated one million pieces of new information enter the realm of knowledge every single day, that lots of questions would be created as those bits of information have to fit in with our previous knowledge, current understanding and faith. Truth is defined as that which corresponds to the facts and the Bible says, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). I have said throughout my ministry that if our faith will not stand up to the tests of truth, then it is not worth very much; however, I can assure you after sixty years of living, forty years of ministry, eight years of secular college and university courses, thousands of books and some of the severest challenges to my faith, that it does and will stand up to the test. That is why I am so eager to share with these young people the answers in the days ahead. Evolution and Genesis is the first of the topics we'll handle.
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, God at Work and will be from Acts chapters 3 and 4. I hope I'll see you there.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this 9th day of June. I was reviewing current events each day this week and thinking about their application to Biblical prophecy (as you know from the recently completed series of sermons on prophecy, I do this regularly) and was reminded about how quickly things can completely change. A coup or an election occurs in a country and changes its direction, alliances and future in an instant. If Iran succeeds in their pursuit of nukes and uses them to strike Israel, the whole world would tilt as a result. Nations would quickly align themselves on both sides and a set of circumstances would be set in motion that would affect so many nations and people. Nuclear weapons have changed the world as we know it forever. The threat gives formerly weak nations great power and poses a grave concern when unstable and crazed leaders have them at their disposal. Most scholars believe that there is a clear reference to the use of nuclear weapons when the destruction of landscapes and nations is vividly depicted in Scripture. People everywhere crave security but will find that there will be less and less in the future. It reminds us as believers in Christ that our intimate security lies in Him. Our end-all security is to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air that we might ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). Let us follow the lead of the early believers in the book of Acts to strive to get our friends, relatives and neighbors ready for that wonderful day so that they will not be left behind. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). What a promise!
Tomorrows message will be from Acts and is entitled, The Power of Pentecost. I hope you'll be there. Also please remember that tomorrow's luncheon after the second service will assist orphans in Romania where there is a tremendous need.
Pastor Brown

Good morning, it is Saturday, June 2nd. In seeking the Lord's leadership in what to preach now that we have finished the 2007 Prophecy Update series, I considered numerous options, but seemed to be guided to messages from the book of Acts. Acts picks up where the four gospels leave off and follows the early Christian's ministry for the next thirty years after the departure of Christ. It is filled with instruction, insight, excitement, example and Spirit-filled living. My former pastor used to encourage the constant reading of three books of the Bible: Proverbs, to build Christian character in our lives; Psalms, to keep the devotional flame burning brightly in our lives; and Acts, to keep our focus on serving the Lord. Of course, he also encouraged the reading and study of all the other books of the Bible, but suggested that these three be read once each month as building blocks of our Christian life and service. Tomorrow's message will concentrate on the believer's preparations to carry out the vision of God for their lives and ministry. Acts: Believer's in Action is the title of the series, which promises to be inspiring to us all. I hope I'll see you in church tomorrow and remember regarding the coming of Christ: perhaps today!
Pastor Brown