Good morning on this 28th day of July. Often out of life's deepest valleys come mountain-top experiences and vice versa. When King David had gone through the terrible experience of losing his baby son, he comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and she conceived and later delivered Solomon, the future king and wisest man who ever lived. Clearly blessing followed buffeting. The opposite occurred when Elijah faced the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. After routing them in their confrontation and calling fire down from Heaven to consume the sacrifice, he experienced deep despair when threatened by the evil Queen Jezebel and fled for his life. He was so low that he asked God to take him. How can experiences lead to such opposite emotions so easily and quickly. The answer lies in a simple fact of life for most people - when good things happen to us we feel good, and when bad things happen to us we feel bad. But the Bible teaches us that it doesn't have to be that way. Layered in between our emotional reaction to our experiences are our beliefs and thoughts. In fact, our beliefs shape our thoughts. If we are taught to let the mind of Christ be in us, then we will believe, think and even respond as Christ would. The only way we'll be able to accomplish that is to know the New Testament intimately so that we will know and use the mind of Christ and can apply it readily to our lives. Several years ago I preached a series of sermons about the thinking patterns of Jesus, which included an analysis of both the ways Jesus did and did not think. In my next blog, I'll plan to review some of those principles so that we might apply them to our life's needs and circumstances; they are definitely some of the most important principles we will ever use in our every-day lives.
Tomorrow's message is about Paul's first missionary journey during which some very important circumstances developed which changed many lives. I hope to see you there.
Pastor Brown

Hello on this Saturday morning, July 21st. My daughter, Lori, and I have been editing the Missionary Intern Manual which we use to train our missionary interns. During the last twelve plus years Edgewood has trained some dozen missionaries who are doing a great work for God building churches in various countries around the world. We are proud of their leadership and accomplishments for Christ. So many of our Edgewood people have had a vital role in their development and should feel much pride in their successes for Christ. As I receive reports about the churches they have started, souls they have won, feeding centers they have established, and lives they have influenced, I am so thankful for our part in their ministries. A number of them will be visiting our church over the next year and we eagerly look forward to seeing them and receiving an update on their ministries. Please continue to keep them in your prayers on a regular basis. Prayer for our missionaries is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. Additionally, sometimes the smallest gesture of concern can make a big difference in their lives. One of our missionaries mentioned in a letter that their daughter missed having pancakes because her favorite pancake mix was unavailable in their country. My wife went out and bought the mix and sent it to them. We soon received a letter of appreciation sharing how their little girl was thrilled with delight when she sat down and ate her first helping of her favorite pancakes in several years. It brought such joy to her little life. Sometimes a short note of encouragement can mean so much when they are going through some difficult or lonely times. A little thoughtful gesture can often make such a difference to a missionary family. Give it a try and see what God can do. God just may use you as the instrument to answer their prayers.
Tomorrow's message is entitled, Double Vision and Overcoming Prejudice. It is about a momentous experience which changed the attitudes of many in the early church. I hope to see you there.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this beautiful 14th day of July. I've been reading in the book of Romans and have once again been impressed with every advantage that we have as believers who are "in Christ". The Lord certainly anticipated our every spiritual need and saw to it that their provision would be made through our personal relationship with Christ. The list of what God makes available to us is astounding including: salvation, assurance, righteousness, intercession, love, joy, peace of God, peace with God, hope, strength, healing, reconciliation, restitution, relationship(s), restoration, victory, access, ability, spiritual gifts, guidance, counsel, forgiveness, discipleship, fellowship, worship, ministry, witness, growth, faith, encouragement, patience, boldness in prayer, answers to prayer, freedom, help in trouble, companionship, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control, fruitfulness, gladness, gratitude, hospitality, honesty, humility, illumination, understanding, fidelity, influence, instruction, discretion, equity, leadership, loyalty, grace, mercy, mediation, morality, purpose, mission, provision, oneness, opportunities, ordinances, affiliation, forbearance, perseverance, purity, compassion, sympathy, empathy, position, power, recompense, prosperity, refreshment, renewal, revival, respect, reward, satisfaction, contentment, spirituality, steadfastness, stewardship, teaching, testimony, praise, thankfulness, tenderness, thoughtfulness, truth, unity, will of God, wisdom, zeal, sacrifice, celebration, confession, rest, and,of course, a home in Heaven. This is not an exhaustive list!; it is just the beginning of what Christ has done for us and provided to/for us. His blessings and benefits are beyond measure. All of this and more are available in Christ, but it does not mean that we avail ourselves of all of them; we must apply and appropriate the resources He provides making each a reality in our lives. They are wrapped and waiting, but we have to unwrap them. What a Christmas Christ has made available to us - how many of these packages have you personally unwrapped?
Tomorrow's sermon is on the miraculous transformation of Paul. Lord willing, I'll see you there.

Good morning on this extra warm 7th day of July. I have enjoyed talking to the college & career-age young people about a variety of topics during the last several weeks. They submitted a series of questions to me and I have been methodically answering them each Sunday in their class. We've discussed the Genesis account of creation vs. evolution based upon scientific fact and some of the latest research in biology and genetics; the age of the earth as represented by four prominent scholastic views as related to geology and quantum physics; denominations, how and why they developed and what their differences are; the ages of the patriarchs compared to life spans today and reasons for the differences; the Biblical explanation for some of the so-called missing link animal fossils; the Biblical explanation of dinosaurs; and the separation of fact from opinion and the laws of logic in relation to Biblical and secular interpretation. Tomorrow we will cover the principles of Biblical interpretation (hermeneutics or how to interpret the Bible correctly). I have been putting together an interpretative guide to use as a handout to go along with the lesson and have enjoyed the interaction with these fine young people who attend the class. Yet to be covered is an overview of the Biblical explanation of the hominids which are fossils which possess characteristics of both apes and men. This series of lessons came about because so many of our young people have had their faith challenged in secular university classrooms where skeptical professors attacked the Bible as being untrustworthy. I have said many times that believers need not fear such questions or attacks because the Bible will stand the test of scrutiny when all the facts are carefully examined. I'm grateful that through the years many Edgewood young people have been saved from the shipwreck of their faith by being provided expert Biblical and scholarly answers from many reliable sources to some of the secular world's greatest questions. Please pray for our young people as their faith is tested in the arena of the secular world that they will stand for Christ with boldness, knowledge and wisdom.
Tomorrow's sermon will focus on the exciting ministry of Philip in the book of Acts. I hope I'll be seeing you there.
Pastor Brown