Good morning, today is Saturday, February 23rd. Today's blog will focus on Founder's Day at Edgewood which will be celebrated on Sunday, March 2nd, -now just eight days away. Each adult attending will receive a CD of the New Testament in a MP3 format and every child will receive a CD of the Children's Bible. The MP3 format is a compression system frequently used in the downloading and reproduction of music. Standard audio CDs (WAV format) may be coverted into a MP3 format so as to take up far less space on the CD. This enables the CD to contain more songs or words. The CDs we are providing are manufactured in the MP3 format to allow the entire New Testament to be placed on fewer CD disks. Many CD players will play both the standard audio format and MP3s as well. Please make sure your CD player handles the MP3 format. If it doesn't, you will need to purchase one that does, so you can benefit from the CDs we will be distributing on Founder's Day. Inexpensive MP3 players are available in discount stores or by comparison shopping using the internet. Hopefully you will have no problem using the CDs on your existing player and will be able to enjoy the reading of the Scriptures as soon as you receive them.
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, The Choices, which will include some important visual aids.
I hope to see you in church tomorrow.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this the 16th day of February. This winter has been one of the most severe we have had in many years. Snow totals are already past 40 inches and we still have many weeks of winter weather to go. We've been in a pattern with show/freezing rain coming every 4 -5 days with bitter cold temperatures in between. There is a huge mountain of snow outside of my office window - the accumulation from several plowings of the church parking lot. Many people are suffering from low moods as the winter wears on. Sometimes it is from cabin fever which results from being couped up inside too much. Often it is the result of a condition called S.A.D. which is Situational Affective Disorder, a condition where the biochemistry of the brain is altered because of the lack of sunlight. Other times it is simply a case of the old fashion "winter blues." Regardless of the cause, any of us can long for warmth, sunshine, longer days and the good old outdoors. With all of the snow and ice this winter many people are slipping and falling resulting in broken bones and other injuries. As I was exiting my car last night I slipped on an icy parking lot (not at Edgewood where our trustees have done a great job of maintaining our lot) and nearly went down. So please be extra careful in the days ahead when you are driving (auto accidents are way up this year) or walking. Have a diligent hand rather than a slack hand (Proverbs 10:4) as you are out and about.
Also, kudos to our snow removers at Edgewood. We appreciate the great job you are doing. Please take the time to thank them for a job well done if you have the opportunity. Truly they are faithful stewards of the Lord's property (1 Corinthians 4:2).
Tomorrow's sermon is called, Giant Killers which is an inspirating message about how to defeat the giants in our lives.
I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, February 9th. I was reading in the book of Romans for my personal devotions and was reminded of an recent application for Romans 5:3, And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Barb and I were returning from Florida last Monday morning when the pilot announced that Moline was fogged in and we were unable to land. We circled the airport until our fuel ran low and then were diverted to St. Louis. Eventually we we allowed to deplane, get something to eat, and wait in the terminal for frequent weather updates. Finally about 4:00 PM we were told the flight was cancelled and that we would be bussed to the Quad Cities because of the continuing bad weather. After waiting for the arrival of the buses and retrieving our luggage, we boarded the buses and headed for home. The fog was sometimes so thick you could barely see the road which slowed our progress and lengthened our trip. We finally arrived home about midnight eastern time and gave thanks to be safely home. All-in-all it made for a very long day. We were so close yet so far as we circled 10,000 ft. above the Moline airport. All of our plans for Monday afternoon and evening were radically changed due to these uncontrollable circumstances. To say the least, the circumstances were frustrating and at times all-consuming, but according to Romans 5:3 - patience producing. Ah, that elusive quality of patience! Why is it so hard to learn and require so many repeated lessons. It is a fruit of the Spirit which Christ possesses and is readily available to us in and through Christ. All we have to do is depend upon Him and let His patience flow through us, or we can handle it on our own in our own strength and wind up struggling with it again and again. Like so many virtues, so easy in Christ but so hard on our own. I often think, why am I sometimes such a slow learner?
Tomorrow's sermon is an inspirational message entitled, Conquering Your Mountain. I'm eager to return to the pulpit and hope I'll see you in church tomorrow.
Pastor Mel Brown