Good morning, it is Saturday, April 26th. This is an exciting time in our family as a long-awaited event takes place starting next week. My daughter, Cheryl, and her husband, Greg, will be leaving for China to adopt a 22 month-old boy named, Kai. They were notified last January that a little boy with foot problems in an orphanage in Beijing had been matched to them because of their request to adopt a special-needs child who would require the expert care of a foot surgeon. Cheryl and Greg not only wanted to provide a loving home for such an child, but also wanted to correct his disability (Cheryl is a foot surgeon practicing in Chicago) and provide him an opportunity for a healthy normal life. Now after months of waiting, he will soon be part of our family. They will spend several weeks in China completing arrangements and preparing to bring him home. Barb and I hope to be at the airport when they arrive to meet and greet our newest grandson and officially welcome them home. What a thrill it will be to hold him in our arms for the first time! In Scripture children are called an heritage of the Lord (Psa. 127:3) and are blessed by our Lord in a special way; they are blessed by the Lord and in turn are a blessing unto us.
Today as I write this blog, I am reminded that all over the world there are so many homeless and starving children and we can make a difference one child at a time. Barb and I attempted to adopt two homeless children from Vietnam at the end of the war but did not succeed only because they could not evacuate all of the desperate children before the fall of Saigon. It is a blessing to see our children fulfilling our vision to rescue needy children and provide them with a loving family. Believe me there is nothing in life like when they throw their arms around your neck and say, I love you. While many are not in a position to provide a home for needy children, we can make a difference by providing food, clothing and shelter for them through Edgewood's F.O.O.D. and C.A.S.E. programs. Tomorrow evening after the 6:00 service, the C.A.S.E. committee will be meeting to discuss building an orphanage in India for many desperate children. Why don't you join us and experience the joy of making a huge difference in forsaken children's lives.
Pastor Mel Brown
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, April 19th. The brilliant physicist, Albert Einstein, once said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." Since the current tax code is now more than 67,000 pages in length, his point is well taken. As distasteful as facing our income tax may be, Jesus commanded that we render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's (Matthew 22:21). But Einstein was wrong in his opinion that the income tax is the hardest thing in the world to understand; the hardest thing in the world to understand is the nature (mind and heart) of God. If we could fully understand that, we would either be God or exactly like God. Fortunately Jesus Christ came to reveal God as the divine human manifestation and expression of God through his life, words, actions and example. The nature of God is revealed through the word of God and Jesus is the living Word of God. Christ revealed His main mission when He said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). So one of God's great purposes in sending Christ to earth was to reach every person with the message of salvation and its corresponding life filled with God's purpose. Thank God so many of us have discovered God's purpose for our lives through the good news of the gospel of Christ, but His desire is that we become channels through which others will find that same meaning and purpose through a right relationship with God. Tomorrow's Sunday school session and A.M. sermon entitled, The Power of Story, are practical guides toward helping us do just that, and I hope you will not want to miss them. Someone's eternal purpose may be hanging in the balance if you do.
Pastor Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 12th day of April. Tomorrow marks week two of our "Just Walk Across The Room" campaign which got off to a good start last Sunday and will continue through the month of April. There is still time for you to participate in one of the adult small groups meeting during the Sunday school hour at 9:30 A.M. Participation in one of these groups (most of which are meeting in the main floor of the multipurpose facility) involves reading an accompanying book and participating in discussions generated by a study guide after watching an informative and inspiring video of approximately 15 minutes length. The feedback I have received by some of those participating in the first week of the campaign was very positive with many expressing appreciation for what they were getting from the sessions. The Sunday morning sermons compliment the content of the group sessions but are distinct in their content and application. If you would like to become both a more influential and effective representative of Jesus Christ, I promise that these sessions will be of great help to you. Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, Living In 3D. I hope that I will have the privilege of not only seeing you in the church service, but also in the small-group sessions as well. The books and study guides are provided by the church to those who are participating in the small-group sessions. Lord willing I hope to see you there.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this the first Saturday of April. The mountain of snow located at the back of the church parking lot outside of my office window finally melted away. It remained until April 1st and was there for many months getting bigger every week until it finally started melting about three weeks ago. Isn't the warmer weather and refreshing sunshine a welcome change from snow, ice, and cold? With the disappearance of the snow and appearance of green on nature's landscape, it indicates a change of seasons and the arrival of spring. The indicators for a change of season are used in Scripture to illustrate the signs associated with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. So with the current change in our seasons, we should be reminded to be watchful and expectant of our Lord's coming. He will come quickly, as a thief in the night, and in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. In the surety of His coming, let us look upward, inward, and outward. Our outward look is to help others be ready for His coming by bringing them to a right relationship with God. Tomorrow we begin the "Just Walk Across The Room" campaign. Each adult Sunday school class will participate in this award-winning campaign and the A.M. sermons will accommodate this theme. We are excited about its theme and content and know you will be too once we get started. Please join in this tremendous effort by being there for this first Sunday. The program will continue throughout the month of April. Tomorrow's message is entitled, The Single Greatest Gift. I hope I'll have the privilege of seeing you in church tomorrow. We'll be observing the Lord's supper, so come prepared to sit at the Lord's table to both remember and relive what Jesus Christ did for us and all it means to us. It is a time of remembrance, reflection. appreciation, meditation, self-examination, repentance, and anticipation of His coming. It is a communion with God and each other at and because of Calvary.
Pastor Mel Brown