Good morning on this last Saturday of October. First, let me remind you to set your clocks back one hour tonight or early tomorrow morning. Won't it be nice to get an extra hour's sleep? Next, I want to highlight my new sermon series which will get under way tomorrow morning called, Proverbs: God's Instructions For Your Best Life. Proverbs has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible and is one that I have probably read more that any other book. In Proverbs King Solomon reveals his applications of wisdom which are applicable for every area of our lives and are guaranteed to produce results in finance, relationships, career, and our personal lives. Proverbs covers 46 subjects and is far more than mere platitude or poetry - the Proverbs are "Laws from Heaven for successful living on earth." Every principle and practice for success in any endeavor is found in its teaching. Many have pointed to the study of Proverbs as the key to turning failure and defeat into success; Others have built their life, career, business, relationships, and personal objectives upon the strategies taught in Proverbs from the start and have experienced outstanding results. I encourage you not to miss a single one of these messages. Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, The God Factor: Wisdom in Attitudes and Actions Is The Key. I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, October 24Th. There is much sickness in our community. One of the area high schools reported that one of every five students is home sick and some elementary schools are reporting even higher numbers. The culprit seems to be the H1N1 virus which is living up to its reputation of being particularly virulent. I have previously written of precautions which can be taken, especially related to alternatives to hand shaking as well as the importance of frequent hand washing. Remember a smile and nod, touching someone on the upper outer arm or shoulder, or the Baptist bump (fist to fist) are all good alternatives. Coughing and sneezing into your sleeve instead of your hand is also being recommended. We want you and your family to stay well and are therefore passing along these reminders to you. For many years my wife, Barb, was Director of Communicable Diseases for Rock Island County and she mentioned to me that never in her many years has she seen the flu this severe this early. So stay well and we hope you will slip through this flu season without incident. Tomorrow our special speakers for the final day of our Mission's Conference will be Bobby Bechtel in the a.m. and Riley Shelton in the p.m. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, October 17th. This Sunday begins our Missions Conference at Edgewood. Bobby Bechtel, our former missionary intern and now veteran missionary to Kenya, our own Dan Cullett, missionary to Thailand, currently on medical leave to treat an ocular problem, and Riley Shelton, veteran missionary with Hope For The World India, will be our featured speakers. The special services will extend from this Sunday, October 18th, through next Sunday, October, 25th, and include the Wednesday evening services mid-week, with a variety of special activities and home group meetings included during the eight days of the conference. Additionally, there will be satellite conversations with some of our other missionaries during the services and plenty of good fellowship and food included in the mix. All-in-all it promises to be a blessed time for our church. Plan on joining us for the exciting kick-off services tomorrow morning and attend as many of the scheduled activities as you can. The strong right arm of our church is missions because it is a cause near to the heart of God and one of Christ's greatest commandments given in the Great Commission to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel."
Mel Brown

Pastor Brown has the flu. His blog will return next week

Good morning on this first Saturday of October. The drama continues to unfold regarding Iran and its pursuit nuclear weapons. We now know considerably more than we did before this weeks revelations. We know that:
1. Iran has more than the two previously known nuclear sites. The multiple sites permit Iran to suffer attacks on some of their sites without losing all of the progress they have made in their quest for nukes. If all of their sites are not identified and destroyed, experts say at best we will only delay their progress by two to three years.
2. Their nuclear installation in Qom is deeply embedded in a mountain necessitating a super bomb to reach far enough into the earth to successfully neutralize it. There is considerable speculation about our ability to penetrate deeply enough to destroy it and even more speculation about Israel's capability to successfully attack this site.
3. Their installation in Qom is near one of their missile sites as well as the military site for their famous Revolutionary Guard troops. Clearly this is no accident.
4. The moderate Arab countries near Iran are also highly concerned about the threat of a nuclear Iran, especially because of Iran's willingness to supply radical Muslim groups with weaponry.
5. Russian leaders talked about being more open to taking stronger steps against Iran, but have frequently refused to follow such talk with action in similar situations in the past. Also, remember that Russia has both economic and military ties to Iran and has supplied Iran with advisers and military materials in the recent past.
6. The results of the summit of selected nations meeting with Iranian leaders this week regarding Iran's nuclear pursuit appears to have bought Iran some time in preventing either imposition of tough sanctions or military action.
We'll be carefully watching future developments and keep you informed.
Tomorrow is Friend Day at Edgewood. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown