Good morning on this last Saturday of February. As I have mentioned during the series of sermons from the book of Proverbs, we have a invaluable privilege to receive guidance on many topics from the wisest of men, King Solomon. His wisdom is personal platinum and his advice is both sage and practical. If you follow the guidance he offers throughout his many proverbs, you will be well served in any application. When Barb and I were on vacation in Florida last month, we took our GPS device with us to provide guidance as we traveled the roads of the Sunshine State. As we pulled out of the airport parking lot, we activated the device to take us to our first destination and that's when the problems began. The device utterly failed us by mislabelling streets, taking us in the wrong direction, and providing inaccurate information. In the more than twelve months we have used the device, that has never happened to us before. After rebooting the device and encountering the same problems, we turned it off for the rest of our trip and relied a Filling-Station Map. Clearly our GPS as a source of guidance was unreliable. The lesson is that the value of any guidance received is only as good as its source. That's why you can't go wrong with the guidance from Proverbs; its source is impeccable!
Tomorrow's message from Proverbs is entitled, Effectively Applying Life's Great Source of Improvement."
I hope I'll have the privilege of sharing Solomon's guidance with you then. I can guarantee you, it will not lead you astray.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 20th of February. If you are like me you are a big fan of the Olympics, both Winter and Summer. The Winter Games are now in full swing and it is exciting to watch the skiing, skating, sledding, snow-boarding, curling and all the other events. It is especially gratifying to see our fellow Americans winning so many metals. So often a mere fraction of a second makes the difference between winning the gold or silver metal or even being on the podium at all. I often think of all of the sacrifice, hours of practice, and financial expense the athletes spend as they prepare to compete. Then in a matter of minutes or even seconds, the competition is over. The Apostle Paul compared our Christian life and service to Olympic-type athletic contests in which we "run all" holding nothing back and giving our full measure of devotion and effort to living our Christian life and serving our Savior. As we watch the many athletes give so much of themselves to their sports and leave nothing behind on the track, slopes or ice, it becomes a poignant picture of what Christ is asking of each of us. Many who are interviewed after winning assert that it was worth it all. The song writer wrote, "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ. One glimpse at His dear face, all sorrow will erase, so bravely run the race till we see Christ." How right that is!
Tomorrow's sermon is Keys To Wise Communication. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 13th of February. Thank you for your prayers for my wife, Barb's, surgery and speedy recovery. The surgery on her hand was Monday morning and after a rough few days, she is now feeling much better. The intense pain is considerably improved and she is increasingly her old self. Her greatest current complaint is an upset stomach which I attribute to having to eat my cooking during the last few days, a fate some would say is worse than death! Actually, the stomach upset is most likely the result of the strong medications she has had to take to manage the severe pain she experienced following the surgery. Also, her broken foot continues to heal and she is now half way through the eight week healing process the Dr. said would be required for the bone to mend. Being laid up from the hand surgery has helped the foot because she has been horizontal most of this week. Once again we were reminded of how much we take for granted when it comes to our daily lives. Being mobile, free of pain, and able to take care of our own needs are only a few of the things taken for granted until we lose those privileges. It is in times like these that we are reminded of our many blessings, especially when it involves our health, strength and movement. Why not take this opportunity to count your blessings and give thanks to God. An attitude if gratitude is an antidote to many maladies, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Tomorrow's message is entitled, Financial Freedom vs. Financial Folly - Part 2. The handout which accompanies the message is a great blueprint for your finances and the resources listed will be an invaluable set of tools to save you money and help you to stretch your dollars. Please make sure you pick up your copy in the church foyer. I look forward to seeing you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this first Saturday of February. I returned early last Monday from two weeks in Florida to cold temperatures and snow on the way. It was quite a welcome back to winter. Barb and I spent the first week with her 95 year old mother and other members of her family in the Orlando area, then spent the second week hosted by Disney with our daughter, Cheryl, and her family. All-in-all it was a great vacation with one exception. The day before we left, Barb broke her foot which necessitated her using a wheelchair for most of the trip (the foot is broken on the side and was too painful to walk on). She is now able to get around in her special boot most of the time and will require a total of 8 weeks of convalescence. We were relieved to learn that her foot would not require surgery and that her progress in healing has been excellent. Thank you for your prayers while we were gone. I am eager to return to the pulpit and will preach on Proverbs 3:9-10, a message entitled, Financial Freedom vs. Financial Folly. Solomon has some powerful things to say about money matters and you won't want to miss his sage wisdom on handling your finances. I hope I'll have the pleasure of seeing you in the services tomorrow morning.
Mel Brown