Good morning on this Saturday, April 24th. The world is becoming a scarier place! Earlier this week there were news reports about the U.S.A. launching a new space craft identified as X-37B. The launch is believed to be the first step in what is being called the weaponisation of outer space. The top secret space craft was developed by the military and its mission and cost are shrouded in secrecy. For those of you who would like to read more extensively about this launch and review pictures of the spacecraft go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1268138/X-37B-unmanned-space-shuttle-launched-tonight.
Also, The New York Times posted an extensive article about China's expansion of its naval power with a new strategy called, "far sea defense." which rapidly expands its long- range capabilities. China is also developing a sophisticated submarine fleet to protect its strategic waters.
Iran is rapidly closing in on its nuclear objectives and Venezuela is becoming more cozy with Russia in search of Russian assistance in reaching its technological goals for its own defense. We know that Russia is making rapid progress in rebuilding its military and weapons technology through a massive infusion of money through the sale of its oil resources. It is reported that numerous so called "rogue nations" are hoping Iran will soon become nuclear so they can share their newfound nuclear technology with them.
So the march toward Armageddon continues and therefore the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is getting closer and closer. This is a good time to "make your calling and election sure." and know you are ready for His coming.
Tomorrow's sermon is the third in the series, The Master's Lessons For Living.
I hope to see you in church.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 17th of April. It is a parents job to work themselves out of a job. By that I mean as our children grow and develop, they should become less and less dependent upon us. When they are born they are 100% dependent upon us and can literally do nothing for themselves. As they mature they become able to feed themselves, dress themselves, and overall do more and more to meet their own needs. When they become adults, they should be able to stand upon their own two feet, make intelligent decisions, provide for themselves, and face the vicissitudes of life; hence the old saying, "Wise sons make proud fathers." But it is an interesting fact that when it comes to our relationship with God our Father, we never outgrow our need for Him and His parenting of us. In John 15 where Jesus compares our relationship with the Lord as being like a vine to its branches, the issue illustrated is the importance of our continued dependence upon our Heavenly Father. We never outgrow our need for His role of parenting us, disciplining us, teaching us, strengthening us, overseeing us, directing us , etc. In fact the longer we live our Christian life the more we learn the importance of depending upon and yielding to Him in the various areas of our lives. Unlike our earthly parents who pass away from us, the Lord promises that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). In the Lord's Prayer our role of depending upon our Heavenly Father is laid out through these requests: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven, Give us this day our daily bread, Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors, and Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Thank God we have a loving, faithful Father who cares so much for us, He has numbered the very hairs on our head.
Tomorrow's sermon is the second in the series, The Master's Lessons For Living. I'll see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this first Saturday after Easter. I'm still enjoying the afterglow of Easter. What a wonderful day it was in every way for our Edgewood Baptist Church family. The music, message, testimony, featured guests, crowd, spirit, and results were all superb. Everywhere I go people are talking about how great the Easter services were and complimenting the staff and Edgewood people about the day. Even people who weren't there but heard about the services from family or friends are eager to share the good reports they've received from those who attended. Numbers of you have commented about the sermon I preached and shared how it impacted your life. The Edgewood membership certainly rose to the occasion by volunteering your time and talent and doing an outstanding job of serving in so many ways to make this great event possible. Thank you all for a job well done! Now we are working to follow up the many hundreds of visitors who attended including a vast number who have no church home.
Tomorrow I begin a new series of messages entitled, The Master's Lessons For Living. The series will consist of eight sermons centering on the great life-changing lessons Jesus Christ came to teach us. Following each of these lessons will make your life better in every way. I literally can't wait to teach each of these lessons. I hope you will not miss a single one.
Mel Brown

Happy Easter and good morning on this Easter Eve. I am particularly excited about our Easter services at the i wireless Center at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So many of you have enthusiastically shared with me about friends and family members who have agreed to attend at your invitation, and so many people are finding our invitation cards at check out counters in stores and businesses throughout the Quad Cities. Edgewood's contagious commitment is an inspiration to the entire pastoral staff, especially regarding your willingness to volunteer and serve in so many ways. All-in-all it promises to be a spectacular day which we will be savoring for some time to come. I'm putting the finishing touches on my Easter sermon which is entitled, Resurrection Power. I can't wait to preach this message! Please pray for these things: (1) That the power of God might rest upon me as I preach, (2) That God will pour out His blessings upon every part of this service, (3) That our Lord Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified in every way, and (4) That God will draw the many who have been invited or otherwise considered attending to this service. Our motivating theme is "HE IS RISEN AS HE SAID."
Because He lives,
Mel Brown