Pastor Brown's blog will resume next week.

Good morning on this Saturday, May 22nd. One of my favorite portions of the Bible is the 23rd Psalm. This Psalm is a perennial favorite among believers of all ages and has provided instruction and comfort to people in every circumstance of life since it was written many thousands of years ago. Its powerful imagery of the Lord being our shepherd and we his sheep is beautifully expounded in the classic, A Shepherd Looks At The 23rd Psalm, by W. Phillip Keller. Every Christian should read and study his book. As a man who worked as a shepherd, he takes the Psalm line-by-line, explains in detail each concept, and applys it to our daily living. For instance, he illustrates the meaning of the clause, He anoints my head with oil, (Psalm 23:5) by explaining that the head of the sheep becomes irritated by bugs who bite or sting the sheep repeatedly. These bugs can cause considerable discomfort and inflammation to the sheep, especially around the eyes. The shepherd tenderly applies soothing oil on the affected area which sooths the wounds, promotes healing, and helps prevent further infestation. The application is obvious. We as God's children face stings, bites, and irritations from many sources and circumstances in our lives, but the Lord, our wonderful shepherd, applies a soothing balm to our wounds which is the ultimate demulcent to our cares and pains. He not only heals our wounds but helps prevent damage and discomfort to our lives. How many of us have turned to the Lord when something is "bugging" us and then experienced the meaning of His anointing our heads with oil? If you are hurting today, turn to the shepherd's care - He is only a prayer away, lovingly waiting with the anointing oil.
Tommorrow's sermon is The People God Intends Us To Be. The Blackwood Quartet will be our special guests in both a.m. services. I'll hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 15th. A few weeks ago I wrote about a rocket launch by the U.S. military on a top secret mission. Other than knowing about the launch, all government sources are absolutely mum about the nature and purpose of this project. Numerous sources are reporting the probability that it involves the weaponization of outer space. This week USA Today wrote an article in its Technology Section entitled, "Star Wars Meets Reality? Military Testing Laser Weapons." They began the article with the question, Are we finally witnessing the dawn of the "death ray?" After reporting that the military can shoot down incoming mortar rounds with land-based lasers, they revealed that military commanders are on the verge of successfully firing lasers at tanks and mines from the air. It is referred to as an invisible death ray. Designers have surpassed 100,000 watts of energy within laser blasts which is considered a milestone in the development of effective laser weaponry; however, using lasers for ballistic missile defense remains elusive. Laser technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the potential of laser weaponry is incredible. The descriptions of coming destruction found in the book of Revelation, the Bible's greatest book of prophecy, could easily be the results of both nuclear and laser weaponry. Many challenges and obstacles for lasers remain but Mike Rinn of Boeing's Airborne Laser Program stated "All the science and physics are now proven as far as how lasers work and what they can do." As world powers continue their hunger for more and more powerful and effective weapons, we continue rapidly on the march to Armageddon.
Tomorrow's sermon is another on The Master's Lessons for Living. I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 8th. Financial markets were roiled this week by the circumstances occurring in Greece and the financial threat occurring in numerous other European countries. The European Union consists of 27 nations, 16 of which use a common currency called the Euro. Greece has been teetering on the edge of insolvency and has now agreed to a 144 billion dollar bailout from other European countries and the International Monetary Fund together with the implementation of certain austerity measures to avoid immediate bankruptcy. Articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal highlight that Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland are also in deep financial trouble and will probably require financial assistance and serious austerity measures. The good old American "greenback" as the dollar has frequently been called has been the currency of choice for a variety of reasons, but that is not necessarily true for the indefinite future because of the mounting debt in the United States. Now Russia and China have called for the creation of a new currency which will supersede the dollar as the currency of choice. Most prophecy experts believe that such a currency will ultimately become a reality and will become a tool of the Antichrist and his future one-world government to regulate and control future commerce. This situation bears watching as a confluence of circumstances make the demand for such a currency greater and greater. So keep looking up because the coming of the Lord is getting closer every day!
Tomorrow's message is another from the series, The Master's Lessons for Living. I hope you'll be present as we honor our mothers during this service on Mothers Day.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this first Saturday of May. Several weeks ago I wrote about a proposed tamper-proof national biometric identity card. Details about the proposed I.D. card were released earlier this week. It would be a Social Security card containing a chip that all workers including American citizens would have to produce to an employer upon being hired. Every employer would have to have a new verification scanner to confirm the validity of each applicant's Social Security card. A national system would be created to register both births and deaths to prevent people from using a deceased person's I.D. The cross-referencing of an I.D. card with the birth and death list would supposedly prevent its fraudulent usage. The proposed card would contain an identification marker such as an individuals finger print and would be required to be carried by every worker in the nation within the next six years. The national I.D. program would be named BELIEVE system, an acronym for Biometric Enrollment Locally stored Information and Electronic Verification of Employment. A digital encryption key would have to match employment databases. This proposal by the senate leadership now presented in detail has moved the issue to a new level. The overt threat of terrorism, porous borders, and immigration fraud have made the acceptance of a proposed national I.D. card more amenable to a host of Americans. We'll be carefully following these developments in the days ahead.
Tomorrow's message is entitled, Learning To Communicate Using Christ's Communication Techniques. Also, tomorrow's service will include communion.
I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown