Good morning on this Saturday, June 26th. All of us have watched with interest this week as a drama played out in Afghanistan and Washington D.C. involving General Stanley McChrystal, who was the architect and commander of our war effort in Afghanistan. General McChrystal granted a series of interviews with himself and members of his staff to a reporter from the magazine Rolling Stone. The reporter spent many days with the general and his team and was given almost unfettered access. The final article appeared in the magazine this week and in it are many quotes about various government officials overseeing or involved in the war effort. The series of quotes are often derogatory and disparaging toward many government officials mentioned in the piece. General McChrystal was summoned to Washington to meet with President Obama and immediately tendered his resignation under threat of being fired. Again and again media people are questioning why the General and his people would share so many private personal opinions with a reporter and be so careless with their tongues. Clearly this whole episode illustrates the Bible's wise counsel regarding the power of the tongue and the consequences when it is not properly controlled. Proverbs 21:23 warns the tongue can be a source of trouble, Proverbs 15:2 tells us that a wise tongue uses knowledge aright, James 1:19 cautions us to be quick to hear but slow to speak, Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that life and death are in the power of the tongue and reminds us that the tongue must be controlled. If General McChrystal had heeded these verses, he would still have his command!
Tomorrow's sermon is the final message of the Prophecy Update 2010 series. I hope you can make it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 19th of June. Yesterday two strong storms moved through the area with winds up to 80 MPH. This has happened all too often in recent years. I was watching the trees in my back yard bend severely and repeatedly to the point of breaking and was reminded again of a vacation I had several years ago in the Cayman Islands. While we were there Hurricane Charley came through and we were prisoners on the island. There was no way off and all we could do was batten down the hatches and wait for the hurricane to hit. As I sat in the condo I watched the winds whip with ever increasing intensity and the rains fall in sheets. The noise of the storm was like an high-speed freight train passing through. You feel that you are in a hopeless situation because you are. There is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide; all you can do is pray and put yourself in the hands of God. Obviously I survived the ordeal but it left an indelible impression upon me that will last as long as I live! I am reminded of Jesus when He was in the boat with his disciples during a violent storm. He calmed the storm and chided them on their lack of faith. His message was when you have Me with you in the boat, you don't need to fear the storm. His application is "Be still" to each of us. In Luke 6:48-49 He reminds us that if we build our house on the rock instead of the sand, though the floods come, the house will be secure. However bad the storms may be our house in Heaven is waiting and if the storm overwhelms us Jesus will take us to "higher ground." With Jesus with you, you are secure.
Tomorrow's message is the second message of Prophecy Update 2010. I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this rainy Saturday, June 12th. Beginning tomorrow I will preach a series of three sermons on prophecy as Prophecy Update 2010. In the last year there have been numerous geopolitical, technological, and relational developments which can pave the way for the fulfillment of numbers of Biblical predictions. During the coming weeks we'll look at the changing dynamics among key nations mentioned in the prophetic literature, present an updated profile of weaponry developments and expansion, look at some of the latest relevant advances in technology, and take a closer look at the latest perils facing the nation of Israel. These annual prophecy messages have become some of the most popular sermons I deliver each year both in and out of the church and provide an excellent opportunity to invite family members and friends to church. That is because most people have a profound curiosity about what the Bible says about the future. Even some of the most cynical doubters are fascinated with the subject and prophecy has become the vehicle God has used to reach many with the gospel of Christ. Numbers of our people obtain the messages on Cd's and share them with others as a way of influencing them for Christ. I hope you will do so too. Tomorrow's message is entitled, The Current Positioning of the Nations. I hope you won't miss it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, June 5th. George Barna is a Christian researcher/pollster who is continuously researching attitudes and opinions, especially as they relate to all things religious. In one of his recent studies he sampled opinions of church attenders in churches ranging in size from fewer than 100 people to churches of more than 1000. Those who claimed to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that was still important in their lives today and believed that when they died they would go to Heaven ranged from 63% to 75% of the church people sampled. When asked if they agreed with the following seven beliefs:
(1) That their faith is very important in their lives today
(2) That they have a personal responsibility to share their faith in Christ with non-Christians
(3) That Satan exists
(4) That salvation is by grace not works
(5) That Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
(6) That the Bible is accurate in all of its teaching
(7) That God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today
Only between 9% and 25% of the church respondents believed these seven doctrinal statements!
Additionally, people revealed that the purpose of faith was not so much to discover truth or relate to a loving praise-worthy God, but to be happy, successful, comfortable and secure. Spirituality to most respondents was less about Christianity than about self.
Consider these responses in the light of 2 Timothy 3 where it says, "In the last days perilous times shall come" vs. 1, "Men will be lovers of themselves" vs. 2, "Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" vs. 4, "Having a form of Godliness but denying its power" vs. 5; and 2 Timothy 4:3 which says," For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires."
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, Christ-likeness: Transformed Into His Likeness.
I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown