Good morning on this Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is the day we remember and honor those soldiers who gave their lives for our country. To date 1,343,812 American military personnel have given their lives while serving in various wars. Here is the breakdown of those U.S. soldiers killed in battle:

4,454 killed in Iraq

1,586 killed in Afghanistan

52,220 killed in Viet Nam

36,574 killed in Korea

405,399 killed in World War II

116,516 killed in World War I

625,000 killed in the Civil War

25,000 killed in the Revolutionary War

77,063 killed in all other wars

It would be easy to look at these statistics and miss the reality that these were someone's son or daughter, someone's husband or wife, someone's father or mother, someone's sister or brother, someone's best friend whose life was tragically cut short in its prime. They died that we might live and they died that we might be free; that is the price of our liberty. Let us thank God for each and every one of them who gave what President Abraham Lincoln called their "last full measure of devotion" for each of us. In our services tomorrow we will be honoring them.

Tomorrow's sermon in entitled, The 1000 Year Reign of King Jesus On Earth. I hope to see you there.

Good morning on this Saturday, May 21st. Here we go again! Once again a well-known preacher, Harold Camping, has named the date of Christ's coming. According to Camping Jesus Christ will return today at 6:00 p.m. Harold Camping is an 89 year old radio preacher who co-founded the Family Radio Network. This is not the first time Camping has predicted the date for Christ's coming, he had previously predicted that He would return in 1994. His calculations are based upon numerology, floods, and the proliferation of earthquakes and other natural disasters. Do I expect the Lord to return at 6:00 p.m. today - NO I DO NOT. Unless Harold Camping knows more than Jesus Christ and the angelic host, this prediction will come and go unfulfilled just like his last one. Jesus warned against such date setting for His return when He said, "But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). The same thought is expressed by our Lord in Matthew 24:36 where He says "But my Father ONLY." People who supposedly had "inside information" and ignored Christ's warning about making such predictions had dotted the landscape of church history with their unfulfilled pronouncements, but the consequences go far beyond their loss of personal credibility. It makes people doubt the genuineness of Christ's future return and fulfills the prophecy of 2 Peter 3:4 of people saying, "Where is the promise of His coming." Many are already mocking Christ's return because of Camping's prediction and it will only get worse after 6:00 p.m. today - what a shame.

Tomorrow's sermon is another in our prophecy series. Please join us.

Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 14th. "Osama bin Laden is dead," read the headline after 40 Navy SEALS entered Pakistan, swooped into the bin Laden compound in four stealth helicopters, and killed the terrorist in his own bedroom. Many people took to the streets in joyous celebration that nearly 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, we had finally tracked bin Laden down and killed him. As I watched the jubilant celebrations, I was reminded of a verse in Proverbs 24:17," Rejoice not when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles." Job 31:29 and Obadiah 1:12 provide similar instruction. The elimination of this terrorist and the threat that he personally posed is not at issue. Undoubtedly, nearly every American is relieved that he is gone and pleased that at long last we got him, but the dancing in the streets, ebullient celebration is premature because: (1) there is considerable evidence that al-Qaeda has other leaders who are stepping into the vacuum and are determined to carry on the jihad against the U.S.A., (2) already threatened reprisals have begun with attacks on human targets as revenge against bin Laden's killing, (3) Many other terrorist groups have vowed to step up attacks against us in retaliation for our killing of bin Laden, (4) it would be a grave mistake to think that we have eliminated the nightmare of threats and attacks from radical groups wishing our demise. Some have described the killing of bin Laden as the cutting off of the head of a snake, but the problem is that there are many other snakes all too ready to strike with their deadly venom.
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, The Great Future Battles In Prophecy. It is a message you will not want to miss.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 7th. Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms. Thank God most of us have had mothers who loved us, cared about us, and taught us good things. But some mothers mentioned in the Bible provided a decisive negative influence upon their children. For instance, after the death of King Jehoram, the inhabitants of Jerusalem chose his son, Ahaziah, to be their next king. 2 Chronicles 22:2 tells us that King Ahaziah's mother was a woman named Athalieh and 22:3 mentions, "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly." His mother's wicked counsel led to disastrous consequences because Scripture says, "He did evil in the sight of the Lord" (22:4). Another example of a wicked mother's terrible advice is related to the death of John the Baptist in the time of Christ. John was the one chosen by God to prepare the way for the Savior through his preaching of the message of repentance. John had publicly condemned King Herod because he was living with Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Herodias' hatred for John led her to direct her daughter to demand Herod to behead John after Herod had promised her daughter to do whatever she asked following an apparent sensual dance during Herod's birthday celebration (Matthew 14:1-11). The vast majority of Biblical narratives about mothers extols the positive influence of mothers upon their children, but the overall message is that mothers can influence their children positively or negatively, for good or bad. Thank God for Godly mothers! If you have or had one, thank God for her; if you didn't, promise God that you will do all you can to be one to your children. Your influence can make the difference for time and eternity in your children's lives.
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, What God Has To Say To Mothers. I hope you'll be able to celebrate Mother's Day at Edgewood with us tomorrow.
Mel Brown