Barbara and I would like to thank the wonderful people of Edgewood for giving us such a tremendous retirement send off. We especially appreciate all of the 1411 people who attended our final services on Christmas weekend. We love and appreciate you so very much.

In this our final Edgewood blog, we wish you a Happy New Year!
Mel and Barb Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, December 22nd. I'm covering a potpourri of items in this week's blog.

Tomorrow's Sunday Christmas service is one you won't want to miss. The music, drama and message will make this one of the finest Christmas holiday services you have ever attended. The service will continue the theme of an Unexpected Christmas.

The 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm services on Monday, Christmas Eve will help your family to put Christ in the center of your Christmas celebrations. I've long cherished the focus that observing communion on Christmas Eve brings to our congregation.  In reviewing this year's program, I believe it will be the best Christmas Eve service we've ever had in my many years at Edgewood. This year after the service we'll send you on your way home with a cup of warm cider or hot chocolate. The services will warm you spiritually and the hot drink will warm you physically - that is a winning combination for sure!

My daughter, Lori and I have been delivering Christmas baskets together since she was a little girl (Since she is now a middle-aged woman, that has been for many years). This year we added a new dimension, my granddaughter, Kaitlynn (age 10) joined us for the visits. What a blessing that was! After our visits we continued our long-standing tradition of sharing a meal together to celebrate the completion of our mission.

This year the Browns will again all assemble at our house for Christmas. Tim arrived last night and Cheryl and her brood will arrive later today. We'll all attend the Christmas Eve services at Edgewood, then head home for a buffet and open our gifts. How great it always is to have all of our children and grandchildren together for good food, good fun and good fellowship. On Christmas Day we play games, share meals (with considerable grazing all day of all the goodies) and have lots of conversation and fun. We'll all take our turns at playing pool, ping pong, board games, and some video games as well. I always enjoy being full time in the father/grandfather business.

Between Christmas and New Year, Lord willing, I'll be cleaning out my office, emptying my desk, purging my files and transferring my library (I've donated the best of my 6000 volume library to the church). I had hoped to have all of that done by Christmas but my busy schedule did not permit it - so it will become a major project post-Christmas instead.

If for any reason you will not be able to attend our Christmas services, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this early Saturday, December 15th. Since this is the next to the last blog I will write as Senior Pastor of the Edgewood Baptist Church, I would like to express a series of appreciations to the wonderful people I have had the privilege of serving these 44 plus years.

Thank you to the staff who have served with and under me so faithfully through the years. Edgewood has an efficient, well-equipped, spiritually dynamic group of staff members who have made my pastorate both productive and effective. Their often sacrificial service have made my job much easier and they are worthy of double honor for a job well done. 

Thank you to the members of the church boards who have so effectively partnered with me to move Edgewood forward and meet the needs of our people. I appreciate your faithfulness, support, leadership and assistance through the years. No man ever had a finer group to serve with than I.

Thank you to the teachers and helpers who have ministered the Word of God to the various aged people in the church, communicated the life-changing message of the Lord and faithfully shared the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. From those serving in the nursery to those ministering to the senior saints, you have made a difference in so many lives and I appreciate every one of you.

Thank you to those who have served in every capacity to make Edgewood a beacon for Christ. We have nearly 700 people who have served in some capacity in our congregation. You are the often unsung heroes who enable the church to carry out the ministry of our Lord. From those who usher to those who pick up paper around the church, I share my deep appreciation for your service.

Finally, thank you to every member of our church. I appreciate your love and faithfulness in attending the services. I have said repeatedly that Edgewood has some of the finest people this side of eternity and that there is no other people I would have preferred to pastor. You are the best and I love you very much. You contributed $1,425, 000 last year, made Edgewood debt free with property valued at 12 million dollars and made it possible to take 128 new people in the church, most of them by baptism. I appreciate your prayers, attendance, giving and inviting others to attend. I so appreciate every one of you.

This week's message is another in my final series, It is All About Jesus. I hope you will be attending,
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, December 8th. The genuine Christmas scene as recorded in the Bible is considerably different from the Christmas scenes depicted in modern manger scenes and most of today's Christmas plays. For those of you who are Christmas sentimentalists I will now provide a spoiler alert to hide the children (maybe I need to hide myself also after this article). Here are some important differences highlighting the fact and fiction of the events associated with Christ's birth.

December 25th, the day we traditionally celebrate the birth of Christ, is probably not the actual date of Christ's birth. It is unlikely Christ was born in December because the Bible reports that the angels appeared unto the shepherds announcing His birth "While shepherds were abiding in the fields watching over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). Shepherds did not usually abide in the field by night during the cold of December. The birth of Christ has been identified with any and every month of the year by various scholars and the exact date is unknown, although it was likely before December 25th.  Biblical Archeology Review reports that the earliest writing associating the birth of Christ with the date of December 25th was from a mid-fourth-century Roman almanac. The early-church father's writings do not associate the December 25th date with Christ's birth. Two prominent theories have emerged about why December 25th was chosen as the traditional Christmas date. The first suggests that a pagan holiday was "Christianized" and adapted to become a celebration of Christ's birth. The second was that upon the calculation of the date of Christ's death, and working backward through the various events of Christ's life, the December 25th date was set. But I remind you that some of the intermediate dates are quite suspect making the results of the process potentially flawed. One thing we know for sure is that if God would have wanted us to be certain of the exact date, He would have made certain that we knew. Perhaps God did not want the remembrance of His Son's birth to become too "commercialized" or "perfunctory" as many would argue it has become today.

The Wise Men did not come to the manger scene. Scripture says they came to the house and saw the young child (Matthew 2;9-11). Scholars place the time of their arrival somewhere between days after Christ's birth up to two years later.

We do not know how many Wise Men there were. The tradition of three Wise Men came from the number of the gifts they brought, i.e., gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It was assumed that if there were three gifts there must have been three men but that may be incorrect. Two men could have brought three gifts or four or more men could have brought three gifts. Their number is speculation and nothing more.

Christmas trees became associated with the celebration of Christmas in Germany in the 16th century. Martin Luther is credited with first placing candles to light the Christmas tree to simulate the beauty of the moonlight on the outdoor trees at night.

These are some of the major discrepancies between the Biblical account and modern tradition. But we must always remember to make Christ the center of our Christmas celebrations and traditions. All of the surrounding Christmas traditions are nice but we are celebrating the Savior's birth, and all that it represents, not the carols, gifts, trees, lights or bells. Christmas is about CHRIST!

So there are no misunderstandings, I celebrate Christmas with all the usual traditions, decorated Christmas tree, lights, exchanging of gifts, eggnog, mistletoe (only with Barb), feasting and all the trimmings, but if these supersede Christ in Christmas, we are missing what Christmas is really all about.

I hope to see you in church tomorrow and every service during this Christmas season.
Mel Brown

 

Good morning on this Saturday, December 1st. Because of the rise in atheism/agnosticism  in the United States, there is a growing assault not only on Christian principles but also on Christian traditions, all in the name of political correctness.

Instead of wishing customers "Merry Christmas" some retailers have asked their sales people to say, "Happy Holidays." This is a subtle but important change which diminishes Christmas as a designated season celebrating the birth of Christ.

Instead of calling a specially decorated tree a "Christmas Tree," various government entities and some enterprises are insisting that it be called a "Holiday Tree." When people object and insist on honoring the traditional name, some officials have proposed eliminating the presence of a tree altogether. I'm well aware that a Christmas tree is not, nor ever has been, a Biblical part of the Christmas story, but it has been a modern-day symbol of Christmas celebration associated with the Christmas season for many years.

Instead of manger scenes displayed on the landscapes of parks and in front of special buildings, such scenes are being removed or replaced with "Winter Solstice" tributes, and in some instances, messages of atheism, e.g., Santa Monica, California.

Instead of singing traditional Christmas songs during various Christmas celebrations, participants are singing seasonal songs designated as "seasonally appropriate music."

All of these changes are more and more taking the "Christ" out of Christmas and that is only one more part of the tragic trend of the secularization of our society. Thank God some are standing up and fighting this trend by insisting that the traditions of Christmas be honored because the central message of Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ.

However as Christians we should all be aware that while atheists are trying to strip away the traditions of Christmas, we can become so caught up in the decorations, shopping, giving and receiving of gifts and festivities, we as believers strip away the real meaning of Christmas which is "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

I hope to see you in church tomorrow.
Mel Brown

Pastor Brown's blog will return following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Good morning on this Saturday, November 17th. In my recent blogs I have highlighted the rise of atheism, agnosticism and secularism in America and the corresponding decline in Christian influence. I wrote of the need for sweeping revival as our greatest remedy to reverse this trend and restore Christian faith and values as the predominate influence in our society. I also detailed the application of the revival formula found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, i.e., humbling ourselves, praying, seeking God's face and turning from our sinful ways.

We desperately need strong Christian influencers in key areas of our culture. Those who occupy key positions of leadership and influence in our society greatly influence the attitudes, values, and behavior of the masses. Here are some suggestions:

(1) We need Godly influencers in media. Hollywood and television have been overtaken with secularists who promote their values in movies, television shows, and other programming. Committed Christians are usually presented as nuts or hypocrites and sinful ways are not only featured, but often glorified. Wholesome entertainment is in the minority and illicit sex, violence, drugs and hedonism (pleasure pursuit) predominate. Media producers and writers are largely committed to a secular agenda which at the least ignores Christianity, and at the most belittles or attacks it. Would to God we had more fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ producing programs and being responsible for their content. The average person spends many hours each day in front of the TV and its influence is substantial, especially over long periods of time. I read that by the time a child reaches young adulthood s/he has been exposed to 100,000 sexual references, most of them illicit. Do you think that isn't having significant influence upon their thinking, beliefs, and activities?

(2) During my 12 years of college and graduate school education, half was in Christian institutions and half was in secular. I took courses at numerous secular universities during my career and, believe me, I heard plenty of anti-Christian propaganda presented in the classroom as truth. Anti-Biblical values were presented in a variety of classes, and if I would not have had a strong Biblical foundation, I could have been greatly influenced by what I was being taught. We need Christian teachers and professors throughout our educational systems who will influence students based upon Christian values not humanism. Mark Milioni, the new president of BBC, reported that 75% of our graduating high school seniors are going to secular universities and while there 85% of them will drop out of church. Now that is a telling statistic!

(3) We need Christians in positions of influence in government at every level (local, state and national), in business, in unions, in newspapers, in medicine, in law, and in every other profession.

(4) Preachers need to return to fearlessly preaching the whole-counsel of God not ear-tickling, feel-good sermons and who will lead their churches to take a strong stand for right and wrong. Remember the Biblical warning, "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

That's my two-cents worth as my grandmother used to say.
I hope to see you in church tomorrow when I preach another message in the series, It Is All About Jesus.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, November 10th. In his video, The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment: Is There an Ancient Mystery That Foretells America's Future,? Rabbi Jonathan Cahn draws a series of interesting parallels between the application of this obscure passage in Isaiah to our current circumstances in America and the judgment of ancient Israel. After expounding the effects of ancient Israel's indifference to God, lack of repentance and self-determined prideful course of action to God's judgments, he cites the crystal-clear remedy God provides in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  
This passage more than any other in Scripture prescribes the formula for genuine revival. Let's take a closer look at this Scripture passage.

To humble oneself means to be low or bring oneself into subjection. This is the initial requirement because without bringing ourselves into complete subjection to God with a willingness to wholeheartedly repent of our ungodly ways, there can be no revival.

To pray means to entreat, to make supplication, to intercede. It is found in this passage as reflexive which emphasizes the "himself" application, meaning each person must himself pray or make supplication to the Lord.

To seek God's face means to seek to find, to desire, even to require and demand God's person and presence. The expression cannotes closeness to God as the concept of "face-to-face" with Him.

To turn from our wicked ways means to repent or turn away from our evil thoughts, deeds and actions.

These requirements for revival are the conditions required for the fulfillment of the promise from God, e.g., THEN I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.

The expanded translation would therefore read , "If my people who are called my my name would bring themselves low and in complete subjection humble themselves before me, and each of us himself, entreat, pray with supplication, and with desire and determination seek to find the face-to-face closeness to me and My presence, and turn back to me and away from their evil thoughts and ways in genuine repentance of their sins, then I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land."

Would to God that this would happen to us today in America, but we must all consider that it begins with each one of us!

Tomorrow's sermon is another in the series, It Is All about Jesus. The message will show that only Jesus could be the true messiah.  I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown 

Good morning on this Saturday, November 3rd. In last week's blog I wrote about the increasing acceptance and influence of atheism and agnosticism in America, especially in those under the age of 25. I mentioned that in today's blog I would begin to address some of the cures.

The most perfect prescription is the one prescribed by God in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land." This Scripture, more than any other in the Bible, is God's formula for genuine revival. Revival throughout history has represented a spiritual awakening, a deep spiritual stirring among God's people leading to their complete commitment to Christ which produces wide-spread evangelism among those without Christ.

When my former professor, Peter Connolly and his partner, Jock Troop were leading the sweeping revivals in the British Isles years ago, whole towns would virtually suspend commerce, flock to the largest building in the community where more were listening on the outside than the inside because of the enormous crowds, and thousands would come to Christ. When they would leave the town the churches would be full, the bars would be empty and you could walk down the streets and hear the sounds of Christian hymns emanating from homes everywhere on the streets. Talk about a cure for unbelief!

How wonderful would it be to be part of such a mighty moving of God in our churches, communities country and ultimately to our whole world. But revival is ultimately about reviving individuals who together make up families, churches and towns. Revival must begin with each one of us. Next week we'll expound the 2 Chronicles 7:14 formula and I'll share the revival God sent to Edgewood during some of our darkest days.

Tomorrow's sermon is another in the series, "It Is All About Jesus." Will you be there?
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, October 27th. The Psalmist wrote, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." (Psalm 33:12). Recently I read a research article which was very troubling to me as both a U.S. citizen and a pastor. The article revealed that 20% of the U.S. population is either atheist (doesn't believe there is a God) or agnostic (doesn't believe that one can know if God exists) and doesn't claim any connection with any religion whatsoever. That percentage has been growing throughout the years. When I entered the ministry almost 50 years ago the percentage of Americans who labelled themselves atheist was only about 4% of the population. That means it has increased nearly five-fold in less than 50 years! Even more troubling is the breakdown by age of the respondents. For those in the age group under 25, the figure is closer to 35% . There is a seismic shift occurring in attitudes toward God in our culture.

Add to that the figure of only 5% of those who are church members being fully committed and devoted followers of Jesus Christ and you have a darkening picture of genuine faith and discipleship in the Christian faith. More and more there is evidence of folks languishing in lethargy when it comes to the things of God.

Adherence to a Biblical world view and Biblical values is also at record lows according to research by George Barna. Humanism and practically every other "ism" has crept into our lifestyles and it is showing more and more in our nation.

We can say with the Psalmist, "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Psalm 85:6).

In next week's blog I'll provide some solutions to reverse these trends. Be sure to read what I have to say in my next blog.

Our missionary to Nicaragua and former intern, Jason Kratochvil will be speaking in tomorrow's  a.m. services, and tomorrow night we'll have a reception to mark the conclusion of Derek and Melissa Glynn's internship at Edgewood. Please plan to join us for these services.
Mel Brown  

Good morning on this Saturday, October 20th. In preparation for my 44th Anniversary/Retirement  Dinner, November 8th, the planning committee asked my wife to provide a series of pictures which depict our family and ministry at Edgewood throughout the years. Barb has spent time with our daughter Lori, going through albums and boxes of pictures to select the ideal representative photos, and I would sneak some peeks at some of them throughout the process. Wow, what changes have occurred throughout these 44 years. The three biggest changes for me have been hair, weight, and wrinkles! What happened to all that thick black curly hair, that slim trim figure and that smooth tight skin - they have truly vanished away. When I came to Edgewood as a young 25 year old guy I weighed 155 lbs. and now, lets put it diplomatically, that was a few pounds ago. I used to tell folks that I was so skinny in those days that I only had one stripe on my pajamas and when I would stick out my tongue and turn sideways, people mistook me for a zipper. I've lost so much hair throughout these years my head looks more like a cue ball than a Chia Pet. As for the wrinkles, lets just say I could be a good candidate for one of Debbie Boone's Lifestyle Lifts.  But I would not turn back the clock or change my life for all the tea in China because they have helped me to become the person I am today and have been part of fulfilling the will of God for my life.

The struggles have produced patience because tribulation produces patience (Romans 5:3), the grey hair has produced knowledge and wisdom in the pursuit of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31), the sicknesses have produced empathy and compassion (Zechariah 7:8-10) and the heartaches have produced appreciation  and joy (Ecclesiastes 7:14). Through every circumstance the Lord has been my companion, seen me through and given grace sufficient to meet all my needs. As He said, "... My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

It is so comforting that through all the changes the years bring, God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6) and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Tomorrow's special speaker will be the new president of Baptist Bible College, Mark Milioni. I hope you'll be there to hear his message.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, October 13th. When Jesus was being interrogated by Pilate (the Roman governor of Judea) before He was condemned and sent to the cross, He was asked a series of questions, "What have you done,?" "Are you a king,?" and "What is truth?" Jesus answered the first question by stating that His kingdom is not of this world; He answered the second question by saying that Pilate was correct in referring to Him as a king because He was born and came into the world for that purpose to bear witness to the truth. He added that those who were of the truth would hear His voice. Pilate's third question "What is truth" went unanswered, but Pilate had heard enough to proclaim, "I find no fault in this man" (John 18:35-38).

What is the right answer to Pilate's question about truth? Truth is usually defined as that which is in accordance with fact or reality as compared to mere appearance or falsehood. When Jesus proclaimed that He is the way, the truth, and the life in John 14:6, He was confirming that He is the embodiment of truth. All that He is, says, and does is true. He is the very essence of truth.

When someone is sworn in to testify in a court of law, they promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That is the essence of Jesus Christ as truth. I

We have recently been bombarded with political ads on TV with claims and counter claims. So-called facts and contested facts often with half truths or even little truth. When I fact check some ads I find lots of distortions, untruths, and "political spin." I am sick and tired of those playing loose and fast with the truth.

Thank God that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is always the truth. Now that is a comfort and blessing in a world so filled with falsehood!

Tomorrow's sermon is another in the series, "It Is All About Jesus." I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown
                 

Good morning on this Saturday, October 6th. We are a people who are always focusing on the importance of being first. First place is the coveted place in graduating classes in school. Finishing first in an athletic contest is the acme of success to competitors with all Olympians striving for the coveted gold metal. Kids often rush to be first in line to go to recess or lunch. Radio stations have promotions where the first 10 callers win the prize. The first one to hit the buzzer on game shows has the opportunity to answer the question and win on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. Many brag about being the first to have a new product such as the new IPhone or IPad.

But the first that Jesus asked us to constantly pursue is often neither coveted nor practiced in many Christian's lives. Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). The word "seek" in this verse is both imperative and continuous in action (present tense) which means we are to constantly, seriously, and with absolute prioritization seek God's kingdom (rule) and pursue the righteousness of Jesus Christ in our lives.

When I was a young Christian I read Sheldon's book, "In His Steps" which presented the case of people who would regularly ask themselves the question, "What would Jesus do?" and then attempted to live their lives by doing what Jesus would do. The impact on their decisions, priorities, and actions was incredible in every area of their lives.

Are we willing to make that the first in our lives? That is the most important question we can consider as followers of Jesus Christ  because it is the most important first of all.

Tomorrow's sermon begins a series entitled, "It Is All About Jesus." I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, September 29th. Today's blog is a potpourri of subjects I wanted to cover.

(1) Please pray for our missionaries to Kenya and former interns, the Bobby Bechtels. Their son Dylan, underwent a procedure to repair a hole in his heart and subsequently suffered a blood clot on his brain. The Bechtels were to be with us this weekend for our Missions Emphasis Day, but were told by their son's doctor that they are to stay within 20 minutes of the hospital in Des Moines until the crisis passes. We will have a special video testimony from the Bechtels in tomorrow's services, but our Mission's Pastor, Dan Cullett, former missionary to Thailand, will be speaking in the Bechtel's absence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bechtel family today and in the days ahead.
May God heal Dylan and comfort the Bechtel family.

(2) Special thanks to those Edgewooders who invited and brought first-time visitors to last Sunday's special gospel-outreach services. We had nearly 40 first-time adult visitors attend our various services to hear the message about the necessity of the new birth. For those who did not receive Christ during these services, we are following up their visits and attempting to win them to the Lord. Please urge them to keep attending. I remind you that most adults do not respond to the gospel the first time they hear it. The majority of adults respond only after hearing it several times.

(3) We have only about 25 openings left for my 44th Anniversary/Retirement Banquet on Thursday, November 8th at the Davenport Fair Grounds facility. You need to make your reservation as soon as possible because of the limited seating. When we have filled all of the reserved seating, we will have to add people to a waiting list and some will not be able to attend. Since we don't want that to happen to you, we are reminding you to be sure to sign up during tomorrow's a.m. services.

(4) Our current missionary interns, Derek and Melissa Glynn, will be concluding their internship on October 31st. Derek will be ordained at 6:00 p.m., October 14th. On Sunday evening October 28th, Edgewood will celebrate the conclusion of their internship with a reception in the church's Multipurpose Center. Mark your calendar with these dates and don't miss these events. We want to do everything we can to encourage the Glynn's as they prepare for their missionary work in Costa Rica. With Stacy Lovett now in Japan after her commissioning service last month, and the Glynn's preparing to go to Costa Rica, we will have two of our finest young people who have grown up at Edgewood fulfilling their calling as missionaries. We thank God for our mission's emphasis at Edgewood and the fruit it is bearing.

I'll look forward to seeing you in tomorrow's services.
Mel Brown

Outstanding Meeting

Good morning on this Saturday, September 22nd. I am writing my blog a little later than the normal time today because I had a power outage which caused my Internet connection to fail. I'm writing today on my son-in-law's IPad through his Internet connection. Earlier this week I had the privilege of speaking at the Fall Baptist Bible Fellowship Meeting in Canton, Ohio. I was burdened by the number of preachers who confided in me their level of discouragement and heartache. It was a blessing to be able to provide them encouragement and hopefully help with their burdens as pastors and missionaries. In light of the statistics I shared about pastors in my message, I suppose I should not have been surprised at their needs, but when you hear their stories, it is a heart-wrenching experience. Their is a truism that has often been repeated in ministry, "God never wastes a heartache." My experiences in the early days of my ministry at Edgewood helped me to not only understand their burdens but empathize as well. I found myself wanting to weep over their circumstances and become determined to help them any way I could.

I also found myself thanking God for today's Edgewood and the wonderful people who have supported me through the nearly 50 years of my ministry. Thank you to all of the Godly faithful people who have made my ministry a success and given me such joy in my service for The Lord. It is because of God's grace and you that I am what I am today, and I thank God for the privilege of pastoring some of the very best of God's people. As one of our members told me, "we brought you up right." After 44 years through the tough times and the good, I can say, Amen to that.
Mel Brown

Pastor Brown is speaking at the national Baptist Bible Fellowship Pastor's meeting. His blog will resume next week.

Good morning on this Saturday, September 8th. Today's blog is a potpourri of items I'd like to discuss.

(1) Please be sure to sign up as soon as possible for my 44th Anniversary/Retirement dinner on Thursday, November 8th. There is a limited number of seats at the Davenport Fairgrounds facility and seating is on a first come-first served sign-up basis. It promises to be a wonderful evening of great food, fellowship and fun. I would hate for you to miss this very special occasion.

(2) We are in a countdown to the weekend of September 22nd, 23rd in a special effort to bring our unsaved/unchurched relatives, friends and neighbors to Edgewood's services to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. After hearing the fate of those who will be left behind during our prophecy series, it behooves all of us to go all out to reach those who don't know Christ before our Lord returns. These outreach services coming up in just two short weeks will provide an excellent opportunity to bring them to church and win them to Christ.

(3) Canada is closing its embassy in Iran and urging their citizens to return home, ostensibly because of Iran's failure to protect other country's embassies, but the undercurrent is that they expect Israel to strike Iran's nuclear sites sometime before the end of the year. Many analysts are opining that a strike against Iran is highly likely before our presidential elections. Syria, Hezbollah, and others have vowed if Iran's nuclear sites are attacked they will retaliate against both the United States and Israel. Clearly such a strike grows more likely every day.

(4) Aren't you sick and tired of all of the political ads flooding the airwaves. Usually we have to endure a bevy of them in the months immediately before the election but this year they started many months ago and have aired everywhere ad nauseam, and my phone has been ringing off the hook with repeated political calls. I will be glad when the election is over and the constant barrage of ads finally will come to an end. But we still have two months to go and it undoubtedly will get worse before it gets better.

I hope to see you in church tomorrow to hear my sermon entitled, A Life-Changing Encounter With Christ.
Mel Brown

Pastor Brown's blog will return next weekend.

Good morning on this Saturday, August 25th. Last Sunday's message was the last in the Prophecy 2012 series of sermons and I thought I would use this blog to answer a few of your questions regarding access to the messages.

(1) The entire series is available on CD. You may order the series through the Tape Ministry at the Information Desk in the church's main foyer.
(2) CDs of each individual message are available from the same source if you need a particular sermon.
(3) The messages are available for download in both video and audio for viewing/listening on the church's website, www.edgewoodbaptist.net. Simply click on the sermons tab and select the sermon of interest.
(4) Because of copyright issues, I could not print out copies of the maps and graphics used to illustrate some of the messages. Access information for viewing some of these materials on your computer is included with some of the sermons on our website.
(5) Interest in this year's series of messages has been at a all-time high, presumably because of current world events and geopolitical crises. If some of the sermons have not been immediately available because our supply has been sold out, please order the CD you wanted and you should be able to pick it up the following week at the Information Desk.
(6) If you are interested in following prophecy on a continuing basis, I recommend visiting the Prophecy Central website at www.bible-prophecy.com. This site is devoted exclusively to Biblical prophecy and includes insights and updates for leading prophecy scholars. The site also features an encyclopedic index of prophetic events with noteworthy event updates.

Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, King Saul: The Rise and Fall of a Leader. We will also have the privilege of commissioning Stacy Lovett, one of our own, who will soon be leaving for Japan to begin her missionary work there. I hope you will be able to attend.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, August 18th. Tomorrow's message will be the final lesson in our prophecy series. The message will answer eight prophecy questions members have asked pertaining to all of the material we've taught during the last two months.
The unfolding of numerous current events are of continuing interest to a student of the Bible's predictions of future events.

(1) The leadership of Iran continues to insist that soon Israel will no longer exist. Iran's president Ahmadinejad now adds that Israel's existence is "an insult to all humanity," and has again insisted that soon Israel will be no more. Joining him in insisting on the destruction of Israel is Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who possesses ultimate influence over Iran's policies. Because Iran is now very close to having nuclear weapons and the rockets to deliver them, this threat is ominous and of special importance. For years Iran has had the desire and determination to wipe Israel off the map, but now they will soon possess the means to do so.

(2) Egypt has placed the Muslin Brotherhood in power over the country and their newly elected leader Muhammad Morsi has solidified his power by removing two powerful military leaders from their posts. We now know his intentions because he has begun crucifying those who oppose him.naked on trees in front of the Presidential Palace. Those being crucified are any who oppose the new regime including Egyptian Christians. Raymond Ibrahim of the Middle East Forum and Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that Christians are being especially brutalized with the crucifixions being justified by Islamic doctrine as required by the Quran.

(3)Not only has Iran threatened numerous U.S. bases around the world if Israel or the U.S. attempts to take out their nukes, but the head of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant with close ties to Iran has promised to "transform the lives of millions of Israelis to 'hell'" if Israel attacks Lebanon.

These threats from the Iranians are more than just rhetoric. This is a powder keg with a short fuse waiting to be ignited. The Israeli Rabbi Heir warns that Hitler used such rhetoric years ago which was then ignored by the Jews to their peril. Israeli leaders have warned they will not make that mistake again. The scene is set, the situation is escalating and Russia continues to contribute to the atomic program of Iran. Heavy sanctions imposed upon Iran may yet turn the tide in favor of a peaceful outcome, but if I were a betting man, I would bet against their working. Time will tell.

Don't miss tomorrow's message. You will be blessed by being there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, August 11th. Summer does not officially end until late September, but I always kind of considered the signal for the ending of summer as the time when the kids go back to school. Historically that used to be the day after Labor Day, but now days can occur any time from late July to mid-August for most schools. Most of us will be glad to see this summer finally end and will welcome the cooler temps of fall because of the intense heat - temps up to 108 degrees. In fact the Weather Bureau has announced that July 2012 is officially the hottest July on record since records began to be preserved in 1895.
As I drive around the area I see lawns everywhere browned  because of the heat and drought. Very few lawns have survived unscathed this summer. It seems the only part of my lawn which has flourished this year has been the weeds! The brown grass indicates the lawn has gone dormant, Here are a few facts from the experts about caring for grass in the dormant state.
(1) The dormant state means the grass has focused its water resources on the roots.
(2) Depending on the type of grass and the condition of the lawn, most dormancy lasts at least 3-4 weeks before the grass begins to die.
(3) It is recommended to water the lawn thoroughly (soil whetted down to 5 inches) to rehydrate the grass and keep it from dying if the drought lasts more than 4 weeks.
(4) Do not mow, fertilize or otherwise stress the grass during this dormant period because the grass is not healthy enough to withstand strain or repair itself. You can spot treat the weeds.
(5) When the grass comes out of dormancy, give it much tender loving care to help it grow and thrive.
I have written about this topic to apply a particular  truth to some Christian's lives. Some believers suffer from summer spiritual dormancy. They travel, camp, vacation, attend sporting events, picnic, and neglect church attendance and their spiritual lives. Though they have the Living Water within to sustain them, they fail to tap the spring and let it flow and flourish them. They become spiritually dry and parched. If that is true of you I urge you to water your spiritual life with the water of His Word, His house, and His Spirit. Jesus promised in John 4:14, "Whoever drinks of the water I will give him will never thirst." To maintain spiritual health we need to drink deeply and regularly. Our fellowship with the Lord is dependent upon it..
Tomorrow's message is "Answers To Prophecy Questions." I hope to see you there so we can drink of His Word together.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, August 4th. Last week I wrote about the beginning of the 2012 Olympic Games, the opening ceremony, and the game's relationship to their forerunner, the athletic competitions in the Apostle Paul's day. I quoted Paul's references comparing the Christian life to running a race and striving to win the prize. I wrote about the incredible desire, determination and discipline required of the athletes to prepare for and compete in the Olympic games and compared that discipline to the discipline(s) practiced by Christ in His life. I promised to highlight those disciplines in today's blog.
But as I began outlining those many disciplines, I became aware that merely having such a list without the necessary explanation and application would not convey what was needed to help you put them into practice in your life.
Consequently, I have decided to prepare a more detailed commentary and make it available to the church. Within the next couple of weeks it should be ready and available for distribution in the Edgewood foyers.  Please watch for this summary and commentary in the coming weeks and be sure to pick up your personal copy.
Tomorrow's sermon is another in our series on prophecy. I hope you'll be able to be there.
Mel Brown

Good evening on this late Friday, July 27th. Tonight as I write my blog I'm watching the final segment of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics coming from London. I'm one who is a huge fan of both the summer and winter Olympic games and eagerly anticipate their arrival every four years.

Watching some of the finest athletes from all over the world compete to be the best in their events is a thrilling experience, especially when the competition is so keen that as little a one-hundredth of a second can separate the metal winners. Most of the competitors begin preparing years in advance and spend the majority of their time and energy training for their competitions. They give it their all as they strive to win. It takes desire, determination and discipline to go for the gold.

The coming of the Olympics always reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote about the early games of his time as he used them to illustrate what is required to live a successful Christian life. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Know you not that they who run a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain." He adds in Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." That same desire, determination and discipline that is required to succeed in the athletic world is also required in the spiritual. Being spiritual doesn't happen by accident any more than an athlete winning the Olympic gold metal.

One of the great books written in our generation for believers is "The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives" by Dallas Willard. In that book Dr. Willard carefully details the disciplines Christ practiced continually in His life and emphasizes that if we are to be Christ-like, we must follow His example. Next week I'll write about the disciplines Christ regularly practiced and apply them to our lives.

Sunday's sermon is another in our series of messages on prophecy. Please plan to hear it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, July 21st. I returned home yesterday afternoon after spending a week in Colorado. All of the family was together on the trip including my kids and grandkids as we enjoyed quality time and fun activities together. We all enjoyed the sightseeing, visiting some of the magnificent parks, fly fishing, white water rafting and the beautiful scenery of the snow-capped mountains and crystal-clear streams. Several years ago I took members of my family to visit the sights where I grew up. This trip we did the same for all the members of our family to see where Barb grew up including the houses where her family lived, the church building where her father pastored, the places where she worked, the schools she attended, and other significant places from her childhood and adolescent years, so family members would have a visual legacy of her earlier life. Everyone had a good time and it was great to all be together again having fun and enjoying each other's company.
When my daughter Lori graduated from high school, I remember thinking that this would probably be the last time our whole family would be vacationing together because various family member's college and work schedules would make it difficult for all of us to vacation together, but 24 years and six grandchildren later, we are still vacationing together and looking forward to our next outing as a family.
Many of you have asked me if the recent fires in Colorado caused us any problem on our trip. I'm happy to report that it was no problem whatsoever. The air was clear, all of the roads were open, and the sights where we visited were fully-functioning. By the time we arrived in Colorado, the temperatures had cooled and we had received some much-needed rain to settle things down. All-in-all we were not hindered in any way during the trip.
Thank you for your prayers and concern. We are doubly blessed.
Tomorrow's sermon is another in our series on prophecy. I hope you'll be there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, July 7th. I hope that you enjoyed a stellar holiday on the 4th of July this year. Our house was packed with 14 of us who enjoyed a cook out, games, swimming and fireworks later in the evening. I had the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with my children and grandchildren. As I was playing with my grandson, Kai, I thought back three years ago when my daughter, Cheryl, walked down the concourse at O'Hare Airport in Chicago and I met him for the first time as my newly adopted grandson.  When we later gathered at my daughter's home I tried to engage Kai but found him only willing to kick, bite, and scratch anyone who tried to touch him. Three years and lots of tender loving care later, he is now a normal loving boy who enjoys lots of contact with family members. The transformation has been amazing.

As I was reflecting on the changes in his attitudes and behaviors, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Dr. Ross Campbell, noted child expert, who spoke at Edgewood years ago. He mentioned that every troubled child who visited his clinic in Tennessee told him that his/her parents didn't really love them. He mentioned that when he met with the parents he repeatedly concluded that the child/teen's perception was not true about their parents, but their troubled child FELT like they were unloved. This situation in so many families led him to write his best-selling book, "How To Really Love Your Child." In the book he details four ways parents should use to make their kids KNOW and FEEL how much they are loved. The four ways are:
(1) Spending quality time with your child.
(2) Giving priority focused attention to your child by actively listening with eye contact and appropriate responses.
(3) Showing love through verbal affirmation and physical touch.
(4) Using appropriate discipline including demonstration of sound anger management techniques with your child.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, these principles and practices produce tremendous results. Kai and many other children are living proof of how well they work. Every parent and grandparent should dedicate themselves to really loving their child in such a way that they BELIEVE it, FEEL it and KNOW it. The Bible reminds "God is love and he who dwells in love dwells in God and God in him" (1 John 4:16b).

Tomorrow's sermon is about the two comings of Christ in prophecy. I'll look forward to seeing you there.
Mel Brown 

Good morning on this early Saturday morning, June 30th. In a few days it will be Independence Day, the 4th of July. It is typically a day for parades, picnics, fire works, and reunions, but it is so much more - it is the day we officially celebrate our freedom as Americans. During my years as pastor of the Edgewood Baptist Church, I have sometimes had the opportunity to invite Christians who have been imprisoned and even tortured for their faith to give their testimony in our church. Most have been from communist countries where the expression of their faith was strictly forbidden and the consequences for daring to share Christ, preach the word, or even assemble for worship meant certain persecution and loss of freedom. As I would listen to their stories detailing the price they paid for their Christian faith, I always felt grateful that I lived and ministered in a country where we have freedom to speak freely about our faith and openly serve the Lord without fear of recrimination. As we assemble for worship this weekend, thank God we will not fear having government thugs spy on us, intrude into the church service, beat people up or drag them away to prison. Nor will we fear having members of our families being led away in chains to some uncertain fate because of our Christianity. Many Christians are today enduring unspeakable tragedies because they dare to speak the name of Christ. Some will never see the light of day again as they spend the rest of their lives in a dark damp prison cell and numbers will be martyred. This year as we celebrate the 4th of July, let us all give a prayer of thanks for the freedom we share and determine to avail ourselves of that freedom by sharing Christ with others. How tragic it would be to not take advantage of the opportunities which freedom affords us or take our freedom as Americans for granted. Independence Day should also be a reminder to us of our responsibility to strive to preserve our freedom regardless of the cost. Edmund Burke was right when he said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was for good men to do nothing! Tomorrow's sermon is another in our series of messages on prophecy. I hope to see you there. Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, June 23rd. Last Wednesday the summer solstice occurred. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the winter solstice is the shortest. When the earth's tilt on its axis is most inclined to the sun in each hemisphere, a solstice occurs.

In practical terms that means it doesn't get dark during summer solstice until about 9:00 p.m. compared to winter solstice when it gets dark about 4:30 p.m. Personally, I love the long days with the many hours of extra daylight each day. When I was a kid it meant much more time to ride my bike, do sports, or play outdoors before I had to come in. Light means so much in doing almost anything: reading, measuring, working, observing, especially seeing clearly, and recognition. About the only time I really appreciated the darkness was when I was working the mid-night shift and trying to sleep during the day - believe me I couldn't get my bedroom dark enough when I was trying to sleep after a hard night's work in the steel mill.

In Genesis 1:3-4 God created the light, and then proclaimed that the light was good. The New Testament proclaims "God is light an in Him is no darkness" (1 John 1:5), but compares, "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil" (John 3:19). Jesus said He is the light of the world (John 9:5) and taught that those who follow Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). He later taught that He came to light the world that men might not have to live in darkness (John 12:46). Finally, God reminds us that in the Heavenly City, New Jerusalem, there will be no darkness nor need for candles or the sun, because God is the light (Revelation 22:5). All this makes it abundantly clear that even God prefers the light.

We as Christians are to be the light to enlighten others about Jesus Christ and the gospel. Each time we help someone "see the light" we bring them out of spiritual darkness into a light-filled life of purpose, joy and peace. What kind of light are we to those around us? How long has it been since you have invited someone to church, given a tract, or talked to them about Jesus Christ? Thank God someone cared enough about us to enlighten us about Jesus Christ. We need to do the same and provide the "son" light to others.

Tomorrow's sermon is another prophecy message. I hope you can make it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, June 16th. Tomorrow is Father's Day and we will be recognizing our many fathers who attend Edgewood as well as honoring a select group of our oldest fathers in our Sunday services. In today's blog I would like to share some facts with you about the important role fathers play in the spiritual development of their children. In an article in Religion Today entitled, "Fathers: Key to Their Children's Faith," the author points out that many fathers in today's culture believe that it is primarily the mother's role to provide spiritual leadership for the family. In fact many studies have found that the physical and/or emotional absence of the father in a home is a contributing factor to many societal problems. The conclusion about the father's role in children's spiritual development and practices is, "It is the religious practices of the father of the family that, above, all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children." The breakdown is as follows:

(1) If both father and mother attend regularly, 33 percent of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41 percent will end up attending irregularly. Only a quarter of their children will end up not practicing at all.
(2) If the father is irregular and mother regular, only 3 percent of the children will subsequently become regulars themselves, while a further 59 percent will become irregulars. Thirty-eight percent will be lost.
(3) If the father is non-practicing and mother regular, only 2 percent of children will become regular worshippers, and 37 percent will attend irregularly. Over 60 percent of their children will be lost completely to the church!

Additionally, if the father is a regular attender and the mother is irregular or non-practicing, between 38 percent (with irregular attending mothers) and 44 percent (with non-practicing mothers) of their children will become regular churchgoers.

The article concludes with this observation: In short, if a father does not go to church ... only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). One of the reasons suggested for this distinction is that children tend to take their cues about domestic life from Mom while their conceptions of the world outside come from Dad. If Dad takes faith in God seriously then the message to their children is that God should be taken seriously.

If ever there is an incentive for fathers to step forward and assume the role God intended for them to play spiritually in their family, this is it. Dads, are you willing to be God's man in your family?

Tomorrow's sermon is another in the series of messages on prophecy. I hope you'll be there to hear it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, June 9th. Last month when we celebrated Memorial Day, I wrote about the importance of honoring our war dead and remembering to pray for their families.

This week a news report revealed that we are experiencing a record number of suicides among our troops. During 2012 the suicides are occurring at a rate of one per day among our active-duty military personnel exceeding the death rate of those dying in battle. Many reasons are cited for the high suicide rate including the extreme stress levels under which troops live, multiple deployments, too few qualified mental health counselors, the stigma some military personnel feel about seeking professional help, family pressures and severe financial strains.

This suicide rate does not take into consideration those cases of suicide occurring after troops are discharged and return home. Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, cited a survey conducted by his organization which revealed that 37% of its 160,000 members knew someone who had committed suicide. He also pointed to the high unemployment rate among returning soldiers. Many companies are now considering instituting a policy of giving special attention in their hiring practices to returning military.

This report reminds us that we should not only faithfully pray for our troops and their families, but for our returning soldiers and their families as well. We should all ask ourselves, "how can I make a difference in a service man or woman's life?" Remember Jesus taught when we give even a cup of water in His name we are giving it to Him (Matthew 25:35-42). That makes our acts of caring a triple blessing with triple reward - the recipient is blessed, the giver is blessed, and Christ is blessed.

Tomorrow's sermon is the second in the series, Prophecy Update 2012. I hope you can make it.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, June 2nd. Tomorrow I begin the prophecy update messages for this year. As we prepare to receive these messages, it is important to remind ourselves of some important basic information.
(1) The Bible often uses durative language to teach prophetic truth. Concepts, descriptors and words must be general enough to be received by people of every generation. How would you explain an atomic bomb to someone living in Noah's day, Paul's day, or even 100 years ago?. The description in Ezekiel 38:20 of  a catastrophic earthquake shaking the land, killing the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the beasts of the field, and all the creeping things, as well as mountains thrown down, pathways collapsing, and every wall falling to the ground well describes a colossal atomic event with its tremendous explosive power and radiation poisoning. Most prophetic scholars teach Ezekiel 38:20 is a perfect description of the results of an atomic bomb, but people of yesterday could not understand such a concept because there was no such thing as an atomic bomb; hence the description offered by the Biblical author. Some prophecies can only be understood as events unfold because as Daniel explains, they were sealed by God until the future (Daniel 12:9).
(2) Biblical prophets were held to a high standard in their prophecies - 100% accuracy. Prophecies given throughout the Scripture regarding persons, places and events have been exactly fulfilled, providing us great confidence regarding the fulfillment of yet unfulfilled prophecies. Of the hundreds of prophecies given in Scripture, at least 75% have now been fulfilled with that standard of accuracy.
(3) Ethnology studies have traced the settlement and migration of peoples from the earliest times and throughout history. Ancient names are given for those nations in the Bible, but we know who they are in today's world. Persia is an ancient name for modern day Iran. When you plug that identity into Ezekiel 38 and 39 it make perfect sense. In fact Iran is sometimes referred to today as Persia.
(4) Certain current events may or may not have considerable prophetic significance. Time will tell if so. Many taught that Hitler was the Antichrist during World War II because of the holocaust and his near successful quest for world domination. This turned out to be false, but one person will be the Antichrist and it behooves us to watch and be intelligent observers of world events for possible prophetic significance.
(5) We must stick to prophetic facts and not stray to fanciful extrapolations. I personally heard a prophecy expert" say that our money would be worthless in 18 months. That was many years ago and I notice he is still asking for people to send those dollars he predicted would be worthless to his ministry today.
(6) It is a foolish game for people to set dates for the coming our our Lord. Nobody knows exactly when Christ will return because His coming is immanent. We may discern the prophetic seasons but not exact dates.
With these truths in mind let us press onward to better understand the "signs of the times."
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 26th. This is Memorial Day weekend and marks the time when we remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation - the giving of their lives. This Memorial Day many tributes will be offered for the fallen and we will all enjoy a day off from work for the national holiday. But it would be a huge mistake to think of Memorial Day as a day to honor the many hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have laid down their lives throughout the history of this great nation without realizing that each of these soldiers was a son or daughter, a sister or brother, a father or mother to loved ones who suffered  an egregious loss because of their death. Their families have endured grief, sorrow, pain, and enduring hurt over their loss which will last a life time. So Memorial Day is not only about remembering our war dead, it is about remembering to pray for their loved ones who will once again face their absence and freshly endure their loss. My heart goes out to each of them. May we all pause to remember and thank God for the fallen and may we also say a prayer for their families. Samuel's exclamation in the Old Testament is an appropriate admonition, "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and right way" ( 1 Samuel 12:23).
Tomorrow's sermon will be the final message in Ephesians and will deal with the warfare of the believer. Next week's sermon will be a prophecy message.
I hope you will be in the services tomorrow.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, May 19th. Tomorrow is Senior Day at Edgewood. During the morning services we'll be introduced to our graduating seniors, hear about their future plans, and watch as each graduate receives a special Bible to mark this milestone in their lives. It is always an exciting time for both the graduates and our church family. Each of us should covenant to pray for them in the days ahead because they will surely need it.

For most high school graduation marks a defining moment in their lives. Many will enter a tough job market which is one of the worst in years; others will attend colleges where tuitions and expenses have reached all-time highs. Usually we have some graduates who opt for military service in one of the branches of service. These are perilous times in so many parts of the world and our servicemen and women are now frequently placed in harm's way. Although most of our graduates will decisively tell you what career they plan to pursue in their future years, most will change their mind and wind up in a totally different job. In fact the average college student changes their course of study (major) three or four times.

They will especially need our prayers for their spiritual direction because data show that between 70 and 90 percent of those graduating from high school will discontinue attending church within a few years of graduation.

But the main reason we should hold them in our prayers is because they are our own and we care about them. So will you join me in taking the list of our graduating seniors and pray for each one by name in the days ahead?

Tomorrow's sermon is The Whole Armor Of God. I hope to see you in one of our services. There will be no Elevate (teen service) because of Senior Day.
Mel Brown

 

Good day on this Friday, May, 11th. I am writing this blog on Friday instead of Saturday because of a schedule conflict. As most of you now know, last Sunday morning I announced to the congregation my intention to step down as Senior Pastor of the Edgewood Baptist Church. I would urge you to visit the church's web site, edgewoodbaptist.net and watch last Sunday's sermon to get all of the details about the process. Many of you have asked me how I feel about leaving the pastorate after being here for so many years. I knew the day would come when I would not remain as pastor of this great church and have tried to prepare myself for the eventual day when I will turn the reins over to a successor. When I was finishing my chemo treatments years ago, I feared I might have to resign because I was so weak and sick, but God restored my strength and has given me six wonderful additional years as your pastor. Although I will retire as shepherd of this flock, I will not retire from The Lord. It makes the process easier because Barb and I plan to remain in our home and make Edgewood our place of worship during our retirement. If we were leaving all of you instead of remaining as part of this body, we would have a far more difficult time of leaving our current ministry. I have said many times,and believe with all my heart, that Edgewood's people are the finest you will find under God's Heaven, and it is a great privilege to be a part of this great church family. So it is onward and upward in Christ and we are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. Sunday is Mother's Day and communion Sunday. I hope you'll be able to attend. Mel Brown

Saturday May 5, 2012

Good morning on this Saturday, May 5th. Today's blog will be a potpourri of items of interest to our readers. Most of the items are in response to recent questions I've been asked.
(1) We will complete the current series of messages on the book of Ephesians by the end of this month.
(2) The final three messages will deal with the Christian's warfare, the armor of God, and resistance to temptation.
(3) I plan to do a prophecy update during the month of June.
(4) Yes, I do believe Israel will take out Iran's nuclear sites if a peaceful solution cannot be found in the very near future.
(5) The Men's Bible Study will again take a hiatus for the summer during the months of June, July, and August. The Bible study will resume on the 3rd Wednesday of September. 
(6) Our new youth pastor, Jeff Miller and his family will be moving to the Quad Cities during Memorial Day weekend. 
(7) Our teens will be attending LIFT Camp again this year during the month of July.
(8) Our missionary interns, Derek and Melissa Glynn, will finish their internship on October 31st and be approved as missionaries with the Baptist Bible Fellowship next May. They are planning to remain in the area pending their formal approval as they prepare for their deputation.
(9) My messages are now posted in video on the Edgewood website, edgewoodbaptist.net. The reception to their being available in video as well as audio has been excellent. We do plan to continue to offer them in video and improve their quality and presentation.
(10) The sermons will continue to be offered on audio Cd's after the services. The change in the Internet format will not affect this practice.
Tomorrow's message is entitled, The State Of The Church.
I hope you will be able to attend. 
Mel Brown

April 28th

Good morning on this Saturday, April 28th. Some people wonder why Easter is my favorite day of the year above Christmas, birthdays, and every other special day. Those of you who have been in the church for many years have heard my testimony, but many newer people have not. The Easter message not only established my faith but saved it as well. I was a brand new Christian who was so excited about being saved, I wanted to tell everybody I could that Jesus saves and how wonderful the fully-committed life to Christ really is. I had excitedly shared my faith with my father who was not only not a believer, but was an avid anti-bible anti-Christian skeptic as well. He was a man who had extensive knowledge of science, world religions (including Christianity which he rejected), history, and most other topics. He responded by attacking my new-found faith and giving me argument after argument against Christ and Christianity. He gave me all the reasons why he was not, nor ever would be, a Christian and told me my faith was invalid and even foolish. His vast knowledge was far greater than mine as a 19 year old.

I remember going to the front porch of our house and sitting in the darkness deeply demoralized after an intellectual drubbing at his hand. I also remember crying out to God for answers and help and went to bed that night deeply troubled and agonized. The next day was Easter Sunday and I went to church with a heavy heart. But God was about to change all that with a truth that would provide assurance of my faith that would last for a lifetime. My pastor preached on the resurrection that morning. He talked about how the founders of all of the other world religions were dead and remained dead, but Christ was different because He alone had been raised from the dead, a living Savior. He proved He was the Son of God by His resurrection verified by many infallible proofs. It was a dynamic, defining, faith-producing moment which changed my life and elevated my faith and assurance to a new level. That was 49 years ago last Easter and my life and ministry stand testimony to the strength of that experience. I remember hurrying home to further discuss my faith and the proofs of the resurrection with my father. That discussion was to be the first of many over the next 12 years which eventually resulted in my father becoming a devoted Christian. That is why Easter is my favorite day of the year!

Tomorrow's sermon is another from the book of Ephesians. I hope to see you in church.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, April 21st. Many of you have been inquiring about when I will do a prophecy update based upon events occurring throughout the changing geopolitical scene. I plan to do a prophecy update after I complete the messages on Ephesians. In the mean time, I would suggest keeping a close eye on the following events: (1) Iran's progress in their development of nuclear weapons. (2) Israel's pursuit of an attack on Iran's nuclear sites (Various news sources are reporting that Israel will likely attack these sites by late fall). (3) Egypt's new government's composition (Particularly whether it is composed of radicals who threaten to support a more radical agenda). (4) Syria's internal struggles and success of rebel's attempted overthrow of their government. (5) Russia's position of support of Iran in their pursuit of nukes. (6) North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear capability to develop a rocket that is capable of reaching other continents. (7) The U.S. and allies posture toward prevention of rogue nations like Iran having nukes. These are a few of the many world-wide events which bear watching. Tomorrow's message will be about walking in harmony in relationships between parents and children. I hope you will attend. Mel Brown

Good evening on this Friday, April 13th. I am writing this blog on Friday instead of Saturday this week.
What tremendous services we had over Easter weekend. Here are the stats:
(1) Our attendance was 1678, in spite of rain on Saturday and schools have spring break during Easter this year.
(2) At least 10 people dedicated or rededicated their lives to Christ.
(3) 129 new families visited our church Easter weekend.
(4) 70 families were first-time ever attenders at Edgewood.
(5) Many folks called, mailed, or e-mailed us saying it was the best Easter service they had ever attended.
(6) Kudos were given for the dramas, staging, videos, and sound effects, especially the stone rolling away of the stone.
(7) The many hundreds of Edgewooders who served in every capacity did an outstanding job in every way, nursery, children's workers, and adult servers all.
(8) The flow of traffic and parking were excellent for all services.
(9) The musicians were at their best.
(10) Tens of thousands of people saw our ads on TV and many made favorable comments about them.
(11) One member brought 30 visitors to the Easter services after inviting nearly 80 people.
(12) Our facilities were especially neat and presented well inside and out.
Thank you Edgewood for a job well done, all of you good and faithful servants.
Your proud and grateful pastor,
Mel Brown

In behalf of the entire Edgewood Baptist Church staff, I would like to wish you Happy Easter and invite you to attend one of our four great Easter services this weekend. Our multi-sensory multi-media Easter experience will feature great music, warm fellowship, a moving personal Easter testimony and a stirring Easter message which will include special effects, drama, video and demonstration of the Crown of Thorns and Cat of Nine Tails Scourge. All services will include a very special Easter children's program. Our service times this weekend are Saturday evening at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. It will be an Easter to remember. You will be blessed. Come and see!

Good evening on this Friday, March 30th. I am writing my blog on Friday evening instead of Saturday morning this week because I have such a busy schedule tomorrow. Sunday is Palm Sunday and with it begins Holy Week on the Christian calendar. After Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, the recipient of recognition and adulation to cries of Hosanna, Hosanna, He began the road to Calvary.  He now prepared them for His death, celebrated the Passover with His disciples and instituted the Lord's Supper out of the Passover Feast. Then He took some of His disciples with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed and waited for Judas to betray Him.

After His arrest He was tried before the Jews for blasphemy, then the Romans for treason whereupon He was sentenced to death. He endured the crown of thorns, being stripped of His clothing, a mock septre placed in His hand, being jeered as the Son of God, being spit upon, hit in the head with a stick, being scourged with the Cat of Nine Tails whip, carrying the cross, and ultimately being crucified as they nailed His hands and feet to the implement of torture. After dying on the cross, they thrust a spear into his side to ensure His death, removed his body from the cross and buried Him in a borrowed tomb. There He lay for three days until His resurrection on that first Easter morning. These are the events of the final week of His life.

He endured all this and more for us as our suffering substitute. "Greater love has no man than this than a man lay down His life for His friends," says John 15:13. That is what Holy week is all about. May we celebrate it with love and appreciation for ALL He did for us.
Hallelujah what a Savior!

Sunday we'll celebrate Palm Sunday together. I'll hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, March 24th. Have you ever wondered what goes into the preparation of a sermon? Occasionally someone asks me that question, so I thought I would share the process for those of you who are curious. First, comes seeking the Lord's direction for what to preach whether a series, topic, text, or book of the Bible to expound. After receiving that guidance comes the following steps.
(1) Carefully reading and rereading the text usually in various translations.
(2) Studying the exact meaning of the text in Greek (New Testament) or Hebrew (Old Testament). Knowing the exact meaning and usage of the words of a text provides clearer understanding of the meaning and application of the text.
(3) Reading a series of commentaries to get other Bible expositor's teaching about the text/subject. Usually I like to read about a dozen commentaries found in my library or online sites like "Studylight.com" or using software on my computer like the "Online Bible."
(4) I read other pastor's sermons on the text or topic. Other's sermons provide thoughts, illustrations and applications besides my own.
(5) Consulting sites providing illustrations on various Biblical topics and texts to find the right illustrations for the message. Scripture says that Jesus never spoke without telling a story and you can't improve on Jesus' methodology. Spurgeon said, "Illustrations in sermons are like windows which let the light in." After I sift through the illustrations I choose the best ones to use, those which are likely to have the greatest impact.
(6) Next comes putting it all together with the final outline of the sermon, and determining exactly what God wants me to say in the message. Included in the message's final form is always INTERPRETATION (what the text means), ILLUSTRATION (illustrating the text), APPLICATION (applying the text to people's lives), and EXHORTATION (challenging folks to put it into practice).
(7) Finally, it involves going over the message, making any changes, then asking God to put His words in my mouth, His thoughts in my mind, and the fullness of His Spirit in my Heart.
The final step is the delivery of the message. Occasionally God leads in a different direction and the message needs to be revised or even another message preached instead. If sermons/teaching are like bread from God's oven, it ought to be fresh and warm. The preparation and delivery are up to me, but the moving in people's hearts and lives is up to God. I need to prepare my heart but God must prepare the hearts of the hearers.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often called the "prince of preachers" got it right when he said, "I don't want people to leave the church saying 'what a great preacher but rather saying what a great Savior.'"  
Tomorrow's sermon is from Ephesian's 4, The Walk of the Believer.
I hope I'll see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, March 17th. Wow, I can't remember nicer weather this time of the year. To have successive temps in the mid 80s in mid-March is a bonus for us mid-westerners who usually don't get this kind of weather until May or June. I've noticed people taking advantage of the warm sunny days by doing all sorts of spring-type activities including cleaning up, painting up, and fixing up. Cleaning porches, patios and decks, cleaning up the debris from the lawn and other types of spring cleaning are underway in many homes. It is the traditional spring cleaning regime but is occurring a little earlier than usual.
Do you ever do a spring-type cleaning in your spiritual life? The Psalmist wrote, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 119:23-24). The New Testament in both 1st and 2nd Corinthians admonishes us to examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
If you will spend some time alone with God and pray Psalm 119: 23-24, asking God to search you and know your heart; to try you and know your thoughts; to see if there is any sinful way in you; and to lead you in the way everlasting, you will be surprised at how God will answer that prayer. He will most likely bring to your attention things in your life which need to be confessed and changed and show you things which you may not have realized have been detrimently lingering in your soul. Then comes the "cleaning" part where you come clean by acknowledging and confessing those things to God and allowing the Spirit of God to change you by overcoming those sinful attitudes and practices. Just as it is so satisfying to look at your lawn or porch after a good cleaning, you will find great satisfaction in examining the newly-cleaned version of you. Jesus reminded us of the blessing of having a pure heart in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." That is a promise well worth claiming, isn't it?
Tomorrow's sermon is an exposition of Ephesians chapter 3. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, the 10th of March. Spring is right around the corner. We are to turn our clocks forward one hour tonight/early tomorrow and that is usually a sign that winter is ending. Soon buds will be on the trees and grass will be greening up. This is the ideal time of the year to put pre-emergence weed  killers down where needed. In fact there is a narrowing window of opportunity to get it in place because once the weeds emerge, the pre-emergence preventer will no longer be effective. There is a close preventive parallel with temptation in a person's life. The best time to deal with temptation is pre-emergence or before it unfolds. In other words - avoid the temptation if possible. There is an old and accurate saying, "The best way to avoid the sin is to avoid the temptation." "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is also a tried and true adage. Why needlessly put yourself to the test in harm's way if you can avoid the temptation and not risk the consequences. When I speak to young people I suggest that they not be in some isolated spot in a parked car where temptation and raging hormones can easily compromise their virtue. When I speak to alcoholics I suggest they avoid all situations where alcohol is available to prevent being tempted. When I speak to dieters I suggest that they avoid having foods not on their diet around the house to tempt them. If you love cookies and sweets and have a tough time entering your kitchen without indulging (or most likely overindulging) in them, keep them out of your house to avoid the temptation of the, "I'll have just one" syndrome. If you are sorely tempted with spending, get rid of your credit cards to remove the temptation of "whipping out the plastic" and carelessly spending money on unneeded items. Also avoid going to the places where the sins of Achan in the book of Joshua chapter seven can entice you (it says he saw, he coveted (strongly desired) and then he took. Isn't that the usual process, we see it, we want it, and then we take it. It is certainly good to resist temptation but it is even wiser to avoid it if possible.
Tomorrow's sermon is from Ephesians 2:11-22.
I hope you can be there to hear it.
Mel Brown

Today I'm writing my blog on Friday evening instead of Saturday morning. I'm in Chicago to see my grandson,Ryan, perform in his school play, "Jungle Book." Before I left home yesterday afternoon, I checked the weather forecast to see today's weather in Chicago and saw it was going to be 50 degrees with rain showers during the day. I packed a light jacket in light of the mild forecast. Guess what - they were wrong! It never got anywhere near 50 degrees and about 1:00 this afternoon the snow started coming down so thick and fast you could hardly see to drive. They are now forecasting up to 7 inches of snow throughout the rest of the day and night. I wish I had a dollar for every time the weatherman has been dead wrong in a forecast. Many times I have found myself shoveling the fair and warmer. I was thinking about the many predictions by many people in various venues over the years. Stock market forecasts by so called market mavens which have been dead wrong. Economic forecasts by economists which have been dead wrong.  Political forecasts by pundits which have been dead wrong. End of the world forecasts by diverse prognosticators which have obviously been dead wrong. But the forecasts which have proven 100% accurate is the Biblical prophets who have forecast the future with precise exactitude. Think of some 640 prophecies made by various Biblical authors, over many years, under various conditions over 400 of which have been exactly fulfilled with the remaining prophecies being yet future. If I were a betting man, I would wager a large amount in the light of past performance of the Biblical writers, that it is a sure bet they all will be exactly fulfilled in the future. Now that is a forecast in which you can believe.
Tomorrow's sermon will be from Ephesians 2:1-10. I hope you will be able to attend these services to hear this message.
Mel Brown

Good morning on this Saturday, February 25th. The Bible constantly reminds us of the brevity of life. Nearly 20 times its writers ask the question, "What is your life?" Each and every time it answers that question, it does so with a metaphor demonstrating brevity. For instance, James asks, 'For what is your life?" Then answers the question with, "It is even a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes away" (James 4:14). Note that the emphasis "a litle while" and "then vanishes away." Other Biblical comparisons include the swiftness of a weaver's shuttle as it goes back and forth weaving fabric, the swiftness of package deliveries (in today's venacular it would be comparable to Fed Ex delivery service), and how quickly flowers wilt and fade. I was reminded of these truths when I watched a news report this week about the death of war correspondent, Marie Colvin. She was a long-standing seemingly fearless newspaper reporter who most recently worked for UK news services. She had entered Syria and was reporting on the government forces' deadly attacks on both the opposition forces and innocent civilians. Her unmistakable signature was the wearing of a large black patch over a shrapnel injured bad eye, as she was frequently reporting on TV and in photo journalist articles. I watched a live interview with her on CNN late one evening, then watched as the next day they reported her death when a mortar shell hit the house where she was headquartering killing her and a photographer. One day here reporting, talking, living, and a few hours later lifeless - like a vapor which filled the air, then suddenly disappeared. May we be reminded to make the most of our lives for Jesus Christ and the things that matter most. The writer was right who penned, "Only one life, twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ, will last." Take time to tell a loved one you love them, spend time with friends and family, smell the flowers, enjoy a sunrise or sunset, hug your children or grandchildren, and spend time with the Lord. Remember the verse in Proverbs, "Boast not yourself about tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1).
Tomorrow's sermon is about Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23.
I hope you can make it to the services.
Mel Brown   

Good morning on this Saturday, February 18th. Things are heating up in the exchange between Iran and Israel with the U.S. carefully measuring and monitoring the situation. The issue is Iran's continuing development of Nukes. Yesterday in the UK's Guardian newspaper there was an extensive article about Israel's timetable to launch military action to take out Iran's nuclear sites with the conclusion that this fall would most likely be their time to strike. However, Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, was quoted in the Washington Post  as saying that this spring was more likely. The U.S. has repeatedly warned Israel to stand down from any military action to give the imposed economic sanctions against Iran time to work. Israel is saying that there is a narrow window for them to act and if delayed too long it will lose its opportunity to take them out before they are activated. Israel and the U.S. also differ as to how far along Iran's nuclear development has come and when they would be able to produce a nuclear bomb. Israel claims they will be ready in weeks; the U.S. says months, even up to two years. Tensions are high among Israel's various leaders and between Israel and the U.S. over Israel's Prime Minister's threats to attack soon. The Guardian quotes U.S. officials in the Pentagon and State Department as saying they now believe that sanctions are ultimately doomed to fail but are currently serving two purposes: delaying Israel's military action and assuring the European nations that the U.S. will not act militarily until all other options are exhausted. The great concern is that any attack on Iran would involve us in another military conflict which could quickly escalate into an expanded and protracted war. Given the role Iran will play in future-fulfilled prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39, the current developments are being carefully observed by Bible scholars. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you well informed.
Tomorrow's sermon is from the book of Ephesians and is entitled, In The Heavenlies. I hope you can be there to hear it.
Mel Brown