Brown's Daily Word 6-8-12

Praise the Lord for this Friday. Sunday is coming. Just got a note from Sunita ans Andy. They are in Corfu , Greece, spending a week there. Praise the Lord for summer ministries as the Lord deploys His church around the corner and around the globe. Summer is not slumbering. It is for tilling the ground, planting the seeds, and getting ready for the harvest in His Kingdom. There is a verse in Hebrews which our friend warren Ayer brings to mind from time to time: Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works."

I praise the Lord for the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. I have been part of Family of God from my birth. I am so blessed .. beyond belief to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. Whenever I think about the Church of Christ around the corner and around the globe I get excited. May the Lord continue to pour upon His church His grace, His anointing, and His power afresh in all seasons. May He provoke us to love Him and serve Him in season and out of season, for He is worthy.

What kind of contribution does one church make to its local community? More specifically, what’s one church worth—in purely financial terms? According to a 2009 survey, on average, every year one inner-city church contributed $476,663.24 to the local economy. That’s based on research by Ram Cnaan, a University of Pennsylvania professor who considers himself nonreligious. His 2011 survey concluded that one church alone, First Baptist Church in Philadelphia, contributed over $6,000,000 a year to the local economy (more than ten times its annual budget). Based on Cnaan’s research, some of First Baptist’s financial contributions include:
• Volunteer hours worked: $94,770 (weekly hours x 52 weeks x $20.25)
• Reduced crime rate: a reduction of $64,416 (crimes within neighborhood compared with surrounding neighborhoods x $2,210)
• Getting people off drugs and alcohol: $78,750 ($15,750 per person helped)
• Building enhancements/Capital campaign: $60,000 (estimates that half of expenses are spent locally)
• Helping people gain employment: $725,000 ($14,500 per arranged employment)
• Suicide prevention: $58,800 ($19,600 per person saved through clergy intervention)
• Divorces prevented: $22,500 ($900 per couple)
• K-12 School: $3,489,926 (# of students x $9,666)
In 2011 New York Times editorialist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column praising the work of many evangelical Christians. Kristof began by noting that at times evangelical leaders act hypocritically and don’t reflect Christ. However, he also went on to write: "But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I’ve seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith. I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way—and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties." Nicholas D. Kristof, "Evangelicals Without Blowhards," The New York Times (7-30-11)

Let us plan to be in the House of the Lord this coming Sunday, the Lord's day, in worship, praise, witness, and service. When the saints march in to battle, Satan trembles. Let us pray for the ministry of Jesus Christ around the world and around the corner. Let us invest our time, our talents, and the treasures the Lord has entrusted to us in His Kingdom to work in such a way that the gates of hell can not prevail against it.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/DSKnkqAOhpA

Super Summer Music Festival

Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 6:30 PM

Location: First United Methodist Church

53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott

Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church

Musicians include: Aric Phinney, Yancey Moore,

David Berry, Emma Brunson, DianneGlann.

Weekly Television outreach:

Friday 7: PM

Time Warner Cable channel 4.

Brown's Daily Word 6-7-12

Thanks be to Jesus our Lord for another day in His Kingdom. He blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday gathering, with good food, sweet fellowship, and inspiring Bible study. We looked at Acts 2. The word "devoted" occurs twice in the chapter. There were devoted people gathered in Jerusalem. After the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, Peter preached the first sermon to the crowd. The Holy Spirit began to work in the hearts of those who listened the Good News. Three thousand put their faith in Christ. The believers devoted themselves to the fellowship, teaching, and mission of the church. The disciples, who became galvanized by the Spirit, went on to turn the world upside down. The disciples gave themselves up totally to the Lord and to His global cause. In the Old Testament we read about Elijah, who gave all to serve God and to be His prophet to a lost generation. His story reminds us of how adversity drives each of us deeper into God and develops us into the man or women God wants us to be.
Bill Hybel wrote in his book, "The Power of a Whisper", wrote, "Throughout history God has spoken. For millennia, he has forged his children’s faith by promising parted waters, empowering unlikely leaders, declaring world-changing prophecies - and imparting last-minute sermons to pastors who questioned whether he really would deliver. In short, our God is communicating God. Always has been, and always will be. And if there is one story in Scripture that goes to great lengths to prove this point, it’s the story of Elijah, the prophet described in 1 Kings as a man who was ‘zealous for God.’ There comes a point in Elijah’s remarkable ministry when his zealotry has fizzled to zero. He is ready to call it quits. “I’ve been working my heart out,” he says to God, and for what? “The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me. Elijah felt undone, and perhaps the only thing that could improve his mood was a firsthand encounter with God. As the story goes, Elijah trekked into the desert and eventually collapsed from exhaustion under the shade of a tree…but eventually he ended up at Horeb…On Mount Horeb that day, Creator convened with creation, and one man’s life was forever changed. Regardless of what else Elijah might have later told his friends about this encounter - and about God himself - undoubtedly he had been a witness to two attributes at the very core of who God is: he’s relational and he is near. He is all-powerful, yes. He is righteous and holy too. He is sovereign, he majestic, he is magnificent, he is just. But what stunned Elijah on the side of the mountain-and what will stun you somebody if it hasn’t already-is that the same God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all everything, yearns to be in relationship with us. The God of the Scriptures is irrepressibly communal, hopelessly familial, and his whispers are still ours to hear” (Hybels, page 40-42).

We have heard the whisper of the Lord in the midst of the storms of life. That still quiet voice in the midst of a horrendous day. Life is crashing in all around us but our Lord is there. That quiet whisper in the midst of despair that says, “I am here!” Just rest and I will take care of you! In the midst of overwhelming grief that quiet voice blows into our ears and into our hearts and says, "All is well".
Maybe we hear it in the midst of a busy street with all the traffic rushing by. We walk by countless people with faces expressing, stress, tiredness, happiness, hurriedness, fear, hopelessness, business-like and emotionless. Maybe it’s in the moment of praise and worship on a Sunday morning. Sometimes, our Lord's whispers come to us in the middle of the night.
Elijah paid attention when his quiet encounter with the Lord occurred. Elijah was renewed. He went back to do as the Lord instructed him and once again confronted Ahab over the stealing of the vineyard from Nabal. He pronounced the Lord's judgment on Ahab that day. Elijah had become a different person because of his encounter that day and, encouraged by a vision of the Lord, he returned to confront the king and queen again over their evil doings. He did not run and hide, because he learned to completely trust in God’s provision.

The Lord, through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, galvanizes us to press on to finish it well. Blessed be His Name.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/C-lY8VQpSTY

Super Summer Music Festival

Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 6:30 PM

Location: First United Methodist Church

53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott

Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church

Musicians include: Aric Phinney, Yancey Moore,

David Berry, Emma Brunson, Linda Glann,

and others.

Brown's Daily Word 6-6-12

Praise the Lord for this new day. We will gather for our Wednesday Evening fellowship and study beginning with supper at 6 PM. We will be looking at Acts 2. We will meet for the meal at 6 PM and for the study at 6:30 PM. Alice and I walked for three miles last evening. We are getting ready for sweet summer. We have heard from Sunita and Andy. They are blessed to be in Albania. This week they are traveling to Greece for a week.

Praise the Lord, for He is the maker of heaven and earth. It is a beautiful world. He makes all things glorious in His time. We are so blessed to be living close to the Finger Lakes and the great Lakes. It is such a blessing to be living close to the Atlantic Ocean. I have also been so blessed to have been able to the sea of Galilee several times. A few days ago we spent an afternoon at one of the Finger Lakes. It was brilliant. There were so many people with boats at lake resting and relaxing.

Our Lord spent considerable time with His disciples by the Lake and in the lake (the Sea of Galilee). We see Jesus and His disciples at the Sea of Galilee as it is recorded in Mathew 14. Peter and the disciples were struggling across the lake on a stormy night. They were tired, worn out, from rowing. In that moment of fatigue they saw something walking on the water coming to them. Terror and fear gripped their hearts. Jesus saw this and cried out, “Take Courage – it is I – Do not fear!” Peter, who became energized at this low point, asked to come meet Jesus. Then he got out of the boat and literally for a moment walked on the water. He experienced a miracle!
Jesus says come all of you who are burdened with life for I can lighten the load. JESUS says come - come - you are invited to be with me - I want you by my side, I want you to come - come on - come away with me. Leave the fear and take courage; it is I! Come be a part of a miracle!
We all at times find ourselves in difficult circumstances on the journey of life, struggling to move forward. We fight, we row against the wind of the world, we get tossed around like rag dolls, and we become tired and fatigued. Yet, in these moments we can see Jesus. We can if we take the time to listen so that we may hear his voice, “Take courage – It is I – Do not be afraid!”
Jesus sent the disciples on ahead of Him in the boat, telling them that he would meet with them on the other side. He dismissed the crowd that he had just miraculously fed - over 5,000 people. He told them all to go home!
Jesus was never one to be a crowd pleaser or one to hang onto the crowds. His wisdom and understanding, which transcends ours thought pattern, were so different. His priorities were not focused on pleasing the crowd. Jesus caught up with the boat as he walked atop the water. think about this sight for a moment - He was walking on the water, the lake was unfrozen, defying gravity. He was super-naturally walking on water and not sinking. Beyond this amazing feat, the text tells us that the boat was being beaten by the waves and the winds so that the skilled fishermen were not making much headway in the sea. The wind was beating against the front of the boat; they were struggling but Jesus came to them, walking right toward them on the water and the waves, heading right for the disciples. The disciples, consumed with fear, cried out, "It’s a ghost! It’s a coming to get us!" Jesus yelled out to them, "Take courage!"

We find ourselves in those places and moments, when a dark windy and stormy night and fear take hold of our hearts and minds. The journey of life is hard. It’s dark sometimes and sometimes we feel tossed around, fighting against the winds of the world. The boat of life seems to be going nowhere. We become tired and worn out, and it is then that Satan always likes to torment our minds with fear. Then we see something moving toward us that looks like a ghost - a demon - a tormentor - so we panic - we scream - we cry out because we are so tired and exhausted!
Then we hear a voice saying, "Take courage. It is I Don’t be afraid. I have come to you. Jesus can be heard and seen in the darkness of the night - in the midst of fear and fatigue!

When Peter responded to Jesus' voice and saw him walking on the water, he responded with a request: "Jesus can I come to you?" Only Peter, among the disciples, knew the shame of the public failure. Only Peter knew the glory of walking on water. He alone knew what it was to attempt to do what he was not capable of doing on his own, then feeling euphoria of being empowered by God to actually do it. Once you walk on water, you will never forget it, not for the rest of your life!

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/jagoM0WSSu4

Super Summer Music Festival.

Saturday, June 30,2012

6:30 PM

Location: First United Methodist Church,

53 McKinley Ave., Endicott Ny 13760

Sponsored b:y the Union Center United Methodist Church.

Musicians include:

Aric Phinney,

Yancey Moore,

David Berry

Emma Brunson,

Linda Glann and others.