REV. DR. WM. ROCKY BROWN, 3RD

    This is a crazy mixed up world full of negative people and haters. Now for the most part if they had their way they would love to see you fail. But GOD told me to tell you that you will not fail because you are HIS CHILD so therefore you are a winner. So the question of the day is are you going to listen to your so called friends and the world or are you going to trust and believe your HEAVENLY FATHER who is the GOD OF YOUR SALVATION?

    Who you gonna trust And believe?

    Let me put it like this. Somebody say,"Break it down brother Brown!"

    Scientists are saying that you evolved from a monkey but GOD said HE formed you from the dust of the earth...who you gonna trust and believe?

The world says that you are ugly and unattractive but GOD says you beautifully made, wonderful and special....who you gonna trust and believe?

     Somebody told you that you weren't worth their time caring about, but GOD says you are blessed and highly favored... who you gonna trust and believe?

The world says you can't do it, but GOD says you can do all things thru CHRIST...who you gonna trust and believe?

    The world says that you are no good, but GOD says that you are made in HIS image....who you gonna trust and believe?

The banker said you can't have that loan for that new house or car, but JESUS said anything you ask in MY NAME shall be given unto you...who you gonna trust and believe?

To read more "Rocky Brown" visit SCOOP USA Media, February 28, 2020, page 11

    LORD WE PRAISE AND HONOR YOU FOR YOUR WORD TODAY. HELP US TO DEAL WITH AND CLEAN UP OUR UNFINISHED BUSINESS!

    In the 2nd Chapter of the Biblical Old Testament book called Judges, it talks about a generation of the children of Israel who didn't know GOD and the covenant that HE made with their ancestors. Now because they didn’t know GOD or their history they became a generation who created unfinished business for generations to come.

   You know as human beings we all have some unfinished business in our lives. There are some relationships we need to mend. There are some projects we haven't started or completed. There are some goals we haven't reached. Well, in some cases it’s because we got side tracked and in other cases it's because we've lost our motivation and zeal. We have some unfinished business.

When it comes to civil rights and freedom in this country we have so much unfinished business. We had a black man in the White House yet he is more disrespected than any other president that ever served. Unfinished business. There is an atmosphere in our society where other ethnic groups can shoot down young black males in cold blood and the shooter is found not guilty. Unfinished business. Even worse young black males are shooting one another and we just shake our heads and say very little about it and in most cases nobody even gets locked up because we don't want to be a snitch. Unfinished business. The government can find money to build prisons but doesn't have money to keep schools open and hire the proper staff. Unfinished business. 

To read more "Rocky Brown" visit SCOOP USA Media, February 21, 2020, page 17

    This is a story of a little boy named “Malcolm Harris” who woke up one morning and asked his mother, “Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world”? Well, his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said “son, follow me around today and let’s see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world.” Mom said, “Now go get dressed and we will get started.”

Malcolm ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said “Malcolm, where are your shoes? And those clothes are all wrinkled son, I must iron them.” But when she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there. You see Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board, and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.

“Oh well,” she said, “Please go and do something to your hair.” Malcolm ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb. Malcolm decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush. Well, this was a sight. No shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess, even moms hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam CJ Walker, well you get the picture.

    Mom told Malcolm, “Lets’ do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store.” Malcolm’s job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dustpan. So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a black man invented the mop. Malcolm yelled to his mom, “Mom, I am not having any luck.”

“Well son,” she said, “Let me finish washing these clothes and we will prepare a list for the grocery store.” When the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T. Samon, A black man, invented the clothes dryer.

    Mom asked Malcolm to go get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. So Malcolm ran for the paper and pencil, but noticed the pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener. Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and W.A. Lovette the advanced printing press.

To read more "Rocky Brown" visit SCOOP USA Media, February 14, 2020, page 17

    Black History Month is a time when we as African Americans tell who we are as individuals and as a race of people. The great historian Carter G. Woodson as a weeklong celebration founded it, it now takes in the whole month of February and it is my hope and prayer that we will not limit the celebration of our history to one month because we make history everyday. It is a time when we give our children knowledge of their past. It is a time when we celebrate our achievements in a country that has tried to keep us from achieving. It is a time when we present ourselves to the world, so that humanity will know and can see what God has done in the past, what he is doing in the present and what he will do in the future to liberate us; His people, in this land which caused our fore parents to sing: "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child!"

    If you think that we are free, you better think again. God has told us that we shall be free and this I believe. Sane folks feel we shall never be free, but the Word of God, the Spirit of Truth and the pages of History say, "That's a lie that cannot stand." As long as God gives us strength we should keep on striving and as President John F. Kennedy said, "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, and oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."

    Through the years, Mother America, has tried to tell us that we are nobody. But through the power of the Holy Spirit our eyes were opened and we realized that Everybody is Somebody because we are all made by God and stamped with dignity and worth. You see, God never did and never will make junk. We too have helped to build America. We too sing, "God Bless America." Yes, we too believe that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." We want complete freedom in America, like everyone else.

To read more "Rocky Brown" visit SCOOP USA Media, February 7, 2020, page 18

    The Super Bowl is without a doubt the most popular sports event in the world, this year we have the Saints going against the Colts. In a sense the 1st Super Bowl took place over 2,000 years ago. The stadium was a hill called ìCalvaryî and it was located outside the city of Jerusalem. 

It was a contest between a sneaky old champion known as Mr. Death and the Champion of Righteousness known as Jesus Christ.  Old Satan, the devil himself, coached Mr. Death for the two of them work hand in hand. Jesus also had a coach, who was His Father, the Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth. Just as there is a good relationship between death and Satan there is also good relationship between Jesus and The Father Almighty.

    We all know that on the night before the big game the contestants are supposed to be in bed getting a good nights rest, but Coach Satan saw to it that Jesus had to stay up all night long.  He got into some folk and aroused their hostility to such an extent that they carried Jesus from one judgment hall to another, from midnight to six o’clock Friday morning.  They still would not give Him any rest.  They put him on the witness stand in a pre-game trial and although the judge found Him innocent of the charges He still underwent a severe beating.  At the conclusion of the trial Jesus was placed into the custody of four Roman soldiers who took a wooden goal post and put it on His shoulder and made Him carry it all the way out to the stadium.

    When they arrived at the stadium it was time for the game to begin.  The soldiers forced Jesus to lie down upon the wooden goal post and right then and there the Super Bowl on Mount Calvary began.  The ringing of the hammer was tantamount to the sounding of the whistle for the opening kickoff. As soon as the first nail pierced the blessed hand of Jesus, Mr. Death took the ball and started his offensive strategy.   Every time Mr. Death would get ready to score, Jesus would call ìTime Outî.  He decided to use the clock in His favor.

Lord, We Seek Your Comfort And Your Peace. 

Bless Us As We Walk Through The Valley and 

The Shadow Of Death. Amen

Being a minister, a police chaplain, a fraternal and community leader as well as one who is actively on social media sites, I usually hear about the death of somebody's loved one every day. In fact, I believe that there is someone reading this message right now whose heart is broken, their mind is troubled, and their eyes are filled with tears because God has called somebody close to them home. Here is a sweet poem that I ran across whose author is unknown. I pray it will sooth the soul and spirit of those who are broken-hearted. It is entitled:

"A Letter From Heaven"

When tomorrow starts without me, 

and I'm not here to see.

If the sun should rise and find your eyes, 

filled with tears for me.

I wish so much you wouldn't cry, 

the way you did today while thinking of the many things we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, 

as much as I love you, and each time you think of me.

 I know you'll miss me too.

When tomorrow starts without me, 

don’t think we're far apart, 

for every time you think of me, 

I'm right there in your heart."

To read more "Rocky Brown" visit SCOOP USA Media, January 24, 2020, page 15

    The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who had hoped to be an inspiring preacher in a quiet small community. Instead, by the time of his death he had led tens of millions of people into shattering the system of Southern segregation, splintering it beyond any possibility of restoration. He had fashioned a mass Black electorate which eliminated overt racism from political campaigns and accumulated political power for African Americans beyond any they had ever possessed in their history in the United States. Above all, with these and other accomplishments, be brought a new and higher dimension of human dignity to the African American Experience.

    He led a movement for the liberation of all races of people. This is important because it was a movement to bring about the survival of humanity in a world of freedom and equality. What was so unique about Dr. King was that he not only spoke his ideals with vivid expressions of emotion, but he also led people in a nonviolent struggle for the fulfillment of those ideals.

As Sidney Poitier said in a tribute in 1967, “Some people can Talk the Talk, but Martin Luther King, Jr. could Walk the Walk.”

    Once Dr. King made a commitment, he never faltered or wavered from his decision. In his religion, he was both Baptist and Ecumenical, and a preacher of the Social Gospel. The Social Gospel teaches that it is a man’s duty not only to have faith, but also to serve others: “to preach the Gospel to the poor,” Luke said, “. . . to heal the broken hearted, to free the captives, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:18)

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, January 17, 2020, page 18

Lord, Bless Us As We Live To Bless Others. 

Amen.

    We had a problem at church, one day with some water pipes that were leaking. The Chairman of our Trustee Board, Charles Thompson, was having a hard time finding someone to fix the problem. So after doing some praying and searching he remembered he had an old friend that did some plumbing work for him in the past. He called him and the guy met him at the church. The guy sized up the job and said,” I’ll be right back.” When he came back, he had new piping and all kinds of supplies that were needed to fix the plumbing problem. He started the work, not saying a word as Bro Charles looked on. Well, after about four hours he was finished and Bro. Charles said to him, “Give me the bill so we can pay you.” The guy looked at Bro. Charles and said, “I’m not going to give you a bill for the supplies or my services. No, all that I want for the work I’ve done is for you to ask the church to pray for me and if they ask you my name just tell them, “ The Man Who Fixed The Pipe!”

“If I can help somebody as I pass along...Then my living shall not be in vain.”

    One day there were four men standing at the Pearly Gates telling St. Peter what they did on earth to gain entrance into Heaven. The first said, “Tell the LORD I preached great sermons and used big eloquent words.” After talking to the LORD St. Peter came back and said, “The LORD said HE never heard of you.” 

The second man said, “Tell the LORD I composed great hymns of the Church.” After conferring with The LORD, St. Peter came back and said, “The LORD said HE never heard of you.” 

The third man said “Tell the LORD I wrote great powerful prayers and said them in church. Once again St. Peter went to the Lord and came back and said, “The LORD said HE never heard of you.” 

    Finally, the fourth man came up to the Pearly Gates. He looked St. Peter straight in the eyes and saidin a very humble voice, “Tell the LORD I’ve never preach a sermon, I’ve never composed a hymn nor have I written a prayer...Tell Him, Just tell HIM I’M THE MAN WHO FIXED THE PIPE!” And Gates of Heaven came wide open. May the work I’ve done speak for me? When I’ve done the best I can and my friends don't understand. May the work I’ve done speak for me. Beloved, what’s the work that is speaking for you?

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, January 10, 2020, page 18

    LORD, BLESS OUR DREAMS TO BECOME A REALITY FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, SO WE CAN MAKE THIS OLD WORLD INTO A NEW WORLD OF LOVE AND BROTHERHOOD. AMEN.

    In the second chapter of the Book of Daniel there is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He could not remember the dream, and none of the wise men of his court in Babylon could tell him what his dream had been. But Daniel told the King that he would reveal and interpret the dream if he could have a little time. Daniel and his three fellow captive’s prayed and God revealed the dream to Daniel in a night vision. When he told the King what his dream had been and what it meant, Daniel was rewarded. We experience dreams in the night. But we can also consciously dream through our aspirations and ambitions. 

    Children dream of growing up. Parents dream of educating their children. Grandparents dream of leisure, travel, and comfort. But we must not forget a segment of society that has no more dreams. The very old who have been placed in nursing homes, are forgotten and have little or nothing to look forward to; they have no more dreams left. What are we doing to make their remaining days on earth more meaningful and cheerful?

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, January 3, 2020, page 14

    On New Years Eve many of us will gather in church for the purpose of praying the Old Year out and the New Year in. Traditionally this is called “Watch Night Service.”

In many African – American Churches, this has been the most important prayer meeting of the Christian year. For we gather to thank God for keeping us through the past year and to be found in a state of prayer on bended knees in “God’s House, when the clock strikes 12 midnight and the New Year begins.

    Now the act of being on bended knees at the midnight hour is supported by the spiritual belief among Black folk that a good ending and beginning are necessary ingredients for the Christian year. You see, Black Theology believes God can and will forgive the sins of the past year in a special way on this night that closes the year and opens up the New Year. This golden moment affords the child of God the annual opportunity to make a new resolution to live a more “Holy Life.”

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, December 27, 2019, page 14

    There are many great nights mentioned in the Bible. Some of them are laden with tragedy and others are bright with hope. It was a great night when God sent his death angel down into Egypt. This meant tragedy for the Egyptian, for the firstborn in every home died that night. But, it meant salvation for the Israelites because they were safe behind the Blood of Lamb without blemish. This was a picture of the salvation that we enjoy in Christ Jesus.

    It was a great night when Jacob slept beneath the stars and dreamed of a ladder reaching up into heaven with the angels ascending and descending upon that ladder.

It was a great night when the heavens opened up and revealed unto a young Priest named Ezekiel, the similitude and visionary attributes of God thru a wheel in the Middle of a Wheel.

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, December 20, 2019, page 14

   We do things in life because they have become a tradition or custom.  They become so much a part of our cultural existence that we do them without questioning or understanding why.  We just do them because it has always been done.  We need to be careful about that because we can do something wrong for so long that we began to believe that it is right. 

We have Christmas traditions and customs that we follow and very few of us know why or their meaning or where the idea came from.  We just do it.  Our story goes back at least 4,000 years ago.  It begins in Mesopotamia, called the cradle of civilization.  Here Christmas really began as the festival that renewed the world for another year. 

Here began the Twelve Days of Christmas, the festivals, the bright fires, the giving of gifts, the carnivals, merrymaking, and clowning, the mummers who sang and played from house to house, the church processions with their lights and songs. 

All these and more began centuries before Christ was born, and they, celebrated the arrivals of a New Year.  All people all over the world learned from Mesopotamia.  Everything happening there in the course was time imitated by its neighbors – imitated, yet never copied exactly.  Thus it changed its face as it went.

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, December 13, 2019, page 14

  This message is based on one of the two fishing episodes that are found in the Bible. Fishermen spent the whole night on the sea and caught nothing. Nobody gets pleasure out of going fishing and catching nothing. In this particular incident, the people back home were counting on the success of these fishermen for sustenance. 

  But as their boats came to shore, their nets were empty and empty nets told everybody it had been an unsuccessful night.  Since they had fished all night and caught nothing, the people called them failures.  Failure is one of the hardest things in life to deal with.  For when we fail, the initial impulse is to throw up our hands and say, “I might as well forget it.”

  So after fishing all night long, Simon, Andrew, James and John had caught nothing. Not catching anything made their spirits low and their pride was hurt.  

It was at this low point in their lives that Jesus came in and said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught.”

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, December 6, 2019, page 14

   Thanksgiving is over and most of us are preparing for Christmas, but in the wrong way because we have the wrong conception of what Christmas is all about.

What does Christmas mean to you? To some folk it means hard work. The stores are crowded with shoppers, the post office is overflowing with mail and the trains, buses and planes are carrying record crowds. To some Christmas means that Santa is coming with his sleigh full of goodies.

Then to some Christmas means a visit home. Surely this is the best time of all the year to be with family and friends. To some people Christmas is a time of sorrow, loneliness and sad memories. They look back over the year and think of the loved ones who have left them since last Christmas. Then to some Christmas means its party time. 

   Then there are millions of people for which Christmas means nothing. They do not know Jesus. They couldn’t care less about the Christmas season and December 25th, for them it’s just another day!

Now, if Christmas is to be right we must first make room for Jesus! When Mary and Joseph came to the inn, the innkeeper said, “We have no room for you.” My father’s children, this man missed Christmas and all of its meaning. He had many guests in his hotel, but they were soon gone and forgotten. If he had allowed Jesus to be born there this would have changed his hotel and his whole life.

Today, this Christmas season there are people saying, “I have no room for Jesus” Their hearts and lives are filled with other things. But if we are to have a Christmas that will be pleasing unto God, we must throw out all else and make room for Jesus!

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media ,November 29, 2019, page 14

‘O’ give thanks unto God of heaven:  for his mercy endureth forever. (Psalm 136:26)

Over three and a half centuries, or three hundred and ninety-seven years ago, a little band of men and women joined their hands and hearts in America’s first Thanksgiving.  With Indian guests, they gathered around a table for the New World’s first Thanksgiving dinner.  Measured by our standards they did not have much.  The harvest was in and they were grateful to God.  But their needs were great and there were no supermarkets down the street.  Cold, hunger, and sickness threatened their very lives.

How far in some ways have we come since that first day of thanks in 1621?  Today more than two hundred million people populate our land.  We produce more food, more fuel, and more finished products than any nation in the world.  Measured by dollars and cents our gross national product exceeds one trillion dollars and is climbing every year.  Science and industry do our bidding.  We can even send man to the moon.

 But like the Pilgrims, we have great needs.  The richest nation in the world is perplexed and troubled by crucial shortages.  Millions are Homeless; forty five million people go to bed hungry every night.  We have higher wages and more dollars, but unemployment lines are long and the dollar buys less and less all the time.  Moreover, we as a nation are over 4.0 trillion dollars in debt.

 A greater concern is that our nation appears to stand at a crossroad of its history.  The winds of moral and spiritual pollution threaten our future.  But, in situations like ours real thankfulness to God is the first step toward our illnesses being cured.  For God is the panacea for all of our problems.

Yes, we should give thanks to God and I would like to explain why!  We should give God thanks because we owe it to Him.

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, November 22, 2019, page 16

LORD, WE GIVE YOU PRAISE FOR THE ASSURANCE THAT WE ARE HEAVEN BOUND BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS. AMEN. 

Most of us have heard someone tell somebody to “Go to hell!” When its’ been said to me, my response is just to laugh and say, “Thank Jesus your words can’t send me there.” Because of the Blood of Jesus, I'm going to Heaven, and nobody on this earth can stop me or send me to hell. 

There is no way to describe hell. Nothing on earth can compare with it. No living person has any real idea of it. No madman in his wildest flights of insanity ever beheld its horror. No man in delirium ever pictured a place as utterly terrible as this. No nightmare racing across a fevered mind ever produces a terror to match that of the mildest hell. No murder scene with splashed blood and oozing wounds ever suggested a revulsion that could touch the borderlands of hell. Let the most gifted writer exhaust his skill in describing, this roaring caverns of unending flame, and he would not even touch infancy the nearest edge of hell. 

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, November 15, 2019, page 16

   Since the beginning of time, whenever man established a nation, country or kingdom, he also developed a Military Force to protect that kingdom from enemies and if necessary back that Government in enforcing its law.  When we read the Scriptures and the pages of history we find that many nations have been established throughout mans existence on this earth and every one of them had a “Military Force.”  Webster tells us that these military forces are men and women trained and armed for war!

Now, America’s Military Force propagates the philosophy that “It’s a Great Place to Start” and is headed by Uncle Sam who is the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff!

   It is broken up into 4 major divisions namely…

-The Army for ground tactics with the motto, “Be All You Can Be!”

-The Navy for sea and air tactics with the motto, “It’s Not Just a Job, But an Adventure!”   

-The Marines for specialized ground tactics with the motto, “The Few, The Proud, The  Marines!”

- And the Air Force for air tactics and support for the others, with the motto, “A Great Way of Life, So Aim High!”

Now the requirements to get in these different branches, of the military vary, but basically they are the same.

- You Must have a High School Diploma or G.E.D.

- Then you go through a series of written test.

- Then you go through a series of physical test.

And if you meet all these requirements you then go through more written and physical testing for 6 to 16 weeks which is called “Basic Training.”  Upon completion you become a full pledged member. A man or woman trained to be wounded, trained to take pain, trained to follow orders.  And all your training is based on the military law book known as the “Uniform Code of Military Justice.” As a soldier you are expected to read, know and live according to the dictates of this book.

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, November 8, 2019, page 16

Dear Mr. 45,

It’s taken me a while to realize this and to admit it, but I’m grateful to you.

For the past three years, I’ve spent a good deal of time lamenting your Presidency and the poison it has so effortlessly generated. I’ve watched our country imploding, our public discourse become polluted, our political climate grows ever more corrosive, and wrongly assumed you were to blame.

It’s only lately I’ve come to understand that you haven’t manufactured our current national ugliness—you’ve simply revealed it. By saying the irresponsible, mean-spirited, ignorant things you say so freely and so frequently, you’ve given other like-minded people license to do the same. You’ve opened up the floodgates for our corporate sewage to flow fully. People no longer conceal their vile mess, they now revel in it, they broadcast it and re-tweet it.

You’ve made bigotry and racism socially acceptable again and that has been a kind of twisted gift because it’s allowed me to really see people; not as they pretend to be on the surface—but in the very depths of their wounded, weaponized hearts.

Your supporters tell me that they like you because you “speak your mind.” It wasn’t until recently that I’ve realized that you speak their minds. You’ve given credence to their prejudices and made those prejudices go mainstream.

Thanks to the terrible ground you’ve broken, politicians, pastors, friends, and strangers, both in person and on social media now regularly out themselves as hateful, intolerant, and malicious—and they remind me just how close they are to me, just how deep the sickness in us runs, and just how far we have to go together.

To read more Rocky Brown visit SCOOP USA Media, November 1, 2019, page 16

    The phrase, "We Made It," as I' am using it in this setting is a statement of achievement in the midst of over whelming odds. It is a proclamation of accomplishment for someone or a group that has had the deck stacked against them.

    It is a way of saying that “in spite of the length of the journey, In spite of the roughness of the road and in spite of the many stumbling blocks which have been thrown in our way, we have overcome and we have reached our goal.  Now it must be noted that the statement, “We Made It,” as I am using it in this context does not refer to an ultimate goal nor does it refer to a permanent victory.

    For as long as we are citizens of this world, as long as we are pilgrims passing thru this barren land and as long as we are housed in these mortal bodies; every achievement is temporary and every victory is short-lived.  The celebration only last for a short while and in many instances it is only the prelude to another struggle. Yet, in the words of the songwriter we are encouraged by the fact that “Each victory will help us, some other to win.”  So even through the statement, “We Made It” has no permanency for us, it does however contain an element of encouragement, which says to us that the same grace, which brought us thus far on our journey, can be trusted to lead us into the future.

    Now, it must also be noted that there is a vast difference between saying “We Made It” and saying “We’ve Got It Made.”  You see, We’ve Go It Made is a statement of self-sufficiency and arrogance but “We Made It” is an expression of humble jubilation.

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, October 4, 2019 page  16

    The subject of our message is the title of a very familiar African American Spiritual. The title of the song and the words which follow give us some information concerning the deep religious convictions of our fore parents. For they believed that no matter how sinful a person might be, somebody was still knocking at the door of his or her heart. They felt that even though a person might be “low-down” and doing what we sometimes call wallowing in the mud, they could still expect somebody to be knocking at their door.

    And then, they went on to identify the Caller, the Guest, the visitor, the traveler or however you might label him. They said that the person who keeps on knocking at the door of sinful hearts has a knock, which sounds familiar. 

It’s not a hard knock, its gentle knock. It’s not a demanding knock, it’s a requesting knock. It’s not a hateful knock, it’s a loving knock. Now, when they put these qualities together they had a pretty good idea who was standing outside the door so they said, “knocks like Jesus.”

    And then they made an appeal. It wasn’t enough to inform sinners that a caller was at the door and that His name was Jesus. They followed the giving of this information with a passionate plea: “O sinner, why don’t you answer somebody’s knocking at your door. You know, it’s a wonderful feeling to know that Jesus Christ God’s only begotten Son is so concerned about each one of us that He stands outside the door of every human heart and constantly knocks in the hope that we will open up our hearts and let Him come in. O’ somebody’s knocking at your door, knocks like Jesus!

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, October 11, 2019 page  16

     A white minister who was to become president of a great African-American University picked up a dictionary in his study at the First Congregational Church, Washington, D.C.  He thumbed through the pages until he found what he wanted, and then made some notes on a pad at his side:  “Farewell-fare thee well.  Wherever you go, whatever you do, however circumstances affect you, may you fare well.”  Another volume furnished an interpretation of the slang expression, “So Long,” and hinted that it was possibly an English corruption of the Islamic greeting, “Salaam Alaikum” which means “Peace be with you.”  Noting that the French farewell, “Adieu” and “Au Revoir,” means “Till we meet again,” he then looked up the word “Goodbye.”  He jotted down these notes: “Goodbye-God be with you. Can God go with everyone? Suppose they don’t want Him to go with them?  Is this not a parting word for Christians only?”  

    With that he looked up the various “Farewells” in the New Testament and found these references: Acts 15:29, “Fare ye well;” Acts 23:30, “Farewell.”  From the original Greek, he discovered that these words have a wide variety of meaning, including “God make you strong; be strong; be well; be firm; enjoy good health; rejoice; be joyful and be full of joy.”

Since his Sunday evening congregations were growing, the resourceful pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Eames Rankin (1828-1904) featured evangelistic singing.  He had already edited a book of gospel songs two years earlier, “Gospel Temperance Hymnal” having been published in 1878.  Even before that, some of his original hymns had been included in “Songs of the New Life” published in 1869.

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, October 18, 2019 page  16

Lord, Teach Us To Give You Thanks, All The Time, For All Things And In All Things. Amen.

    This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true, so I decided to share it with you: 

“I dreamt that I went to Heaven, and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received."

    I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world. Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth. 

    Finally, at the farthest end of the long corridor, we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed. "How is it that there is no work going on here?" I asked. "So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."

"How does one acknowledge God's blessing

Read more Rocky, SCOOP USA Media, October 25, 2019, page 16

     The kings of the earth and the mighty men of the earth are born in exactly the same way, physically, as the simplest man. So the most intellectual person must become a Christian in exactly the same way as the simplest person.

    This is true of all human beings everywhere, through all space and all time. There are no exceptions.  Jesus said in a totally exclusive word: "No man (or woman) cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

    Jesus said that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven a person must be "Born Again." This consists of an act of the heart in believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  When we were born into the world physically, we were born spiritually dead, and therefore we need a spiritual birth. The spiritual birth involves two facets.

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, September 13, 2019 page  16

     The study of how frequently and how numerous birds are mentioned in the Bible is a very fascinating as well as a very rewarding undertaking.  Jesus, the Master of analogous teaching, often used birds to illustrate a point and to increase the understanding of his listeners.  Solomon, who possessed a wealth of knowledge concerning all living creatures, used birds in many of his proverbs.

    Look at some statistics concerning the birds of the Bible.  Birds are mentioned in 45 of the 66 books of the Bible. Approximately 50 different species of birds are mentioned in the Bible.  There are about 400 different kinds of birds in Palestine and of the 400 species 26 are found only in Palestine.

    The first mention of birds in the Bible is in Genesis 1:20 where God says: “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”

    The last mention of birds in the Bible is in Revelation 18:2, where Babylon is referred to as a “cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”  To name a few of the birds mentioned in the Bible we have the Bitten, Cock, Crane, Dove, Eagle, Falcon, Hawk, Hen, Nighthawk, Ostrich, Owl, Partridge, Peacock, Quail, Rave, Sparrow, Stork, Swallow, Swan, Turtledove and the Vulture. 

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, September 20, 2019 page  15

    “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Time is among our most valuable possessions. Every person has twenty four hours each day he lives. Some make use of time and some waste it away.

    At best the time of our present lives is short. It can only be from the cradle to the grave. Only God knows how long that will be. One poet said it like this:

“I have only just a minute,

Only sixty seconds in it,

Forced upon me, Can’t refuse it,

Didn’t seek it, didn’t chose it,

But it’s up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it,

Give account if I abuse it;

Just a tiny little minute-

But eternity is in it.”

    Often we live as if time were ours to spend as we please. When we realize it never waits but is continually passing, it as often too late. Time waits for no one. Time can never be recalled.

One afternoon a small boy failed to return home from school. The mother became alarmed but waited for the return of the father from work. When the father had exhausted himself looking over the neighborhood he called the child’s teacher.

Read more Rocky... ScoopUSA Media, September 27, 2019 page  16

This message is based on one of the two fishing episodes that we find in the Bible where fishermen spent the whole night on the sea and caught nothing.  Nobody gets pleasure out of going fishing and catching nothing.  And in this particular incident, the people back home were counting on the success of these fishermen for fishing was their vocation. 

To read more Jesus is the Reason, go to Scoop USA Media, December 7, 2018 edition. 

We do things in life because they have become a tradition or custom.  They become so much a part of our cultural existence that we do them without questioning or understanding why.  We just do them because it has always been done.  We need to be careful about that because we can do something wrong for so long that we began to believe that it is right. 

We have Christmas traditions and customs that we follow and very few of us know why or their meaning or where the idea came from.  We just do it.  Our story goes back at least 4,000 years ago.  It begins in Mesopotamia, called the cradle of civilization.  Here Christmas really began as the festival that renewed the world for another year. 

Read more on Scoop USA Media, December 14, 2018. 

On New Years Eve many of us will gather in church for the purpose of praying the Old Year out and the New Year in.  Traditionally this is called “Watch Night Service.”

In many African – American Churches, this has been the most important prayer meeting of the Christian year.  For we gather to thank God for keeping us through the past year and to be found in a state of prayer on bended knees in “God’s House, when the clock strikes 12 midnight and the New Year begins.

Now the act of being on bended knees at the midnight hour is supported by the spiritual belief among Black folk that a good ending and beginning are necessary ingredients for the Christian year.  You see, Black Theology believes God can and will forgive the sins of the past year in a special way on this night that closes the year and opens up the New Year.  This golden moment affords the child of God the annual opportunity to make a new resolution to live a more “Holy Life.”

Read more on Scoop USA Media, December 28, 2018. 

Last year 2018 was a year full of trials and tribulations as well as joys and good times for just about all of us.  Each of us has had happy moments we want to remember for years to come as well as sad moments we wish to forget. But through it all, the Lord our God kept us wrapped in His arms of protections and we should be able to say regardless of what happened last year, “THANK YOU JESUS, you’ve been so good to me”!

I believe this New Year ‘2019’ can and will be a good year if each and every one of us would do the following:

Read more on Scoop USA Media, January 4, 2019

The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who had hoped to be an inspiring preacher in a quiet small community.  Instead, by the time of his death he had led tens of millions of people into shattering the system of Southern segregation, splintering it beyond any possibility of restoration.  He had fashioned a mass Black electorate which eliminated overt racism from political campaigns and accumulated political power for African Americans beyond any they had ever possessed in their history in the United States.  Above all, with these and other accomplishments, be brought a new and higher dimension of human dignity to the African American Experience.

Read more on Scoop USA Media, January 18, 2019

LORD, BLESS US AS WE LIVE TO BLESS OTHERS. AMEN. 

 We had a problem at church, one day with some water pipes that were leaking. The Chairman of our Trustee Board, Charles Thompson, was having a hard time finding someone to fix the problem. So after doing some praying and searching he remembered he had an old friend that did some plumbing work for him in the past. He called him and the guy met him at the church. The guy sized up the job and said,” I’ll be right back.” When he came back, he had new piping and all kinds of supplies that were needed to fix the plumbing problem. He started the work, not saying a word as Bro Charles looked on. Well, after about 4 hours he was finished and Bro Charles said to him, “Give me the bill so we can pay you.” The guy looked at Bro. Charles and said, “I’m not going to give you a bill for the supplies or my services. No, all that I want for the work I’ve done is for you to ask the church to pray for me and if they ask you my name just tell them, “ The Man Who Fixed The Pipe!”    

Read more Rev. Dr. Wm. Rocky Brown on Scoop USA Media, Praise and Worship, January 25, 2019

LORD, BLESS US AS WE LIVE TO BLESS OTHERS. AMEN. 

 We had a problem at church, one day with some water pipes that were leaking. The Chairman of our Trustee Board, Charles Thompson, was having a hard time finding someone to fix the problem. So after doing some praying and searching he remembered he had an old friend that did some plumbing work for him in the past. He called him and the guy met him at the church. The guy sized up the job and said,” I’ll be right back.” When he came back, he had new piping and all kinds of supplies that were needed to fix the plumbing problem. He started the work, not saying a word as Bro Charles looked on. Well, after about 4 hours he was finished and Bro Charles said to him, “Give me the bill so we can pay you.” The guy looked at Bro. Charles and said, “I’m not going to give you a bill for the supplies or my services. No, all that I want for the work I’ve done is for you to ask the church to pray for me and if they ask you my name just tell them, “ The Man Who Fixed The Pipe!”    

Read more on Scoop USA Media, January 25, 2019

  The Super Bowl is without a doubt the most popular sports event in the world, this year we have the Patriots going against the Rams.

 In a sense the 1st Super Bowl took place over 2,000 years ago. The stadium was a hill called “Calvary” and it was located outside the city of Jerusalem. It was a contest between a sneaky old champion known as Mr. Death and the Champion of Righteousness known as Jesus Christ.  Old Satan, the devil himself, coached Mr. Death for the two of them work hand in hand. Jesus also had a coach, who was His Father, the Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth. Just as there is a good relationship between death and Satan there is also good relationship between Jesus and The Father Almighty.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, February 1, 2019

This is a story of a little boy named “Malcolm Harris” who woke up one morning and asked his mother, “Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world”? Well, his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said “son, follow me around today and let’s see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world.” Mom said, “Now go get dressed and we will get started.”

Malcolm ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said “Malcolm, where are your shoes? And those clothes are all wrinkled son, I must iron them.” But when she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there. You see Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board, and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, February 8, 2019

Black History Month is a time when we as African Americans tell who we are as individuals and as a race of people.  The great historian Carter G. Woodson as a weeklong celebration founded it, it now takes in the whole month of February and it is my hope and prayer that we will not limit the celebration of our history to one month because we make history everyday. It is a time that as men of our families we give our children knowledge of their past. It is a time when we celebrate our achievements in a country that has tried to keep us from achieving. It is a time when we present ourselves to the world, so that humanity will know and can see what God has done in the past, what he is doing in the present and what he will do in the future to liberate us, His people, in this land which caused our fore parents to sing: “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child!”

Read More, Scoop USA Media, February 15, 2019

In the 2nd Chapter of the Biblical Old Testament book called Judges, it talks about a generation of the children of Israel who didn't know GOD and the covenant that HE made with their ancestors. Now because they didn’t know GOD or their history they became a generation who created unfinished business for generations to come.

You know as human beings we all have some unfinished business in our lives. There are some relationships we need to mend. There are some projects we haven't started or completed. There are some goals we haven't reached. Well, in some cases it’s because we got side tracked and in other cases it's because we've lost our motivation and zeal. We have some unfinished business.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, February 22, 2019

The greatest gift God gave to man was His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the second greatest gift he gave was woman. You see, when God created man, He looked around and noticed that man would be lonely without a mate, especially when all the other inhabitants on earth had one. So God with Divine Love created woman from the rib of man.

Brothers, if God had taken the bone out of the man’s head, He would have meant for the woman to rule. If God had taken the bone out of the man’s foot, He would have meant for the woman to dominate and rule. God could have made the woman out of the backbone, but then the woman would have been behind the man. But no, God Almighty, full of wisdom, took the bone out of man’s side. So that puts the woman beside the man to be a helpmate who receives love, respect, honor and guiding protection.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, March 1, 2019