Our gospel meeting is May 4-8, and brother Richard Melson of Dayton, Ohio, is coming to preach this meeting for us. Below is a little more information about this good man.
He is a native of Buffalo, New York, and has preached the gospel since 1981, having obeyed the good news of Jesus Christ in Los Angeles, California. He serves as the evangelist at the Needmore Road church of Christ in Dayton, Ohio. He is a former elder in the Lord’s church. He preached for the former Webster Street congregation in Dayton from 1986 until its merger with the former Northridge congregation in January 2019. Richard is an instructor at the Central Carolina School of Preaching in Sumter, South Carolina. He teaches one class per quarter (Technology in Ministry, Preacher and His Work 1, 2, & 3; Scheme of Redemption, Galatians). He hosts Landmarks For Living, a radio program on 98,7 FM, 1110 AM, and WGNZ.com in Dayton, Ohio, and he is streaming at www.thesouofdayton.com. Brother Melson is a former instructor at the Midwestern School of Preaching and the former Director of Information Technology at the Dayton Public Schools.
Richard and Valerie (nee Miller) have been married since 1979 and have four children: Victoria (Michael), Rachel (Michael), Ashley (Patrick), and Richard, Jr. They have seven grandchildren.
Brother Melson has done campaign work in various counties and has spoken on brotherhood lectureships. He is scheduled to speak at the Memphis School of Preaching on March 31, and on April 26, he is to speak at the Equipped Workshop hosted by the Cumberland Trace church of Christ in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He also has preached in many gospel meetings.
Brother Richard Melson is a Southern California School of Evangelism graduate in Buena Park, California. He is an Honorary Graduate of the Southwest School of Biblical Studies in Austin, Texas. He attended SUNY in Fredonia, New York. He received his B.A. in Religion from the Summit Theological Seminary (graduate work at Alabama Christian School of Religion, Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, and Houston Graduate School of Theology. He has a Master of Arts in Religious Education and Doctor of Religious Education degrees from The Theological University of America.
I am happy to introduce my friend and brother to the church here. We have appeared together on the Greater Midwest Lectureship for many years. I have known brother Melson for at least 15 years. I hope you will make plans to be here for every service.
WHY HAVE A GOSPEL MEETING?
Because the devil is still at work, he never rests. Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The great dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, the tempter, the prince of the power of the air, deceives the whole world. Paul expressed concern for the church at Corinth saying, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). When Jesus had defeated the devil in the wilderness by the word of God, Matthew said the devil left him (Matt. 4:11); however, Luke said, “And when the devil had ended all the temptations, he departed from him for a season” (Luke 4:13). When Jesus had finished instituting his memorial supper, he said to his apostles, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations” (Luke 22:28). It is not “one and done” with the old devil. He is relentless. The devil’s methods have not changed (1 John 2:15-17). He is still successful. We cannot ignore Satan’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11).
We need the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). James wrote, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). The gospel is the vaccine to prevent sin (1 John 2:1; Psa. 119:11). It is the antidote that stops the poison of sin. The gospel will root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down all errors. It will build and plant the Lord’s holy nation, a peculiar people.
The world and the church need the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified. To the Corinthian saints, Paul wrote, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1–5).
Through his pure, precious, and powerful word, the Lord provides healing for the sin-sick soul. This is why we need a gospel meeting! Jesus said of some in his day (and they have not all died, and some are not even physically sick), “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matt. 13:15). James says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Malachi prophesies, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise With healing in his wings; And ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (Mal. 4:2). A footnote explains “wings” as “The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s ‘wings’ are its warm rays. ‘Healing’ may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (See Mal. 3:5)” (NET Bible). Jesus the Great Physician never lost a case when his patients applied the gospel medicine in their hearts and lives.