Church Blog

Sisters and brothers, 

Happy Monday to all! It was wonderful to worship with you and remind ourselves of the greatness of our God and King. Then, we looked at Genesis 28 to the lowest point of Jacob’s life and found that God met Jacob there to give him new direction and a future. We learned that the dream Jacob had of the presence of God and a ladder reaching from heaving to earth was a vision of Christ Jesus. In John 1, Nathaniel had just confessed from his very first encounter with Jesus, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus spoke to Nathaniel these words, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? And he said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’”Jacob’s ladder, where Jacob saw angels ascending and descending to heaven and back, is Jesus. Jesus is the bridge between Holy God and sinful man. Jesus on the cross reveals how anyone who would meet God must come. He or she must come through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us on the cross. Jesus is Jacob’s ladder. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the one through whom we must go to know forgiveness and a relationship with Holy God. If we will go through Jesus, no matter what the failures of our life are, we can be forgiven and saved. God meets us at the lowest points of our lives to provide for us His presence and a future.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters, 

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we rejoiced in worshipping the One who gave His all for us and saved us by His grace alone. Then we looked at Genesis 27 and learned that we must do God’s will in His way. We saw how favoritism and family division wreaked havoc between Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob. Family division hurts everyone. We learned also that we must not use deceptive means like Rebekah and Jacob to achieve certain ends. Yes, you can achieve what you want to achieve by underhanded and sinful methods. But what you will lose by those methods will be far greater than what you will gain. You might reach certain goals and appear to be successful. However, you will not realize and know joy in that success. We also began to understand how we must not only seek to please God and do His will but also must obey His ways and methods in serving Him. We looked at the problem with wrong desires and appetites. They can cause faulty judgments about God’s will. Even our desire for success in what is right can often lead us to employ wrong methods and plans. Sinful actions to achieve good results are never justified. Wrong methods to achieve certain results lead to divisions among the closest of friends and relatives. However, despite human failure and sins, we need to always remember this: Sinful human conniving and activities will never hinder God’s purposes from prevailing.

Sharon Bahl is in rehab as her broken hip is healing. She is at Oakwood Village East Rehab Center on American Parkway if anyone can pay her a visit. We are thankful to know that she is doing better.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers, 

Happy Monday to all! Today we praised the Lord who is our rock and our Redeemer, who by His grace has allowed us to belong to Him forever. Then, we again looked at Genesis 26 and saw that the blessings of God upon Isaac’s life could not be thwarted whatever opposition came about. It is the same ultimately for every believer. God will pour out his blessings upon his children, and nothing can stop that from happening. That does not mean that there will not be difficulties and unforeseen circumstances. It also does not mean that those blessings will always be material blessings. It does mean that we will often simply move away from contention and strife with others over personal and meaningless issues. As we follow God and do His will, God’s blessings will eventually be acknowledged even by our adversaries.As Allen Ross wrote, “The confident faith of God’s people will triumph over worldly antagonism.” No one can hinder God’s blessings from ultimately being poured on His followers.

Sharon Bahl is in rehab as he broken hip is healing. She is at Oakwood Village East Rehab Center on American Parkway if anyone can pay her a visit. She will be there for a while.

We will have a Superbowl party on February 8 beginning at 5:00 PM. Bring food and snacks for this time of fellowship as we watch the big game together.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! It was good to be worshipping with the East Madison family yesterday. From Genesis 26, we saw a passage that showed how Abraham and Isaac had similar paths in life as God worked through them. We saw both the strengths and weaknesses of a father passed down to the son. We learned how God faithfully communicates His promises to each generation. We also were instructed that we need to hold tightly to God’s Word and promises. One way we can do that is by guarding against repeating faithless acts of those who came before us.Most importantly, we learned how God worked despite their human weaknesses to bless the whole world through the descendants of Abraham and Issac. God worked in both father and son to bring about His purposes. God works through weak and imperfect human beings to bring salvation to the world.

Please pray for Sharon Bahl. She fell Thursday night and fractured her left hip. She had surgery and they put in a partial hip and had to put a plate in over the bone so she cannot refracture it again. She is at Meriter Hospital and will have to go to a rehab center at some point. Sharon, we love you and we are praying for you.

We will have a Superbowl party on February 8 beginning at 5:00 PM. Bring food and snacks for this time of fellowship as we watch the big game together.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday was a glorious day as we worshipped our eternally loving God, witnessed Abri’s confession of faith in Jesus as she was baptized, and remembered the great sacrifice of Jesus by observing the Lord’s Supper together. From John 3:16 we saw the truth that God’s love for us gives hope. Hope is found in Jesus today. When we come to trust in and believe in Jesus, hope forever is born. We only need to acknowledge that we need Jesus and cry out to Him to save us. As we trust Jesus to save us and learn to trust Him more fully day by day, we will find, even in the horrific circumstances of life, rest and hope. We find it as fulfillment of God’s Word which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Today, we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the life he lived and the death he died seeking to help our nation fulfill its highest ideal that all men are created equal. It is right for us to honor such a man of character, conviction, and courage who called our nation to become a more just society.

We will have a potluck luncheon next Sunday, January 25, after our morning worship. Bring enough food for your family and a little extra for any guest we might have with us.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters, 

Happy Monday to all Yesterday we worshipped the eternally valuable God who saved us from our sin and its consequences. He alone is our greatest treasure. Then, as we looked at Genesis 25, we thought about holding on to the eternal realities of life. We saw two brothers, Jacob and Esau, and saw what each valued. Esau valued the immediate satisfaction of his appetites and desires. Jacob valued what was forever, real, and eternal. Do we value what is truly valuable in life? The things most people value are, in the eternal scheme of things, truly valueless. Fame, youth, beauty, possessions, prestige, and power will not last. That old cutlass supreme I cherished as a young man has become a toaster by now. But family, children, and the people that we have invested our lives in will live forever. Also, forever we will be in the presence of the Savior who loved us and gave Himself for our salvation. Hold on to eternal realities even amid unforeseen difficulties. Hold on to eternal realities by never trading them for temporary pleasures. Value above all God Himself, His promises, and eternal realities.

We will observe the Lord’s Supper next Sunday, January 18, 2026, during our morning worship gathering along with witnessing a believer follow the Lord in baptism.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers, 

Happy Monday to all and Happy 2026! It was great to worship with our East Madison family yesterday and proclaim the praise of our awesome God. Then from Genesis 25, we looked at the account of Abraham’s death and realized that though death comes to all, the promises of God live on forever. If Jesus tarries, all our lives on this earth will end. But that will not be the end of the promises of God. There is a sense of which no one believer of any age will in their lifetimes see the complete fulfillment of all God’s promises to His people. Hebrews 11:39-40 tells us about those who have died in Christ before us, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”  We will not see the complete fulfillment of the promises of God until all the family of God at the very end of the age see the complete fulfilment of God’s promises together. Death comes as we wait. God’s smaller promises to us are fulfilled from time to time. Until Jesus returns, we seek to pass down to the next generation God’s eternal promises, so they might pass them on to future generations. We might not yet see them fulfilled in this life, but they will be fulfilled. Though this mortal life ends, God’s promises are forever.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we celebrated the fourth Sunday of advent and focused on Gods’ love. Then from Matthew 2, we saw three ways that the people of Jesus’ time greeted Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem. We recognized we also can respond to Jesus in one of those ways. Will we greet Jesus like Herod the Great with secret or open hostility? Will we greet Jesus like the religious leaders with apathy and indifference? Or will we like the Magi, the Wise Men, greet Jesus with worship, adoration, and praise. We need to hear again the cry of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2:11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  The angels were speaking to each of us when they said, “Unto you! Unto you Christ is born.” Christ Jesus was born to save you and me! This announcement was made to the lowest of first century society, the despised and forgotten shepherds. And today it is said to each of us! “Unto you is born a Savior which is Christ the Lord!” Do not respond to this Savior who loves you with hostility or apathy. Respond to His love in worship by trusting your life to Jesus and living for Him. Believers spend the rest of their lives seeking to follow Jesus wherever He leads them. How will you meet Christ this Christmas of 2025?Will you seek to worship, adore, and follow the Lord Jesus every moment of your life?

Our Christmas Eve service will take place on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, at 5:00 PM.

Next Sunday, December 28, 2025, we will have our worship gathering at 10:45 AM. There will be no Bible Study that morning.

During the month of December, we are taking up the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions. All the money given to this offering goes directly to spreading the gospel around the world.  

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Praying for a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior for you and your family!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! As we worshiped and remembered Jesus on the third Sunday of Advent, we celebrated good news of great joy given to us in the first coming of Jesus. Then from Matthew 24, we were reminded that Advent also reminds us to be living in light of both the first and second comings of Christ. We considered what our attitudes should be as we wait for Christ to come again. We are not to panic because we live in difficult times for the world and for God’s people.We are to not to confuse catastrophic happenings in our nation or in the world for the end of the world. We are to know that Christ will return as the gospel is being preached to all the peoples of the whole world. We are to know when Jesus comes again, no one will misunderstand what is happening. ^“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.” (Revelation 1:7, NIV.)  The Advent season reminds us to live every day for the glory of God, every day as if it is our last day on earth, every day considering the sure return of Christ. We are to live today expecting Jesus might return. We are not preoccupied looking for signs, but we are to be focused on faithfully living for Christ and serving Him because we know He is coming again! Believers in every age seek to be faithful to Jesus daily as if He could return for us on any day.

Our Christmas Eve service will take place on Wednesday, November 24, 2025, at 5:00 PM.

On Sunday, December 28, 2025, we will have our worship gathering at 10:45 AM. There will be no Bible Study on that morning.

During the month of December, we will be taking up the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions. There are prayer guides and offering envelopes for this offering that support missionaries taking the gospel around the world. All the money given in this offering goes directly to spreading the gospel around the world. Make your checks out to East Madison and put in in those special envelopes and it will go toward this offering.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday as we began our celebration of Advent, we worshiped the Son who was born, the child who was given, who is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. The message, also from Isaiah 9, reminded us that we have hope in Christ even in the darkest times of life. Into the midst of deep, deep darkness, a Son is given! Do you need hope today? Do you need to regain a desire for something good in the future, and a biblical hope that is a confident expectation of that? Jesus is that hope. Christ Jesus is that hope for you if you are looking for hope in life. Believers have trusted Jesus with their lives. Jesus is the One who died in our place so we could be forgiven and rose again to give us forever life. Jesus is the Hope of the world. Every one of us needs to ask ourselves, “Is Jesus the Hope of my life?” Jesus can be, and oh, how He wants to be our hope! Is there some hopeless situation or problem that we see no answer or solution? Jesus wants to give hope in whatever that problem might be. Jesus wants us to know He can work in any situation and bring good out of bad. We can trust Him today no matter what we are going through. Jesus is God’s forever King who rules the world in righteousness and gives hope. No matter how dark it gets, in Jesus there is hope. Hold on to the hope of Jesus!

This Friday night, December 12, at 6:30 PM, we will have our EMBC Christmas party. All are invited to bring a Christmas dessert or treat, some games, and spend Friday evening together. We also have invited Pastor Koua and any from Madison Hmong Baptist Church to join us as we fellowship.

During the month of December, we will be taking up the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions. There are prayer guides and offering envelopes for this offering that support missionaries taking the gospel around the world. All the money given in this offering goes directly to spreading the gospel around the world. Make your checks out to East Madison and put in in those special envelopes and it will go toward this offering.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church