November 2019

Happy Monday, November 25, 2019 church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!  Wasn’t it great yesterday having five sermons?  You might say, “Pastor, I love you, but there is no way I am going to sit through five of your sermons in a row!”  Well, I only preached once yesterday.  The other four sermons were seeing the gospel preached through the baptisms of Becky, Kathleen, Jessica and Nathan.  Every baptism is a proclamation, a sermon, that Christ Jesus has died for our sins, was buried and rose again conquering death forever!  Every baptism is a proclamation that the person baptized has died to life without Christ, is burying that old life, and now has a new life in Jesus Christ!  Then, the message from Matthew 22 that I preached reminded us that God has invited us into His Kingdom and to His great banquet and provided us with the clothing of the righteousness of Jesus so we could go to His grand party!  Baptism symbolizes all who receive Jesus have accepted God’s grand invitation and the covering of Jesus’ righteousness and have joined the party!  I can only say, “Hallelujah” for all God has done for us!

We will observe the Lord’s Supper this coming Sunday, December 1st during our morning worship service.

We will have a called business meeting on Sunday, December 8, following our morning worship time. The sign team will present a recommendation to you on a proposal to update our sign.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, November 25, 2019 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, November 18, 2019 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all!  Yesterday was wonderful as we worshipped together in the morning and in the evening celebrated the goodness of God to all of us at our Thanksgiving Feast.  (Are you still full from the Thanksgiving dinner?)  We sang yesterday morning praise to our God who has provided salvation to those who believe at the greatest cost imaginable to Himself-the death of the Son of God in our place.  From Matthew 21 we looked at how Jesus confronted His confronters and taught us about how to recognize false religion when we see it.  We learned some characteristics of false religion.  False religion looks alive but never makes a difference in leading people to love God supremely and love others sacrificially.  False religion refuses to recognizes God’s presence and power in its very midst. False religion pronounces “God is first” but always puts self before God. Those who practice false religion never recognize God’s rightful claim upon their lives or God’s only Son Jesus as Lord. Jesus did not come to bring to us another religion but came to give to us His life-giving presence. Christ Jesus denounces fruitless religion and replaces it with His life-giving presence among His people.

We will be packing boxes for Samaritan’s Purse this Saturday evening, November 23, at 6:30 PM.  There is a list of the things you can bring to put into the boxes we send.  There are tubs at the church building to put items in after you buy them.    Join us in this outreach ministry.

We are going to have baptisms this Sunday, November 24.  If you might be interested in being baptized on that Sunday, contact me and let’s talk about this.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, November 18, 2019 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, November 11, 2019 church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!   Yesterday we looked from Matthew 21 at Jesus’ courageous example to us of confronting evil and injustice.  We explored the need to confront injustice and evil by seeking to understand God’s timing. We don’t want to confront injustice out of anger or emotion but want to confront it thoughtfully and rationally following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.   We also thought about confronting evil and injustice by opposing religious hypocrisy.  We must not turn a blind eye when leaders in the church or God’s people do wrong and dishonor Jesus.   We considered that we don’t just confront injustice, but we want to be vessels through which God’s salvation and healing will flow to the outcast.  Even though we wait on God’s timing, we don’t want to be timid and refuse to confront injustice and evil when the time is right.  When the time to act comes, we need to act courageously!  Believers purposely confront evil and injustice by following Jesus’ courageous example.

I was reminded again as I talked with a few of you this week how important it is for us to continually pray for each other.   All of us have our different struggles, but we all have struggles! We need to pray for each other because we all need God’s strength to live for God’s glory and to be victorious over the enemy’s temptations.

We will have our annual East Madison Baptist Church Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday evening, November 17 at 6:00 PM.  There are still a few items needed for the dinner listed on the sign-up sheet in the foyer. Invite a friend to be your guest at this meal.

We will be packing boxes for Samaritan’s Purse on Saturday evening, November 23, at 6:30 PM.  There is a list at the church building of the things you can bring to put into the boxes we send.  There are tubs at the church building to put items in after you buy them.    Join us in this outreach ministry.

We are going to have some baptisms on Sunday, November 24.  If you might be interested in being baptized on that Sunday, contact me and let’s talk about this.

Happy Veterans Day to all of you who have served our country in the military.  Thank you for your service to our nation.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, November 11, 2019 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, November 4, 2019 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all!   Yesterday we met together to adore our great and loving God who gave His Son to sacrifice His life for our salvation.  Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many.  He offered Himself in our place as truly the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins.  We sang about this wonderful, merciful Savior that made us his own.  We then thought from Matthew 20 about whether we were truly tuned into God and truly listening to Him. Are we truly listening to Jesus today as He tells us the first would be last and the last first?  Are we listening to Jesus today as He tells us that greatness in the Kingdom does not involve prominence, power, or visibility, but serving even the least of these?  True greatness in the kingdom of God reveals itself in Christ Jesus in His sacrificial death.  True greatness in the Kingdom of God comes not by status but by service. True greatness in the Kingdom of God serves those others count as the least of society. We don’t want to miss these truths like James, John, their mother and the other ten apostles seemed to miss them in Matthew 20.  We truly need to understand that the first will be last and the last first.  We truly need to see Jesus teaching this to us:  Christ Jesus sacrifices Himself willingly for us and expects His children to follow His example of serving and sacrifice.  This is the life God’s children are called to live.

I want to thank all those who volunteer to work with children during our Bible Study time and worship services.  As you love children and teach them the Word of God, you serve Jesus.  As you provide support for parents of young children so these parents can worship and hear God’s Word proclaimed, you serve Jesus.  This is truly an example of serving Jesus to all of us! We are truly grateful for all of you who serve Jesus in this way.

We will have our annual East Madison Baptist Church Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday evening, November 17 at 6:00 PM.  There is a sign-up sheet in the foyer listing the things we need for the dinner. Invite a friend to be your guest at this meal.

We are going to have some baptisms on Sunday, November 24. If you might be interested in being baptized on that Sunday, contact me and let’s talk about this.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, November 4, 2019 church! Read More »