February 2020

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!  Yesterday, the worship band led us in praising our great God and singing about the Lord Jesus as our Rock and our Redeemer, the One who continually protects and rescues us.  Then we looked in Matthew 26 about the first observance of the Lord’s Supper.  We learned that Jesus invites all who believe in Him to this memorial meal.  At this meal we remember the price paid for our salvation and we remember that Jesus will come again to bring to perfect completion the Kingdom of God.  We also learned that Jesus invites all who will fail Him to this supper.  Peter and the other apostles all fell away from the Lord on the night Jesus was betrayed.  Jesus knew they would fail him.  But even though Jesus knew this, He still invited them to this memorial meal.  Jesus knows we will fail him before we fail Him. But still He bids us to come to Him and His table.  We know Jesus prayed for Peter that His faith would not fail him even when he blew it.  Jesus prayed for Peter that after he had turned from this failure that Peter would strengthen other believers.  We realized that just as Jesus prayed for Peter, today Jesus is praying for us.  Hebrews 7:25 tells us this truth, “Therefore He (Jesus) is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”  Jesus saves us completely, not because we will never fail, but because He continually prays, intercedes for every person who believes.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for inviting us to your table knowing  all our weaknesses!  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for continually praying for us and completely saving us!

Next Sunday evening, March 1, at 6:00 PM we will have a hymn sing.  This is an informal time of sharing what the Lord has done for us and for singing some of the hymns that are most meaningful to us. Hope you will plan on being here.  You will be blessed!

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. We all need our brothers and sisters praying for us.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all!  Yesterday was a good day of worship and fellowship as we thought about the hope we continually have in Jesus.  We looked at the importance of understanding correctly Jesus’s death on the cross.  We contrasted Mary’s anointing of Jesus with her most precious treasure of very expensive perfume and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Each of them saw Jesus’ upcoming death in a different way.  Mary saw Jesus’ death through faith and Judas saw Jesus’ death through his own ambition and greed.  Do you understand Jesus’ death and what it truly means?  If you miss what Jesus’ death on the cross was all about, you miss Jesus.  Mahatma Gandhi said this about Jesus’ death: “I could accept Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice, and a divine teacher, but not as the most perfect man ever born. His death on the Cross was a great example to the world, but that there was anything like a mysterious or miraculous virtue in it my heart could not accept.”  Is that how you see Jesus’s death?  Or do you see His death as the only way anyone can be saved?  Are you hardened and unbelieving about His death as one of the world’s most meaningless events or the world’s greatest tragedy?  Are you disillusioned about His death and see Jesus only as a martyr or good example? Or do you see Jesus’ death as the death of the very Son of God sent to save you from your sin?  Will you believe and honor Jesus today, as the true and living Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?  Jesus’ death to each of us is either one of the most meaningful or the most meaningless events in history.

Sunday, March 1 at 6:00 PM, we will have a hymn sing.  This is an informal time of sharing what the Lord has done for us and for singing some of the hymn that are our favorites.  Hope you will plan on being here.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!  Yesterday we worshipped and shared in the memorial supper Jesus gave us to remember Him.  We think of all Jesus has done and is doing for us and especially the purchase of our forgiveness through His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that we were bought from sin and death and hell with the high price of the blood of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV) “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”   The Lord’s Supper reminds us of that great price of our salvation.

We also thought yesterday about the truth taught to us from Matthew 25 and many other places in the Bible that we will be judged by God.  Every human being will stand before God and give an account of His life.  We looked at the criteria by which we will be judged.  The only criteria by which we will be judged is how we respond to Jesus Christ.  We saw how you respond to believers and support them as they seek to live for Jesus shows how you respond to Jesus.  “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”  Jesus supremely and emphatically identifies with those who believe in Him and belong to Him or who will possibly believe in Him and belong to Him through the witness of His children.  Jesus supremely and emphatically identifies with those who join Him in His mission of taking His gospel to every ethnic and people group around the world and extending His Kingdom to the ends of the earth. How you respond to believers and support them as they seek to live for Jesus shows how you respond to Jesus.  How you respond to Jesus determines your eternal destiny on judgement day.

We will have a potluck luncheon after our worship gathering this Sunday, February 16.  Bring enough food for you family and a little extra for our guests. 

Sunday, March 1 at 6:00 PM, we will have a hymn sing.  This is an informal time of sharing what the Lord has done for us and for singing some of the hymn that are our favorites.  Hope you will plan on being here.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday our worship reminded us of the greatness of God and the greatness of the salvation He has provided for all who will believe.  We looked at two parables in Matthew 25 and thought about living prepared lives, always ready for Jesus to come back. We learned from the parable of the ten bridesmaids that each person must individually prepare to meet Jesus and can’t borrow from the preparation of others.  The time to prepare is today and should never be put off!  We learned from the parable of the talents that truly prepared people love Jesus and use whatever they have been entrusted with to serve Him and advance His Kingdom.  Prepared people have a right view of God that see His love for them and desire to love Him with all they have, instead of a warped view of God that does not understand His love and justice.  Prepared people seek to live their lives serving Jesus and others, instead of living it for their personal agendas and themselves.  Loving Jesus and seeking to glorify Him with our life reveals we are truly prepared to meet Him face to face. 

We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper this Sunday, February 9 during our morning worship.

We will have a potluck luncheon after worship on Sunday, February 16.  Bring enough food on that day for your family and a little extra for our guests. 

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church