April 2020

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday as we worshipped virtually together, we sang about how wonderful our Savior is and all He has done for us.  We then considered from 1 Corinthians 6 about the glorious change Jesus Christ makes in the life of anyone who will trust their life to Him.  We learned from this passage that God’s grace will not leave us where we are.  Jesus saves us from sin, not in sin and Jesus saves us to know and follow Him as Lord. More and more I am convinced that Jesus did not come to save us from hell, but He came to save us from sin.  Sin leads to death, and death and hell and are sin’s end results. The thing we need to be saved from is sin.  We learned also that God’s grace will cleanse you, free you, forgive you and make you forever a child of God.  God moves powerfully in the lives of those who believe and trust in Jesus.  Those who trust Jesus have been enslaved and found that Jesus could free them. Those who trust Jesus have been wracked with guilt and found that Jesus could forgive them. Those who trust Jesus have been broken by pain and discovered that Jesus could comfort them. Those who trust Jesus have been filled with hatred and found that Jesus could fill them with His love. Jesus Christ makes a glorious change in the lives of anyone who will trust their lives to Him.  I pray you have entrusted your life to Jesus or that you will entrust your life to Jesus today. 

I encourage you to take advantage of virtual meetings with other believers during this time.  We need each other! I continue to be grateful for the virtual meetings taking place with the ladies on Saturday morning and the prayer meeting on Sunday evening. 

You can mail offering checks to the church at the Milwaukee Street address below. Also, you can give your offerings online at the embclife.org website by clicking the “Give Online” tab on the homepage.  Or you can click this link directly:  https://give.idonate.com/east-madison-baptist-church/give.  I want to thank you for your faithfulness in giving during this time of social distancing.      

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. We all need to pray and be prayed for, especially during these difficult days.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!  I pray yesterday was a wonderful day of worship for you and your families as we worshipped through music, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and the proclaiming of the Word of God.  I pray the virtual observance of the Lord’s Supper was meaningful to you as we remembered Jesus and all He has done and will do.  We remembered His great sacrifice so our sins could be justly forgiven. We remembered that He rose again, ascended to heaven, and is coming back.  Celebrating the Lord’s Supper is remembering Jesus totally-what He has done, what He is doing presently as He intercedes (prays) for us now, and what He will do in the future as He returns to rule and reign forever. 

Yesterday’s message from Matthew 28 reminded us that believers are always on mission with Jesus.  We follow Him as disciples and seek to call others from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to join us as disciples who follow Jesus.  We are called to take the good news of Jesus to our communities and to the world.  As Jesus has authority over all the universe, Jesus gives us the authority and power to carry out this world-wide task. And Jesus will be with us always as we take His good news everywhere.

I continue to be grateful for the virtual meetings taking place with the ladies on Saturday morning and the prayer meeting on Sunday evening.  I know some wonderful fellowship, ministry, and sharing are happening in the ladies’ meetings.  The virtual prayer times on Sunday night have been wonderful!

I want to encourage you to be faithful in your worship of giving offerings to the Lord through His church during the time we can’t meet physically. The mission of the church is supported by the people of God.  The work of the Lord goes on around the world.  You can mail offering checks to the church address on Milwaukee Street. Also, you can give your offering online at the embclife.org website by clicking the “Give Online” tab on the homepage.  Or you can click this link directly:  https://give.idonate.com/east-madison-baptist-church/give  

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Praying you all stay safe.  Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Easter Monday to all!  We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus yesterday and the truth is we can celebrate our Risen Lord every day because Jesus is alive forevermore!  On Good Friday we remembered everything that needs to be done for us to be saved has been done.  Jesus has paid it all and we simply cling to and believe in what He has done for us. On Resurrection Sunday, we remembered the Savior who conquered death conquered it for all who believe.   Yes, there have been and are those who try to explain away the empty tomb since it occurred during the first century and since that time.  However, the only truly rational, reasonable and believable explanation for the empty tomb is the Jesus rose physically from the dead!  Jesus lives and we live in and through Him!

Next week, Sunday April 19, is our scheduled time to have the Lord’s Supper together.  Even though we cannot be together physically, I want us to celebrate the Lord’s Supper virtually together.  If you would like to participate, I encourage you to get some grape juice and crackers for those in your home who will participate.  I will send out a video leading us in taking the Lord’s Supper along with the video of next week’s sermon.  As always, those who take the supper should be believers because the supper is meaningless if you have not yet trusted Christ with your life.  Also, we should examine ourselves and confess and forsake any sin that God reveals to our minds and we should be careful to have a reverent understanding that we are remembering Jesus and all He has done for us as we take the Lord’s Supper. 

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Praying you all stay safe.  Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

tombobray@gmail.com	Mon, Apr 6, 1:06 PM (13 days ago)
to tombobray Unsubscribe

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all!  The online worship songs Pete sent allowed us to remember how great a friend we have in Jesus and how during trials, temptations and troubles, Jesus is our refuge!  Those songs reminded us that we always have hope because it is found in Christ alone who shines into our night.  The online message turned thoughts to the events of the crucifixion and the resurrection.  We looked from Matthew 27 how even the enemies of Jesus testified to the truth of who He is. All the things they said to mock Him while He was being crucified and dying in our place were statements proclaiming who Jesus truly is.  He is King of the Jews and King of kings.  He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  Jesus did not save Himself, as His enemies tempted Him to do while He was on the cross, so He might save any who will believe in Him. Even today when hostile forces speak against Jesus, they truly reinforce the truth of Jesus as King and Lord before whom all must one day bow. 

This week we used tools of technology to be together.  We are able to worship together as we view the sermons and worship music online.  The ladies met and prayed together Saturday morning through modern technology as Cheryl and Abby set up a virtual meeting.  They are planning another meeting for next Saturday morning. Also, we were able to pray together Sunday evening as David set up Sunday evening prayer online.  We are also planning to meet again this way next Sunday evening.  If you would like to be part of either one and you didn’t get connected, let me know and we will help you get connected.  I thank God for these tools we can use to stay connected and proclaim His truth during this time of social distancing.

Pete and I are planning to send you a short message and some songs to help us all worship on Good Friday.   

Remember to keep praying continually for each other.

Praying you all stay safe.  Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church