Happy Monday, March 12, 2018 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! I hope your day is going well and you are adjusting to the time change. I have to admit I was in a very deep sleep when my alarm went off this morning.

It was wonderful to see everyone yesterday and worship with our East Madison family. We are partakers of the lavishly generous grace of God. Those who believe are not treated as our sin deserves. Christ Jesus Himself was treated as our sin deserves. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) reminds us: “God made Him (Christ Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” God treats those who believe with His lavish grace. God searches for us, saves us, and calls us to be on mission with Him in bringing the good news of the gospel to the world. Though sometimes there is toil and hard work involved, it is always a great privilege to be on mission with God.

However, we often compare ourselves with others and think they are being blessed more or their lives are more free of hardships than our lives. Comparing our hardships with others or our blessings with the blessings of others robs us of the joy and contentment that God wants to give all of us. There is great danger in this! We need to remember God’s blessing toward all of us are lavish! God’s plan for each of us in unique and it is always results in good for us and glory to God, even though it might not seem like it at the present time. Don’t let the enemy rob you of the joy God wants you to experience by dangerously comparing your hardships or blessings with others.

We will have a Pot Luck luncheon following our morning worship this Sunday, March 18. Bring enough food for your family and some guests we will have in our worship service.

Remember to take advantage of the Easter season to invite people to worship and share Jesus with other. I will continue to preach on the theme, “Marching to the Cross” as we approach the Easter celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Again this year we will have a joint Good Friday service with Sovereign Joy Church at their location, the YWAM building, 4802 Dakota Drive, Madison 53704 on March 30th at 7:00 PM. We will have our Easter Breakfast that replaces the Bible study hour on Easter Sunday, April 1. Also, we will have some invitation cards with our Easter holiday schedule and some booklets for you to share with family and friends as you invite them.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church