Happy Monday, March 4, 2019 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all!  As we finished the sermon series on “The Sermon on the Mount,” we saw in the conclusion that the Sermon on the Mount  is all about Jesus!  It is not just a sermon on ethical living, but a sermon that asks the question, “Will you believe in and trust your life to the One who preached this sermon, Jesus Christ?”  Jesus, who preached this sermon is the narrow gate we must enter the Kingdom of Heaven through.  We must not be misled by people who preach there are many ways to God.  We must not be misled by those who preach a Jesus other than the one revealed in the Bible.  Also, Jesus is the One who must know us and the One we must know.  Many profess faith in Jesus but do not know Him and whom He does not know.  On Judgment Day, Jesus will publicly profess to some of those who preached great sermons and did supposedly miraculous things in His name that He never knew them!  They did not live for His glory.  They did not truly believe and follow Jesus.  The served in Jesus’ name simply for what was in it for themselves and Jesus never knew them and they never knew Him.  We also saw that Jesus’ words must not simply be heard, but we must put them into practice.  It is not enough to read the Bible and listen to sermons and attend worship service.  When we hear the word of God, we must act upon it by building our lives upon it! If we put into practice Jesus’ words, we will survive whatever storms of life come our way.  If we simply just hear them and not do  them, our lives will be destroyed by the storms of life that come to all.  Our eternal destinies rest on what we believe about and do with Jesus Christ.   The Sermon on the Mount, and in fact, all of the Bible is about Jesus!

I want to challenge our men to be a part of the men’s short-termed small group study, “The Call to Courageous Manhood” that starts this Wednesday evening, March 6th.  I think this study will help us to be better men of God-better husbands, fathers, sons, and grandfathers.  I am excited about this study.   It will led by David Juhlin and held at David and Annette Juhlin’s home and start at 6:30 PM.  You can contact David or me with any questions about the men’s group.  

Remember to move your clocks an hour forward this Saturday before you go to bed as we begin Daylight Savings Time. (I don’t think we actually save any daylight but simply rearrange our schedules to make it seem like we have more daylight!)

Love being your pastor! 

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church