Sisters and brothers,
Happy Monday to all! I am so grateful to be part of East Madison where so many give of themselves to serve the Lord and His people. Sometimes they serve publicly before others, like those who faithfully serve on the worship team. Other times they serve quietly in the background making sure children are cared for, the building and grounds of East Madison are clean and attractive, or meeting other needs of people. Thank you for all you do!
I hope yesterday’s message helped us to remember that only God Himself deserves our worship and ultimate loyalty. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were willing to lay down their lives rather than give worship and ultimate loyalty to anyone other than the true and living God. We saw that God honored their trust in Him, first of all by being present with them in the midst of the fiery furnace and then by delivering them from the fiery furnace. There are times when others will see God’s miraculous deliverance. However, whether others see God miraculous deliverance or not, Jesus Himself always walks with His people who chose to worship Him alone in those fiery furnaces, in our darkest hours and in the most severe tests of our lives.
Remember we begin two new short-term small groups on Wednesday evening, September 19th. The ladies will begin the War Room Bible Study “featuring five inspiring movie clips and five challenging scriptural lessons adapted from the film.” The women’s small group will be held at 909 Tony Drive, Madison. The men’s study is from the Conquer Series and entitled: The Battle Plan for Purity. It is a discipleship study for men on how to walk with God and triumph over the temptation of pornography. Even if you might not struggle with the specific temptation of pornography, you will learn some principles about overcoming other kinds of temptation. The men’s small group will be held at 9 Milo Lane, Madison. Both studies will starts at 7:00 PM. We will also begin October 7th a new short-term DVD Bible Study on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM for older youth and adults called “The Clash of Kingdoms.”
Love being your pastor!
Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church