Happy Monday, September 30, 2019 church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! We had a good day of worship and fellowship yesterday.  It was wonderful to be able to worship the great and only God of the universe and think about His faithfulness, His very essence, and His glory and might. We then looked from Matthew 18 about a very serious and grave subject.  We saw how it is every believers’ responsibility to seek to restore those who are straying.  Matthew 18 tells us to go to a person who is straying and speak to them face to face before we go to anyone else.  If face to face meetings don’t bring about a restoration, we are to take two or three other neutral people who walk with God and have spiritual discernment and go again to the brother or sister who is straying.  If, after going with a small group, there is no returning to the Lord, we are to take this to the congregation.  If the person still does not listen and return to the Lord, we are, as Jesus said, “let him be to us as a Gentile and tax collector.”  We learned even this drastic step, along with all the previous steps, was meant to restore the person back to fellowship with the Lord and His people. Why is this true?  It is true because a person who refuses to turn from sin has something desperately wrong in their life.  Sometimes, it can mean the person who does not repent has not been saved from sin.  If you are not saved and then continually being saved from sin, you are not saved. The drastic step is to cause the person to see the destruction and deadliness of unrepentant sin and realize that he or she probably either does not know the Lord and needs salvation, or that there is something desperately wrong in their walk with God. It is our responsibility to search for the straying little ones and do all we can to restore them to the Lord and His church.     

The ladies Bible study of Philippians continues Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM.  If you have any questions, contact Carla. 

Midvale Baptist Church has invited anyone to a WMU event at their church on Saturday, October 5 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. D’anna Shotts, missionary to Nigeria, will be speaking.  If you are interested in attending, let me know so I can let them to know to help them plan for lunch on that Day.

On Sunday evening, October 13, we will have hymn sing, sharing of testimonies and campfire beginning at 6:00 PM.  The last time we did this, it was a wonderful time of worship, sharing and getting to know each other.  I hope you will make plans to attend.  

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church