Church Blog

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! We worshipped the Lord yesterday realizing Jesus is the shepherd of our lives and the solid rock we build upon. Then, as we looked at 1 Corinthians 14, we saw the Word of God was seeking to move the focus of the Corinthian believers and us from serving ourselves to serving Jesus with others in the body of Christ. We studied about the importance of seeking spiritual gifts and abilities that would help all believers to grow rather than spectacular spiritual gifts that simply build up our egos. We learned that living only for ourselves and not living for the glory of God and for the good of the people of God is not living at all. Things that only build us up as individuals do not actually in the long run truly help us if those gifts do not help others. Focusing on ourselves instead of focusing on the growth of the body of Christ is not denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following Jesus. All of us have people in our lives that invested themselves in us and enabled us to grow as people and to grow in our faith in Jesus. This is the way we are to live. Believers need to seek the talents, abilities, and gifts that build up others in the body of Christ. Believers seek to desire gifts and abilities that clearly communicate God’s truth and enhance understanding. Believers also need to desire abilities that clearly reveal salvation found in Jesus alone. As we grow in maturity as believers, we more and more need to seek to help others continually see Jesus in us and become more and more like Him.

We will observe the Lord’s Supper next Sunday, October 20, 2024, during our morning worship gathering.

Remember to pray for our EMBC brothers and sisters in Christ, like Kathleen Brandenburg, Kathy McElmurry, Donald Smith, and Mike Skille, as they struggle with long term health issues. We pray for each of you to know God’s continual loving and powerful presence in your present struggles.

We will hold our annual “Trunk or Treat” for our neighborhood on October 26 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. We will need lots of candy and lots of help to reach out to our neighborhood on that day.

We will have special missionary speakers with us on Sunday, October 27, 2024, during our morning worship. I hope you can be here to see how God is working all around the world to save the lost and expand His kingdom.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshipped our great God and realized we can rejoice because He alone rules the universe. Then we looked at one of the most familiar passages of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13, which describes to us what truly godly love is and how it operates among the people of God. 1 Corinthians 13 was specifically written to a troubled church where individualism had wrongly become supreme. That chapter points us to the antidote to that selfishness by helping us see the true nature of love. Living lives of glorifying God and helping build the church means we are motivated by love for God and others. 1 Corinthians 13 helps us see we need to focus on the necessity and first importance of godly love. Then it helped us to understand the true character of love, that love is what you do and do not do. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  Love is more than some feeling or emotion. Love is something you do. Finally, we saw from 1 Corinthians 13 that love is permanent. Love endures forever into eternity! In churches where people have great talents, abilities, and spiritual gift we see this forever truth: Exercising talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts mean nothing if those things are not exercised with godly love.

We will hold our annual “Trunk or Treat” for our neighborhood on October 26 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. We will need lots of candy and lots of help to reach out to our neighborhood on that day.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday as we worshipped, we rejoiced as the redeemed people of God. Then as we looked at 1 Corinthians 12, we thought about how the church, the body of Christ, is to function. Every single believer in Jesus is a significant and essential part of the body of Christ. Every single believer must work together with other believers to glorify God and see the mission of Christ accomplished. The church is one body of Christ with many members and every member is essential to the proper working of the body of Christ. It is wrong to say about yourself, “I am an insignificant part of the body of Christ, and you are more essential than me.” It is wrong to say about any other believer, “You are an insignificant part of the body of Christ, and I am more essential than you.” It is right to say about ourselves and each other, “Every believer belongs to the body of Christ and must see themselves and others as essential and significant.” We together are the body of Christ. God the Holy Spirit empowers every believer with different abilities to work side by side to accomplish the mission of Christ.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshipped and yielded ourselves to our wonderful and gracious God and Lord. Then, from 1 Corinthians 12 we saw that the church works together to proclaim the basic Christian confession that, “Jesus is Lord.” All other truth from the Bible flows from this basic confession. Anything that denies the truth that “Jesus is Lord” is not from God. If within the community of Christ, His church, some are focusing and exalting themselves, those persons are not doing what each individual member of God’s church is supposed to do. This passage teaches that it takes all of us together seeking for God to work through each individual life to see the church built up and grow. Working together as the body of Christ, we exalt Jesus and confess Jesus Christ alone as Lord.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshipped and remembered Jesus as we took the Lord’s Supper together. The music pointed to Christ’s sacrificial death for us as and taught us that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven by which we must be saved. The message from 1 Corinthians 11 instructed us in the supreme importance of remembering Jesus when we take the Lord’s Supper. It also reminded us of the oneness of the people of God, the church. There are no racial, class, economic or social division that should be recognized among the people of God. Rich and poor, slave and free, “red, yellow, black, and white” all need to believe in Jesus because all are sinners that need a Savior. At the Supper we remember all Jesus has done for us so we can be forever forgiven-His sacrificial death, burial,  and resurrection. We remember Jesus’ very presence is with us now as we take the Lord’s Supper. We remember and proclaim Jesus is coming again and we will be in His presence forever. Believers recognize as they take the Supper that all come to salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We relish right now Jesus’ presence with us as we take His Supper as the One people of God. Social or economic status in human society is irrelevant among the people of God and especially in the taking of the Lord’s Supper together. Christ Jesus obliterates economic and social divisions among the family of God. May those divisions truly be obliterated from each of our lives.

We will have a potluck luncheon next Sunday, September 22, 2024, following our morning worship gathering. Bring enough food for your family and a little extra or any quest we may have with us.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! We had a wonderful day of worship yesterday as we thought about glorifying and submitting to our loving God from 1 Corinthians 11. We learned that we find life in surrender to God. We are not here for ourselves to find our best life. God created each of us and then saved those who believe from sin to find life in the true and living God. Shane Pruitt was right when he wrote, “The goal of the gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, or empower to do whatever you want to do. The goal of the gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and empower you to do what God wants you do to.” We find life in the eternal and triune God, who is from forever to forever. Because of God the Son, Jesus, we have forgiveness, life, peace, and joy. The Bible in Daniel calls our great God, the “Ancient of Days.” Here is the link to a beautiful rendition of a song celebrating God, the “Ancient of Days” https://youtu.be/cJUtAw21qAM.) Below are the words.

Ancient of Days

By Jesse Reeves, Michael Farren, Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson

Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall
There is still one King reigning over all
So I will not fear for this truth remains:
That my God is, the Ancient of Days

None above Him, none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul
He is here with me, I am not alone
O His love is sure, and He knows my name
For my God is, the Ancient of Days

None above Him, none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Though I may not see what the future brings
I will watch and wait for the Savior King
Then my joy complete standing face to face
In the presence of the Ancient of Days

None above Him, none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is, the Ancient of Days
For my God is, the Ancient of Days

We will observe the Lord’s Supper in our morning worship gathering next Sunday, September 15, 2024, during our morning worship gathering.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Tuesday to all! We had a great day of worship Sunday singing some wonderful hymns about the grace and love of the Eternal King of the universe. I want to thank Abby and Ben for making a quick return from Dubuque on Sunday morning to play piano, work the livestream, and run the sound system in the absence of most of our worship team. Then we looked from 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Psalm 56:3, and other passages to think about living a life free from constant fear. We learned we should respect holy God’s eternal disposition against evil and sin, and we should fear sin’s deadly and destructive effects. Then we saw that we needed to remember that denial of fear is not God’s answer to fear. We saw then that believers can cope with fear as we understand the all-powerful eternal God of this universe loves His children and is watching over us. We do not have to live our lives in constant fear. When we are afraid, we can remind ourselves of God’s protection. We can remember Psalm 56:3 that teaches us that when we are afraid, we can then turn to our loving Father and trust in Him. When we are afraid, we acknowledge those fears to God and ask the Holy Spirit to take away our fear and replace it with a true confidence in God. God is in control, and we are His children. Christ Jesus frees us from constant fear.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshipped Almighty God and thanked Him that He is always our generous King. As we continue to work our way through 1 Corinthians, we looked from chapter ten about how we are to make the choices we make in life. All our choices must be based, first, on the true revelation of who God is from the Word of God, the Bible. Then, we are to choose wisely based on our oneness with Christ and His church. We are also to choose wisely based on what is helpful to others so they will come to know and follow Jesus. And finally, and most importantly, we are to choose wisely seeking to glorify God and imitate Christ in all we choose. Those who believe have the Holy Spirt of God living in them to empower them to make these kinds of choices. Growing followers of Jesus evaluate every behavioral choice they make in the light of their desire to bring glory to God.

Continue to pray for Mike Skille as he enters a cardio rehab facility today. Pray for God to give wisdom to his medical providers so they might provide some long-term solutions to the health problem Mike has been dealing with for some time. Pray for strength and peace for Mike and Lori in this journey to health.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we remembered the price eternal God paid for us to be saved. We took the bread to remember that Jesus, the Son of God, willingly became a human being. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that He could be nailed to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and so our sins could justly be forgiven. We took the cup to remember that Jesus shed His perfect blood to pay the ransom that would deliver us so we could have eternal life. Then in 1 Corinthians 10, we thought about how to resist temptations. We saw some principles we need to remember as we live in a world full of temptations. Remember that spiritual experiences do not guarantee spiritual victories. You can see God move mightily but still not embrace and trust Jesus with your life. Remember that the past failures of others provide examples for us not to follow. Remember that God is faithful and know He will always provide the way of resisting any temptation. How close to the edge to you get from the temptations that plague you? Do you walk right up the side and think you will not fall? Or do you stay as far away from those temptations that plague you as you can get? Do not think you are strong when all of us are weak. Do not be like Abel Mejia who got too close to the edge and fell four hundred feet over the side of the Grand Canyon to his destruction. Stay away from the edge. Wise believers provide appropriate boundaries to stay far away from every temptation to be unfaithful to Jesus.

Next Sunday, August 18, 2024, Mitch Freeman will be teaching our adult and youth Bible study classes at 9:30 AM and then preaching during our morning worship at 10:45 AM. Mitch will be teaching and preaching on a Biblical view of mental health. Mitch is the former pastor of East Madison and a great friend to me personally and to this body of believers. Mitch has also made an eternal impact on many of our lives. I am so excited to have him teaching and preaching on this very neglected and important subject.

We will have a potluck luncheon after our morning worship next Sunday, August 18, 2024. Bring enough for your family and a little extra for any guest we might have.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshipped our great God and Savior. We sang about keeping our focus continually on Jesus. Then from 1 Corinthians 9, we thought about motivation for maintaining that focus. What motivates you as you live?Is it ambition, anger, guilt, greed, or comfort? Or is your motivation love for God and those who need to be saved? Motivation comes to us as we realize certain truths. We should be motivated as we understand our duty to our Lord Jesus. We should be motivated as we embrace the mission of seeing people saved. Do we genuinely want to see people saved, to come to know, love, and follow Jesus? Do we believe people outside of Jesus are in eternal danger? Do we believe that the worst thing that can happen to any person is that they never come to know the salvation and love God has for them? Our highest motivation should come as we seek the glory of God and hunger for increasing intimacy with Him. Motivation for serving Christ comes to believers as we grow in love for God and in understanding of His will.

We will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper next Sunday, August 11, 2024, in our morning worship.

On Sunday, August 18, 2024, Mitch Freeman will be teaching our adult and youth Bible study classes and then preaching during our morning worship. Mitch will be teaching and preaching on a Biblical view of mental health. Mitch is the former pastor of East Madison and a great friend to me personally and to this body of believers. Mitch has also made an eternal impact on many of our lives.  I am so excited to have him teaching and preaching on this very neglected and important subject.

Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church