Church Blog

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we remembered the sacrifice of God for our salvation. God the Father sacrificially sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. God the Son sacrificially went to the cross and paid the just penalty for sin by dying in our place, the righteous One for those who are unrighteous like you and me. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) reminds us of this truth: “God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Every time we take of the Lord’s Supper we remember this sacrifice and remember Jesus. Then we learned from Daniel 7 that no matter how bad the personal circumstances of our lives seem at the present or how bad we perceive the circumstances of the world around us, those who believe are never without hope! We saw that God’s Word teaches the ultimate failure of sinful humanities empires and governments. We saw that His Word teaches the ultimate triumph of God and His redeemed people. We see a truth that all of us need to hold onto at all times: The saints of God Most High (and that means all who trust Jesus with their lives and follow Him as Lord) through their Redeemer and King Jesus shall receive, possess and reign in Jesus’ kingdom forever and ever and ever! What a fantastic hope belongs to us as believers!

I wanted to thank everyone who came and worked at last Saturday’s workday. We got a lot of things done and it was fun being with each other and doing the work. I want to especially thank Brian Butterfield for organizing the day and working extra by stripping off some paint in the woman’s restroom so we can soon paint those walls.

We will have a pot luck luncheon after worship this Sunday, October 14th. Bring enough for your family and a little bit extra to share with our guests.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday and happy October to all! This is a very Fall kind of day, isn’t it? Pray your week has started well. After an eventful bicycle crash last Monday, being with the people of God yesterday was wonderful! To worship and love God with His redeemed children gathered together is something precious and we should never take it for granted! Although I was physically uncomfortable because of my broken bones, I was truly encouraged just to be with God’s family worshiping the true and living God who has redeemed us from our sin!

I hope the message from Daniel 6 about Daniel in the lion’s den was helpful. We thought about loving God and obeying him even when it requires disobeying the unjust laws of man. When man’s laws interfere with our obligation to supremely love God and/or they dehumanize and destroy human beings, we must obey God rather than men and then be willing to suffer the consequences and penalties of those unjust laws. Daniel knew the consequences of his worship and praying and having no other gods before the living God. But He loved God above all else, even above his own personal safety and was willing to suffer those consequences to the glory of God. Daniel also was able to do that because he lived walking with God daily and knew God’s presence. When the test came, he was prepared because he faithfully walked with God when there wasn’t a test. What was the end result? Daniel revealed God’s power and glory when he supremely loved and worshiped God alone. If we supremely love and worship God alone, we can also be people through whom God’s power and glory will be revealed.

We will be observing the Lord’ Supper this Sunday, October 7 during our morning worship.

Also, this Sunday, October 7th a new short-term DVD Bible Study will begin on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM for older youth and adults called “The Clash of Kingdoms.” This would be a perfect time to join a small group Bible study especially if you are not currently involved in small group Bible study. It will be held upstairs in the room by the sound booth, where the high school Sunday School class has been meeting.

We have a Fall work day scheduled to do some work on the church property this Saturday, October 6th. We will work from 8:30 AM to around noon. I hope those of you who are able can join us on that day.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! We had a super day with the people of God yesterday! It was great as we worshipped our Savior and King and remembered His love for us. It was wonderful to have Mitch and Kim Freeman back with us and have him share about the new ministry of the Fatherhood Initiative he is leading at Care Net. From Daniel 5 and the event of the “hand writing on the wall” we considered ways God’s holiness and power are challenged. People challenge God’s holiness and power when they lose self-control through the wrong use of alcohol or drugs. People challenge God’s holiness and power when they forget God’s past workings in their lives or the lives of others they know. We learned God always ultimately wins when any person challenges His holiness and power. God in his mercy often delays dealing with those who challenge His holiness and power but ultimately, if a person refuses to respond to His mercy, he or she loses. God’s desire is to show mercy and make all of us objects of His grace. God does not want to “win” these challenges! He longs instead for people to respond to His mercy and grace and find the life and forgiveness that He has provided in Jesus.

On October 7th a new short-term DVD Bible Study will begin on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM for older youth and adults called “The Clash of Kingdoms.” This would be a perfect time to join a small group Bible study especially if you are not currently involved in small group Bible study.

This Sunday, September 30th will be the last Sunday of our Care and Share State Missions Offering emphasis. This offering supports Wisconsin and Minnesota outreaches and ministries. Envelopes for this offering are on the table in the foyer.

We have a Fall work day scheduled to do some work on the church property on Saturday, October 6th. We will work from 8:30 AM to around noon. I hope those of you who are able can join us on that day.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we worshipped our great God who rules completely the universe. We sang songs to Him of His greatness as He rules this universe and sang of His great grace toward us. We saw in Daniel 4 that we should not be overly depressed or overly impressed by whomever might be in power in the governments of the world at any given time because, truly, God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomever he chooses. All human rulers are simply temporary but the Lord God forever reigns. He is able to bring down the proud and exalt the humble. In fact, God Most High has already exalted the One who “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Philippians 2:7-11, NIV). May each of us forsake all pride and follow Jesus’ example of humility daily.

Next Sunday, September 23, we have a special guest with us. Mitch Freeman, former pastor of East Madison, will be worshiping and sharing with us a few minutes about the fatherhood initiative ministry he is doing at the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County. I am truly excited about this new ministry Mitch is leading and I think you will be also. It will also be great to have him worshiping with us. Many of you have told me how much Mitch helped you in your walk with Christ and I am sure you will want to be here if at all possible.

Remember we begin two new short-term small groups this Wednesday evening, September 19th. The ladies will begin the War Room Bible Study. 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. 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.”

Remember we are taking up the Care and Share Missions offering during the month of September. This offering supports Wisconsin and Minnesota outreaches and ministries. Envelopes for this offering are on the table in the foyer.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

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

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Tuesday to all! I hope the Labor Day holiday was good for all of you. We had a wonderful day Sunday as we worshipped together. Together we took the Lord’s Supper to remind ourselves of the high price Jesus paid so we could be saved from sin. The Lord’ Supper reminds us of the horrible nature of our sin. Our sin is so deadly, destructive, dehumanizing and repulsive that it required the death of the sinless Son of God to atone for it and set us free from sin. But the Supper also reminds us of God’s great love for us in this: “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Also as we looked in Daniel 2, we learned once again that the true and living God forever truly is the Sovereign King and Ruler of the entire universe. We saw how God disturbs kings and kingdoms as He reveals his greatness to them. We saw how we, as God’s servants, have the privilege of witnessing to and honoring the true and living God before a skeptical world. We saw that one day every person will ultimately acknowledge His rule and confess Jesus Christ alone as Lord.

Please be praying for Peggy Blum and her family in the death of her sister Marietta Smith. Mrs. Smith passed away last Thursday. Memorial funeral services will be held Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. at the Picha Funeral Home in Lake Delton. Peggy wanted everyone to know how thankful she is for your prayers.

We will be beginning two new short-term small groups on Wednesday evening, September 19th. Both these studies will take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. On September 19 the ladies will begin the War Room Bible study “featuring five inspiring movie clips and five challenging scriptural lessons adapted from the film.” (It is not necessary to see the film; however, Carla has a copy of the movie for viewing if any of you want to borrow it.) If you haven’t let Carla know of your interest, please let her know you want to be a part of the War Room Bible study so she can order enough books. Also, email or call her if you have questions. The study will be held at 909 Tony Drive, Madison.

The men’s study beginning on September 19th 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. It is said that up to 63% of Christian men struggle with the temptation of internet pornography. This study provides understanding of and help in overcoming those temptations. Even if you might not struggle with the specific temptation of pornography, you will learn some principles about overcoming other kinds of temptation. I encourage every man that can to be part of this study.

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.” In this DVD study facilitated by Damon and Megan Tolhurst you will “discover how Paul communicated the Good News of Christ to Philippi, a Roman colony that worshipped false gods. Can you live the message as Paul did while he encouraged the church in Philippi to consider itself a colony of heaven, not Rome? Consider your citizenship and the message you convey to the world as Ray Vander Laan takes you deeper into the culture of ancient Philippi.”

We will have a Pot Luck luncheon this Sunday, September 9, following our worship service. Please bring enough food for your family and a little extra for our guests.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday hopefully found for you and your family some time of worship and encouragement after quite an eventful week last week here in Madison. As we began to work our way through the book of Daniel, we thought about wise living in a hostile culture. We learned that God enables his people to live for His glory even in the most hostile of circumstances. We learned to focus on living in the present and not in the past. We learned to not compromise those things essential to our identity in Christ. We learned to recognize that God provides people of good will that help us remain faithful to Him in difficult circumstances. And we learned to see the sovereign hand of God working among us for His glory and His purposes even when it seems like evil has triumphed. The church of Jesus, His people who have been born again into His Kingdom, are promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against us!

We will be beginning some new short-term small groups on Wednesday evening, September 19th. Both these studies will take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 with locations to be announced. The new women’s group will be a Bible study on prayer using the film the “War Room.” 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. It is said that up to 63% of Christian men struggle with the temptation of internet pornography. This study provides understanding of and help in overcoming those temptations. Even if you might not struggle with the specific temptation of pornography, you will learn some principles about overcoming other kinds of temptation. I encourage every man that can to be part of this study.

We will also begin soon a new short-term DVD Bible Study on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM for older youth and adults called “The Clash of Kingdoms.” In this DVD study facilitated by Damon and Megan Tolhurst you will “discover how Paul communicated the Good News of Christ to Philippi, a Roman colony that worshipped false gods. Can you live the message as Paul did while he encouraged the church in Philippi to consider itself a colony of heaven, not Rome? Consider your citizenship and the message you convey to the world as Ray Vander Laan takes you deeper into the culture of ancient Philippi.”

Continue to pray for the Juhlin’s in the passing of Annette mom’s, Bonnie Mullholland.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! I hope your week has started well. It was wonderful to be with you all yesterday and worship our great God and Savior. I pray you sensed the Lord’s presence as you worshipped. There is no substitute for gathering with the family of God and worshipping together. No believer can grow as they should in their understanding and walk with God if they are not part of regular worship and fellowship with the people of God. Believers who do not get the opportunity to be with other believers will tell you how wonderful being with the family of God regularly truly is. Yesterday’s message focused on how salvation is far more than an individual experience. God’s saves you so you can be part of His family, part of the community of the people of God. As Americans we tend to individualize everything from Scripture. But God’s promises are meant for more than us as individuals. They are meant for His people in community. We looked at the tragedies that Joseph faced in Genesis and realized the things he faced were not just so he could have a high position in Egypt. They were for the rescuing and saving of all the people of God and for the bringing about of God’s redemptive purposes in the world. Sometimes things happen in your life and my life that do not make sense if we individualize those things. However, they work for the good of the family of God, “for those who love the Lord and have been called according to His purpose.”

We will be starting some new groups this fall. We will have two new short-term groups, one for men and one for women. More information will be coming probably this weekend and those groups will begin sometime in September.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! It was wonderful to be with you yesterday in worship as we learned about gaining God’s perspective. God’s perspective enables us to have the joy of faith and not be bogged down in the scorn of unbelief. God’s perspective sees God’s provision and protection for those who follow him instead of focusing on the grievous pain of separation when God calls us away from those we love. God’s perspective focuses on the new beginnings in life and not the closing of old chapters of our lives. Gaining God’s perspective enables us to live life with an undefeatable confidence.

I want to remind you that we have wonderful Bible Studies at 9:30 AM for all ages every Sunday. We have a children, youth and adult Bible study weekly with teachers who worked hard to teach God’s Word. I would encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and to grow in knowing how to walk with and live for Jesus every day.

I wanted to thank you for the snacks you provided to Kennedy School for their community outreach to new families. Our partnership with them continues to grow. Things like this give us opportunities to get to know staff, parents and students. They will know that East Madison is a church who is concerned about our community. I am beginning to know many of the staff and count them friends. All this is happening because of your willingness to help. Pray for those staff and students at Kennedy that they would come to know or know more fully the love of Jesus.

Youth, this Friday, August 17 is the youth lock-in. It starts at 7:00 PM and runs through 10:00 AM the next day. Contact Damon or Megan Tolhurst or me if you need more information. You do need a signed permission slip for this and those are available at the church building.

We will be starting some new groups this fall. We will have two new short-term groups, one for men and one for women. More information will be coming soon.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Once again I am grateful to our gifted and creative worship team! The new original EMBC worship team song they sang yesterday, “Here,” was fantastic! Ron Roberts’ first line was so powerful and wonderful: “Here is where the weak and weary call upon the Strong and Mighty One for the gentleness of grace.” Wow! I pray that East Madison would be known as such! I am also very grateful for another group of volunteers who work with our children in Sunday School and worship. What you do is essential and I want to thank Deanna, Grace, and every volunteer that works in childcare.

I know the sermon yesterday could have been challenging to many. We all have choices in our lives that we deeply regret and wish that we could undo. We need to remember when we think about those choices Psalm 103:8-13: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.” We can’t go back and undo our choices and God does not want us to live in guilt or grief over those things of which He has forgiven and dealt with by the blood of Jesus. However, we can seek to make future decisions by seeking to choose to obey God and value what is eternal. Make decisions by not living your life for small things! Make decisions by not using your family background as an excuse for wrong choices. Believers need to value in life what is truly valuable. Seek to make decisions in life with eternity in view.

Please remember to bring your snack foods to the church building on or before Sunday, August 12, to help Kennedy School meet-and-greet at the Kingston Onyx Park. Bring purchased snack foods (nothing homemade) like chips, cookies, trail mix, popcorn to the church. We will then get it to the Kennedy team for that community outreach.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church