Church Blog

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

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday, we worshiped Christ Jesus, our only Hope and one who calls us His friends. Jesus provides His Holy Spirit to live in us so that through us Jesus’ power and presence might be manifested to those around us. Then we looked in 1 Corinthians 9 and thought about our rights as believers and the deferring of those rights for the good of others and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Yes, we do have rights as believers in Christ. We do have freedoms as we serve and follow Him. Are we willing to defer and sacrifice our rights, our personal preferences, our comfort, so others might know and grow in Christ? Do we make the decisions we make based on our rights or based on seeking to glorify God and live a life of sacrifice for the advancement of His Kingdom? Are we learning what Jesus meant when He said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Do you want to experience eternal life day by day? Lose your life to Jesus and serve Him by serving others. Believers sacrifice their personal rights for the advancement of God’ Kingdom and the salvation of others.

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! We as children of God yesterday worshipped Christ our Lord and remembered Jesus’ precious that blood speaks to us before the throne of God where, because of it, we stand justified. Then from 1 Corinthians 8, we looked at how to deal with questions where there might be disagreement among believers as to specific actions. As Paul was teaching the Corinthians about how to deal with their idolatrous culture all around them, we learned that knowledge about these things was not enough. Paul will later tell us in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  I can know all kinds of truths about God, but if I do not love Him, that knowledge is worthless. I can know answers for how to help others and know how they should think and act, but if I do not love them, my knowledge will harm and not help. Knowledge without love produces selfish pride. Knowledge is necessary but not enough. Knowledge exercised without love produces devastating results. Christ’s love guides us to seek the eternal good for all in contact with us.

We will have a potluck luncheon next Sunday, July 14, 2024, after our morning worship. Bring enough food for your family and a little extra for any guests 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

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we worshipped our gracious God and learned a little bit more from Ezekial 16 of how horrible and disgusting sin is before His eyes. We see sin as nothing, but God sees it as it is and as we should see it-disgusting, dangerous, destroying, and eternally deadly. We worshipped our great and gracious God who saved us from sin and gave us hope in and through Jesus. Then from 1 Corinthians 7, we looked at being content whatever the circumstances of our lives might be. We are not to think happiness will come to us if we just find the one right key. We are not to assume if we just had a change in our lives, we would automatically be happier. Do not assume if you had a better job, a better house or car, you would be content. Do not assume if you found a husband or wife, you would be content. Do not assume if you thought you found a better husband or wife, that you would live happily ever after. Find contentment in the only place it can be found, in knowing Jesus and Him knowing us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in at the present time. Remember, believers always belong to Christ no matter our social status of economic condition. Remember, believers belong to Christ whether choosing marriage or singleness. Remember, believers belong to Christ however culture interprets our social status. Contentment comes to believers who realize they always belong to Jesus Christ.

We had a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School with Emmanuel Church last week. We had fourteen children all together attending throughout the week. A mission team from the Franklin Baptist Association helped us put together this wonderful week for children. They also did some helpful work projects for a women’s shelter in Sun Prairie and for families.

We will observe the Lord’s Supper next Sunday, July 7, 2024, during our morning worship.

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! We had a wonderful day of worship yesterday. From Mark 12 and John 13, we saw that Christianity in its bottom line can be boiled down to one word: relationships. Being a Christian is not about keeping a list of rules and regulations. Christianity is about God initiating a relationship with us by reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus. Being a believer is coming to know Jesus as Savior and Lord and spending the rest of eternity knowing Him better and bringing glory to His name. Then because we have been made right with God through faith in Jesus, it is having a loving relationship with others who have trusted Jesus and are part of His family. Finally, because we have an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ and with His children by loving them, we want others outside of Jesus to be saved so they could know Him and become part of His wonderful family. No one can make us, command us, or cajole us into loving God, His children, and the world. But if we realize we are falling short, we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with Himself and His love and enable us to love as we should. We closed our worship with the song “Holy Spirit” by Keith and Kristyn Getty that reminded us of our need for God’s Holy Spirit to breathe new life into our willing souls.

Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Here is a link to a beautiful rendition of that song: https://youtu.be/kDYjn-YdnD4.

Emmanuel Church and East Madison will host a joint Vacation Bible School with Emmanual church this week, June 24-28, from 5:30 PM-7:30 PM nightly. A team from Missouri will be here to help us conduct this Vacation Bible School. Invite children and families you know to come.

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 as we read Scriptures and sang praises to God, we focused on the grace and hope we have in Jesus. Then from 1 Corinthians 7, we thought about marriage and singleness among believers. Life gets complicated sometimes. Marriage and singleness can also be complicated but both are honorable ways to live in following Christ. We are to seek God’s best for who He calls us to be. If we are married, we are to seek to have the best marriage we can have. We need to do whatever we need to do to have a good marriage that reflects Jesus’ love for His bride, the church. If we are single now for a short or prolonged period, we are to live with joy in that singleness with wholehearted devotion to God. We are to not live primarily seeking a spouse, but live primarily seeking Jesus and His Kingdom. If God leads a spouse your way, that will be great. If he does not lead anyone your way, that will be great, too. Do not consider yourself a second-class person or believer if God calls you to a single life. Marriage is good. Singleness is good if God has enabled and empowered you to stay single. Also from 1 Corinthians 7, we looked at the problem of divorce. Divorce is not good but sometimes even believers are affected by an unwanted divorce. If that has happened, we are to know that God gives His peace to help us through. God glorifies Himself through His children in both marriage and singleness.

Emmanuel Church and East Madison will host a joint Vacation Bible School with Emmanual church on June 24-28 from 5:30 PM-7:30 PM. A team from Missouri will be here to help us conduct this Vacation Bible School. If any of you would be able to help, please let me know.

During the weeks between Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day, we are passing out baby bottles for us to collect offerings for the CareNet Pregnancy Center of Dane County. CareNet does wonderful work of saving lives and helping women and families. Take a bottle and fill it with an offering to be returned next Sunday, June 16, 2024, on Fathers’ 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