December 2016

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Tuesday to all! We know many were not able to gather with us Sunday because of the extreme weather. We missed you but we never want you to endanger yourselves in extreme conditions. The message focused on another of the reasons Jesus came, to give us abundant life. He does not give us just enough life to make it, but He grants to us life to the full as we walk with Him and serve Him daily. There is no better life than knowing, loving, and serving Jesus! There is no better life than being a part of His family!

Remember the special events of this week. On December 24, we will have a Christmas Eve service at 5:00 PM. We will have only a worship service on Christmas Day at 10:30 AM with no Sunday School.

On January 1st, there will also be only a worship service at 10:30 AM and no Sunday School. Carla and I will be gone to Oklahoma to visit her parents and other family. Jason Donaldson will be preaching the message that morning. Because of the holidays and the fact that we will be gone, there will be no Pastor’s email the next two Mondays.

Carla and I want to wish every one of you a “Merry Christmas!” We pray you have a wonderful time this season with those you love. We pray for safety for those who are traveling. Most of all, we pray you would experience the presence of Jesus as we celebrate His first coming. We love you all!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Brothers and sisters,

Happy snowy Monday to all! We had a wonderful day worshipping our Lord and remembering the reasons Jesus came. Yesterday’s message was entitled, “Jesus Did Not Come to Save You From Hell.” It reminded us that Jesus came to save us from something and for someone. He came to save us from sin-its presence, its power and its ultimate penalty of death and the second death which separates us from the goodness of God forever. The angel told Joseph that Jesus would save His people from their sins. All of us need to be saved from sin and freed from its power. We need that initially and we need that daily. We learned that sin is progressive, sin enslaves and sin always leads to death. Jesus came to save us from sin. Jesus also came to save us for Himself, that we might know, love, live for and serve Him. When we come to trust in Jesus and confess Him as Lord, we confess that we are no longer our own king, but Jesus is the King, Ruler, Boss, and Lord of our lives. We are subjects of the King of kings and Lord of Lord and are a part of His forever kingdom. We do not live any longer for our own agendas, but we live for Jesus’ agenda and for His purposes. To know, love, and serve Jesus is what eternal life is all about!

We missed those of you who were not here because of the snow storm. We want you to know that we do not want you to endanger your health when the roads and sidewalks might be hazardous. On those days of snow and ice and other weather events, please do not take chances that might endanger your health to be here. We also want you to know that if you need something during those times, please let us know so we can help you. We are family and we watch out for each other!

I hope you are having joy as we approach the celebration of the first coming of Jesus. Don’t get so busy in the season that you miss the joy of celebrating it.

Remember the special events of the season. On December 24, we will have a Christmas Eve service at 5:00 PM. We will have only a worship service on both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day at 10:30 AM with no Sunday School on those days.

Love being your pastor!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! The first snow of the season was beautiful! Yesterday was a wonderful day to be with the family of God and see beyond Madison to the ends of the earth. Forrest Bohlen helped us see how God is a work in South America and around the world. God’s children join Him in taking the good news to the ends of the earth by praying, giving and going. I hope you took one of the “2016 Week of Prayer for International Missions” guides and will use it to pray for those international missionaries we support. (I used it today to pray for the Copland family serving in Verona, Italy.) Also, be praying about what God would have you give to the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions. 100% of this offering goes to support more than 3,600 missionaries and their outreaches that takes the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Christmas time will give all of us opportunity to share the gospel if we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and the people we are around. I hope we will all pray that God would empower us to take advantage of the opportunities to share Jesus during this season. Also, remember to invite people to worship with East Madison this season. Many people are more open to attending worship, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Our Christmas Eve service will be at 5:00 PM and our Christmas Day service will be at our regular worship time of 10:30 AM.

Love being your pastor!