January 2018

Happy Monday, January 29, 2018 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! I pray your week has started well and I pray your week will be prayer-filled. Our “40 Days of Prayer” emphasis is a little over halfway done and I believe God is moving and answering many prayers. I have started a “Thank You” journal to keep track of answered prayer. Keep up the praying. If you have missed a few days, start up where you left off and use the prayer guide until you are finished. Keep praying!

It was great to worship with God’s family yesterday at East Madison. Ron Roberts’ special was a great reminder of the power of prayer. The prayers of others for us makes a difference in our lives and our prayer for others makes a difference in their lives. I hope the message on the importance of marriage helped all of us focus on loving our families more and cherishing our spouses. Marriages built on God’s truth and sustained by His love bring much glory to God and happiness to people.

Also, we thank the Lord for all the guests that came our way yesterday. Even though there were many, you all were very welcoming to them. Thank you! When God gives us guests, we always need to go out of our way to welcome them. We step out of our comfort zones to meet and welcome them. We seek to offer to help them find their way around our building. We seek to get to know them. Remember when you were new to East Madison or some other church and how awkward that was. Seek to be a bridge to help people feel welcomed. It has been shown that developing strong relationship is probably the most important reason people become connected to a church.

There will be youth roller skating at Fast Forward this Saturday, February 3 from 12:30 to 4:00 PM. Youth will meet at East Madison at 12:30 PM. Admission is $6.00 with a $2.00 rental fee for skates and $3.00 for rollerblades so bring enough for admission and the rental fee and for any snacks you might purchase. Invite a friend!

There will be children’s worship this Sunday, February 4.

This Sunday, February 4 after worship, we will have a pot luck and an all-church baby shower for Edie and Grayson Doss. Celebrate the child God is giving to them by showering them with gifts they will need for their baby. Edie and Grayson are expecting a girl and are registered at Babies R Us and Amazon.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, January 29, 2018 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, January 22, 2018 church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! It was great to study and worship with the people of God at East Madison yesterday. We learned about spiritual leadership and the fantastic privilege and responsibility it is. All of us are spiritual leaders to someone. Be a spiritual leader who seeks to love God supremely. Be a spiritual leader who seeks the spiritual vitality of God’s people. Be a spiritual leader who seeks the salvation of those who do not know Jesus. Be a spiritual leader who desires above all for the glory of God. Pray also for those spiritual leaders God has place over you. Pray for me as your pastor to be a man completely surrendered to God that will help you follow Jesus more closely. Pray for other spiritual leaders of East Madison that lead people in any way to be men and women who love God and seek for His glory. Pray for the spiritual leaders of other congregations and the spiritual leaders of our city, state and nation. Pray that they will be men and women who love God and people and show forth the character of Christ to those around them. Pray for spiritual leaders who fear only God and will speak God’s truth to every person from pauper to president.

Sunday, February 4 after worship, we will have a pot luck and an all-church baby shower for Edie and Grayson. Celebrate the child God is giving to them by showering them with gifts they will need for their baby. Edie and Grayson are expecting a girl and are registered at Babies R Us and Amazon.

Keep praying and seeking God together, especially during our “40 Days of Prayer” emphasis. If you forget and miss a day, don’t get discouraged! Just pick up from where you stopped and keep praying! God is moving among us!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, January 22, 2018 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, January 15, 2018 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Monday to all! We had a great day yesterday! If you missed the Bible Study time at 9:30 AM, you missed something special. Jason Donaldson was sick and could not be there. (We pray you are better, Jason. We missed you!) However, God was present. The adults who were there began to talk about their experiences with “40 Days of Prayer.” I have heard many reports from people who said that God moved among them as they shared! The adults present told me that they left with a sense of expectation and optimism about how God was moving and working at East Madison! As we worshipped after Bible Study, we sang about how great and glorious our God is and His great salvation! Thank you worship team for leading us in His praise. The message focused on never, ever taking God for granted! We serve too great a God for us to give Him less than our all and our best. We need continually to seek to passionately and wholeheartedly submit ourselves to Him. We can rest in His steadfast love seen in this: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We should always in fearful awe seek to understand and honor the Lord’s holiness and His great name. We are here to submit and serve God and center our lives around Him and never seek to reduce Him to anything less that the absolute Lord and Ruler of our lives.

Keep praying and seeking God together, especially during our “40 Days of Prayer” emphasis. God is moving among us!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, January 15, 2018 church! Read More »

Happy Monday, January 8, 2018, church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday was a good beginning to our “40 Days of Prayer” emphasis. I sensed God moving among us as we learned from God’s Word how to be a people of prayer, praise and power. If we want God to truly work through us, we have to seek him in prayer and praise. We have to acknowledge our powerlessness apart from His Spirit moving among us. We have to have faith and believe that God is a God who can answer prayer, who wants to answer prayer and who will answer prayer! God desires to answer the prayers of His people who seek His glory and His will. God wants to show His power among His people and in the communities where He has placed His people. His people need to be completely humble and willing to share their struggles with their brothers and sisters. His people need to acknowledge that we want to see what God alone can do among us instead of what we can produce by our vain human efforts. We must be people of prayer and praise in order to see His power! Last night as we met together for prayer at the Juhlin’s, it seemed as if we are doing just that! Let’s keep up the praying, praising, and seeking God individually and collectively! In the 40 days ahead, remember to use your “40 Days of Prayer” guide as we as a congregation join in intensive prayer for a fresh move of God’s Holy Spirit across Wisconsin and Minnesota. I anticipate God moving among us in powerful ways as we pray together as the family of God at East Madison and as the family of God in the Minnesota/Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

Ladies, you are invited to meet for lunch Saturday, at 11:30ish on January 13 at Cracker Barrel. (Lois and Carla recommend the Coca-Cola chocolate cake!) Invite a friend!

We will have a Business Meeting on Sunday evening, January 14, 2018 at 6:00 PM.

Below is some information and some prayer requests for some of those missionaries we support.

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, January 8, 2018, church! Read More »

Happy Monday, January 8, 2018 church!

Brothers and sisters,

Happy Monday to all! Yesterday was a good beginning to our “40 Days of Prayer” emphasis. I sensed God moving among us as we learned from God’s Word how to be a people of prayer, praise and power. If we want God to truly work through us, we have to seek him in prayer and praise. We have to acknowledge our powerlessness apart from His Spirit moving among us. We have to have faith and believe that God is a God who can answer prayer, who wants to answer prayer and who will answer prayer! God desires to answer the prayers of His people who seek His glory and His will. God wants to show His power among His people and in the communities where He has placed His people. His people need to be completely humble and willing to share their struggles with their brothers and sisters. His people need to acknowledge that we want to see what God alone can do among us instead of what we can produce by our vain human efforts. We must be people of prayer and praise in order to see His power! Last night as we met together for prayer at the Juhlin’s, it seemed as if we are doing just that! Let’s keep up the praying, praising, and seeking God individually and collectively! In the 40 days ahead, remember to use your “40 Days of Prayer” guide as we as a congregation join in intensive prayer for a fresh move of God’s Holy Spirit across Wisconsin and Minnesota. I anticipate God moving among us in powerful ways as we pray together as the family of God at East Madison and as the family of God in the Minnesota/Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

Ladies, you are invited to meet for lunch Saturday, at 11:30ish on January 13 at Cracker Barrel. (Lois and Carla recommend the Coca-Cola chocolate cake!) Invite a friend!

Love being your pastor!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Monday, January 8, 2018 church! Read More »

Happy Tuesday, January 2, 2018 church!

Sisters and brothers,

Happy Tuesday and Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a great weekend and got to relax and enjoy bringing in 2018. It is hard to believe that it is 2018! Sometimes I feel old realizing I have lived in two different centuries and two different millennia! However, as we worshipped together this Sunday, we realized that we serve the God of the universe who makes all things new! God loves to grant new starts and new beginnings! No matter how bad we may have blown it yesterday, today He offers us forgiveness and a new start. We can be new creations, new and redeemed human beings, if we trust in Jesus as Savior and Ruler of our lives. Also, now we can have new starts every single day even in the midst of horrific circumstances because “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is His faithfulness,” (Lamentation 3:22-23, ESV). These new starts do not depend on our circumstances, ingenuity or abilities. These new starts only depend on the character of God, on His steadfast love that never ceases and on His mercies that never come to an end. Also, we know God will ultimately recreate this sin-corrupted creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. In this re-creation, there will not be one trace of evil, there will not be one trace of rebellion against the good and perfect Creator God. There His redeemed children will worship and serve Him forever! Yes, God does make all things new!

Next Sunday we will begin a journey with our brothers and sisters across Wisconsin and Minnesota as we begin “40 Days of Prayer.” Prayer and devotional guides will be handed out that will help you spend some time the next 40 days asking God to give His people, His church, a fresh outpouring of His presence and power to do His work. I hope each of you will participate. I anticipate God moving among us in powerful ways as we pray together as the family of God at East Madison and as the family of God in the Minnesota/Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

Our Disciples Path Wednesday group will resume this Wednesday, January 3rd, at 6:30 PM.

We will have a Business Meeting on Sunday evening, January 14, 2018 at 6:00 PM.

Love being your pastor in 2018!

Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church

Happy Tuesday, January 2, 2018 church! Read More »