Brothers and sisters,
Happy Monday to all! What a wonderful day we spent in worship and fellowship yesterday! From Mark 10, we considered the ways Jesus expect His children to live for him in this broken world. Too many believers think like James and John and want to be great by being in positions that will give us political and military power. However, we need to understand the way of Christ is love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, service, and sacrifice. Instead of wanting our enemies to be ruined and destroyed, Jesus’ disciples seek to conquer those who oppose us with Jesus’ methods of truth, mercy, love, and kindness. We need to embrace that the way to greatness in God’s kingdom is serving others and even giving our lives so they might find life in Christ. We cannot make true impact on the world by adopting the methods of the world. We must follow the way of Jesus until Jesus comes back. Believers on mission with Jesus serve and sacrifice for others in seeking to expand the Kingdom of God. Then, following the message from Mark, Pete and the worship team led us to sing these words written by Michael Farren, Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson.:
What love, my God, would bring You down to earth
What king would take a low and lonely birth
Yet to this dark and broken place You came
To sleep beneath the stars that You had made.
What love my God, would send the way of life
To walk the road, rejected and despised
That You might know the weakness I possess
And be my rock of strength and righteousness.
What love, my God, could hold You to the tree
To bear that overwhelming debt for me
The Son of heaven leaves the Father’s side
The Healer bleeds, the life was made to die.
What love my God, so gracious and extreme
Was strong enough to come and fight for me
To go through hell and down into the grave
And raise me up to see You face to face
You raise me up to see You face to face.
O Your love, my God like a flood
As heaven opened up, pouring out on us
O praise the King who came to the world
In His love like a mighty flood.
CityAlight – What Love, My God – YouTube
We will be having a “Trunk or Treat” for our community on Saturday, October 28. We will need to collect a lot of candy for this event so you might be planning for that in the days ahead. Also, we will need volunteers for the block party trailer items we will set up. Be praying and preparing for this community outreach. We need someone to pick up the Block Party trailer in Sun Prairie and bring it here and then take it back. If you can do that, let me know.
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