Brothers and sisters,
Happy Monday to all! Yesterday we looked from Matthew 21 at Jesus’ courageous example to us of confronting evil and injustice. We explored the need to confront injustice and evil by seeking to understand God’s timing. We don’t want to confront injustice out of anger or emotion but want to confront it thoughtfully and rationally following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We also thought about confronting evil and injustice by opposing religious hypocrisy. We must not turn a blind eye when leaders in the church or God’s people do wrong and dishonor Jesus. We considered that we don’t just confront injustice, but we want to be vessels through which God’s salvation and healing will flow to the outcast. Even though we wait on God’s timing, we don’t want to be timid and refuse to confront injustice and evil when the time is right. When the time to act comes, we need to act courageously! Believers purposely confront evil and injustice by following Jesus’ courageous example.
I was reminded again as I talked with a few of you this week how important it is for us to continually pray for each other. All of us have our different struggles, but we all have struggles! We need to pray for each other because we all need God’s strength to live for God’s glory and to be victorious over the enemy’s temptations.
We will have our annual East Madison Baptist Church Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday evening, November 17 at 6:00 PM. There are still a few items needed for the dinner listed on the sign-up sheet in the foyer. Invite a friend to be your guest at this meal.
We will be packing boxes for Samaritan’s Purse on Saturday evening, November 23, at 6:30 PM. There is a list at the church building of the things you can bring to put into the boxes we send. There are tubs at the church building to put items in after you buy them. Join us in this outreach ministry.
We are going to have some baptisms on Sunday, November 24. If you might be interested in being baptized on that Sunday, contact me and let’s talk about this.
Happy Veterans Day to all of you who have served our country in the military. Thank you for your service to our nation.
Love being your pastor!
Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church