In Loving Memory
April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020
Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord. Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing .
Kathy,
My pastor has recently announced that he too will be leaving his post as pastor. It was very discouraging for me to hear this. In my case it is a bit different from yours, Our church has been around for about for 5 years, and in our case we don't get to have another pastor assigned to us. We are a small congregation with less than a hundred members and although my pastor comes from a church that was affiliated with the assembly of God, I believe our congregation is not affiliated to any ruling body or organization. My pastor became a pastor because he felt he had a calling to be a pastor, or at least he was many times prophesied over that he would be one. Anyway the fact that he said he is resigning is in fact telling us he will be closing the door to our church. His wife confessed to me that it has more to do with weariness and many personal attacks upon him. Needless to say,I am very sad because of this. I know I need to start looking for another church to congregate in, however I confess that at the moment I don't very much feel like doing so. I hope the Lord truly comes soon. 
"Fair Use for Information and Discussion Purposes"
How are you doing this morning Kathy? I guess its almost afternoon!
Where I live, I don't see any Southern Baptist churches in the directory. Is First Baptist the same thing? I was reading what the Southern Baptists believe from the link you sent and I say amen.
Job was tried, Satan also desired to sift Peter like wheat. Sifting is going on so that what remains is pure heart for God. Setting everything aside (sifted out) let us run the race like Peter and others have before us, with eyes on Jesus, who is our path and way to the Father. Jesus, you are our prize. You are Who we run for and towards.
About sudden destruction, Jeremiah 50 talks about a trap leading to mass destruction in the Chaldean/Babylonian area.
Please God, call the people in the Chaldean/Babylonian area again to Jesus. I pray many will be saved for Your kingdom before it is too late. Please don't let Your old enemy Satan devastate this whole people. Chain him in, set boundaries about his followers and let there be a harvest of souls for the kingdom of God. Where these people have lived in great darkness, let the light of Your Son, Jesus, shine into their hearts. Amen
It says in Jeremiah 50 that the Lord is laying a trap that will spring like a snare, so whether we are still here when that happens or not, I believe a "sudden destruction" is coming. I pray for our Abba Father's will to be done, and I hope that means we go home before the destruction in Jeremiah takes place, It says the land will not be inhabited for all generations, so I know this prophecy has not come to pass yet. Saddam was restoring Babylon before his fall.
Below is a map of the ancient Chaldean area.
Jeremiah 50
23 How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
24 I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
God calls the people of Israel oppressed, and that when His judgement comes on Babylon and the Chaldeans, they won't dwell in the land again:
33“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials and her wise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her warriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all the foreign troops in her midst,
that they may become women!
A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 “Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 45Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”
I tried, earlier, to edit my above post, but it kept appearing as a separate thread. Since then, the time for editing has run out, so I'm adding this extra reply now to amend what I said above. Regina, what I wanted to say in my earlier post is that if you look in the Yellow Pages, look for the heading, "Church," then for the heading, "Churches Baptist," and then for the heading, "Churches Baptist Southern." If that heading is in your phone book, you will find a list of individual churches with their addresses and phone numbers.
Hope this helps! I'm also posting here the Baptist Faith and Message, which consists of Biblically sound doctrine, I'm pleased to say. Don't you agree, Calvin? 