OFIB Preacher

Preacher elaborated on Brother Willis' situation tonight in the Prayer Room.  He said, they called him early Monday morning with the info about the heart attack.  Something did go wrong with a stent, but there was either little or no damage, can't remember his exact words there.  He asked us to continue praying for Brother Willis though, as he recovers.  Thanks for praying and sharing.

The following note (minus my parenthetical comment and a spelling
correction), is from the latest email received from Pastor Richard
Owen's Prayer Letter Google Group.

Bro. Alfred Willis (Pastor of Life Baptist Church, Saint Stephen, SC)
had a heart attack today, he has a blockage in a stent, now in ICU,
keep him in prayer.

Talked with Brother Taylor earlier this evening (first time we've spoken since the wreck) and and long story short, it's a miracle he's alive!  He's understandably still very sore and on some meds, but he preached yesterday morning, saying the LORD gave him a message at 3AM that morning, so reckon he was supposed to preach it!  Still pray for him, his family and church, as he still has some recovery ahead.  Thanks for reading, praying and sharing!

Prayers Needed for Linda Baity
As many of you know, our president, Dr. Ron Baity, has been a long-term caregiver for his wife, Linda, who has been in bad health for quite some time.
This past Saturday, Mrs. Baity suffered septic shock due to sudden infections. It was only the grace of God that she pulled through the weekend. She is currently in ICCU. While she has made some improvement, the doctors have told us that she has many obstacles to overcome as she is also in the final stages of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and late stages of dementia. She is very weak but has been more alert yesterday and today.
Many of you have met her as she continued to travel with Dr. Baity as her health allowed. She might not have remembered names or events, but she was always so glad to be anywhere he was, and she was so happy to meet those of you who came by to speak, whether it was at one of our rallies or in your church.
Having known the Baitys over half my life and having worked for Dr. Baity for over 12 years as well as being Mrs. Baity's companion throughout her illnesses, I can truly say I have never known a couple more dedicated to each other and to the work of the Lord than Dr. and Mrs. Baity. The grace of God has never been seen more strongly than it has been during these very uncertain days. Although doctors have said they cannot promise a good outcome, we rest in the fact that we know the Great Physician is in charge.
We ask that you keep Dr. and Mrs. Baity in prayer during this time.
On behalf of Dr. Baity, thank you for keeping him and his precious wife in prayer.
Michelle Lonaberger 
Assistant to the President 
Return America

(http://returnamerica.org)

Let me further clarify my previous post, please.  The LORD has always had His local, visible church (and churches) here, ever since He started the first one in John 20.  They may not have always had Independent Baptist on the shingle (so to speak), but they've been here nonetheless.  I believe there are truly born again folk in man-made denominations/churches and they do grow in grace, because God will honor His word (KJB), even though it may not be rightly divided.  Furthermore, individual, local Independent Baptist churches may and do go liberal and when they do, they cease to be one of God's local churches.  Oh and yes, the enemy has sown tares among the wheat, the LORD will take care of them/that.

20 minutes ago, BobbyH said:

I just listened to your fine message. Thank the Lord for you and what you do. I think some are confused on my stand and maybe I am not expressing it well enough. I believe in the "Local Church" and that we have a mighty work to do. In your message you mentioned someone that is truly born again should join with a local church for teaching and growth and I agree to that. If they do not do that right away I believe they are still part of the body of Christ and a member of His "collective" church. Were the churches of the New Testament not all part of this collective Church that began with Jesus and the apostles? I think of Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians about the rapture and I can't help but believe that his instruction was to all born again believers collectively. The New Testament speaks to us all. You pray for me and I'll do the same for you.

Brookside Missionary Baptist Church Old Fort NC

Brother H,

Thanks for listening, thank/praise the LORD for you and your work as well!  I believe that when the LORD saves someone, they'll align themselves with a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching/teaching, Bible-practicing church and in doing so, if they'll listen to the LORD, He'll lead them to an Independent Baptist church.  If they disregard His leading, they'll be in rebellion and I believe they won't go any further in their relationship/fellowship with God.  Are they saved and part of the bride?  Maybe, but if so, they could leave this world prematurely, because of the aforementioned rebellion.  Again, thanks for listening and they encouragement!

1 hour ago, Baptist_Bible_Believer said:

I'm listening to the link you provided. I love the singing!

Thanks so much!  The song is from Bro. James and Sis. Norma Lockard, during a Preacher's Fellowship several years ago, in Auburn, KY, LOVE IT!

On 1/13/2019 at 4:25 PM, LookingForTruth said:

I'm hoping this is in the right place, but I'm new so sorry if it isn't.

My husband and I are Christian and trying to find a path to convert denominations to IFB. Specifically I am because my husband doesn't really care one way or the other but I'm hoping to change his heart about it.

I don't know where to start. There are Independent Baptist churches near me (we are going to one in a few minutes) but no IFB churches. I feel lost.

Where are you in GA?  If you don't mind, please let us know and we'll do what we can to at least, recommend a church or churches to visit.  Living in GA for a while, I can say though, it is getting harder and harder (anywhere for that matter), to find a strong Independent Baptist church.

14 minutes ago, Baptist_Bible_Believer said:

That's okay. I don't even agree with myself half the time. I should probably have said that the church was "empowered" on the day of Pentecost . . . when was it "established"? I agree with you in the sense that there is no verse we can point to which states, on this day I establish the institution which will be known as my body and my bride. But we know it was future in Matthew 16 and present in Acts.

I believe Jesus established the church in John 20, which was after his resurrection, although reckon Thomas got in the next service LOL!  John 20:19-23 KJB: 19   Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20   And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
21   Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22   And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23   Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

23 hours ago, Baptist_Bible_Believer said:

The first question would be, what constitutes the church. At the least, it must consist of Blood-bought, born-again believers. When were people born again according to the Gospel as presented in I Corinthians 15:2-4? If we take the Scripture as presented, no one is born again until after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus speaks future tense concerning His church: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18 KJV).

If the church only consists of born-again believers, and no one was born again until later, the Matthew 18:17 must also be of a future fulfillment. Further, my view is that the church was established officially on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God descended and endowed those meeting in the upper room. Shortly after that others were added to the church.

At the same time, Jesus was transitioning from the Old covenant to the New and certain aspects of the coming church were being established such as the officers that DaveW mentions.

HMMMM, BBB, good points, however, I personally believe that the church was started before Pentecost, but not in Matthew 16, John 20 IMHO.  Matthew 16 is a promise for the future and in Acts 2, the church had to be there already, since folk were added to it.  Speaking of adding, if I may do so, I'd like to add a link to a message I brought along those lines a while back from Colossians 1, if you please.  I don't have it all figured out at all, but I believe this will further explain things and be a help/blessing.  Sunday, May 6, 2018 http://jeremiah616.sermon.net/main/main/21147528

OB Prayer Warriors,

Please pray for Pastor Bo Taylor of the Kimesville Road Missionary Baptist Church, Burlington, NC.  We received the below information via text, at 6:58 this evening.

"Hey brother, I was in a very serious wreck this morning not long after we spoke.  I am home now but very sore, bruised and battered, but the Lord was with me.  It could have been much worse.  I'm gonna take a few days and get on my feet.  I'll touch base next week."

You may visit the church online at https://www.krbc1611.org/.

51 minutes ago, BobbyH said:

I am the Pastor.

LOL, I wondered, especially after looking at y'all's FB page!  We had a dear friend/fellow church member when we lived in GA, with your same name and attend his funeral the Sunday before Labor Day.

Welcome to OnlineBaptist!

7 hours ago, BobbyH said:

 

Thanks for the welcome. Our little church Brookside Missionary Baptist Church is located in the small Western NC town of Old Fort, NC. It does not have a long written history, but has an oral history that has been shared through it's long time members. I began around early 1900's initially as a community school. Our congregation consists mostly of families of the initial members. We are Baptist but not affiliated with any association. We are self governed under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We are not typical independent Baptists in that we believe the "Church" is all the truly saved, and also our local church as an assembly of like minded believers. We are not ecumenical nor universal. I look forward to getting to know our brothers and sisters on this forum. I pray that we all can be of one mind and one accord in our service to The Lord Jesus Christ. 

Thanks for the info!  Who's the Pastor?

23 hours ago, BobbyH said:

Hello, I am new to this forum and I look forward to my experiences here.

Welcome, from a former Tar Heel!  Just cain't get the tar out, LOL!  Know several preacher brethren over that-a-way, good area.

Update: Just got the computer out of the shop yesterday (had virus/antivirus issues) and now Firefox isn't liking OB!  ARGH!  Chrome worky for now;

11 hours ago, 2bLikeJesus said:

Edward Richard Santos Jr., 81.
Passed Away peacefully from this life and on to eternal life today January the eleventh at 11:45 p.m. A great Man. A great Father to us.
I am so honored to have had you for my father. Now is a time of tears for us, yet joy too, in knowing the unspeakable joy that is now his for all of eternity.
I look forward to the time when we will all be United again. 

 1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV) 
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Psalm 116:15 (KJV) 
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

We who are alive and remain will celebrate a race well run by my father. Well named was the Holy Spirit as the Great Comforter. Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength to be at his side when he entered into glory! All praise, honor and glory forever!

In His will. By His power. For His glory.

Praying for y'all during this time of bereavement.  As the song title says, Earth's loss is Heaven's gain.

On 1/4/2019 at 9:09 AM, 2bLikeJesus said:

Update.  My dad came through his emergency surgery and is recovering well.  They transferred him from the hospital to a rehab facility last night.  After he is sufficiently on his feet again, then starts the decision on what to do about all the tumors on his liver.  The doctor stated that those types of tumors that result from a metastasized spread from a cancer in another part of the body, typically respond well to chemo.  That is where the real battle will come in that needs prayer;  my dad's willingness to go through extraordinary means to prolong his life when what he really wants is to go to his eternal home.  All that he has left on this dirt ball is me and my siblings, all his friends and both wives (my mom died young in her 30's of cancer) are already waiting for him.  Please continue to pray for the salvation of my brother and sister.  Because I live a separated lifestyle with standards based on bible principles, they think I am in some kind a weird cult and they are just waiting for me to drink the koolaid.

Praise the LORD for the good report, praying for the salvation of your siblings and for wisdom for your dad and yourself.

Although I don't live stream, I do use sermon.net for message archival.  They do have a free 2GB account and if you use more than that per month, their other packages are very affordable.  A-lot-ta folk use them for live streaming and subsequent archival (videos creating audio and video archived files BTW), but I only use the latter.  Check 'em out!  http://www.sermon.net

Welcome AVW!  I don't believe it's required to list your state, but if you respond to the Where Do You Go To Church topic in Prayer Requests, it's only right that you would!

19 hours ago, Jim_Alaska said:

hover your mouse over the icon and it will open for you to click on the feature you want.

HMM, not sure if I can do that, since I'm using a screen-reader.  I use keyboard commands ninety-nine percent of the time and when I have to use the mouse, it's a-hundred percent poking and prodding LOL!  I'll give it a shot ASAP.  Hey, maybe I should-a-tried to find Thanks a minute ago?  LOL!  Seriously, thanks for the help!

I enjoy the Like feature, but when I click it, the choices go away before I can select one.  All I can do is just like, but I'd like to do more than like LOL!  I'm using Firefox with the NVDA screen-reader.  Maybe I'll try it with Google Chrome?

Right before Labor Day, our family went back to GA (where we lived for around three years, before moving to KY), to attend the funeral of a dear friend and church member.  Brother Gary Wells, Pastor of the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Summerville, GA, challenged his folk with what the LORD put on his heart for/on that Sunday morning and here it is, for your edification too.  The songs before the message, are from my wife and I.

http://jeremiah616.sermon.net/main/main/21272124

On 12/29/2018 at 2:02 PM, heartstrings said:

The thief on the cross was never baptized, yet he went to be with the Lord.

 

Yes and I heard an outstanding message on that very subject from Pastor Larry Winkler, a few weeks ago and look forward to posting it on my Sermon.net Page/Podcast, right after our upcoming Revival Meeting next week!  It's called The Thief's Creed or (The Theology Of The Dying Thief).

On 12/1/2018 at 5:53 AM, Eustace said:

"Protestant and emerging evangelical sects is where you will find the bulk of your homo/female pastor examples."

Incorrect.  The Church of England is by far the most degenerate Christian Sect in the world today.

Several examples off the top of my head that you can google to verify:

1. Rampant number of female preachers

2. Homosexual preachers

3. Total acceptance of homosexuality and transexuality

4. High ranking members of the Anglican church openly stating that they should all pray that the children of the English royals turn out homosexual

That's just off the top of my head.  Meanwhile the Catholic church is only slightly better with its acceptance of: homosexuality, abortion, seeming Agnostic stance by the Pope himself, and calls for Global Communism.

I suppose my belief is that a benevolent Patriarchal church authority would be objectively good for any Christian congregation, but clearly Satan has worked hard to corrupt most of those that exist today.  The only seemingly non-Heretical church authorities are in the Orthodox Churches (Russian, Greek, Serbian, etc.).  Ukraine's Church on the other hand is rapidly splitting from Russia and will no doubt be pushing homosexuality and abortion within months, if not already.

Pardon me, but isn't this forum for Independent, Fundamental, Baptists?  While it is true that some folk claim that those first two words are adjectives and therefore, used loosely, none of the aforementioned wickedness/ungodliness/apostasy is in God's local churches!