Memorial Baptist Church

07/12/2025

This is so painfully true. https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bvu1gZpfG/

My heart is heavy for my church today. Our Sunday night and Wednesday night crowd has gone down so much in the last 6 months to a year. This morning I read an article that a Pastor from a different church wrote that was so true and I would like to share it. If you are a Christian, you should be an active member of a local church. If you are already a member of a local Bible believing, preaching church, please read the upcoming article and examine your heart and mind.

The Empty Pew

It is hard to imagine a time when churches did not have air conditioning, running water, cushioned chairs or pews. A church where there was a bucket of water in the corner with a dipper that everyone shared. The windows would be opened in the heat and people would crowd together for warmth in the winter. If you had to use the bathroom, you would have to make the long journey to the outhouse. Yet with all of these inconveniences, Sundays use to be a time when people gathered at the church house to hear God’s Word. Many churches didn’t have Sunday School or youth programs and everyone was in the sanctuary to worship, hear God’s Word, and be together. Pews were filled and I heard a lady this past weekend say she remembered when there was no more room in the church, people gathered outside by the windows and doors to hear the preacher preach the Word. God was a priority. Family was a priority.

People will say, “It was a simpler time back then.” Was it? People worked hard from sun up to sun down, most families were fortunate to have one car, and most items were handmade. Yet with everything they had to do on any given day, they made time for God and church.

Unfortunately today, it seems God and church is no longer a priority in too many families. The empty pew is becoming more common in churches throughout our nation. I have heard it said the church needs to change with the times, the church needs to cater to the people, the church needs more programs, the church......

Whatever happened to the thought of the church raising disciples and ministering to the community? Whatever happened to the church being a place where people came to greet one another to share the Word of God and to encourage one another in a life of holiness and righteousness? Whatever happened to people wanting to serve instead of being served?

The empty pew breaks my heart. Are people just too busy for God or do they just not care anymore? Either way, as more and more churches close their doors and people begin to remember when there use to be a place where God’s people would gather, one day when all the church doors are closed, maybe then, just maybe, people will once again rediscover their thirst to know who God is and to be with one another for worship and prayer.
~Calvary Baptist Church, Sulphur, LA

05/04/2025

Happy 94th birthday to Mrs. Sally Thomas. We pray that your day is filled with blessings and love!

11/28/2024

11/26/2024

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is a never-ending story. When we have it things change, and we’re happier. God blessed us with a beautiful gift because love is the greatest gift He could give us. We need to listen and see His love but also take it on. He loved and saved us but also instilled it in us. The world gives love a different definition. If we don't take on His love, we can become rude and self-centered However, when we accept what makes us do what we do in our Christian walk, His love, then the same love helps us with our bad thoughts and to have compassion for others.
Love is the toughest to talk about but as a witness of Christ's love, it's how we show others the cross. Verse seven tells us love “bears all things”. No matter what others have done, our compassion seals them until they get it right. When we show them the same love He showed us, then that makes them want to get it right.
Jesus helped us so we could help others. He gave us love and compassion; therefore, we can hope. Love is an everlasting word and anything made by man will fall away but the love of Jesus is eternal. When we have the love of Christ, we have everything. His love is the greatest gift because it makes us others-centered not self-centered.

God Bless!

11/18/2024

Read Luke 10:30-37

Who is our neighbor? We most likely think of the person next door or down the road, but have we truly thought it could be the one we pass on the street? We need to ask Him to show us the next time we pass someone that that person is our neighbor because we never know who is hurting. They don't have to tell us their business all they have to do is ask for help. In this parable, a Levite and preacher didn’t stop to help the injured man, it was a Samaritan(an enemy of the Jews) who stopped and helped him. God wants us to do the same, to help all our neighbors not just a select few. It's easy to pass by people and say do we want to get involved? However, we have no choice because when we accept Him we become involved.
God has called us to be a helping hand and to have compassion. He has also equipped us with the wine, oil, and bandages to help our neighbor in need. We may never know the impact of stopping to help someone. It's plausible that the ones we help won’t know about the cross but by stopping and giving help we can show that person what it's about. The Lord has called us to take care of each other for we never know when we may be the strongest person in the room. Our touch may be the very one a person needs.
We have no excuse not to help others. So, who is our neighbor? ‘“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, ‘Go and do the same.’”(v37) While some can help in a more professional way, people can only see Him through us. If we’re attentive to His Spirit, God will show us who and how to help. Let us remember to minister to the wounded first for we never know when we may be the one in need.

God Bless!

11/11/2024

Read Isaiah 40:1-8

The first verse of this scripture says, "Comfort my people, says your God." As the pure embodiment of Christ Jesus, we are to show the outside that Jesus is the only way. We should be able to show them how badly they need Him. They, just as we do, find comfort in the wrong place; however, we know where to go for healing. We have to be the voice in the wilderness which shows them how to ask Him for help. It's important to understand our Helper is Christ who brought us out of darkness, and who forgives us of our sins. Let us cry for those who are lost because they do not know Him.
The embodiment of the church has lost its voice. John the Baptist said what the Lord told Him, he was preparing the way. How can outsiders know about Him if we’re not making straight the way? We have to let them see Jesus in us. The devil has crumpled our lives and only Christ Jesus can straighten it out. If we don’t tell them about Jesus, who will? Help prepare the way for them.
Jesus has already returned once, we’re waiting for the second coming. If we’re not telling others He's coming back and building His church, then what are we doing? We must use our voices and talents to let them know. The only way to get close to Jesus is to repent.
In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells the parable of a wedding banquet in which no one shows up so the king tells his servants to invite people from out on streets to the party. They didn’t ask if the person was good or bad. Pray that God gives us spiritual eyes to see how white the harvest is, and how beautiful the people are even if they don’t know Jesus. Even when someone is on our last nerve, remember they have a soul.
Be a voice in the wilderness because one day all will see the glory of God. Continue to work until Jesus comes and don’t allow the flame God has placed in our hearts to be hidden. Shout from the mountains because we know the power of God and who He is. Tell the story of His coming because their lives depend on it. This world will fade but God’s Word lives on forever in our hearts. Be what God has called us to be- the voice in the wilderness saying, “Jesus is coming soon.”

God Bless!

11/09/2024

CLAIMED

If you or someone you know is interested in this baby formula please let us know

11/04/2024

Read Psalm 54

Sometimes the enemy does his best to work against us. If we think about the whole Word of God, it is Jesus for there is no one else that can save anyone but the name of Jesus. Through His name we gain strength; therefore, we have to allow ourselves to tell Jesus what we need because He will provide it. There is nothing that can take us out of His hand except ourselves, that's why we have to depend on Him.
It is dangerous when we don't trust His Word. “God, hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth.”(v2) This means God I'll talk to you, I can’t do it without You. Our mouth is made for praying not tearing others down. We may question, why has God disappeared. He hasn’t but people are more self-absorbed these days and God has become second.
Some don’t have God in their lives. Others may claim they do but it takes more than talking about Him, we have to have a relationship with Him. God is our helper, He puts people in our lives to hold us up and pray for us. Hebrews 10:30 says, "For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, and again the Lord will judge His people." No matter how many come against us, He will take care of it. The Lord will judge those who do His children wrong.
Every morning, every evening, and every night before we go to sleep we should praise the Lord because it is good. God will take us through our troubles and deliver us one day soon. Vengeance is the Lord’s, the enemy is already defeated and one day our Helper is coming back to get us.

God Bless!

11/03/2024

This Saturday! 7:00-12:00 We're giving it all away: clothes, shoes, furniture, dishes, and more.

10/21/2024

We’d like to thank Brian Tapscott for standing behind the pulpit this week to deliver God’s message.

Falling Short but Not Away

We all fail, whether it's in our faith, relationships, goals, or life. However, we are not beyond redemption. Failure is not an option, it is how we learn, therefore, when we fail spiritually we need to do something about it. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” Below we will look at ways those verses connect to others that help us stay connected to Him even when we fail.

● We all sin; Romans 3:25: We all sin but if we trust Him he’ll make the path straight. Failure is a step toward growth as a Christian. Let us be open to His redemption and openly honest that we’re lacking.

● Recognize God’s Grace; Ephesians 2:8-9: God has prepared in advance for us. He knows everything we do and will do. Why then is it so hard to trust in Him? Embrace His grace and He will meet us wherever we are.

● Learn from our failures; Proverbs 24:16: When this verse speaks of the wicked it means those that don't trust in the Lord. Those who so believe will rise seven times before they stay down. Every failure is growth. We will always come up short but God uses those failures to shape who we are.

● Move forward; Philippians 3:13-14: It's important that we forget our mistakes and press onward. The devil wants us to stay in our failures because it is easier for him to get to us that way. We must recognize His power in our lives and when the devil is at us remember, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”(Proverbs 3:5-6)

God Bless!

10/17/2024

On Sunday, October 20th
we will welcome guest speaker
Brian Tapscott
Worship service starts at 10:30a