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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Empowered by the Spirit

Everything is powered by something. Think about that for a moment – your house is powered by electricity, natural gas or possibly propane. Your car is powered by gas. Your watch is powered by a battery. Your exercise bike is powered by – you!  Everything is powered by something. … [Read more...]

Anyone can be saved

“It can happen to anyone.” Have you heard this expression before? You may have said it to someone or maybe, someone said it to you when you made an uncharacteristic mistake, misunderstood someone’s direction, or overlooked something that was literally right in front of you. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when, “it can happen to anyone.” … [Read more...]

Culture of evangelism

Culture. Louisiana is known for it. Our food. Our celebrations. Our hospitality. While I acknowledge and enjoy those things, my heart’s desire is for Louisiana in general, and Louisiana Baptists in particular, to be known for a culture where lives are transformed by people who are transformed  – by the power of the gospel. I’m calling this a culture of evangelism. … [Read more...]

What could the Lord do with your obedience?

By Marc Daniels AVONDALE, La. (LBM) -- I was reminded one morning of how nothing is wasted in the Lord’s economy. I have been pastoring at the same small church in the same hard-soil neighborhood for more than 22 years; and, at times, I get frustrated and wonder if my labor is making any kind of difference. We’re a community-based ministry and I’ve been a neighborhood pastor. Consequently, I often get calls from people I’ve never met, asking if I’d officiate a funeral for someone I don’t know. I try to make myself available as much as possible, but sometimes I feel a little bit hardened towards the idea because it seems such “outreach ministry” is unfruitful. Very few of such situated services I’ve presided over have resulted in people visiting the church, much less led to professions of faith. But I found myself having to repent when I was forced to recognize that the Lord is always at work, and He rewards even the slightest obedience with great blessings. My epiphany resulted from a phone call by a woman wanting to know if someone was available to lead a memorial service. I had to decline because of an out-of-town commitment on the requested date, but I offered to reach out to the other ministers on staff. I … [Read more...]

LBC needs Louisiana Christian University

By Eddie Wren ZACHARY, La. (LBM) -- I am not a graduate of Louisiana Christian Uni­versity. But I have served on the board of trustees, two years as president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and then as an elected member for two terms. In that time, I have come to love and support our university, and I believe we need LCU more than ever and that we need to support her like never before. We need LCU because it is a distinctively Chris­tian voice in an increas­ingly secular society. There are many state universities that can pre­pare students for the job market. But none of them emphasize the Christian worldview in every dis­cipline the way that LCU does. Unfortunately, when many of our Louisiana Baptist children go to state schools, they sit under professors who scoff at Christianity and even try to kill the faith that parents spent years nurturing in their children. Young people have shared with me about the ridicule they endured in classes because of their faith in Christ. Sadly, I have wit­nessed more than a few leave for school as active members of the body of Christ only to return from college no longer living the faith they once possessed. Regret­tably, research shows that 66 percent of Christian students … [Read more...]

Three ways we can respond to situation in Israel

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - On Sept. 29, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaking at an event said, “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.” Without debating the accuracy of his assessment, his statement shows us how quickly things can change. David Jeremiah used the phrase, “a bend in the road,” to describe his diagnosis of cancer. I have used the phrase the “curveballs of life.” My own experience teaches me that life can radically change every time the phone rings. Certainly, we are experiencing historical change. To what extent, time will tell. My question for us today is “How are we going to respond? Let me suggest three ways we must respond. We must trust God. We must be people of peace, not panic. Others will be watching us. If we, people who describe ourselves as having peace because we know the Prince of Peace, panic in this moment, what happens to our testimony that we trust God? My favorite verse, as I have shared many times before is Revelations 19:6, “Hallelujah, the Lord, our God, reigns.” This is the exclamation point of Revelation and the exclamation point of history. I do not know what the next day holds, but I know this—whatever happens, the Lord … [Read more...]

We need to tell them

The story is told of an attorney who was trying to deliver an important document to a man who was determined to avoid him. The man reasoned that it was a subpoena of some kind, and he went out of his way to dodge it. … [Read more...]