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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

ERLC shifts stance on federal embryonic stem cell lines

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted its position on a decades-old policy opposing the use of federal embryonic stem cell lines in medical research. The SBC’s public policy arm has published or promoted multiple position statements in recent weeks, all offering a similar view that it is not morally wrong to take a COVID-19 vaccine developed or tested using established government embryonic stem cell lines. However, Southern Baptists voiced strong opposition against the use of human embryos to advance medical knowledge when in 2001 President George W. Bush allowed federal funds for research on 60 existing stem cell lines that had been produced from human embryos. These no longer contain any of the original tissue taken from the aborted babies that were used to start each respective stem cell line. Instead, generations of new tissue have been grown in laboratories from the original human cells. Then-ERLC President Richard Land said the decision to fund even limited embryonic stem cell research crossed a fundamental moral line. “We must always remember that these existing stem cell lines are … [Read more...]

Congressman-elect Letlow succumbs to COVID-19

By Baptist Message staff MONROE, La. (LBM) - Congressman-elect Luke Letlow died Tuesday evening from complications related to COVID-19, according to his communications director Adrian Bautsch. Letlow, 41, who leaves behind his wife, Julia, and two young children, announced on Dec. 18 he had tested positive for COVID-19. The following day Letlow was admitted to St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe and on Dec. 22 was transferred to the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, where he remained at the time of his death. Letlow recently won the 5th Congressional District seat to succeed Ralph Abraham, who is retiring from Congress. Letlow had served as Abraham’s chief of staff. "The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” Bautsch said in a statement. “A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time." Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that flags would be flown at half staff on the day of Letlow’s funeral. "It is with heavy hearts that Donna and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19," Edwards said in a … [Read more...]

The gifts of the wise men

Out of their vast treasures of wealth and wonder, the wise men made deliberate choices in the gifts they brought to worship Jesus. Gold was coveted as the most precious of metals. It was the standard by which wealth was measured, and so it was a fit tribute to royalty. Gold was meant to signify that this baby, born in a feeding trough to impoverished parents, was the King. Frankincense is a fragrant milky sap that is harvested from trees that grow mainly in Oman and Yemen in the Middle East. In the Old Testament the hardened sap was used as an incense burned for thanksgiving and praise offerings, and was given to acknowledge Jesus as our High Priest. Myrrh, a bitter herb, was a bittersweet gift. In the first century, it was a spice wrapped in the layers of linen placed on a dead body in order to externally embalm it. Myrrh was presented to confess the infant as our Savior, whose death and resurrection in a mere three decades would bring “salvation to the ends of the earth.” Adapted from David Jeremiah’s “A Spirit of Giving.” … [Read more...]

Pastor Rod Masteller passes, leaving legacy of faith and family

By Will Hall, Baptist Message  executive editor DALLAS (LBM)—Rod Masteller, 75, retired 13-year pastor of Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, passed away in Dallas, Texas, Dec. 13, due to complications from COVID-19. Masteller was a pastor for nearly 50 years, leading a number of congregations in Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and he served in several denominational roles at the state and national levels. REFLECTIONS Those who knew him said his leadership and service were shaped by his deep love of God’s Word as well as his passion for pouring himself into the discipleship of others. He also was known for his deep unending love of family. Rodney Gage, pastor of ReThink Life Church, Orlando, Florida, said that family was near and dear to his father-in-law. “He loved his daughters, his sons-in-law and his grandchildren,” Gage said. “He had saved for years to fulfill his dream to take his entire family on an all-expense paid trip to Israel. He wanted it to serve as a legacy trip to mark our lives forever by walking where Jesus walked. He fulfilled that dream in November of 2019.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime we will never forget.” “His life, ministry and love for others were … [Read more...]

Leap for joy at Christ’s birth!

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – There are a number of firsts celebrated in Scripture. Cornelius, the centurion who served as a commander in the Italian Regiment of the Roman military, generally is acknowledged as the first Gentile convert to Christianity (Acts 10: 44-45) [although some argue the Ethiopian eunuch is deserving of that recognition] – fulfilling the promise of salvation to the whole world prophesied in Isaiah 49:6. He was a God-fearer and did good deeds. But when he heard the Gospel from Peter, he believed in Jesus, not in religion or works, and was saved. Lydia, the seller of purple cloth in Philippi (Acts 16:14-15) is considered the first convert in Europe. Paul found her being an obedient Jew, honoring the Sabbath at a place of prayer by the river. She, too, hearing the Good News “opened her heart” to Jesus; and, Paul, Luke, Timothy and Silas judged her to be a true believer! The church at Antioch was the first group of disciples to be called Christians (Acts 11:26), and it was this congregation who commissioned Paul for his first missionary journey that helped expand the Church to the ends of the world. But, think about the first person on earth to worship the … [Read more...]