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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Why the Lord gives us appetizers of heaven

By Joe McKeever Often, as we serve Him on earth, the Lord gives us these little glimpses of Heaven, special moments when we know “the Lord is in this place!” Pastor Perry Sanders decided to witness to his seatmate on a plane bound for Richmond.  “Do you know the Lord?” he asked the elderly gentleman.  “I sure do!” the man said.  “I’d love to hear about it,” said Perry.  The man said, “Years ago, I was traveling the highways of South Carolina in sales. As lost and miserable as it’s possible to get. And one day I picked up a hitchhiking college student.  He told me about Jesus and led me to the Lord.”  Perry said, “Sir, do you recall where you let that student out?”  “Yes sir.  He got out in Bamberg, South Carolina.”  Perry Sanders, longtime pastor of Lafayette’s First Baptist Church, said to him, “Sir, I’m that boy. I was a student at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC and always tried to share my faith with anyone giving me a ride to my parents’ home in Bamberg.”  A little foretaste of Heaven. In Heaven, they ‘re going to be coming up to you: “Do you remember that time you witnessed?  Preached a sermon? Prayed a prayer?  Gave an offering?  Wrote a note?”  And God used it.  So, He lets that happen just a little in this … [Read more...]

Final judgment entered in GuideStone litigation that went to Supreme Court

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS, Texas - A final judgment was entered in favor of GuideStone last month in the litigation over the Obama-era contraceptive mandate that would have required certain ministries served by GuideStone to provide abortion-causing drugs and devices or face crippling fines. The judgment brings to a conclusion the case GuideStone filed against the federal government to protect its health plan and the ministries it serves. The litigation, which made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 where the justices ruled unanimously in favor of GuideStone and its co-plaintiffs, was sent back to the trial court for final disposition. “This is an important conclusion for our case where we finally have a clear declarative judgment that says the government cannot force a church-controlled organization like GuideStone to violate its faith in the manner the previous administration attempted to do,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “We are thankful for the prayers and support of our trustees, of the counsel we had from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and from others who spent tireless hours working on behalf of the unborn.” The final judgment was a necessary step due to … [Read more...]