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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Why you need Christian fellowship

By Waylon Bailey When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he concluded his letter by asking the church at Philippi to greet all the saints in his name. He also passed along the greetings from the saints in Rome and especially those from the household of Caesar. You find the same situation in the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Except in Romans 16, Paul gave greeting after greeting including the names of many people who would be known by the church at Rome. Why were these greetings so important to Paul? First, it shows how much we need fellowship and encouragement. Paul thrived on that fellowship. So do we. We must make it a priority in our lives. Everywhere Paul went, he first looked for the fellowship of the believers. We all desperately need to know there are Christians around the world worshiping at the same time as we are each week. Second, these greetings show us the power of God and the world wide reach of the kingdom of God. Those believers in Rome and Philippi give us encouragement about the future and show us the power and work of God in the world.  The fact that there were believers in “Caesars household“ shows the reach of the Gospel. If the gospel could go to the seat of Roman power, … [Read more...]

YEC yields 1,081 decisions for Christ

By Message Staff LAFAYETTE - Organizers and participants of the 30th Youth Evangelism Celebration are thankful for the 1,081 students who made a decision for Christ. "YEC was truly a celebration of the past and present," Louisiana Baptists Youth Ministry Strategist Steve Maltempti told the Baptist Message. "A history of excellence propels YEC forward. Students and teenagers are engaged with relevant entertainment and the Gospel message." Held Nov. 19-20 inside Lafayette's Cajundome, YEC  challenged Louisiana Baptist teens to share what Christ has done in their lives through messages by evangelist Clayton King. He encouraged students not to believe the lies of Satan but instead lean on God's truth. "The biggest lie is God doesn't love you," King told the students during one of his messages. "That's a lie. God loves you. He loved you so much that He made a path for you to be saved." During all four sessions, King offered a chance for students to step forward and declare a decision for Christ. By the end of the two-day spiritual encounter, 1,081 students had made some type of faith decision: 325 statements of belief, 212 responses to a call to ministry, 463 acts of repentance to restore fellowship with Christ and 81 … [Read more...]