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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Confidence in Christ

By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, California (BP) - Our days are fleeting; they may end before the next sunrise. Yet God's children are never insecure. The Bible says of us, "We are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.... We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). We cannot be confident in everyday life if we aren't confident of eternal life. To be self-confident, we must be Christ confident, and that means being certain of His love for us both today and tomorrow. God has placed eternity in our hearts, and that's why secularism can't erase heaven and hell from people's minds. Most Americans still believe in heaven and hell. According to findings published by LifeWay Research, 60 percent of Americans believe there is a heaven, while 54 percent believe hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever. The Barna Group, drawing from its surveys, stated, "Many adults believe, however, that they will go to heaven as a result of their good works. Broadly speaking, this is the most common perception among Americans who have never made a commitment to Jesus -- and it is also … [Read more...]

God’s path to blessing: study His Word

By Rick Warren “Blessed is the one . . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV). The Bible is more than just a book you put on your shelf. It’s a pathway to God’s blessing.Over and over in God’s Word, we’re told that studying and applying the Bible leads to blessing. For example, the Bible says, “Blessed is the one . . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers”  (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV). What does it mean to meditate? Some people think it means to put your mind in neutral and contemplate the lint on your navel as you say, “Ommmmmm.” But that’s not what meditation is! Meditation is seriously thinking about something. You meditate on God’s Word when you read a verse, think about what it means, and ask yourself how you could apply it to your life. Doing this, Psalm 1:1-3 says, is like planting deep roots into the ground. … [Read more...]

Bilingual Pastors Conference celebrates unity

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON – Louisiana Baptists came together for worship in English and Spanish as a means to celebrate their unity in Christ during the opening session of the Pastors Conference, Nov. 11-12, at Cook Baptist Church in Ruston. In step with the conference theme “Whole: Equipping the church to love the whole church,” the session featured music led by Fellowship Church in Prairieville and Istrouma Espanol in Baton Rouge, and included a message shared by Louisiana Baptist Church Planting Strategist Carlos Schmidt. “Since we are all in Christ, all ethnic, social, economic and gender barriers have crumbled,” Schmidt said during his message. “He does away with it. Christ is all in all. We can truly say we are one family in Christ. “Therefore, our relationships with one another should be saturated with kindness, mercy, humility and forgiveness,” he continued. “There is no place for un-forgiveness in the Christian life. As you have been forgiven by Christ, therefore you should also forgive one another. “All of us might be different but the Scripture says there is none good enough, there is none righteous,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are White or Hispanic in God’s eyes, we are all … [Read more...]

Speakers plead to ‘imprint’ the next generation

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON (LBM) – A exceptional lineup of speakers made point after point that Louisiana Baptists must be more intentional in imprinting the next generation, the nation and the world with the Gospel. EDDIE WREN In his message on “Marking the Next Generation,” LBC President Eddie Wren issued a call to pass a living faith onto the next generation. Referencing Psalm 78, Wren said God proclaimed that we must witness to and disciple “the generation to come.” “As we think about imprinting the next generation, we do not need a new gimmick or a new tool,” said Wren, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rayville. “Instead we need folks who are more interested in the old, old story of Jesus and His love than they are about the things of the world.” Wren said parents have a duty to disciple their own children and share with them about how God blesses His own, especially in times of trouble. Stories of God’s provision and miraculous power will help them understand God’s faithfulness, and their confidence in Him will grow, he said. Wren said the older generation can build relationships by mentoring and involving youth in ministry opportunities. “The faithful must disciple the coming … [Read more...]

Messengers received cooperative missions and ministries updates

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON – Messengers received a number of entity and ministry reports during the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, including efforts to reach the next generation. MISSIONS EDUCATION Missions education is a vital resource to equip the next generation to make disciples of the nations, Louisiana Baptist state missions staff said during their presentation. “Our leaders, Dr. Gibbie McMillan and Miss Jess Archer, are deeply committed to this task,” Louisiana Baptists missions and ministries director John Hebert told messengers. “We try to take this serious challenge and mold it into an intensely fun experience with the goal of creating a passion in the next generation for completing the mission of the church in bringing the Gospel to the world.” Archer, children’s and youth missions strategist, said missions focused camps are a starting point for engaging the next generation. Last summer, 369 children attended Children’s Missions Camp at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. By the end of the camp, 30 children turned to Christ, eight restored fellowship with the Lord and several others responded to a call to missions. “Our hope is to seed this … [Read more...]

ANNUAL MEETING WRAP-UP: Hankins to retire, leads call to reach the next generation

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE –David Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has announced his plans to retire, sharing his intentions during the 2018 LBC Annual Meeting, Nov. 12-13, hosted by Temple Baptist Church in Ruston. “I have every confidence that God is going to take care of this Convention and bring about good things and better things for His glory,” Hankins told messengers during the Monday evening session. “So I know you will join me in praying during these transition days. “I’ve been reminded as I come to this time of approaching retirement of this truth,” he continued. “It is always the duty of every generation for God’s people to teach the next generation. There’s always a next generation that we have a duty to. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and somebody’s going to need to stand on our shoulders. So we’re to mark the next generation.” His retirement will be effective June 30, 2019. Waylon Bailey, president of the LBC Executive Board and pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, spoke to the Baptist Message, expressing high regard for Hankins. “Dr. Hankins has brought strong, clear, and principled leadership to the office … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a Revival, Homecoming, a new pastor, a community outreach or a concert? The Baptist Message would love to share your church news with the rest of the state. It is very easy to do, just send in your information (who, what, where and when) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. To get your event in the paper, please submit your information three weeks prior to the event. ON THE MOVE Larry Baldridge is the new pastor at Bayou Life Church, Cottonport. Brock Huffpauir has resigned as pastor at New Life Church, Arnaudville. HOMECOMING First Baptist Church, Wisner: 95th anniversary, November 25, 10 a.m. Dinner on the grounds will be served following the worship service. Guest Speaker: Joshua Peoples, associate pastor, Providence Church in Ormand Beach, Fla. Special Music: Wayne Watson. Pastor: Thomas Peoples. Cherry Grove Baptist Church, Dry Creek: 100th Anniversary Celebration, November 25, 10:30 a.m. A meal and a time of fellowship will follow immediately after the service in the Family Life Center.  Pastor: Robbie Rollins. First Baptist Church, Delhi: Anniversary Celebration, December 8, 6 p.m. Special Music: The Sanctuary Quartet. Pastor: Jeff Coleman. REVIVAL Antioch … [Read more...]