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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Learn to be a better listener

By Rick Warren ”The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5 NIV). If you want your prayers to be effective, you need to learn to be a good listener. Why? Because prayer is a conversation. While you may not hear God’s voice when you pray, he has still given you the Holy Spirit and Scripture to know how he wants you to live and to encourage you. But most of us are too busy, and we talk too much to really hear and understand what God—and others—may be trying to tell us.You may think you’re already a good listener. But there’s a big difference between hearing and listening! Hearing is simply the vibrations that take place in your ear. Listening is how you decode those vibrations in your brain. Many times I’ve heard my wife, my kids, or someone at church say something—but I didn’t listen. Listening is a skill. And if you’re going to be effective in your prayer life—and in all your relationships—you must develop it. Here are four tips to become a better listener. 1. Withhold judgment and criticism from the start. Don’t evaluate until you’ve heard and comprehended it all. I’ll admit that this isn’t natural. When someone else is talking and you hear something you … [Read more...]

LC announces military reserves will get scholarship assistance

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE (LCNews) -- Louisiana College will match up to $4500 in annual tuition assistance, matching federal tuition assistance available for the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, and Coast Guard reserve forces. “It is virtually impossible to offer sufficient gratitude to those who answer the call of their fellow citizens with such depth of commitment,” LC President Rick Brewer said in an October 24 press conference. “But is not impossible for Louisiana College to demonstrate its thankfulness for the constant blessing our military service personnel willingly provide.” Brewer said that when military personnel exercise their Constitutional duty, they “provide the protection for us to exercise our Constitutional freedom.” “Such freedom includes the opportunity to offer and experience a quality education because there are those who are willing to stand so sacrificially on our behalf,” he added. “Thank you for being so generous,” said Major General Glenn H. Curtis, Adjutant, who is commander of the Louisiana National Guard. “Thank you for another positive step for our young men and women who are willing to wear the uniform and defend our great nation.” “We answer the call when our nation and … [Read more...]

No ‘ifs’ in our victory over Satan

By Steve Horn Horatio Lord Nelson lived from 1758-1805. The son of a clergyman, he joined the British Royal Navy when he was 12 years old. He became a Captain when he was 20. He was heralded as a daring leader who won many a victory for the British. One of his greatest victories was over the French during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon planned to invade Egypt so to restrict Britain’s trade routes. On August 1, 1798, Nelson came upon the French Navy in the waters near Alexandria, Egypt, in what would later be referred to as the Battle of the Nile. Upon spotting the French warships, one of Nelson’s men said, “If we succeed, what will the world say?” Nelson immediately responded, “There is no if in the case. That we shall succeed is certain!” As believers in Jesus Christ—that we will succeed is certain! There is no “if.” But, we live like there is an “if.” We act like there is an “if.” In Ephesians 6:10-18, we are reminded that we are in a battle. The battle is real. The battle is intense. The battle is with a powerful enemy, Satan, who is out to destroy us. But, I don’t see the “if.” I see the victory, and the source of our victory is our faith. According to verse 16, we are to “in every situation, take the shield of faith.” … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptists celebrate completion of children’s village in Haiti

By Message Staff The Children’s Village in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti was dedicated Sunday, October 14. The dedication was the culmination of five years of hard work by LA Reach Haiti, which is sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home, the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Haitian Baptist Convention and 30 Louisiana Baptist churches. “What an emotional and exciting day of seeing vision become reality,” said Wayne Sheppard, the former executive assistant to Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins. “Thank you, Dr. Perry Hancock and the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home for your generous partnership in this work.” Haiti was devastated by a Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people and left hundreds of thousands more homeless. Louisiana Baptists were among the first to provide disaster relief and have maintained a ministry presence through mission trips. In the time since the earthquake response, a vision developed for a permanent presence in Haiti, Sheppard said. The vision, called LA Reach Haiti, included building a mission center with a church plant and a children's village, a housing community, a micro-business center and trade school, and a school for educating … [Read more...]

Increased benefits in store for GuideStone’s health plans in 2019

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Communications DALLAS -- Consultations with doctors through telemedicine will be available at no out-of-pocket charge for the majority of participants in GuideStone’s health plans in 2019. The popular Teladoc® service provides a consultation with board-certified physicians via phone or computer; participants can have a prescription sent to a local pharmacy for pickup. Prescription co-pays still apply. Additional enhancements include a new diabetic management program, elimination of some inpatient co-pays in comprehensive plans and reduced individual maximum out-of-pocket charges. All of these valuable enhancements were implemented while keeping average rate increases below 3 percent for Group Plans. Personal Plans participants will see rate increases related only to participant ages. These are the lowest rate adjustments GuideStone® has been able to provide in many years, with many groups experiencing no rate change, even with the added benefits. “Our insurance team worked diligently to add significant value to our health plans while mitigating the impacts of medical inflation,” said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins. “While the impacts of medical inflation due to high utilization and … [Read more...]

Tireless Louisiana DR teams providing aid, hope to hard hit Florida Panhandle

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer More than a dozen Louisiana Baptist Disaster relief teams and almost a 100 volunteers are working tirelessly to aid the Florida panhandle two weeks after Hurricane Michael dealt a crippling blow to the area. While a large area of the panhandle was impacted by Michael, Louisiana teams have centered most of their efforts in Marianna, Florida, 75 miles north of Mexico Beach which took the brunt of the storm when it made landfall Oct. 10. There have also been several teams from Louisiana working in and around Panama City. As of Tuesday, Oct. 23, the seven Southern Baptist Feeding Units there have served an estimated 243,961 meals. The Rolling Hills Ministry’s feeding unit, which is located in Marianna, has averaged roughly 5,200 to 6,200 meals daily. Louisiana Baptist Convention State Disaster Relief Director Gibbie McMillan said he is thankful for the turn out but there is a great need for even more volunteers to assist the people impacted by the hurricane. “I cannot thank these volunteers enough for what they have done so far but we are still in great need of even more volunteers, especially in the area of feeding,” said McMillan. “These volunteers are being the hands and feet … [Read more...]

Fall, family and friends

By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- This season of the year lends itself to gaining a renewed focus on what is important -- not only for growing into a more intimate relationship with God but also to set aside time to let your family and friends know how much they mean to you. I can't prove this, of course, but I think God made fall just for family and friends. I know, anytime is a great time for being with those we love and appreciate but this time of year seems special. Think about the reasons why it is a great time for relationships and reunions: -- School. As much as kids imply that they don't like school, most kids (of all ages) love the social reunions that the return to school brings. But it's not just the kids -- parents wave at each other in the carpool lanes, see each other at parent-teacher meetings and sporting events, and sit in activity committees together. After the summer break is over, a new school year offers the opportunity to rekindle relationships at school. -- Church. Because of travel and vacations, some churches drop back to a single service instead of multiple services during the summer months. They adjust the music programs, combine some Sunday School classes, and sometimes cancel … [Read more...]

Rename it

By Rebecca Holloway There are many instances where a character of the Bible is renamed - either by God or by the circumstances they have been through. Abram became Abraham. Jacob became Israel. Simon became Peter. Saul became Paul. And that's just a few examples. In fact, the Bible says that we all get a new name when we become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We become known as children of God, co-heirs with Christ, redeemed, and many other fantastic names. But why all the renaming? In counseling, we do something called "reframing." Think about this for a moment: the frame in which you put a treasured family photo can either enhance the picture or it can make it look ordinary. Maybe you put the picture in a frame that has just the slightest hint of blue that brings out the blue in some family member's eyes. Maybe the frame has just the right shade of red that highlights the fall leaves in the background. When you pick the right frame, the picture takes on a whole new look. It has new meaning. It's more noticeable to those who might see it in your home. Reframing means we look at a situation in a totally different light, thus bringing out a whole new perspective on the events. We see it for what it really … [Read more...]

Seeds planted, 400 saved at Hope4U

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – The Rapides Parish Coliseum became a house of prayer and repentance during the Hope4U GO TELL Crusade Oct. 14-17. By the end of the multi-event Harvest effort, 420 new believers had declared Christ as Lord and 401 had made other decisions for a total of 821 transformed lives. The highest attended session was the youth emphasis night Oct. 17, which drew 1,983 people. Hope4U had the support from at least 50 churches in the CENLA Baptist Association as well as congregations from other denominations. The crusade was one of many events held or scheduled this year as part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. “One of the things mentioned over and over was the amazing presence of God’s Spirit and unity among our local churches as we gathered together for this endeavor,” said crusade co-chair Andrew Orr, who also is minister of education and outreach at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville. “I feel like it will be a continuous effort moving forward of community and working together across racial and denominational lines because there was a sweet spirit. It’s been refreshing to watch so many come together … [Read more...]

Wish granted, Pastor returned to state for final ‘homecoming’

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MOWATA – Veteran church planting strategist Greg Penna has not lived in Louisiana for 22 years, but his wish was to one day return for burial near a church in the state that felt like home. Penna, who died September 1 from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident in Oklahoma, desired to be buried in the Mowata Baptist Church cemetery, alongside many members that he and his wife, Cindy, referred to as their second family. “We would call that our home church,” said Cindy Penna. “The people made it special. It was at Mowata he learned what family was all about. His dad was absent, but there he got to see family the way God intended it to be. They helped teach him what it meant to be a pastor.” Penna accepted Christ as his Savior and was baptized at First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana, when he was eight years old. Shortly afterward, Penna moved with his family to Lake Charles. When he turned 17, Penna began his service in vocational ministry as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Bunkie when he was a student at Louisiana College. Penna subsequently served churches in Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Cindy … [Read more...]