Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Activate peace

By Steve Horn This year at Christmas, in our church, we are on a journey to Activate Advent. Yesterday (Dec. 10), we talked about the idea of “peace.” Peace has always been associated with Christmas. Such was the case on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of 1914. The German troops and the Allied troops participated in a Christmas Truce in the middle of World War I. Though versions of exactly what happened are sketchy, the common thread in most accounts is that peace, albeit short-lived, happened in the name of Christmas. German and Allied troops sang carols together, exchanged gifts, and more than one account suggests that they had a friendly game of soccer. Christmas songs long for peace in the midst of war. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is from a poem by William Wadsworth Longfellow in the Days of America’s Civil War. “Do You Hear What I Hear” was written during the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We long for peace—peace with our past, peace with others, and ultimately with God. Isaiah prophesied the Messiah to be the Prince of Peace. The angels sang of peace. Jesus declared that “in Him” was peace. Jesus offered a greeting of peace to the one history has called “Doubting Thomas.” Paul counseled to let the … [Read more...]

Searcy prays big, God blesses big

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer TROUT, La. (LBM) - Searcy Baptist Church had planned in 2013 to build a new worship center on a four acre plot adjoining its campus. But God had even bigger plans for the congregation, leading a local businessman in 2016 to donate 30 acres of land less than a mile away. Dedicated Nov. 19, this year, the new facility (nearly 15,000 square feet under roof) includes a worship center with a seating capacity of 299, education space, an office suite and a fellowship area. The former facility contained fewer than 5,000 square feet of floor space. Pastor Reid Terry told the Baptist Message that God revealed Himself to the congregation in miraculous ways along the journey to the expansive campus. Meeting in January 2016 to discuss adding onto the old campus, church leaders prayed God would confirm their decision through a large donation to help jumpstart the building process. Within a month, a businessman (who attended a church breakfast for oil field workers in February 2014) informed the congregation that he wanted to donate land, and lots of it. “We just believed God would do something great and He did,” Terry said. “Within the month, this 30 acre property that we’re on now was … [Read more...]

A view from the manger

By Matt Tullos Beloved, Look closer into the manger. I so long for you to look into My eyes. There was a time you saw Me as Someone who tolerated you and all the messiness of your life, not knowing for a second the depth of the love I offer. I came to you, first, as a baby so that you would know that my vulnerability is complete. I am willing to be born in the world mankind has ruined so that you will know that I am utterly and completely present for you today. I came to you because life is filled with both risk and opportunity and you, yes singular you, were worth the risk. I came to you because love is never forced. It can never be. On that night in Bethlehem, I had nothing to offer you except the promise that things would change if you loved Me. I came to you because I realized that the world had gone mad with all the useless rubbish that men crave in darker shadows. I came to you because nothing else would work. There was no way for you to truly see the kind of love I offered without stepping out of Heaven’s splendor into the broken world east of Eden’s hope. I came to you so that you could see how I respond to broken people- those whose lives are ruined in the morass of self-defeat. I came to you … [Read more...]

A special Christmas prayer

By Jerry Pipes It was just a small, white envelope on the family Christmas tree. It all began because my husband, Mike, hated the commercial aspects of Christmas. I decided to search for something special just for him. Our son was on the wrestling team at his school. Shortly before Christmas, there was a match against an inner-city church team. These youngsters, dressed in thread bare shoes and uniforms, presented a sharp contrast to our boys’ in their spiffy new uniforms. We took every weight class. Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes, and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, note inside, telling Mike what I had done, and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. Each Christmas, I followed the tradition. The envelope became the highlight of Christmas. As the children grew the envelope never lost its allure. We lost Mike last year to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, grief stricken, I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve … [Read more...]

Two hurricanes and nine years later, Johnson Bayou Baptist Church moves back into building at original location

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer JOHNSON BAYOU – After two hurricanes forced Johnson Bayou Baptist Church to meet in temporary facilities since 2008, the congregation has received an early Christmas gift – a new building at its original location. During a special worship service Dec. 10, a crowd of 70 people dedicated the new facility which includes an auditorium with seating for 100, classrooms, a kitchen with a small fellowship area, restrooms and an elevator. Pastor Jack Gandy said now that the church has a permanent presence in the community, he believes the best days are ahead for Johnson Bayou Baptist Church. “During the dedication services we were asking the Lord's blessing on us as we begin this new phase of ministry,” said Gandy, who became pastor in 2007. “This is a miracle that has been nine years in the making. It is hard to believe that we are finally in our own building.” For the past nine years, the congregation has worshiped and met for Sunday school at a community center and briefly in the church parsonage, while hoping to relocate back to its original site. Instead of giving up, they chose to continue with their dream. That persistence paid off with an official groundbreaking ceremony and … [Read more...]