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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

STUDY: ‘Sweet spot’ in Bossier, Haynesville Formations just got a whole lot sweeter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bossier and Haynesville Formations of the U.S. Gulf Coast contain an estimated mean of 4 billion barrels of oil, 304.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, according to updated assessments by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These estimates are the largest continuous natural gas assessments USGS has ever conducted. While both formations extend from the Mexican border in Texas to the Florida panhandle, the “sweet spot” is located directly within Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District. “The shale gas renaissance has had a remarkable impact on Louisiana industry, and this new development has exciting implications for potential job growth and economic proliferation in Northwest Louisiana,” said U.S. Congressman Mike Johnson and a member of First Baptist Bossier. “Through my role on the Natural Resources Committee, I will work to ensure that unnecessary and duplicative regulations do not hamper the industry’s ability to invest or utilize these two shale formations. “It is amazing what technology and new data can produce,” said Johnson. “This discovery is welcome news not only for the people of the Fourth Congressional District, but for Louisiana and the … [Read more...]

EDITORIAL: Good news of great joy

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. — Luke 2:8 The third act of Luke’s account of Jesus’s birth occurs on a hill outside of Bethlehem. Now most people don’t realize this story did not take place in December. It was probably in the spring, close to Passover. It was very likely that these shepherds were taking care of sheep that would soon become the Passover lambs. Now you have to know something about shepherds to appreciate what is going on in this story: -- Shepherds were the lowest rung in the Jewish culture. -- Shepherds took care of dirty and smelly sheep, so the shepherds were dirty and smelly–and there was no deodorant back then to take away the stench. -- Shepherds were the outcasts of Jewish society. So if you were going to have a party, guess who you would not invite? Isn’t it interesting that God chose to make His announcement of the Savior’s birth not to the political leaders in Rome, not to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, but to these smelly, dirty shepherds? Look at how it came about: “An angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly … [Read more...]