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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Ephesians 2: Redemption is a gift

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor This is the second installment of a six-part series for the January Bible study on the book of Ephesians. ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – In Chapter 1, Paul explained redemption as a blessing from God and emphasized Christ as the means by which we receive it. In Ephesians 2, he built on this doctrinal concept, instructing that this “blessing” is a gift, or the “grace” of God. Again, Paul emphasized that this grace is found “in Christ.” Moreover, he contrasted “grace” with “works” to help us understand the enormity of the gift. This is important to his refutation of the Judaizers who emphasized the “works” of the law (the legalistic lives Jews had to live, including circumcision of males). In other words, they believed that the people of Israel had to “labor” to make themselves acceptable to God. Further, in verses 1-10, living in “trespasses and sins” is described as being “dead,” and in verses 11-22 being dead is defined as being separated from Christ. Moreover, Paul states three times that salvation is by “grace” (vv. 5, 7, 8) in contrast to the notion of “circumcision” (v. 11) – a reference to the legalism of the Judaizers in the passage that follows. Importantly, Paul … [Read more...]

Ephesians 1: God chose us in Christ

This is the first installment of a six-part series for the January Bible study on the book of Ephesians. By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – While a prisoner in Rome, Paul wrote a letter of freedom to the members of the church at Ephesus, reminding them that “in Christ” God had provided the means of salvation. Indeed, it is almost a singular emphasis in the first chapter of Ephesians. This is critical to note because many scholars agree that Paul wrote half of his letter (Chapters 1-3) to emphasize doctrine -- and Paul chose, first, to emphasize as doctrine the means by which God chooses us. Consider how the translators of the New King James Version presented verses 1-13 (there are only slight differences in the English Standard Version). They concluded that Paul: -- wrote to the saints who were faithful “in Christ” (v. 1); -- offered grace and peace from God, specifically mentioning two Persons of the Godhead, “our Father” and “the Lord Jesus Christ” (Son) (v. 2); -- described redemption as being blessed “in Christ” (v. 3); -- declared that God had decided – before the world was made – that the means of our salvation would be “in Him” (Jesus) (v. 4); -- … [Read more...]

YEC 2022: 830 students made decisions for Christ

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Organizers and participants of the recent Youth Evangelism Celebration praised God for the 830 students who made decisions for Christ, Nov. 20-21, at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria. They also were grateful to Him for the estimated 5,300 teens who attended YEC (the largest annual gathering of Louisiana Baptists). Both numbers were significant increases  compared to last year’s event, which drew a crowd of 4,500  and facilitated 719 decisions for Christ. "It is incredibly powerful to see more than 5000 students join in worship and engage with God's Word,” Louisiana Baptist Youth Strategist Brandon Lewis told the Baptist Message. “But to see them respond, whether they were accepting God's free gift of salvation or expressing a call to ministry, is evidence of their desire to know Him, to follow Him and to tell others about Him." YEC challenged the Louisiana Baptist youth to share their story of how Christ changed their lives through messages by Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen Evangelism Director for the North American Mission Board. During all four sessions, students were offered a chance to step forward and declare a decision for … [Read more...]

John Hebert retires as LBC ‘point man’

By Philip Timothy, Baptist Message managing editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – John Hebert has always been a team player -- first as a standout basketball player for Rapides High School in Lecompte, where he was named Most Valuable Player at the 1973 “Top 20” state tournament, to the present day. But after years of shunning individual attention, his record of service and personal achievement is in the spotlight after he announced his retirement date of December 31, 2022. Hebert shared his intention, Nov. 2, to end his 23 years of official service to Louisiana Baptists, the last 11 as team director of the LBC Missions and Ministry team. “It has been quite a ride,” Hebert told the Baptist Message. “I just feel it is the right time.” He joined the Louisiana Baptist staff on Oct. 18, 1999, working in the New Work Division/Department under Mike Canady. “It was basically compassion ministry,” Hebert said. But he would be challenged six years later when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005 and the storm surge breeched the levees in two places, ravaging the Lower Ninth Ward with catastrophic flooding. A month later Hurricane Rita slammed into the state. Reeling from the double whammy, Louisiana Baptists still … [Read more...]