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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Seven ways to say ‘I love you” to your children this year

By JT Waresak I'm not a huge New Year's resolution guy. However, as a new year begins, it is another opportunity to raise the bar in my effort to be the best dad I can be. I'm also reminded that the opportune time to pour into my sons and daughters is limited to a couple of precious decades. This is not to say I can't still influence my older children, but those initial years while my kids are still at home are critical ones. By God's grace, if I can help influence and shape these formative years, my children will have a great launching point as they prepare to build their own lives and families apart from me. … [Read more...]

Make church planting evangelistic again

By Lane Corley A troubling trend I’ve noted among church plants in Louisiana. Since 2012, professions of faith are down 86 percent and baptisms are down 66 percent in Louisiana church plants. It’s not just church plants. The decline in evangelism outcomes is well-noted across North America. It’s most surprising among church plants, because church planting is supposed to be for the purpose of evangelism. Why the decline? Some possible reasons to note: Contacts and evangelistic contacts are down 52 percent. Church planters should aim for 200 contacts and 50 Gospel conversations per month. 2022 numbers were 81 and 20 per month. We reap what we sow. Sowing the Gospel broadly should be priority No. 1 for church planters. And these should multiply exponentially as team members are added and begin to learn the habits of evangelism and disciple making from the church planter. It’s definitely a changing missional landscape. Evangelism may be harder today than it was 10 years ago. The pace of evangelistic responses may have slowed. This is more reason to share the gospel more broadly than ever before. Ecclesiological issues have taken precedence. Our organizations, logos, websites, and by-laws are in better order than they … [Read more...]

Four tips to make your New Year’s resolution last

It doesn’t take much to keep a New Year’s resolution, but it doesn’t take much to fail either. Americans notoriously struggle to keep their January drive all year long. According to a 2020 poll, 68 percent of Americans report giving up on their resolutions by February 1. … [Read more...]

The messy reason for Christmas

By Lane Corley ALEXANDRIA - In the beauty of the Christmas season, don’t forget the messy reason that it came about. The reason for the season and the savior was to deal with the sinfulness of humanity. … [Read more...]

The wondrous ‘Christmas Story’

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- I tend to mentally “default” to Luke 2:1-20 when anyone refers to the “Christmas Story.” But that tendency to narrow the “Christmas Story” to this relatively short passage diminishes the eternal nature of God’s extensive plan of redemption which was in place before the foundations of the world. Indeed, the title “Christmas Story” almost demeans both the historical truth and the prophetic certainty that defines the account of past and future events tied to the birth of Christ. Through Isaiah, God explained that His plan to redeem Israel as well as the entire world was the essence of the “Christmas Story” (Isaiah 49:6). Meanwhile, Genesis 3:15 (specifically when read in conjunction with Galatians 3:16) shows that the plan of salvation, the catalyst for the “Christmas Story” was revealed as early as in the Garden of Eden. The “Christmas Story” includes God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation and that through him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12). A promise repeated to Abraham’s son, Isaac (Gen. 26) and to His grandson, Jacob (Gen. 28). God’s sparing of Noah, bringing him and his family … [Read more...]