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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Evangelism 101 (Part 1): The heart of soul winning

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Evangelism truly is a matter of the heart for both the soul winner and the lost soul. Indeed, without both hearts surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit, any sharing of the Gospel will be fruitless. Regardless of how eloquently or emotionally a personal testimony is articulated by a believer, unless God is making His appeal through the believer (2 Cor. 5:20) and the unbeliever’s spirit has been prepared by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 7:10), it is all for nought. Consider 2 Chronicles 7:14 which states “if My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Too often, Christians read this passage and immediately presume that they must fall prostrate in prayer or seek a solemn assembly with others. But when read in context, God is calling us to be “humble.” It is from this condition of the mind, the heart and the soul that we pray and seek His face. Then, in response to this spiritual state, He responds to listen, forgive and heal. Indeed, the Bible tends to define all spiritual processes in … [Read more...]

The phenomenal surge of faith on the field

From every perspective, the college football season that culminates next Monday night in Atlanta has been a season of firsts. For the first time in the history of the sport, a 12-team playoff will determine the national championship in a game nearly three weeks after New Year’s Day. Teams with 13 or 14 victories will find their records great but not good enough to claim the mantle of best in the land. But something else, something unexpected, looks to be another first on the field — a pervasive expression of faith in the Bible and God’s love and provision for the teams and players, win or lose. … [Read more...]

2025 Resolution: Win souls

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Historians have traced the tradition of New Year’s resolutions to about 4,000 years ago and the ancient Babylonians, who celebrated a 12-day festival of planting at the start of their new year (March) by promising their gods to pay back debts and return borrowed items. Nearly 2,000 years later when emperor Julius Caesar established January 1 as the beginning of the annual calendar, the Romans adopted similar practices, offering sacrifices and promising to be good in the coming year. Today, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are celebrated worldwide, and research indicates that in the United States up to half of adults make some sort of resolution (typically regarding health, fitness or finances, but Bible study and prayer are popular commitments among Christians). However, for 2025, I urge Louisiana Baptists to resolve to do something more meaningful than just “better oneself” – even spiritually. Instead, I call on Louisiana Baptists to make a specific commitment to win souls to Christ! Soul winning is not something new to Louisiana Baptists. Indeed, it is believed that in 1799 Baptist preacher Joseph Willis swam the Mississippi River on the back of … [Read more...]

How to have a blessed Christmas

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the boyhood years of Jesus. But it does give us an instance where Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, and they took twelve-year-old Jesus with them. Then they made the journey back home. … [Read more...]

Give thanks for your future

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11. I quote it so often that some people might think I’m slightly obsessed with it. … [Read more...]

Your eternal home

There is coming a day when God will renew the heavens and the Earth. As believers, we will live in the kingdom of God forever. … [Read more...]

God has not given us a spirit of fear

You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to fear. We live in a crazy world. I can’t think of a scarier time than the present, quite frankly. The 24/7 news cycle and social media amplify our sense of danger by bombarding us with images of the latest mass shooting, a Chinese hypersonic missile, or yet another strain of COVID. And that doesn’t even take into account our personal triggers. We all know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night and be gripped by panic, fear, or anxiety. … [Read more...]

The fruit of kindness in election season

There was a time when kindness was summed up in the act of rewinding a VHS tape. The slogan “Be Kind, Please Rewind” once labeled every rented videocassette case. What does a kind person do? He rewinds his videotape so store personnel don’t have to. … [Read more...]