By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NAKARU, Kenya – Even as family and friends mourn the loss of a loved one, they are celebrating the Christ-honoring legacy left behind by Emily Martin, an interim youth leader at Hebron Baptist Church in Bush, Louisiana, who died Jan. 1 while serving on her third mission trip to Kenya. Martin, 21, passed away following complications from a blood clot that developed inside her lungs shortly after arriving in the country. Martin organized the trip, traveling with her brother, Joshua, cousin, Ashtin Mullett, and friend, Vally O’Connor. While in the country, she worked alongside missionaries Len and Susan Eastwood, who represent Neighbors Outreach Worldwide ministry in Nakaru, Kenya. Her father, Scot, told the Baptist Message that his daughter spent her final days in a place she loved. Even before her first visit to Kenya, Martin had a strong love for missions that began as a teenager with a church evangelistic trip to Oklahoma where she took part in conducting Vacation Bible School. She also took mission trips to Belize and Guatemala in recent years. A student with the Leavell College of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Martin likely would have moved to Kenya to continue … [Read more...]

By Hayden Haynes, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson BATON ROUGE – U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry have released the Louisiana Student Rights Review, a publication that provides guidance on prayer and religious expression in public schools. The resource was created to answer many of the most frequently asked legal questions and misconceptions about religion on campus. The Louisiana Student Rights Review is available as a free online resource at:http://www.mikejohnsonforlouisiana.com/religious_expression_in_schools. A hard copy of the publication will soon be mailed to all school superintendents throughout the state. “It is important to remember that our Constitution and laws protect the rights of students to live out their faith on campus," said Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church, Bossier City. "Religious liberty is the first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights, and the next generation of Americans needs to be encouraged to help preserve it." The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged almost 60 years ago, "The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools." “Unfortunately, too many people have been misled into … [Read more...]

By Eddie Wren For four hundred years there was silence. Darkness, if you will. There was no communication from Heaven as the prophets had no word from God. That sounds very strange to those of us who have a copy, or multiple copies, of God’s Word at our disposal. Even so, that was the situation for the world before the first Christmas. Can you imagine the desperation the world found itself in? Perhaps you can. Maybe you are in such a desperate situation yourself at the present. If so, maybe reflection on the Christmas story will help. The world was in darkness and I am not sure anyone noticed. But then all at once there was light. It began with a visit from an angel to a priest named Zechariah. Luke 1:8ff tells us Zechariah was performing his priestly service to the Lord when the angel of the Lord suddenly appeared. As you can imagine, Zechariah was terrified. But the angel brought news of joy and gladness and informed Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Then in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel appeared again, but this time to a relative of Elizabeth named Mary and then to Mary’s husband to be, Joseph. The angel informed Mary and Joseph … [Read more...]

By Gevan Spinney This past January I found myself in the little town of Bethlehem. As I looked over the fields that lay just outside that city my mind began to wonder a bit as I sang to myself those familiar words, "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie." This very spot has found it’s way onto several pages of our bible. It was in this spot that Ruth gleaned in Boaz' field. It was in this spot that David tended his sheep. It was in this same spot the angels announced to the shepherds the "good news of great joy which will be to all people." In each of those instances God used unlikely people to bring Him glory. Ruth was a Gentile girl from Moab, yet God had a plan to weave her unlikely life into His story of redemption. She would become the great-grandmother of King David and Matthew would later include her in his genealogy of the Lord Jesus. David was the unlikeliest of Jesse’s boys to be anointed king. He wasn’t even invited into the house when the prophet Samuel came. It wasn’t until all of his seven older brothers were paraded by the prophet, that they sent for David in that Bethlehem field. The one anointed that day was the ruddy, bright-eyed, song-writing shepherd; with the heart … [Read more...]