By Kelly Boggs, Editor Festooning home and hearth with lights, garland, mistletoe and other “Christmas” paraphernalia is a long-standing tradition for many. I have participated in the annual decoration festivities, but only mildly. Rather than go for glitz and glitter or class and sophistication in my decorating scheme, I have always chosen to opt for meaning. My yearly contribution to the neighborhood kaleidoscope of color has always been rather simple. A couple of weeks before Christmas day, I place an eight-foot-tall cross in the middle of my yard. The cross is wrapped in lights so as to make it visible at night. Plastic lighted figurines representing Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus are placed at the foot of the cross. No other lights have accompanied my display. It has always been a cross and a simple manger scene. The message I hope to communicate via my display is that the real meaning of Christmas is found only when the manger and the cross are taken together. Without the cross, the manger is meaningless. Additionally, the lack of many lights indicates my belief that Christmas should be celebrated with simple dignity and not gaudy excess. Everyone does not always grasp or appreciate my effort to convey meaning at … [Read more...]

By David Jeremiah, Senior Pastor, Shadow Mountain Community Church Though few people have the stingy soul of Ebenezer Scrooge, many – even some Christians – are miserable during the season the world celebrates Jesus’ birth and are in desperate need of the Christ of Christmas present. To those who struggle and have a hard time experiencing joy during the Christmas season, the Bible provides the following, “For a child will be born, a son will be given to us… and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor…” How can we tap into the encouragement of the ever-present Wonderful Counselor and become free from Christmas blues? VERBALIZE Tell the Lord all about it. Consciously draw near to Him in prayer. He always hears and understands. Then pick up the phone, share your emotions with a trusted friend or family member, for “Thoughts disentangle passing o’er the lip.” Avoid woe-is-me self-pity (“Lord, you know I’m lonely, pitiful, sad, isolated.”) Pray honestly, but offer a prayer of faith. “Lord, I feel discouraged today, but I’m here to claim one of Your promises. With Your help, I’ll stand on Your Word.” Say with the psalmist: “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever, Preacher/Cartoonist A pastor friend told us of the time he took his family to a neighboring church’s Christmas Eve midnight service. He and his wife loved it – they could enjoy the presentation without worrying about the details, a rarity for a minister – but for his 7-year-old daughter, it was a different matter. The little girl was eager to get home and into bed so Christmas could arrive on time. As the worship service dragged on, the child became impatient. When the minister began reading the second chapter of Luke – “Now, it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus ...” – she said in a voice that carried into the next county, “I have HEARD this story!” We have all heard it. But it bears repeating again and again. One of the reasons the Luke 2 passage is so well-loved is that it nails down the time-frame when these things occurred. The birth of Jesus Christ is historical, it is factual, it is well-documented and reliable. It occurred at a real place in real time. As the Apostle Peter wrote in the second epistle bearing his name, “We did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses … [Read more...]

Dear Editor I read the editorial titled “Christmas celebrations indicate Americans penchant for secularism” (Baptist Message, Dec. 6) with much interest.  It echoes many things I have observed over the 89 years I have witnessed changes in our culture’s approach to Christmas. What we have arrived at in 2012 is what a devout Christian friend of mine calls “Shopmas!” Any reference to Christ can hardly be found!  In truth, this date for Jesus’ birth is in error from the start. The date of His birth is not known, therefore perhaps Christians should re-think this, and set a new date stipulating no trees, no gifts, (note that I am not saying “no giving”), no Santa Claus, no Christmas wreaths, bows, decorations, etc, etc (ad nausea), ....but music – much music – and Scripture reading, more than we have now.  And more worship and more praise of Him! Let the Dec. 25th date stay as is, only let it be known as a “Winter Festival” which it was from before the time the early fathers decided it might be a good idea to combine the two things, and thus it passed down to us as a cele-bration of Jesus’ birth. Alas, we know this will not be done, but at Christians I think we should rebel against some of the pagan practices that have gotten … [Read more...]

By Ryan Lister, LC's Caskey School of Divinity This is the season of giving and sometime between my last article and my last lecture of the semester at Louisiana College someone was kind enough to give me the flu, that gift that keeps on giving. Over the past few days quarantined in my bedroom I have had a good amount of time to think. Granted, not all those thoughts have been lucid due to the fever, and when they were they often took the form of very specific and very bold prayers of petition. But as my body began to mend and my prayers turned from petitions to thanks, my mind began to think about God’s grace and even turned to contemplate Christmas in a very new way. You see I am used to seeing Christmas in its full wonder and amazement, surrounded by loving family and beautiful church services, not boxes of tissues and medications.  The flu has a way of knocking reality back into everything – even the beauty of Christmas. But, I think this was a good realization. It shows us exactly what is at the heart of advent: God came to this world.  As I thought about this I considered first what it meant for God to enter this world. When he came it was not into a world filled with beautifully lit trees hung with … [Read more...]

Question:  My new Bible has “peace on earth to those of goodwill” in Luke 2:14, but I’ve learned that passage as “peace on earth, goodwill to men.” Why is there a difference? Bill Warren responds: The shift in English translations in Luke 2:14 happens in the late 1800s, and is present in the American Standard Version in the early 1900s, a common English translation of that period for North America. Therefore your new translation is following what has become the more accepted translation of this passage. So why were these translations changed? The cause is a single letter (not even an entire word!) in the underlying Greek text. The issue is whether the Greek letter sigma, like an English “s,” should be on the end of the word translated “good will” or not. If the letter is present, then the translation is “of good will,” resulting in “peace on earth to men of good will,” But without that letter, the rendering is “peace on earth, good will to men.” What’s amazing about this is that we actually have enough manuscripts and evidence to decide on such minor matters as this! As I’ve said in my classes, we can have more confidence in the text of the New Testament today than at any time since the early church, because of the many … [Read more...]

NATCHITOCHES – About 125 men, women, teens and youngsters passed out more than 14,000 marked New Testaments to attendees at the recent Christmas parade and lighting in Natchitoches. The idea came from Andy Byon, a member at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville, and of the Pineville Gideons. “He had the vision for it,” said Keith Manuel, LBC associate evangelism director. “He asked me to help train and equip the people to go out, “A lot of people did a lot of work for months on end to pull it off,” Manuel continued. “One of the neatest things was to walk up and down the streets before the parade, seeing people reading their Bibles.” The parade started at 1 p.m. Dec. 1; people jostled for a good viewing spot as early as 10 a.m., which is when the volunteers started distribution. “I was talking with a little girl, maybe 9 or 10, at the end,” Manuel said. “I asked her if she had fun, and she said, ‘I handed out a bunch of Bibles, and I showed them Luke 2, where they could read the real Christmas story.’ ... “This was a way for people to start telling others the greatest story that’s ever happened to them,” Manuel continued. “You’ve got to go where the masses are to share with the masses. It was a great opportunity to present … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message STATEWIDE – In 2012 hundreds of congregations and thousands of individuals went through the 21 Days of Prayer emphasis as part of the Awaken movement for spiritual awakening in Louisiana. As 2013 begins, Louisiana Baptists will again have the opportunity to begin the new year via a 21 Day journey. “In response to a number who called and asked us to prepare material for this year, we enlisted 21 Louisiana pastors and leaders to write devotions for the 2013 Prayer Journal,” said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism/church growth team leader for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “These devotions will focus our attention on reflecting, repenting, and realigning,” Jenkins continued. The journals are available to order at www.LBC.org/21Days online beginning Tuesday, December 11 for $1 each plus shipping. Customized versions are also available for $1 with a minimum order of 100. Downloadable versions of the journal are available as well as the option to have the daily readings sent directly to your computer, smart phone or tablet device. Suggested dates are January 6 through January 27, leading up to the state evangelism conference on January 28-29 at First Baptist Lafayette, but Jenkins noted that the journal is not … [Read more...]

By Michael Foust, Baptist Press ST. LOUIS (BP) – For the first time a federal appeals court has issued an order against the Obama administration’s abortion/contraceptive mandate. The one-page order Wednesday (Nov. 28) from a three-judge Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel prevents the government from forcing a Missouri business – O’Brien Industrial Holdings, LLC – to cover contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs in its employee health care plans as the appeals process is completed. The panel’s temporary injunction came two months after a lower court tossed out the lawsuit. It marks the fourth time this year that a federal court has issued an order or ruling against the mandate, which applies to businesses and religious organizations. There are about 40 cases nationwide seeking to overturn the mandate, which was implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services after President Obama signed the landmark health care bill into law. The lawsuit by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) says the mandate would force Frank O’Brien – the business owner – to violate his “religious beliefs and company policy.” The mandate violates two federal laws as well as the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom and free … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 12/14/2012 - 14:24 Pastor Doug Edwards, Tillou Baptist Church By Robert Lemoine, Regional Reporter BASTROP – Serving them all. Douglas Edwards, pastor of Tillou Baptist Church in Bastrop, recently was named an LBC “Exemplary Bivocational Pastor of the Year” for his hard work both at the church he pastors and at his secular job. “Doug from Turpin’s,” as the people of the Bastrop area called him for years, grew up attending regular services at Bonita Baptist Church in the town of Bonita, La. “My Dad, Orval L. Edwards, served as a deacon and my Mom, Mildred V. Edwards, served as a Sunday School Teacher, VBS Director, and WMU Director, and in her later years as the Morehouse Baptist Association WMU Director. As long as I can remember, Sunday was Church Day.” “Brother Doug,” as the people of Tillou Baptist Church call him, said he was mentored by Pastor J.E. May while in his teen years. With the encouragement of Mays, the young Doug volunteered as a summer counselor for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. He served as a Royal Ambassador counselor during the summer of 1980 and worked with young boys in week-long encampments throughout the state. “I can still remember my prayer as I … [Read more...]