y Staff, World News Magazine WASHINGTON, D.C. – Right before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor headed to New York’s Times Square to lead the official countdown to 2014 Jan. 31, she issued an emergency stay temporarily blocking the contraceptive mandate for a number of Catholic organizations in Colorado. Sotomayor handles emergency applications from the 10th Circuit, which includes a number of Western states. On Dec. 30, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had denied an injunction to Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, Christian Brothers Services, and Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust. The lawsuit was filed as a class action on behalf of a number of Catholic organizations.   Legal Pot Sales Start in Colorado   DENVER, Colo. – As of New Year’s Day, anyone 21 or older with a valid photo ID can buy marijuana in Colorado. At 8 a.m. on Jan. 1 a handful of businesses licensed to sell recreational marijuana opened their doors, making Colorado the first state in the nation to legalize the cultivation, possession, sale, and use of a substance still considered illegal by the federal government. Shops in 19 cities and seven counties began selling marijuana for smoking, as well as cannabis-infused … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor On Aug. 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people gathered at our nation’s capital for the express purpose of making a unified statement that all citizens of America – regardless of their skin color – should be treated with equality. It was to this mighty throng that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most memorable oratory. With an economy of words, Dr. King eloquently articulated a vision that still moves people committed to life, liberty and justice for all. Throughout his “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr. King echoed his vision of a colorblind America where people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” “In a sense,” he told the crowd, “we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Dr. King’s words, as well as his actions, helped galvanize a generation on the issue of civil rights and change the plight of black Americans. … [Read more...]

By Barrett Duke, ERLC Vice-President On Jan. 22, our nation reaches the 41st anniversary of the horrific Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion-on-demand. For 40 years, our nation has sanctioned the killing of more than 1 million unborn children every year, resulting in more than 56 million abortions, with no end in sight. This is a tragic milestone that should cause us to repent and weep. These unborn children are the most vulnerable human beings among us, yet they are afforded no protection by society. They are deemed the property of their mothers, with no rights except what their mothers choose for them. At the moment of conception, a human being comes into existence. This is a person created in the image of God, possessing a soul and deeply loved by God. We are well beyond the days when anyone can claim ignorance of the individual personhood of the unborn. Unborn babies have their own circulatory systems, oftentimes with a blood type different from their mother’s. Within months of their conception, they are even making personal decisions. Unborn children move in the womb to get more comfortable and in response to pain. Given the opportunity, these unborn people could join us in this world, live lives filled with … [Read more...]

By Sing Oldham, Vice-President of Communications SBC Executive Committee Frank S. Page, president and “chief encouragement officer” of the SBC Executive Committee, has challenged Southern Baptists to continue praying in 2014 “like we’ve never prayed before.” Page views his call to prayer as a “catalyst, a weekly reminder of the urgency and primacy of prayer.” “Considering what Jesus endured for us, we must not grow weary and lose heart. We must strengthen our tired hands and our weakened knees before the throne of grace,” Page said, citing the example of Jesus in Hebrews 12. “Jesus wanted His churches to be called ‘houses of prayer.’ Let us not disappoint our Lord.” During 2013, pockets of prayer seemed to bubble up around the nation. These included TenTwo, NAMB’s prayer initiative to pray the Luke 10:2 prayer for laborers into the harvest; the International Mission Board’s intensive prayer boot camp, the School of Prayer for All Nations, held at the International Learning Center; numerous prayer initiatives through state Baptist conventions and Baptist Collegiate Ministries; pastor-led corporate prayer initiatives such as the pastor’s prayer gathering held Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 in Dallas, and thousands of other prayer gatherings … [Read more...]

By Judy Woodward Bates, Author, Creator of Bargainomics The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5, chastises the Corinthian church because of their acceptance of a blatantly immoral man among their members. Paul tells them: “... Shouldn’t you ... have been filled with grief and ... put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (v. 2). Paul wanted the church, the corporate body of believers, to understand that though they were to love sinners (just as all of them -– and us –- were merely sinners saved by grace), they were never to embrace or ignore believers’ sins. Fact is, all transgression hinders us from the true freedom found only when we are in right fellowship with Christ. Since each one who claims His name stands as His representative in this world, how are we to conduct ourselves? Are we to gossip? Are we to backbite? What about sarcasm? None of these things pleases our Heavenly Father, nor do these things further His Kingdom here on earth. Yet one of the greatest sins running rampant among the people of God is the sin of busyness -– we’re so busy “gettin’ while the gettin’s good.” We take time to go to work at our secular jobs, but do we take time to witness while we’re on the job? Many of us take plenty of time and … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 12:46 By Steve Horn, Pastor First Baptist Lafayette, President of Louisana Baptist Convention First of all, let me extend my thanks to the Louisiana Baptist Convention for your confidence in electing me to serve you this year as president. I need your prayers and offer my intention to serve our Lord and our Convention well. Together, we have heard and pledged our support to a collective vision framed by a report we have called Vision 2020. Let me be solidly on the record as stating my unequivocal support of this vision. In fact, since a quiet time back in 2006, I have endeavored to build our church’s strategy around similar themes. In the summer of 2006, while reading Psalm 71, the Lord clearly spoke to me through His Word, particularly in verse 18 which says: Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Vision 2020 and this Psalm both indicate we must be intentional in sharing the Gospel with the next generation – our “this” generation. We must be intentional with sharing the Gospel with “everyone who is to come.” We have work to do Louisiana Baptists. This … [Read more...]

By Mark Coppenger, Director Southern Seminary Nashville Extension Center At the moment, we’re having a national brouhaha over health care. Perhaps it’s a good time to put the matter of health in biblical perspective. Consider these 10 facets of the biblical witness: Doctoring is biblical. Jesus honored the medical profession by calling Himself the Great Physician and by inspiring a doctor, Luke, to write much of the New Testament (Luke and Acts). Illness is real and there are physical resources for dealing with it. God has graciously placed medical resources in nature. Proverbs 31:6 and 1 Timothy 5:23 speak, respectively, of alcohol as sedative and palliative. These passages anticipate a range of medications available for such purposes, from anesthesia to antibiotics (e.g., aspirin from willow bark and penicillin from mold). Healing was a sign of Jesus’ power and compassion. The Gospels are full of healing accounts, from blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10 to the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8. The prophets continually pressed their hearers to care for genuine victims of circumstance and oppression. Following Christ’s example and infused by His Spirit, Christians have been at the forefront of the healing arts throughout church … [Read more...]

By Evan Lenow, Professor of Ethics Southwestern Seminary The Pew Research Center has released results of a study on views of end of life medical treatment. Among the findings is how different faith groups view the morality of ending life. A fourth of evangelicals believe a person has a moral right to suicide if he or she “is ready to die, living is now a burden” (25 percent) or if that person “is an extremely heavy burden on family” (24 percent). When the situation is escalated to an incurable disease, 36 percent of white evangelicals believe a person has a moral right to suicide. If the patient “is in a great deal of pain” with “no hope of improvement,” the percentage increases to 42 percent. Should we be surprised by these increasing numbers? Is it concerning that growing percentages of evangelicals (and every other religious category) view suicide as a moral right? When I was a seminary student, I took a class on the ethics of life and death. One of my classmates made a presentation asserting that he would rather take his life than live through a difficult disease. He based his conclusion on the words of Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” My classmate rebuffed any attempts to be talked … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 12:57 Members of Celebration Church in the New Orleans area served the needs of residents in the Desire community and Lower Ninth Ward on Oct. 12. The church partnered with local ministries and organizations with a variety of service opportunities, which included cleaning up lots and thoroughfares. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Louisiana Baptist evangelism team leaders are calling on churches to band together and join Southern Baptists throughout the nation for a day of service in April 2014. To effectively pull off such an event, churches should start planning now, said Louisiana Baptist Convention evangelism team director Wayne Jenkins. Scheduled as part of the North American Mission Board’s God’s Plan for Sharing initiative, the event calls for churches in each association to cooperate  in order that they may effectively conduct a variety of service projects in  their respective cities and towns on April 13 or 14. The goal, Jenkins said, is to make an eternal impact and build relationships with the community to fulfill the Great Commission. The strategy involves a day of service followed by a season of service. “This is servant evangelism followed by ministry … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 13:01 B-Line Community Church, which is sponsored by First Baptist St. Francisville, isn’t your ordinary church plant. It is located inside the fences and on the property of Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and it serves the people who live and work in the community at Angola known as the B-Line. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA – At first glance, B-Line Community Church is like any other Louisiana Baptist congregation. Members at this new church plant sing hymns, share prayer concerns and receive a message from Pastor Henry Geter. But step outside the church and in the distance you’ll be reminded you aren’t in any ordinary church, for B-Line Community Church is located on the property of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and is part of a true “gated” community. Sponsored by First Baptist St. Francisville, the church’s first service drew nine adults and several children, all who live and work in the community at Angola known as B-Line. While Angola has chapels for the convicted offenders in prison, there was no dedicated place of worship for the protestant workers living within the boundaries of the B-Line subdivision. Those residents who are … [Read more...]