Happy Friday!

See you for Sunday worship in the sanctuary at 11 a.m.

Be the Hope You Seek

We have been through tough times, including a brutal election season. People could really use some hope out there in the midst of a deeply divided culture. We can be that hope, using five basic steps. That requires us to be bold, to stand up, and to keep our heads up as Jesus calls us to do in Luke 21:28. It's not that hard once we start. You will find those five basic steps in an article in the American Baptist magazine Christian Citizen. The article is by Richard C. Harwood. Take a look through this link: https://christiancitizen.us/post-nasty-midterms-5-steps-to-engendering-real-hope/

First Sunday of Advent 2018

On Sunday, December 2, 2018, the first Sunday of Advent, we will explore what Jesus told us about his eventual return in triumph. From this, we discover how we should be living right here and right now. Come and see. All are invited and all are welcome.

Join us! 

Making a Difference in 2018 and Beyond

It feels as if it is impossible to make a difference today in a world so full of violence, hate, and division. Often we feel like we want to keep our heads down, our mouths shut, and pray we live another day, each of us and those we love. That is a hard way to live. There is an alternative. How do we make a difference? What actually represents a difference to be made in a world where so much is washed away so quickly? Take a look at the article from Christian Citizen by Rev. Dr. Debora Jackson and be inspired: https://christiancitizen.us/making-lasting-footprints/

And remember what Jesus said in Luke 21:28: ... stand up and raise your heads ...

Christmas Eve Service 2018

On Christmas Eve this year, we at LBC once again have a special treat for everyone who wishes to celebrate Jesus' birth. At 7 p.m. on Monday, December 24, 2018, we will offer a family-friendly variation on a service of lessons and carols. We will be singing, reading much-loved scripture passages and responses to those scriptures, hearing a brief meditation from the pastor, and closing with a beautiful, candlelit singing ofSilent Night. During this simple service, all who attend will be offered the opportunity to slow down, pause, and remember why we celebrate Christmas. It will be a time of worshipful release from the tension, the expectations, and the anxieties that so often accompany this busy Christmas season. Together we will experience the joy of Jesus' birth once again. All are invited to join us for the evening's joyous worship. 

Merry Christmas to you all! 

Christmas Candlelight Service 2018

On Sunday, December 23rd, 2018, at 7:00 in the evening, you are invited to Lansdowne Baptist Church's annual Christmas Candlelight Service.  This inspiring service includes a service of lessons and carols. The lessons span both the Old and New Testaments. Follow the story of God's love for humanity, a love so strong that nothing we could do would destroy it, from the very beginning through the joyous birth of Jesus, the Messiah, who would show us the way home to God and declare in word and deed how much we are all beloved children of God. This is a wonderful assurance in challenging times. Following the lessons and carols is a truly unique message during which the light of Christ is shared throughout the church sanctuary, taking a single point of light at the pulpit out throughout the gathered people, sharing Jesus' love and message until the sanctuary, once dark, is fully illuminated by candles. By that warm glow, together we sing Silent Night to end a beautiful, inspiring, and memorable evening sure to give you the real Christmas spirit. Come and join in this profound moment of worship and peace. Come and share our joy. All are invited. 

Beyond Loaves and Fishes: Matthew Week 16

Beyond Loaves and Fishes forges ahead with our sixteenth week studying the book of Matthew. We are getting into the later chapters now, and tension is building between the leadership of the Temple and Jesus. The parables are getting thornier and the final confrontation ... and victory ... is approaching rapidly. Join us tonight at 8. Peace, Rev. Jeff Snyder

Every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. (with exceptions for the pastor's vacation and power failures), we have a live stream Bible study. You are invited to subscribe on YouTube (it's free) and join: If you'd like a little more information on becoming a subscriber, see the following. To learn how to join us on the Beyond Loaves and Fishes live stream event each Tuesday night, take a look at the following blog post and follow the simple steps: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/beyond-loaves-fishes-livestream-bible.html

Guidance for Hard Times

Revelation, that letter of vision from John to the seven churches of Asia Minor, had a great deal to tell them about surviving and serving God in dangerous times. It works just as well for us today as it did for those early Christian churches. Come along and explore the meaning of the early verses of chapter 1 and see what they have for us.

Beyond Loaves and Fishes: Matthew Week 15

Beyond Loaves and Fishes is back with our fifteenth week studying the book of Matthew. We are getting into the later chapters now, and tension is building between the leadership of the Temple and Jesus. The parables are getting thornier and the final confrontation ... and victory ... is approaching rapidly. Join us every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on the J.S. Brooks YouTube channel for the next live stream and be part of the conversation. We look forward to seeing you there. Peace, Rev. Jeff Snyder

Every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. (with exceptions for the pastor's vacation and power failures), we have a live stream Bible study. You are invited to subscribe on YouTube (it's free) and join: If you'd like a little more information on becoming a subscriber, see the following. To learn how to join us on the Beyond Loaves and Fishes live stream event each Tuesday night, take a look at the following blog post and follow the simple steps: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/beyond-loaves-fishes-livestream-bible.html

Sermon: Sunday, November 18, 2018: Beware That No One Leads You Astray

On Sunday, November 18, 2018, we'll explore what Jesus has to say about the permanence of the temple and of the incoming kingdom of God. We will discover reason for hope, gratitude and thanksgiving in the midst of a chaotic world. Join us and see. 

We will also sing a couple of old favorite hymns related to the Thanksgiving day celebration. 

Beyond Loaves and Fishes: Matthew Week 14

Beyond Loaves and Fishes took a week off due to extenuating circumstances. We are back together, studying Matthew again,We picked up with Matthew 19:13-15 and see what Jesus thinks of little children. Care to guess? After that we'll deal with the rich young man and much more. Things are getting thornier now as the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of his people are coming into contention more often. The parables presented become particularly challenging for us all. Have a blessed week. Peace, Rev. Jeff Snyder

Every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. (with exceptions for the pastor's vacation and power failures), we have a live stream Bible study. You are invited to subscribe on YouTube (it's free) and join: If you'd like a little more information on becoming a subscriber, see the following. To learn how to join us on the Beyond Loaves and Fishes live stream event each Tuesday night, take a look at the following blog post and follow the simple steps: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/beyond-loaves-fishes-livestream-bible.html

Out of Her Poverty

Sermon for Sunday, November 11, 2018, based on Mark 12:38-44. Jesus discusses giving, generosity, and how easy it is to go astray when your society is fixated on status. That fixation easily impacts people of all levels of society. Jesus focuses on the Temple Scribes, the wealthy congregants, and one poor widow. He is particularly interested in that widow, and so will we be in this sermon on good stewardship. You are invited to listen. You are also invited to join us at Lansdowne Baptist in Lansdowne, PA, any time you are in town.

What Do Christians Do Following an Election?

Author Curtis Ramsey-Lucas has some wonderful ideas for Christians who wish to remain energized and active following the just completed campaign season. Loyal opposition, the author declares, is our work. Holding our leaders to the higher standards of God's incoming kingdom, in civil discourse, is the work of a lifetime. Take a look at this article and decide for yourself if this is the work for you now that the campaign season is done: https://christiancitizen.us/the-election-is-over-now-what/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=The%20Christian%20Citizen&utm_content=The%20election%20is%20over.%20Now%20what%3F

Sunday, November 11, 2018, Sermon: Out of Her Poverty

Join us this Sunday when we will explore the meaning of the widow giving her two coins in the Temple in Jerusalem. It was all she had. Why was this significant to Jesus? Why is it significant to us? What does it have to tell us about living generous lives? Come and see. Sunday, November 11, 2018, at 11 a.m. in the Lansdowne Baptist Church sanctuary. You will be welcome!

To see the sermon: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2018/11/out-of-her-poverty.html

Vote Today, Let Your Voices Be Heard

Your pastor and his wife have voted at 7:30 a.m. We were the 88th and 89th to do so at our polling station with many in line when we left. Please ignore the rain, get out, and vote. Let your voices be heard. Your pastor will never tell you how to vote. But I'll always encourage you to get out there and vote. There are many dedicated people who gave up their lives to ensure we have this right today. 

Faithfulness: Sermon for November 4, 2018

Sermon for Sunday, November 4, 2018, based on Ruth 1:1-18. Focusing on the faithfulness of Ruth the Moabite, a foreigner who proves more faithful in Israel than God's chosen people during the years of the Judges. Ruth will protect Naomi, her mother-in-law, even when facing an uncertain future, turning away from the comforts and familiarity of home to follow Naomi from Moab to Israel. In the exploration of Ruth's exemplary faith, we discover a secret to a happy life. Come and listen. If you enjoy what you find here, are near Lansdowne, PA, and don't have a church of your own, join us Sunday morning for worship in the sanctuary. You will be welcome.

Better Together When We Boldly Go

There is a strength in diversity that we just don't get if we are suspicious of others and stick to tight little communities of other people just like us. Paul told the church of Corinth that. Paul let the Romans know that Jewish and Gentile Christians working together were far stronger than if they splintered apart along Jewish and Gentile lines. And, of course, from 1966 onward, Star Trek has reinforced that ideal. Better to boldly go together than to huddle in little enclaves separated by race, by religion, or by whatever else we choose to divide ourselves by. 

For more on this topic, see the article in Patheos by Erin Wathen titled "Boldly Go: The Gospel of Star Trek." I think you'll be glad you did: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/irreverin/2018/09/boldly-go-the-gospel-of-star-trek/

Then join us Sunday morning at Lansdowne Baptist Church. We are an American Baptist church, member of one of the most diverse denominations there is. We are pretty diverse ourselves, as you'll soon see, and ready to welcome you so we can all boldly go together. See you in the sanctuary!  

The Value of the Immigrant, the Faithful Ruth

Ruth, a Moabite, daugther-in-law of Naomi, is an example of true faithfulness. In the age of the Judges, when Israel had drifted from God, from faith, into idolatry and civil war, Ruth show what true faithfulness is all about. She gives up her people, her country, her gods, to head to a land where her people are looked down upon with suspicion and thought to be idolatrous, licenteous, people of ill repute. She makes the God of Israel her God. She stands by Naomi even though her mother-in-law has nothing to offer her in the way of a secure future. She goes out to glean in the barley fields at harvest time to feed Naomi and herself, even though it was not safe for a woman to do so in those uncertain times in Israel. When she meets Naomi's relative Boaz, this is what Boaz says of her faithfulness (word gets around in a small community like Bethlehem): 

Ruth 2:10-12: ¹⁰Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” ¹¹But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. ¹²May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” 

In an age when we too look suspicously upon outsiders, it is worth taking the time to remember Ruth, the faithful Moabite. Ruth and Boaz would become the great grandparents (spoiler alert) of King David, Israel's greatest king. Ruth would be one of four women listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ. 

Clock Back One Hour November 4, 2018

Here's a reminder from your friends at LBC. Set those clocks back one hour Sunday morning at 2 a.m. Get an extra hour's sleep so you will be refreshed when you come to worship with us Sunday morning. Sunday school begins at 9:45 a.m. and worship service in the sanctuary starts at 11 a.m. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Here's our sermon topic and Scripture reading this Sunday: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2018/10/join-us-sunday-morning-november-4-2018.html