Tenebrae Service Maundy Thursday

On March 29, 2018, Lansdowne Baptist Church will celebrate our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service of hymns, Scripture readings, and candle light. The service covers Jesus' passion, the events leading up to and including his crucifixion. The service begins at 7 p.m. with a simple soup and bread meal preceding it at 6:30 p.m. Eight candles are lit, eight Scriptures are read. With the reading of each passage, a candle is extinguished, until with the final reading is done and the room submerged into darkness.

It is a moving time of reflection, taking us up to the moment of Jesus' death and leaving us there until Easter morning, when we celebrate Jesus' resurrection and all that means.

Please join us. 

Come Celebrate the Joy of Easter with Us at LBC

Lansdowne Baptist Church celebrates our Easter service at 11 a.m. in the main sanctuary. Come join in our joy as we worship the risen Savior, Jesus, the Messiah. All are welcome. Wonderful hymns will be sung and the sermon will be based on Mary's discover of the empty tomb and her belief that Jesus is the gardener when she first sees him. Beautiful moment for a beautiful day.

You Are Invited

Following Friday's violent storm, with its snow and high wind, Lansdowne Baptist Church is intact (praise God). We have water, power, and light. We are warm and welcoming in our faith. All we need this morning is you. Come and share our joy in the good news of Jesus Christ. We'll hold a spot in the pews for you!

This open invitation applies each and every Sunday and every special service we mention.

We are praying for everyone up and down the eastern and western seaboards, who were not as luck as we were on Friday. We pray for you, stand by you, and pray for all those good workers who are sorting out the mess and making your communities whole. We extend that prayer to our brothers and sister in Puerto Rico, who continue to struggle as well. You are not forgotten.

God bless you all.

Join Us This First Sunday of Lent 2018

The weather outside may have been frightful last night, but our worship service will be delightful. Join us for this first Sunday of Lent, 2018, and see for yourself. Drive carefully. 

The Whole City Gathered

Sermon from February 4, 2018, based on Mark 1:29-39. In it we review Jesus' healing of Simon/Andrew's mother-in-law and Jesus' desire to leave the safe and known town of Capernaum and its friendly crowd. Jesus calls us to leave the cozy equivalent of Capernaum and head out to be about Jesus' mission. Listen and discover the details. Have a blessed and adventurous day!

Feasting with Friends 2018

Lansdowne Baptist Church, 17 East Lacrosse Ave., Lansdowne, PA, is preparing to hold its annual Feasting with Friends event.  It will take place on Saturday, March 17, 2018, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the church.  This annual event has always been a success and we are hoping and praying that it will be even better this year. We ask that you come and join us as we feast with friends. You may contact the church at 610-626-0637 and let us know who you are and how many people are coming in your group. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing God's blessings with you, with the meal and an inspirational message. Join us, friend. 

Strong Foundation

Sermon for November 19, 2017, on the 130th anniversary of Lansdowne Baptist Church's 1887 founding. The sermon is based on Luke 6:47-49, Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish architects. One builds on a strong foundation and weathers all storms. Jesus' teachings and example and salvation are that strong foundation. Worthwhile consideration for all churches today.

Second Walking Prayer of Fall, October 22, 2017

This is just a quick reminder that members and friends of Lansdowne Baptist Church are invited to join the pastor on a walking prayer at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, October 22, 2017. We will gather in the church parking lot at 1:30 p.m. and travel together to the refuge. Our walking tour will begin right around 2 p.m. and last for one hour. The walking prayer is a spiritual discipline that allows followers to spend some quiet time with God while taking in God's creation. For those who are inclined toward this form of prayer, it is a beautiful experience. Come and see if this discipline works for you. The John Heinz Wildlife Refuge is located at 8601 Lindbergh Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19153, (215-365-3118 office). 

Welcome Stan Slade, Sunday, October 15, 2017

The congregation and pastor of Lansdowne Baptist Church welcome Rev. Dr. Stan Slade to speak to us about his work with International Ministries on Sunday, October 15, 2017. Stan, as he prefers to be called, has been active in two primary capacities with mission work under God's guidance: direct missionary training church leaders, and supporting the work of other missionaries and mission partners by helping provide leadership on International Ministries home office staff. For over 34 years, Stan has walked alongside church leaders in Latin America and around the world, supporting their efforts to become more effective servants of Jesus Christ in their local settings. In all of his different roles, Stan's passion has been to see people discover and embrace God's leading in their lives.

Stan will preach during the sermon time in the 11 a.m. worship service. His Scriptures of choice are Matthew 6:9-13 & Colossians 1:28 and his sermon title is On Earth, as in Heaven. All are welcome to join us for this special service, during which we honor the work of our missionaries worldwide.

Wicked Tenants

Sermon based on Matthew 21:33-46, which reminds us what Jesus expects from us if we choose to be fruitful rather than wicked tenants. It is a message well worth reflection.

Standing With, Praying For Victims of Las Vegas Massacre, and More

We here at Lansdowne Baptist Church are grieving right along with the rest of you following the horrific massacre in Las Vegas Sunday night. With 58 dead (as of this writing) and 528 wounded, we are stunned at how much harm one person willingly inflicts on an innocent crowd today. We pray for all those who fell to the gunman, their families, their friends, all who know or knew them. We stand by you in your grief. 

But prayer is a first step. It should always motivate us to action. Jesus called us to go out into all the world and that we must do. We are made for good work by the God who loves and saves us by grace alone. We will endeavor to do what we can to encourage others to work for the ways of love and mutual aid rather than hatred and mutual destruction. We work with our association, the Philadelphia Baptist Association, and our denomination, American Baptist Churches USA, to be peacemakers, as referred to in the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:1-12: When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Please join us in every way you can to work for peace in our divided, hurting society.

LBC's Third Walking Prayer

A small group of members and friends of Lansdowne Baptist Church returned to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum, PA, on Sunday, September 17, 2017, to practice the spiritual discipline of the walking prayer. We turned all our attention, all our senses, to the natural world--God's creation. In doing so, we walk in the company of God and are refreshed.

For me, the patterns among the trees first draw me in ...

Bridge spanning the wetlands.

For me, the patterns found in the trees are what draw me in to the natural world around me, opening my senses and calming my mind. The view from the bridge out in the wetlands is a valuable lesson in what happens when we really stop and pay attention to the world around us. At first, we see only the most obvious things: trees, water plants, water, and clouds. That's about it. But, as the mind stills, attention is first drawn to the larger water birds like the snowy egrets and great egrets. Then the smaller water birds, like ducks, are noticed among the water lilies. In time, the fish and the dragon flies and the bees capture our attention. Then we find ourselves standing beside God and taking it all in. For those who have the temperament for it, the walking prayer can be deeply moving.

Amazing what we see when we stop and look. Many egrets out on the water that day.

Consider yourself invited to join us next time ... and there will always be a next time.

Siblings

Sermon based on Genesis 37:1-4, 18-38, showing us the dysfunctional, grudge poisoned, hateful relationship between Joseph and his brothers. We explore how to equip ourselves against dysfunction and hate in our own day and age, like the hate so prominently on display at the race riot and terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 11-12, 2017. Being so equipped, we must work all our lives against letting hatred consume us.

If you doubt your small efforts or talents can be any use in fighting against human hatred, intolerance, racism, etc., take a look at the following sermon and rethink: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2017/08/against-all-expectations.html

For specific reactions from our denomination to the race riot and terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, which I heartily agree with and endorse, see the following posts: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2017/08/american-baptist-home-mission-societies.html and https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2017/08/abcusa-general-secretary-speaks-to.html

LBC Participating in National Night Out 2017

Lansdowne Baptist Church will be represented again at the Lansdowne, PA, National Night Out on Tuesday evening, August 1, 2017. Come and meet us, get to know who we are, and let us get to know you too. For any congregants interested in participating, the pastor and his wife will be setting up at 5 p.m. in the Highland Avenue parking lot. If you want to join us representing the church, please bring a chair and water. We will have a portable shelter as we have in the past. We'll bring information, invitations, some coloring pages to give away, and a good, old fashioned American Baptist Christian welcome! This year, the police department will be providing a "Critter Connection," allowing the community to meet Officer McGowan and his K-9 partner Chapek. There will be a K-9 demonstration at 7 p.m. As always there will be a community cookout and The Taste of Lansdowne. It is a good time and a great opportunity to meeting more of our community and share our joy in Jesus.

Whenever we gather together as a congregation as ambassadors for Jesus,
we have a good time.

LBC Marched Again on July 4, 2017

Some of us assembled

Parade assembles ...

We had a wonderful morning at the parade in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, on July 4th. We gathered at the church parking lot at 8 a.m., gathered at our starting point at 8:30 a.m., and were on the move at 9:00 a.m. We paraded with a bunch of our neighbors and for many more neighbors. Members of our church handed out nearly 200 invitations to come and worship with us. We blew giant bubbles again this years (always a crowd pleaser). We met a great many of the members of our community, had more congregants march than in previous years, and had a wonderful day. God blessed us in many ways.

On the move ...

Our veterans represented

Classic bus for veterans to parade in

Yep, still making the giant bubbles while we march!

To see photos from previous parades LBC has been involved in, see: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2017/06/lbc-pastor-congregants-marching-in-2017.html

LBC Beginning Conversations on Diversity

Beginning Thursday evening, May 25, 2017, Lansdowne Baptist Church will be holding a series of conversations exploring diversity in our church and our community to see how better we may bridge the gaps that divide us and our community. All in our church and community are invited to join us. Tonight we will be exploring answering God's call. Consider yourselves called.

For a recent event in Philadelphia that explored this issue courageously, see: https://lansdownebaptistchurch.blogspot.com/2017/05/courageous-conversations-in.html

Scripture Reading for Sunday, May 21, 2017

Today's Scripture reading is Acts 17:22-31. In the sermon we will explore what we can learn about communicating with others from Paul's short sermon to the philosophers of Athens. There's a lot of ground to cover there, especially in a divisive age.

Acts 17:22-31: Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. ²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ ²⁹Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. ³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 

Intrigued? Join us at 11 this morning to discover the secrets in plain sight here. 

Continuing to Invite the Lansdowne Community

Neighborhood Watch cat
kept watch on me.

Thursday, May 4, 2017, was such a beautiful day, I spent some time out in the community, delivering invitations to worship with us Sunday morning to roughly one hundred homes and apartments. If I haven't gotten to your neighborhood yet, I'll get there. Everyone who does not already have a church home is more than welcome to join us for Sunday worship. 

Lansdowne Baptist Church is part of the American Baptist denomination, which is currently one of the most diverse denominations in the United States. 

This Sunday, May 7, 2017, we have a special guest minister: 

On Sunday, May 7, 2017, Reverend Doctor Harold Dean “Doc” Trulear will provide the sermon for the 11 a.m. service at LBC. He is an American Baptist minister who is the Director at the Healing Communities Prison Ministry and Reentry Initiative. Rev. Dr. Trulear will introduce us to how communities of faith may become Stations of Hope, assist families of individuals affected by the criminal justice system, and the individuals themselves. Please come and invite anyone you know whose family has a member incarcerated or returning from incarceration.

Rev. Dr. Trulear explains how faith communities may be trained to provide family support and reintegration and how faith communities may walk with the returning citizens (connect returning citizens to resources that will help set attainable goals), helping them connect with their faith (provide spiritual support), open their hearts to these returning citizens (foster positive relationships), embrace them (extend open and affirming fellowship), provide understanding (collaboration with family and friends to rebuild relationships), and advocate for political change on a local, state, and federal level.

Please join us for this special guest speaker and invite anyone you know whose family has been affected and could benefit from the information provided.

For more on Healing Communities, see: http://www.healingcommunitiesusa.com/

Stewardship Challenges

Sermon based on 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 and Malachi 3:10, dealing with stewardship in its broadest sense. Dealing with issues of justice in our community through our faithful stewardship of our God-given talents and gifts. The broad reach of stewardship performed faithfully might surprise you.

Thrive Where We Are

Sermon, based on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, delivered on October 9, 2016. This scripture reading and sermon have much to say about making the new communities where we find ourselves home and helping newcomers to feel welcome in their new homes.