Posts by Pastor Scott Slaughter

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I Grew Up In Church But, ...

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The Patriarch Jacob was like many who grew up in the church. He knew about God. He'd watched his parents worship and build their lives around the biblical faith. He wasn't opposed to it. He kind of believed it too. But in reality, Jacob had not really come to God himself. If the truth were told, he was simply coasting off his father's faith....

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A Day to Remember

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They did not die in vain. Let’s not live in vain. The sincerest thank you that a citizen can offer those who died for their liberty, is to live out said liberty before God and man. They prayed to God and gave everything so that we can do the same. Americans, shake free from the prevailing lies about what it means to be free. Many enjoy this Constitutional liberty but do ...

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The First Eclipse In The Bible

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Please read Genesis chapters 1 through 3 slowly. Picture in your mind what is happening. The account of the fall of Adam and Eve is doubtless familiar to most people who’ve grown up in the West. After recording for us the mighty acts of God in creation, Moses goes on to tell of how mankind fell from innocence and fellowship with God to a state of sinfulness and separatio...

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Is Tithing For Today?

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Tithing is the first step of Grace Giving. It was the first method used by God to teach His people stewardship. It was the first method God used to finance His Kingdom work among men. It was and is the elemental principle of giving. If the principle of tithing is not settled in your heart and life you will never move beyond it. Talk of Grace Giving can fill the airwaves bu...

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Confronted By The Resurrected Christ

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What is Easter to you -- just another religious holiday? A time when your wife, mother, or family member pressures you to attend church with them? Perhaps for you it is a bit more meaningful, -- it is a time for tradition. At Easter the family attends church, has a festive meal, or reunion. For some, it is about the children. At Easter the children get their special spring...

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LOVE That Transforms!

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What is love? What is Christian love? After all, doesn’t the Bible say that God is love? Shouldn’t love be one of the dominant characteristics of genuine Christians? The answer to each of these questions is YES. But hold on a minute! Does this mean that Christians accept all manner of sin and blasphemy against God in the name of love and if they do not they are then ...

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GROW, Our 2024 Focus

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Identity. What a loaded topic this has become in the last decade. With all the attention given to “understand” our identity, one would expect that we, as a culture, had learned something. But the sad reality is that we haven’t. How do I know that we have not learned from the exorbitant attention given to identity by our media, the music industry, government agencies,...

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Is Christ the Center of Your Marriage

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Did you know that marriage has a mission? Marriage is not a mere sociological invention of man instituted for the propagating and stabilizing of societies. ...

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LOVE DOES WIN, Congregational Dynamics Empowered by the Gospel

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It is imperative that local congregations recover true Christian love with its doctrinal faithfulness, purifying power, and deep wells of joy flowing from Christ and His Word....

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OTHERS, Coggins Church's Ministry Focus for 2023!

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I want to encourage our congregation to make OTHERS our 2023 MISSION. Let’s be passionate and purposeful to live this year for God’s glory in ways that shine the light of the Truth of the Gospel of Christ to those around us. And, let’s do it with such humility that when they see God’s love through us they are compelled to give glory to our Heavenly Father. ...

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Christmas at Coggins Church!

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Put away your anxiety, uncertainty, and pain. Turn from sin and dis- belief to faith and hope in the knowledge and trust that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 13-16). Forget about the holiday stress and pressure of our culture. They do not know our God. ...

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A THANKFUL HOME

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My intention here is not to prop up the American holiday of Thanksgiving but to encourage Christians to grasp their calling to be the people in this fallen world who are characterized by giving thanks to the true and living God (1 Chronicles 16; Luke 17:18; Philippians 4:6). ...

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Do You Want A Life Of Adventure? The Search For Wisdom

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Many things in life are beyond the scope of thrill seeking or material possessions. There are things that cannot be bought with money such as the birth of your child, a baby’s first words or steps, a rare sunset, the appreciation of true and pure beauty, unity in a family, or the forgiveness of sins, just to name a few. Scripture tells us that wisdom is priceless....

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Grandma Olney’s Sunday School Class

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Freshly out of graduate school, I briefly served as Associate Pastor to Lena Baptist Church. Located in Lena Illinois, LBC is a small church in a small town. In fact, it was the only Baptist church in town. While at Lena Baptist, I met some very special people, one of whom was a dear elderly lady known to the congregation as Grandma Olney. Mrs. Olney taught the only presch...

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Introduction to the Epistle of James

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James’ piety and devotion to God through Jesus Christ were recognized and served the church well through the early persecutions of believers in Jesus mostly by the Jewish leaders of the time. He was recognized by Christians and non-Christians as an exceptionally devout man. His wise leadership and godly character later earned him the unofficial title among those who resp...

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Who Can Find A Virtuous MAN?

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The godly father should be honored because when he fulfills his responsibilities he raises the level of life for everyone around him. If he is attempting to live out the biblical pattern for manhood, his is a role of life-long, sacrificial, loving leadership with the aim of presenting everyone around him mature in Christ at the judgment seat of God. What are the character ...

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God May Not Be Who You Think He Is

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Why do Christians gather for worship? What are they to do when they gather? What purpose does it serve? What meaning does it have? Why is worship so important? If we tried to reduce biblical worship to a single word, it would be impossible. We would use words like “praise,” “giving thanks,” “prayer,” and “adoration.” But there is a word that we would have t...

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A Prayer for the Education of Our Children

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Christian parents, are you okay with God not being a part of most of your child's day? Are you okay with your children being taught sex education, Critical Race Theory, homosexuality, to hate their country, race, and religion? Are you okay with children learning, playing, and living in isolation because of a virus that has a 97% survival rating? Are you okay with your chil...

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What Are Fathers For Anyway?

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Modern times have looked skeptically upon the role of fatherhood. Historically, the father was the leader of the home and mother was his right hand. Dad brought home the bacon and mother cooked it, as the saying went. These days are a bit different. Now, we are taught that mom brings home the bacon and dad better cook it! To think otherwise, or even question this, makes us...

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The Dead Cannot Deliver

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Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? I mean a person who died in faith who will someday be raised again in the likeness of Christ. Do you live in the hope of the resurrection? These believers in Corinth were like many today. They were saved out of a culture that is anti-God and anti-Christ thus they were confused about many of the Biblical teachings of their own...

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Do You Feel Like Running?

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Starting well has its challenges but continuing takes perseverance. Pastor John MacArthur, a former college track runner, illustrates this truth well. ...

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Can Grace Be Seen?

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Can Grace Be Seen? Is there evidence of God's grace in you? Can we know if someone is a believer? ...

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Why You Should Read the Bible in 2021, 4 Reasons from Scripture Itself, Part 2

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If we desire to grow spiritually, we must do as Christ’s apostle tells us and earnestly desire the pure milk of the Word. In this second part, we will discover two more important reasons that the Bible itself tells us to be Bible students. ...

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Why You Should Read the Bible in 2021, 4 Reasons from Scripture Itself, Part 1

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The Bible is the key to the Christian life. In the Bible, we discover who God is and His holy character. In the Bible, we find out our beginning and purpose. In it, we learn what’s wrong with the world and what God has done to reconcile all things to Himself. In Scripture, we find the way of salvation and the strength for living. It is in Holy Scripture that we are comma...

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What Child Is This?

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He only lived thirty-three years on earth. His ministry only lasted three and a half years. This man Jesus and his disciples “turned the world upside down.”...

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A Call to Prayer for Racial Understanding

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We all know what’s going on in our country and are grieving. Our hearts are broken for George Floyd and what’s happening in our nation. I don’t have or know the answer except that we all need to pray. We need to pray that the church of Christ would make some sense out of how to deal with this....

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No Little People

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Finally, we must pray for our leaders. In our romanticism, we tend to elevate leaders so high that they might as well be pieces of wood. They are no longer people, but symbols. We cannot stand to think of them as sinners. And this is unfair....

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A Godly Father’s Passion

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Husbands, fathers & grandfathers ...

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The King Enthroned, What is The Meaning of Pentecost?

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The expectation of the “Chosen One” is everywhere in the Old Testament. This expectation is pictured In the protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15), Melchizedek the king-priest of Salem (Gen. 14:18), Israel’s blessing of Judah (Gen. 49:8-10), Moses’ mediatorial rule as a prophet, priest and king, the Davidic covenant, David himself, as well as the many prophecies scattered thr...

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Pray for Parking, A Parking Lot Update

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For most of the history of Coggins Memorial Baptist Church parking has been a problem. Coggins Memorial has served this community for over fifty years. For all of these years, members and guests have parked along the street, across the street, around an adjacent building, and in our current small parking areas. Two years ago our congregation, after saving enough money, vot...

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Can Love Be Saved From Temptation?

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The Apostle knows that a mark of spiritual growth is to grow in Christian love and to have that love informed by knowledge of truth. From this relationship, discernment grows. Discernment often rescues love from gullibility and temptation. ...

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Gospel Grand-parenting, Part 2, Being Intentional

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Kids love visiting grandparents! Why is this true? Because grandparents are loving and take great interest in their grandchildren. Dad and mom are often overloaded, over-worked and overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a being in the building stage of life and having a house full of children. Not to let dad and mom off the hook, but grandparents are typically in a diffe...

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The Demons are Subject to You

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Jesus’ seventy-two disciples returned from their preaching expedition astonished that they had discovered that even the demonic spirits obey them when they commanded them in the name of Jesus....

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Is Christmas Christian?

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Christmas has stood the test of time. It is doubtful that our Savior was born December 25th but it doesn’t matter....

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Making Room For Prayer

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In John 17:1-5 we see that our Lord and Savior prayed first for himself. We should note that if Christ Jesus, who was God incarnate and without sin, needed to pray, how much more do we need to be given to prayer? We should never think that we can live for God with our prayer. Jesus prayed. He taught the disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-4). God’s house was to be a house of pr...

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It Really Happened!

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My prayer for you this Christmas is that your faith in the Savior of the World will be renewed, as you ponder the thought that the Savior is alive and reigning ~ he is real....

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Christmas In Eden, The Promised Deliverer of Genesis 3:15

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The idea of a coming deliverer runs deep in Jewish belief and spans the gamut of biblical history. ...

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Do You Have Money?

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Do you have money or does money have you? ...

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Introducing Our 2020 Vision!

What is the most important thing that Christ has called the church to do? ...

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Can We Trust The First Chapters Of The Bible?

Today we are in a battle like never before over beginnings. Why? Because our beginning determines our path. Our beginning determines our morals and ethics. Our beginnings determine our beliefs. Our beginnings determine our future and what road is right to take us there. ...

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Six Truths About God’s Holiness

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If it can be said that there is one attribute of God that is more important than any other. When we read the Bible the holiness of God seems to rise above all other attributes....

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Do Christians Obey The Bible?

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Do believers have to obey the Bible? Is the Bible simply a source for encouragement carrying no Divine authority. Should the Bible be the authority for how the Christian believes and lives? Should the Bible be received as the voice of God to settle the issues and problems within the churches? ...

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Worship Is A Family Affair

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Worship has always been a family affair. We may observe this early in the Bible by examining the lives of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). God commended Abraham’s leadership in this matter when He said, for I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him (Gen. 18:19)....

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Hudson Taylor, God's Adventurer

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About Hudson Taylor, Phyllis Thompson writes, “Hudson Taylor was a teenager when God told him to go to China. Though he was alone, broke and critically ill, he hung on to that goal and to the God who was sending him. Would God be enough? Danger and adventure abound in this true story of a man who dared to risk and trust.” When I read this little biography, I was remind...

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Delivered To Worship

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God is the Savior of his people. He delivers his people and desires for them to worship him as their Deliverer. If God has displayed such awesome power to be our Savior shouldn’t we respond to him in some loving way?...

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Why Every Life Is Valuable, Imago Dei - PART 2

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In the issue of the Coggins Courier, we considered what it means to be created in the image of God. We noted that Carl F. Henry summarizes the Protestant Reformed view of mankind being made in the image of God (imago Dei, Latin for “image of God”) as, “By the imago the Protestant Reformers understood especially humankind’s state of original purity, in accordance wi...

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Why Every Life Is Valuable, Imago Dei - PART 1

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Human life has become cheap. When public officials and lawmakers stand and applause for the passing of a law that allows the murderous taking of the life of infants moments before exiting the womb, we may be sure that the moral and spiritual degradation of such leaders is complete. ...

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Excited to Be the Pastor of Coggins Church (August 2017)

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My family and I would like to thank everyone for the very warm welcome we have received since our arrival to Lexington! Coming to shepherd this congregation is such a blessing. We are thankful to our God for calling us to Coggins to lead in His Kingdom work....

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Soul Food - Books that Blessed Me in 2018

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great 19th Century Baptist preacher, and pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle once said, “Visit many books, but live in the Bible.” With such profound counsel as a guide, before I mention a few of the more helpful books that entered my study in 2018, let me first emphasize the importance of Holy Scripture in life. ...

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Missions or Worship, Which Comes First?

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Is the church’s primary responsibility to win the lost or to worship God?...

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Discover Coggins Church!

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Let’s brighten things up! It’s important that a church campus look welcoming, even inviting. Our campus should be a place that reflects our faith in our Great and Merciful God!...

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A Church Alive Is Worth The Drive

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Unfortunately, today that is often not the case. Many cannot, in good conscience and obedience to the Scriptures, simply attend the closest congregation to their home because it has forsaken the faith of Jesus. So this begs the question, What makes a church a living and vibrant congregation?...

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An Update From Pastor Scott, 1-19-2018

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The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. With the sudden onset of severe chest pains two months ago......

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Scripture Passages that Guided Me Through a Time of Suffering, 1-2018

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Finding out that a bypass rather than a stint was needed ranks among the more shocking moments in my life....

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The Unquenchable Flame, Growth Resource

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The Unquenchable Flame is a thrilling 198-page account of one of the most pivotal events in the history of man, the Protestant Reformation. Author and theologian Michael Reeves is a master storyteller. Even if you are not very familiar with the specifics of the Reformation or the key people involved, you will be able to follow Reeves as he unfolds one amazing event after a...

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The Best Thing You Can Give Your Kids!

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All of us want to give our children a fighting chance in life. In fact, we want better; we want them to succeed. Often this well-meaning sentiment is misguided. We parents begin filling our children’s lives with things, lessons, and classes to ensure they fit in and do well. The problem is, in a troubled culture, this strategy backfires on us. Our culture has become godl...

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The Church, a Generational Tapestry, A Biblical Call to Multi-generational Church Ministry

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R. Kent Hughes, Bible teacher and former Senior Pastor of the congregation of College Church, Wheaton, Illinois, observes that, “Common sense, as well as research, tells us that a vital element for building a family is instilling a healthy sense of heritage, an appreciation of one’s roots, both earthly and spiritual.” A legacy is not something that can be calculated ...

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Jesus Son Of Abraham

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How does God's covenant with Abraham connect with the coming of the Messiah? ...

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A Few Exciting New Things For A New Year (2018)

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Of course, no one but God knows what a new year holds but it is right for us to look forward with eager anticipation of fresh movings of our God in our midst. Having been called by the Lord to come be your pastor, I am thrilled about the prospects of a new year. The turning of the calendar gives us the opportunity to embark upon the vision that the Lord has for Coggins Chu...

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Books I’ve Been Reading In 2017

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These books are just the ones that I had time for this year. I hope this list inspires you to read in 2018!...

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4, 3, 2, 1, GO! Pastor Scott's Vision

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Many of you gathered with me my first Sunday evening as I talked about the 4 Core Values that will guide us as we move forward together as a congregation. It was a warm and blessed time of sharing what the Lord is doing among us and where He intends to take us....

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