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 preschool Sunday school class. Grandma Olney had been teaching this same age-group for approximately twenty years. In my college days, I knew a fellow whose home church was Lena Baptist. He was taught by Grandma Olney....
Starting well has its challenges but continuing takes perseverance. Pastor John MacArthur, a former college track runner, illustrates this truth well. ...
Can Grace Be Seen? Is there evidence of God's grace in you? Can we know if someone is a believer? ...
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. ...
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 commanded to pray, to worship, to gather, to believe, and to fast. It is God’s Word to us. These are good reasons and they are based on Scripture but does the Bible itself give us reasons to invest precious time in reading and rereading it? Actually, it does. Briefly, allow me to share some of the reasons the Scripture indicates that it is good to give great amounts of time to its study. ...
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.”...
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....
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....
Recently a church in Nevada sought an injunction from the US Supreme Court to relieve them from the Nevada governor’s executive order stating that they could not physically meet to worship in groups larger than 50 persons....
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 throughout the writings of the prophets. ...
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. ...
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, voted to solve this problem by removing two houses on our property and installing a parking lot. Though the lot would be small, approximately forty spaces, we were ecstatic about it. Our congregation was abuzz with discussion and couldn’t wait to get started....
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....
The idea of a coming deliverer runs deep in Jewish belief and spans the gamut of biblical history. ...
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 prayer (Luke 19:46). Christians are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We are commanded to pray everywhere for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18) and for the preachers of the Gospel to have boldness (Colossians 4:2-4). ...
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 different stage of life. They may not have as much energy but they certainly have more time and understanding about what is really important in this life. So, they enjoy the children when we parents often endure them....
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. ...
Christmas has stood the test of time. It is doubtful that our Savior was born December 25th but it doesn’t matter....
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....
What is the most important thing that Christ has called the church to do? ...
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. ...
For years we've watched statistics that show a steady decline in church attendance which has caused pastors and church councils to advertise and entertain in order to boost membership. But does that honor God?...
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....
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? ...
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)....
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 reminded of the Apostle Paul. Like the Apostle so many years ago, Taylor’s missionary work was filled with sacrifice, extraordinary faith, and answered prayers. ...
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?...
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 with Genesis 1 and 2, wherein Adam is depicted as fashioned for rational, moral, and spiritual fellowship with his Maker.” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Elwell). Not only did we discuss the meaning of imago Dei we began applying this important doctrine to human life. By doing this we see that all human life has inherent value because we were created in God’s image. We found that since all human life is valuable God forbids murder of any kind. ...
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. ...
Some might say 1 Corinthians 13 has been quoted too much, which can cause words to lose their meaning....
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....
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. ...
Even with your New Year’s Resolutions, did you step across the threshold of midnight into 2019 any different than you had been at the end of December? Did you wake up to a new you?...
Is the church’s primary responsibility to win the lost or to worship God?...
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!...
Before I started anything in the office, I made my way to the sanctuary......
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?...
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......
Finding out that a bypass rather than a stint was needed ranks among the more shocking moments in my life....
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 godless; so trying to fit in can be harmful. The Apostle Paul foretells the shocking cultural conditions in the last days. ...
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 another. Who needs a novel when history is this exciting! ...
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 in material terms. It is important, Proverbs says, for fathers to lay up (an inheritance) for their children. ...
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). ...
How does God's covenant with Abraham connect with the coming of the Messiah? ...
Please read Genesis chapters 1 through 3 slowly. Picture in your mind what is happening. The account of the fall of Adam and Eve are 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 separation from God. The story opens with chapter 3. Adam and Eve are, most likely, just getting acquainted with their new world....
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 Church. Though I do not know all that 2018 holds, I am excited to share a few items with you that I believe you can look forward to with faith and anticipation of His blessings. ...
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....
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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