Apr 19
2019
Hudson Taylor, God's Adventurer
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. 
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.
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!
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...