CokerChurch

Regardless of drama within our denomination, at Coker we will continue to joyfully welcome all people into the life of our church, bar none. We will continue to joyfully proclaim the full truths of scripture even as it pertains to human sexuality and sexual holiness between men and women. And where those things appear to be in conflict, we will see that as tension that God invites us to step into and see what more may be there in that uncomfortable space, than the easy sides we so often choose to run to. Because it is there in the hard places of love and law, preaching and practice that Jesus does his most transformative work in us all – it is in those places that we have no idea how to actually do this that Jesus can really do something with us because we finally let go and surrender to him. Visit us at Coker.org or follow us on our social channels. 

Prayer is one of the most fundamental disciplines of the Christian life, and yet it is one of the most challenging as well. Often, we will waffle between using prayer as some kind of wish list or really only praying when we find ourselves in trouble. What if we viewed prayer more as a means of personal formation and less as something to get what we want?

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One of the most amazing doctrines of the Christian church is the doctrine of the incarnation. The idea that our God would actually come to us is an amazing thing when you think that in most other religions the individual is responsible for finding or getting to god or the divine. In ours, it’s the other way around. Knowing that also calls us to view ministry in a certain way – we have a ministry that should “go to.”

Nobody enjoys suffering, and yet, it is something we all go through in our lives. We would love for our faith in Jesus to protect us from such difficulty, but ironically, sometimes it is that very faith that leads us into suffering and challenge. We can take hope, though, in the truth that Jesus knows what it is to suffer, and he is with us as we walk through those difficult times.

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It can be really easy in life to become comfortable with where we are and who we’re with and forget that we still have much to learn. As followers of Jesus, we are called to life-long submission to Christ and learning in order to become more and more like Him. If we don’t have an attitude and posture of humility, this is impossible. We must recognize our desperate and continued need for God in order to grow in Him.

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Pentecost Sunday was not a new Christian celebration. It is an old Hebrew celebration of the Feast of Weeks, celebrating the collection of the first fruits of the harvest, usually seven weeks plus one day from Passover. For Christians it is celebrated on the 50th day from Easter Sunday and celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as described in Acts 2. The apostles are gathered in secret to avoid discovery by the Roman and Jewish officials who might still be looking for followers of Jesus. While in a locked room the Holy Spirit comes upon them as a wind and appears as “tongues of fire” upon each apostle’s head. From there the apostles move out from the confines of their room and into the broad daylight of the open market in Jerusalem. They begin to speak about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What makes it miraculous is that people who are in Jerusalem, who have gathered from all over the Roman world, claim to hear the apostles speaking in their own native languages (the first “sign” of the Holy Spirit. Then Peter stands up to explain what is happening and does so “with power and authority” , the second “sign” of the Spirit.

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We all hear news from all types of sources, sometimes through a phone call, a text message, an email, a social media post, etc. And there is news that we hear that is great to hear, other times we may hear news that is not so great to hear. God, through Jesus, brought good news to the world, a world who was under the curse of bad news because humanity was under the power of sin. But, Jesus came to be among, like us, to offer to the world good news. In Mark 1, Jesus declared that the kingdom of God had come near, and that was good news. The word “gospel” comes from the Greek euanggelion which means “good news”. As a matter of fact, the word “angel” comes from the Greek aggelos, which means “messenger.” So, if we want to be true to the gospel of the kingdom of God, we need to recognize that we are called to be “messengers of good news”. Our lives — words, actions, behaviors, and attitudes — all need to be an embodiment of the message of good news to those around us. The world already knows about the bad news all around us, what the world needs to hear is the good news of the kingdom; the good news that indeed, there is room for everyone around God’s table, there is room for everyone in God’s kingdom. But, according to Jesus, we’re called to especially share the good news with the least, the last, and the lost — with the marginalized, the outcast, the invisible, the voiceless, the forgotten. We are called to take this good news to the “least of these”, because when we do, we are doing it for Jesus. With God, there is always good news.

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All baptized Christians have a call on their life. When we decide to follow Jesus and we are ushered into the Kingdom family, the Holy Spirit fills us and leads us to live out God’s calling for our lives. Sometimes the call is loud and clear, sometimes the call is quieter and requires patience and discernment to hear. But more often than not, the call can be scary as we are pushed out of our comfort zone. Knowing that, will you still follow the call?

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Throughout its history, the church of Jesus Christ has had its ups and downs. There have been wonderful moments of faithful cultural influence and moments when we have not lived out the true nature of faith. As followers of Jesus, we have to figure out how to follow a Savior that looks at every single person in the world and says, “I’m on your side, but there is a better way.”

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The miracle stories from the Bible are some of the most amazing parts of the story of God. Feeding five thousand people with just 5 loaves and 2 fish, raising Lazarus from the dead, etc. And yet, are they too amazing? Stories like these are why many people have a hard time believing the overall claims of the Bible. Can we trust the scriptures even if they contain parts that are hard to believe?

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One of Jesus’ most famous sayings in scripture is “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Not only is it famous, it’s infamous. For many people, this statement is precisely why they don’t like Christianity. Whether people like it or not, the real question remains, is it true?

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There are many many questions about the Christian faith. Many people wonder, “Could this all be true?” One of the questions that is asked a lot is whether or not the Christian faith is relevant today. What if that’s the wrong question, what if the Kingdom of God is wondering if we are relevant to it? Follow us on Instagram: @CokerUMC Follow up on Facebook: @CokerUMC Follow us on YouTube: YouTube.com/c/CokerChurch Thank you for worshiping with us

Easter is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Our belief in the truth that the tomb is empty and that Jesus is alive is what makes us Christian. Throughout the story, as people learn of what has happened to Jesus they are told to share it with others. We are all called to testify to what we have found in Jesus. We testify to both, what has happened, and to what will happen.

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The “triumphal entry” as it has come to be known marks the beginning of Holy Week on Palm Sunday. Jesus knows there is only one week left in his earthly life and that great pain is coming on Friday and resurrection on Sunday. But this moment is one of great anticipation by the followers of Jesus thinking he would use this opportunity of Passover to declare himself as Messiah and take over Jerusalem, Israel and the world. But there are forces that do not want this. Religious leaders try to quiet the crowd one, because they do not believe Jesus and, two, because they are afraid of what an uprising will bring as far as Roman retribution. They try to make Jesus silence the crowd but he refuses, centering on the verse that says, “Even if they were to remain quiet, the very stones would cry out”.

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The Corinthian Christian might be more like us modern people than we care to admit. They were questioning whether or not someone could really be raised from the dead. Paul wants them to realize that the entire Christian faith hangs on this one thing. That’s a big statement, do you think he is right?  

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Most of us don’t give a whole lot of thought to our spiritual gifts. Maybe we take a spiritual gifts test at some point and we can say what our top three are, but are we really taking the time to learn how to use those gifts empowered by the Spirit? What’s more, the Apostle Paul says to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31). Are we doing that? Do we even know how to do that? 

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What does it mean to be a stumbling block, an impediment to someone else’s forward progress? For Christians it means that we could do something that might stand in the way of someone coming to Christ or moving deeper in relationship with Christ. This would be bad. Paul explains to the Corinthian Christians that while we are free in Christ, we don’t want to do anything that might cause someone else to sin.

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