New Blog Location

If you have come to this blog location, please note we have moved our blog to our own web platform. Our new blog address is www.franconiabaptist.org/blog.

Counting the Costs

Jesus had some strong words to say about the cost of being one of His disciples. As the impact of Jesus’ teaching ministry grew so did the number of followers He began to attract. Followers, however, are not necessarily the same thing as real disciples. Not all of those who followed Jesus were His disciples. To some Jesus was nothing more than a curiosity. He was entertainment. That group of people was “following” Jesus as we might follow an interesting news story curious to see how things will turn out but not deeply invested in what’s going on.

So imagine their surprise when Jesus turned to a growing crowd of followers and unapologetically told them that “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Your mind immediately wants to resolve the tension doesn’t it? Before you start figuring out ways to explain what Jesus "really meant" by such a provocative statement take a minute to allow His words to provoke you.

The cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is very great. The reward, however, is beyond anything that this world can offer you. Being a disciple of Jesus may cost you a career, a friendship, or even your life; but with it comes an enduring joy that will carry you through this life into the next.

-Aaron

Congratulations Jim Elsmore & SHBC

Dear brothers and sisters at Sunset Hills Baptist Church,

It is with great excitement that I write to you to lend my voice to the unanimous chorus of support for Jim Elsmore’s ordination. I am excited for Jim as he embarks on this next stage of God’s calling in his ministry life. I am also incredibly excited for you. What an excellent man of God the Lord has brought to minister to your congregation. The marks of Jim’s character and integrity where evident to all the members of the ordination council. Treasure this brother. It has become all too rare to find a man whose talents and abilities are matched by the depth of his biblical convictions. In Jim, this appears to be exactly whom God has brought to minister to your congregation.

Your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ at Franconia are praying regularly for God’s work at Sunset Hills Baptist Church. We rejoice in this apparent answer to prayer.

Yours in Christ,
Aaron

Exciting Changes at Franconia

Dear friends,

I wanted to make you aware of several exciting developments that have occurred at Franconia over the last few months.

First of all the culmination of a year's worth of work came in the form of a new constitution for our church. The process of drafting this important document was far more important than I realized at the outset. I came to realize that a church constitution is much more than some sort perfunctory legal document. It is the place where we, the members of Franconia Baptist Church, put down in writing how we interpret the Bible regarding the purpose of our church, the way that we choose to govern ourselves, and what what we believe the foundational doctrines for our church are.

Good Christians disagree regarding some of these conclusions. So it is very important to put down in writing what we believe the Bible says about these important matters. If you would like to find out more you can read our new constitution at www.franconiabaptist.org/constitution.

The other major change was the election of a group of men to serve as fellow elders (pastors) at Franconia. Some of these men will be on the staff at the church and others will do this ministry while working for other companies and organizations. We praise God that He has been so kind to deliver such a group of godly men, qualified according to the Scriptures (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1) who desire to serve the Lord by serving Franconia. You can read more about them at www.franconiabaptist.org/elders.

Many of you have been praying for our church as we underwent these changes. I want to personally thank you for your support. May God continue the good work that He has engaged in at our church.

In Christ,
Aaron

Does God use natural disasters to get our attention?

If you're not in the Washington DC area then you might not perceive the timeliness of this question. In the last two weeks our area has been hit with an earthquake and a hurricane. Thankfully neither were as devastating as they could have been, although many did lose property and even some sadly lost their lives.

All of this caused me to reflect on the power of God in a Facebook post last week. "An earthquake and a hurricane in the same week, could God be trying to get our attention?" When I posted the question I didn't think that it would be particularly controversial, but I was wrong.

So then, does God use natural disasters to get our attention? I think the simple answer is that He certainly can.

In Job chapter 1 we read about the way that God allows Satan to test the faith of Job by taking away just about everything that he loved in this world. To do so Satan used a wind to knock over one of his children's houses killing all of his children (Job 1:18-19). He also used an incredible lightning storm (fire from sky) to kill Job's livestock (Job 1:16). The text makes it absolutely clear that these were not freak occurrences, but that they were done with God's permission.

Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by fire and brimstone (Gen 19:24) which while supernatural would have appeared to the people as a natural disaster. The death of Jesus is punctuated with an earthquake which captured the attention of the centurion who proclaimed "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Matt 27:54). Another earthquake occurred when the stone was rolled away at the moment of Jesus' resurrection (Matt 28:2). And the earth will quake and the lightning will flash when the wrath of God is poured out on the wickedness of this world (Rev 8:5).

Should every natural disaster be interpreted as a direct attempt of God to get our attention? Not in the way that some people assume a connection between specific natural disasters with specific sinful peoples. That requires a special knowledge of the mind of God that we do not possess.

However every natural disaster is at the very least a reminder that the world that we live in is broken and longing for restoration. Romans 8:19-21 "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

So yes, God does use natural disasters to get our attention. Sometimes He does so very specifically and other times more generally, but they should always remind us of the brokenness of this world and our need for ultimate restoration.

- Aaron

Service Cancelled

Dear friends,

The national weather service alert regarding flooding in our area is scheduled to continue until 8AM. Officials are still asking people to stay off the roads at this point. So at this point we will go ahead and cancel our service as well.

I ask for your prayers for the many people who are without prayer and for those families who have already suffered loss due to the storm. If you need anything please let me know so that someone from the church can help.

In Christ,
Aaron

Sunday Worsip Services

Dear brothers and sisters,

We are actively watching the details of Hurricane Irene as it passes through our area. At this point we are planning to have our regularly scheduled 11:00AM worship service tomorrow morning. The evangelism training scheduled for 9:45AM will be rescheduled for Sunday, Sept 4th. There will be no 9:45AM discipleship classes.

If it begins to look like the storm will still be highly active at 11:00AM we will cancel service as well.

If we do have services and you feel uncomfortable leaving your house, please stay home and pray for those who have already and will continue to be affected by this storm.

In Christ,
Aaron