Do you have a very great Savior?

Earlier this week I got a copy of Bob Kauflin's book Worship Matters. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a deeper understanding of true biblical worship, whether you're a worship leader or not.

In the opening chapter Kauflin speaks openly about his own life and struggles which boiled down to this quote. "I knew Jesus died on the cross to save sinners from God's wrath, enduring in our place the punishment we deserved. I understood that I couldn't save myself. I just didn't think of myself as a very great sinner. Which meant I didn't need a very great Savior."

Wow. That made me really stop and think. Have I marginalized the work of Christ on the cross because I deny the depths of my own sinful heart? Am I tempted to think that I'm more or less better than other sinners and even though I need a Savior maybe a little less than the guy standing next to me.

First of all this is a tragic characterization of our guilt before God. Romans makes it clear that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (3:23). It doesn't say that some have fallen 1% short while others have missed the mark by 99%. Secondly, as Kauflin points out, this harmful attitude can cause us to minimize the importance of the work of our Savior in our lives.

Our love for Jesus Christ is made all the greater when we deeply appreciate just how much we need His grace. I pray that you have a very great Savior!

What's on your bucket list that's dedicated to Christ?

I saw an add on Facebook today for a Washington DC bucket list. It was a clever way of promoting DC area events and restaurants.

It got me thinking, what am I going to do for Jesus before He returns or calls me home? Who do I need to share the Gospel with? Where do I want to invest the time and talents that God has given me?

Your list could include things that seem big or relatively small. What matters is that you are investing in the Kingdom of God.

Feel free to share a few if you like!

There are some questions in life to which I don't get an answer.

That thought drives me nuts. I'm the kind of guy who will spend hours combing the internet, searching the library, or asking my friends if they know the answer to some question. I love to do that.

So when I'm reminded from time to time that faith actually requires faith, it stings.

We've been raised in a post-enlightenment world that teaches us to question everything. It's part of the scholastic model that teachers use to educate us. Is that a bad thing? No. As long as it doesn't get in the way of remembering that God is control whether we understand how/why things are the way they are.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

When I get stuck in one of those "why God" spin cycles the Holy Spirit regularly brings this verse to my heart. We need to get comfortable with this idea because there are some questions in life to which we don't get an answer.

Journeying Together

If anyone could have heard what I was listening to at the gym this morning they would have given me some strange looks. For years I have wanted to go back and re-read Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress, but I haven't been able to find the time. So I finally downloaded it to my Blackberry figuring that I might as well make the most out of my time on the treadmill.

For those of you who have never read the book, it's written like a dream where the main character Christian (his name) is on a journey from this world to the next. Along the way he meets all kinds of different people, both godly and ungodly.

During my workout this morning Christian ran into a man called Faithful. For a while they journeyed together, then Christian decided that he would rather run ahead. It didn't take long before Christian stumbled and fell. Eventually Faithful caught up to Christian and they continued their journey together.

As I was about to pass out on the treadmill I remembered all the days in seminary when my friend was there running right next to me encouraging me to keep going.

Listening to the story of Christian and Faithful and remembering the many Faithful(s) that God has put into my life, I was reminded that we were not meant to make this journey alone.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up."

New Series: Genesis - "Beginnings"

This past Sunday we began a new expository sermon series in the book of Genesis.

Since I came to Franconia over two and a half years ago we have worked our way through the books of Ruth, Mark, Philippians, and most recently Romans. After studying three New Testament books in a row, it seems right to get back into the Old Testament.

The title of this series is "Beginnings". Most likely you think of "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" when you hear the name Genesis, but it is full of many other beginnings as well. We see not only the creation of the world, but also the creation of mankind, the advent of sin, the initial call of Abraham, and the establishment of God's promises that will carry believers to the end of the world as we know it today.

There is so much foundational material in Genesis, making it a must read and more importantly a must understand for all Christians!

The Cart and the Horse of Personal Holiness

One of the most common Christians struggles is the knowledge that believers stand before God already forgiven and holy even though our actions do not always reflect that reality. This causes a real tug-of-war within our hearts as we try to live the way that we know we should.

1 Peter 1:16 contains the very convicting command "to be holy because God is holy." How can that be? Isn't that some sort of works-based salvation?

I don't think so, at least not if we understand the proper order of salvation (the horse) and Christian living (the cart). Jerry Bridges explains it like this "God wants us to walk in obedience -- not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self."

Anyone who studies mathematics will tell you that it matters how you lay out the equation. For Christian living the equation should look something like this. First God loved us. Therefore He made a way to save us from our sins. Next we accept His gracious offer for forgiveness. This causes us to love God. Our love for God results in a desire to obey God. This is very different from legalism which teaches people to obey God to make God love us.

Practically speaking, the more we love God the more we will want to obey God. The more we obey God the more we will be holy like God.

- Aaron

Change is Hard, Change is Good

Over the last two years there have been a lot of changes in my life. First there were all the things that you don't learn in seminary about being a pastor. Then there were the many things that have changed at Franconia Baptist Church. Finally there was the really important changes, the deep down Holy Spirit changes that have been transforming my spiritual life.

One thing that I can tell you from personal experience is that most people do not like change. I can certainly understand and even appreciate that. Changes makes us uncomfortable. It challenges our sense of security.

That makes it doubly hard when I tell people that change is both inevitable and required from the Christian life. The Bible tells us that we are not to "be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

These words alert us that for the transformed Christian life, change is coming. This is a different kind of change though. It comes from the power of the Gospel administered by the Holy Spirit and it is something that we should want very much. So even though change is hard, Gospel-driven heart change is very good.