First Family,What a joy it was to start Holy Week with you this past Sunday. With prayerful anticipation, I am looking forward to our worship on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday as well. One of the ways that I am drawing closer to God this week is by reading the passion narration from each of the gospel accounts. Would you consider joining me.Perhaps pick a time each day — alone or with family — ...  Read More

First Family,Isaiah 66:2 says of the Lord, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”One of the key distinctives of our Baptist denomination is that we believe the Bible is the final authority for all faith and practice. What we believe and how we practice our faith is entirely dependent upon the teaching of scripture. We are...  Read More

This Sunday is St. Patrick's Day! Do you know the real story behind this celebration? Patrick's story is far more fascinating than the legend.Patrick was born in 385 in Scotland. He records in this autobiography,“I was sixteen years old and knew not the true God and was carried away captive, but in that strange land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes, and although late I called my sins to mind, a...  Read More

First Family,As Easter quickly approaches, I want to remind you that there is no better time to be intentional about inviting someone to church. You may have heard it said before that Easter is our “Super Bowl of church!”Although not a perfect illustration, it accurately conveys the opportunity over the next few weeks. The Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event of the year and the most-watc...  Read More

First Family,I would like to take a moment to inform you about the safety measures we have put in place during FBCA gatherings.We have hired a police officer every Sunday to patrol our premises. The officer will park their patrol car in a visible spot near the entrance of our building and will patrol our campus throughout the morning. You will see the officer in uniform at various locations on cam...  Read More

First Family,Over President's Day weekend, my family joined thousands of other tourists in visiting Mount Vernon. It is a magnificent property and undoubtedly an important location for historical conservation.During the home tour, you get to explore various rooms while listening to the stories of the people who stayed in them. The highlight of the tour is visiting the room that George and Martha o...  Read More

First Family,As a church, we strongly believe in the importance of ministering to our students. We aim to guide them towards a relationship with God through Christ Jesus and to assist them in becoming more Christ-like by experiencing the transforming power of God’s grace. Unfortunately, today’s students face significant physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. As the saying goes, “Today our ...  Read More

First family,Recall with me the story of Jesus while at the home of Martha and Mary.It is recorded in Luke 10:38-42:38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Sh...  Read More

First Family,Wednesday nights at FBCA continue to be among my favorite opportunities of the week. Each week we gather for a meal from 5-6pm followed by a time of discipleship for all ages.  Join us for dinner soon!https://wednesday-night-dinners-spring-2024-first-baptist-church-of.pushpayevents.com/ Our children step into Children’s Choir, our students join Small Group Bible Studies and our Adults...  Read More

First Family,This week we will welcome a guest in worship Dr. Todd Lafferty from the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.Todd Lafferty was elected executive vice president in February 2019. He first served as a journeyman in Scotland from 1983-1985. He and his wife, Susan, were appointed in 1991 as career IMB missionaries to a large South Asian city, where he was pastor ...  Read More

First Family,I hope you're able to enjoy the snowfall this week and have a change of pace. As it says in Job 37:6, 'He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth."' The snow outside your window this morning is a reminder of His sovereignty. It's a reminder that God continues to reign and command all things. Let's be thankful for the reminder of His presence this morning.During our quarterly business mee...  Read More

First Family,This Sunday from the teaching of Nehemiah we talked about the concept of a “Holy Burden.” A holy burden is something/someone that God brings to your attention as an invitation to participate in the work that He is about to do. In Nehemiah’s case, this was the rebuilding of the walls of the city of Jerusalem. God had given Nehemiah a “Holy Burden” for the city and because of his respon...  Read More

First Family,I hope that you have had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We had an amazing time of worship on Christmas Eve, and it was wonderful to see so many people join us. Across the three services, there were over 1,700 attendees, making it the highest attendance we have seen in 2023. It's clear that God is moving at First Baptist and drawing people closer to Him. I'd like to encourage ...  Read More

First Family,The celebration of Christmas is a reminder that God keeps his promises. For thousands of years, the people of God carried a promise that He would send a Messiah to deliver them. At Christmas, we celebrate that this promise has been fulfilled, and the Messiah has come, and His name is Jesus.Isaiah 49:15 is a perfect description of what we celebrate, even though we don't often associate...  Read More

First Family,The time has finally come, and Christmas is almost here! You and your family are invited to join us for a special worship service on Sunday morning at 11 am. This combined service will be a wonderful opportunity for all of us to come together and worship the Lord. During this service, we will have a special children's sermon and take part in the Lord's Supper. It will be the culminati...  Read More

Dear First Family,If you have attended a Baptist church during your lifetime, you might have heard the name Lottie Moon during the Christmas season. Lottie Moon was a Baptist missionary who served in China from 1873 to 1912. During her time there, she witnessed firsthand the problem that many people had never heard the gospel. Burdened by this, she wrote letters to American churches, urging them t...  Read More

First Family,If you are joining us for our Advent devotional “He Alone is Worthy,” then today is day three, and one of the texts we are reading together comes from 1 Corinthians 15:47-49.It reads as follows:“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. ...  Read More

First Family,I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones, and that you're taking the time to reflect on everything that you're grateful for. This holiday always reminds me of the story in Luke 17 when Jesus heals ten men with leprosy. If it's been a while since you've read it, I encourage you to take a moment this week to do so. (Luke 17:11-19)In the story, a group of ten lepers asks...  Read More

First Family,This week a majority of our staff is heading to Richmond to participate in the annual Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) meeting and 200th Anniversary Celebration. BGAV is a network of more than 1,300 churches that choose to cooperate for the sake of missions and ministry.  The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:28 “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of ...  Read More

First Family,I hope that you are having a blessed week. If you would allow me there are several things that I would like to highlight this week:Today, Tuesday, Nov. 7th is voting day in VA. I believe that voting is a way to be good stewards of the blessings that God has bestowed upon us. By casting our vote, we can choose candidates who will implement policies that improve our country and align wi...  Read More

First Family,Happy Reformation Day!Yes, I know that we more commonly acknowledge today as Halloween but within the history of the Christian church, today marks a significant turning point.On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a monk, and scholar, wrote his Ninety-Five Theses. He intended to encourage a debate and stimulate contemplation among his fellow church members. However, the Ninety-Five These...  Read More

First Family,This Sunday, from 4-6 p.m., we will be hosting our annual Fall Festival. This is a fun opportunity for our church family to come together. But more importantly, this is a real opportunity for us to invite someone to experience FBCA. I often refer to these opportunities as “bridging” or “on-ramp” events. They are a way to bridge people to the church and ultimately to a relationship wit...  Read More

First Family,I hope your week is going well. Here are a few things I'm praying for our church. Please join me:A prayer of gratitude for the amazing response we received after calling for volunteers for our Children's Ministry. Thank you, Lord, for the 14 individuals who stepped forward to provide additional support in nurturing and guiding our children's spiritual growth.A prayer of petition for o...  Read More

First Family,Have you ever been in a situation at church where you have become so familiar with someone that you have passed the socially acceptable point of asking them for their name?  Maybe it is someone in your small group or the family you sit next to nearly every Sunday. You are familiar with them but not so much so that you know them by name.For the month of November, we are hosting a speci...  Read More