Capital Church Messages: Recent Episodes
Capital Church
Being patient isn’t always easy. Waiting for your boss to finally give you that promotion after years of hard work. Waiting for your grade to come back after weeks of studying.But while patience is important, being passive and simply waiting without doing the work to prepare may not be the best way to go about it.
This week in our series The Way, James challenges us to move beyond passive patience and learn how to be active in our waiting.
It’s good to trust. You can trust that having money in the bank will keep the lights on. You can trust having food in your refrigerator will keep your stomach full. You can even trust your well-maintained car will get you to work every day.
But there’s a big difference between trusting something to serve you in life and trusting it to sustain and even save your life.
This week in our series The Way, James warns us against putting our complete trust in even the most dependable things in this life because they can’t do a thing for us in the life to come.
Most of us know that we bend the truth sometimes. Whether that’s because we forgot to take the trash out, we woke up late or we just really wanted them to think we got a good grade.
Well this week in our series The Way, James pleads with us to not bend the truth and to just be honest with what we say and how we say it.
One of the most consistent questions Jesus Followers asking is how to discern God’s will for their lives. But how do we tell if we’re following our will or God’s? What wisdom does the Bible offer for navigating this crucial question?
Visiting teacher Jeff Lucas is back to bring us another message in our series The Way. This week, we explore what James has to say about aligning our plans with God’s will.
If you have a stomach virus it’s not going to do you any good to ask your doctor to prescribe topical antibiotics and a torso cast. Why? Because the virus doing battle against your body is inside of you.
This week in our series The Way, visiting teaching pastor Jeff Lucas explores James 4 and the things trying to destroy our character, reminding us that the real battle is not external, but within each one of us.
Everyone wants our reviews. Businesses send a text or email asking us to leave a review of our experience. We get a prompt to leave a review for our Uber and Lyft drivers as soon as we get out of the car. Rotten Tomatoes is built on those of us with no experience in writing and producing movies leaving a review of the film we just watched.
We’re so conditioned to leave reviews that we think it’s our right to review people. But we don’t call it “reviewing.” We call it “judging.” And the consequences of judging are so much higher than the consequences for reviewing.
This week in our series The Way, James calls us to a different way of engaging with those around us, one that brings the truth with a heart to build up, instead of tear down.
Most people know how to explain their “type.” Maybe you find a sense of humor attractive. Maybe a specific kind of job or hobbies draws your attention. Maybe it’s someone who champions a cause you’re passionate about. Or maybe your type is all built on someone’s looks.
This week in our series The Way, James shows us what true beauty looks and acts like.
Jack Russel terriers can be trained to fetch slippers and throw items in the trash. Dolphins and sea lions have been trained in the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program to detect and clear underwater mines. And carrier pigeons were trained to transport vital messages that were crucial in the Allies winning WW II.
But humans can’t seem to train or tame their tongues.
This week in our series The Way, we examine James’ words about the importance of learning to be in control of our words.
Everyone has had the experience of being picked last or not being picked at all. It hurts to be on the negative side of favoritism. Yet, more often than we realize, we are the ones creating negative experiences for others with how we show favoritism.
This week in our series The Way, the Apostle James warns us of the dangers of a treating one group of people with more respect than another.
There’s nothing better than a carton of fresh blackberries. So, there’s nothing worse than opening that cartoon and finding blackberries covered in mold.
This week in our series The Way, the Apostle James reminds us that we as believers must constantly check ourselves to get rid of anything “molding” in our lives so we may continue to be the best representation of the sweetness of life in God.
Someone handing you a check for $100,000 sounds nice. But not if you’re being pulled deeper into raging river rapids! If they keep trying to “bless” you with $100,000, you’re probably going to scream, “I need a life preserver more than I need a check!”
We’re all guilty of less extreme versions of this everyday. We think we’re being helpful when we offer our input or advice. But maybe…maybe there’s something they need more first.
This week the apostle James doesn’t mince words when he tells us directly what we should be quick to give and what we should be slow to offer to those around us.
Someone handing you a check for $100,000 sounds nice. But not if you’re being pulled deeper into raging river rapids! If they keep trying to “bless” you with $100,000, you’re probably going to scream, “I need a life preserver more than I need a check!”
We’re all guilty of less extreme versions of this everyday. We think we’re being helpful when we offer our input or advice. But maybe…maybe there’s something they need more first.
This week the apostle James doesn’t mince words when he tells us very directly what we should be quick to give and what we should be slow to offer to those around us.
How do you feel about rain? It probably depends on your circumstances, doesn’t it. If you just got a new book and a fresh bag of coffee beans, the rain may be the perfect companion to a day inside enjoying two of life’s greatest delights. But if it rains on the day of your outdoor wedding…you may not find the rain so delightful.
Regardless of your circumstances, the rain is good. It waters the fields where our food is grown, it fills our reservoirs with the water we use day to day, it protects against wildfires, and so much more. So even if rain doesn’t behave the way we want it to, we should think twice before thinking bad thoughts about the rain.
This week’s wisdom from James may seem counterintuitive – even scary – at first because it invites us to think twice before we have negative thoughts toward God. But when we meditate on God’s character and the ways he cares for us, what first seemed scary becomes the gateway to trust and comfort.
You want to get from your house to work in under 10 minutes, but it will require you to drive 120mph. You know exactly how to accrue a six-figure income in a way that requires you to go against your morals. You are able to have your cake and eat it too if you don’t share it with anyone else.
You can accomplish your will in all of these situations. But they all require you to go outside the will of the law, your morals, and your standing in your community (it’s hard to like someone who doesn’t share cake!)
In this week’s message from the letter of James, we unpack a series of difficult verses that warn us against accomplishing anything in a manner that falls outside of God’s will.
Having a good job is such a blessing. And a good job can help us create a comfortable bank account. That bank account may afford us the means to healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle that results in a healthy body. And that healthy body may draw the attention of someone of the opposite sex that could lead to a healthy relationship and a healthy marriage.
But as good and healthy and wonderful as all these things are, they have a downside: we can easily put our trust in any or all of them. And when we lose any or all of them, our world falls apart.
This week in our series The Way, we’ll look at the wisdom James offers to keep our trust in the right thing, or more accurately, the right person.
If you hire Gordon Ramsey to teach you to run a restaurant, you’re off to a great start. If you follow his instructions for how to organize your kitchen, you’re really on the right path.
But if you ignore his instructions for how to properly sear Ahi Tuna, you’re going to set yourself back.
If you then ask for his guidance on plating and presenting Bananas Foster, he may have some questions before you continue working together.
In this week’s message, James warns us of the dangers of asking God for his guidance in one area of our lives while blatantly ignoring his instructions in another.
Lifting weights is a ridiculous endeavor. You literally engage in an activity that tears and breaks down your muscles. And you’re sore the next day. Why! Why do you do this to yourself!
Because you know that this is how you grow stronger.
As we kick off a brand-new series called The Way, learning from the timeless wisdom of the letter of James, we’ll explore one of the most difficult, yet most important truths about the painful process of growth as disciples of Jesus.
When we think of Easter, we think of bright colors. We think of flowers and trees blooming to life. We think of family coming together to celebrate hope.
But what if life feels dark because it truly is a dark season? What if your dreams or even your soul feels like it’s wilting? What if mourning feels more appropriate than celebrating?
This Easter, we’re examining a story in the life of some of Jesus’s closest friends that acknowledges the most painful realities of life. But we’ll see how hope can be found when we confront these realities with the one who is The Resurrection and The Life.
What’s your Happy Place? The cabin your family went to every summer? A trail that leads to a peak with a view that never ceases to take your breath away? The restaurant where you had your first date?
As we think about our Happy Place, we wish we could find a way to bring the joyful, peaceful feelings our memories evoke into reality. To embody, and in a sense, become what our Happy Place has the power to create in us.
This week, we’re looking at three places in the collective memory of God’s people – the Bible – to explore the kinds of places his hope-filled presence inhabits and how we can create those same spaces in our lives.
Let’s play a game of Would You Rather.
Would you rather have a reputation for being gracious to people or a reputation for building systems that get things done?
Would you rather be known as a compassionate person or the most creative person in your field?
Would you rather your friends respect you for your patience or for your ability to build Fortune 50 companies?
This week, we examine a Psalm of David, a head of state, that invites us to prioritize who we hope to be over what we aim to do.
We all have our rituals. The sign we tap before leaving the locker room. That special exchange between us and our loved one before we leave the house. The song we pump before every big meeting. The restaurant we eat at every year on this day.
But these rituals aren’t an end in and of themselves. They always serve to connect us to something, usually someone, that we care about deeply.
This week, we examine an often overlooked part of the Bible filled with rituals that give us actions designed to connect our minds and hearts to God.
We guard the password on our phone and laptop to make sure our information stays protected. We guard our banking information because we know if it falls into the wrong hands we could be left penniless. We even guard our homes with deadbolts and security systems because we want to protect ourselves and those we love.
But do we go to the same lengths to guard our hearts? To protect our hearts from words and information and interactions that will darken and distort them?
This week, we’ll explore why the Bible tells us to guard and protect our hearts with greater intentionality and intensity than anything else.
Your favorite restaurant no longer offers your favorite item on the menu. Your favorite team just traded your favorite player. Your favorite band just canceled the tour date in your city.
It seems like nothing in our world is certain.
Except the relentless love of God.
In the final message in our Psalm 23 series, we’re sitting in the certainty of God’s faithful love.
Some like a packed house. Some like an intimate dinner. Some like it to be a surprise. Some like to know it’s happening ahead of time.
When it’s done in a way that meshes with your personality and preferences, everyone loves a good party.
This week, we’re taking a break from Psalm 23 to have a serious discussion about the importance of fun and celebration. Most importantly, we’re taking seriously how much God loves to plan and pull off a good party!
If you only focus on the crowds and lines, you’ll miss out on the joy of the theme park. If you only focus on the wait time, you’ll miss out on the upscale dining experience. If you only focus on the page count, you’ll miss out on the stories that have shaped our world.
This week, we come to a portion of Psalm 23 that invites us to question what we’re focusing on and how it may be keeping us from seeing and experiencing God’s provision.
We all know what happens when our favorite character roams through the forest and happens upon an adorable bear cub joyfully playing in a stream. The character slowly approaches, attempting to get an epic outdoor pic. That’s when Mama Bear emerges from thicket and chases away the foolish character in order to protect her cub.
This week, we continue our meditation on Psalm 23, reflecting on God’s promise to protect us. Even if that means protecting us from ourselves.
There’s nothing like the first time your parents go away for the weekend and leave you to take care of the house. Yes, the sense of freedom is exhilarating, but there’s nothing like the validation of being trusted with such a big responsibility. And one of the reasons they trust you with the responsibility is they’ve equipped you to handle yourself – and the house!
This week, we’re pausing our Psalm 23 series to look at an important passage from 2 Corinthians to reflect on one of the primary responsibilities of disciples of Jesus, and why we can be confident in our ability to accomplish it.
It’s one thing for your car to not start. It’s another thing for it to not start even after you change the battery. It’s a whole other thing to have it start once you change the battery, only for the dashboard to light up like a Christmas Tree full of warning lights and then die on your way to the mechanic.
We come to the portion of Psalm 23 where the road goes dark, and the valley is full of dread. Yet the psalmist knows hope is still to be found even when circumstances don’t change. Because our shepherd is still with us.
We all have “that friend.” The one who comes to us in earnest, asking for advice. But when we give them our advice, they don’t take it.
So they talk to another friend, who gives them the same advice, which they don’t take. Then on to the next friend, and then the next friend, until they finally find someone who says what they want to hear.
It’s easy to criticize this person for only listening to what they want to hear.
But how often do we do that with God?
The portion of Psalm 23 we come to this week teaches us to listen and trust that God will tell us what we need to hear, even if it isn’t always what we want to hear.
Writing your college application essay. Interviewing for your dream job. Planning your first date with the person you’ve prayed about for years.
Preparing for all of these can be anxiety-inducing. You desperately want to get it right because you desperately want to be accepted. Acceptance is the end goal.
But what if you started at the end? What if you lived like you’d already been accepted? How different would you be and how different would you act if instead of working for acceptance, you worked like you already were accepted?
As we continue our series journeying through Psalm 23, the psalmist – and Jesus! – invites us into a different way of life that begins from a different starting point. A way of life that starts from the place most people see as the finish line.
Assembling an epic LEGO set can feel like a daunting task. But all the pieces you need are present. Any special component or tool needed to complete the build is provided. And the voice of the creator, both in pictures and words, is spoken through the instructions. All you have to do is trust that you are equipped and capable.
We’re kicking off the new year with a new series, Never Alone, where we’re working verse-by-verse through Psalm 23. The first message of this series reminds us that God not only gives us the provisions we need, but the promise of his presence as we journey through the celebrations and tribulations of this life.
You thought you just walked into her office to ask if she needed help going over the report. But to her, you were the lifeline she needed to get her head above water.
You though you just said, “Thank you,” for your intricate coffee order. But to him, your words made his dedication to his craft feel seen and appreciated.
You thought you just commented on their school project. But your child felt validated by how proud you are of them.
In the final message of our series Unshakable the Apostle Paul shows us how our words and actions carry more weight than we realize.
Life rarely goes as planned, and it’s easy to slip into comparison or frustration when things feel out of our control. In Philippians 4, Paul reveals the secret to a steady, content heart—one that isn’t shaken by circumstances but strengthened by Jesus.
This message explores how choosing to walk with Him in the “everyday moments”—like staying patient with a child’s meltdown or responding with grace when a coworker takes credit—can transform your inner world. If you’re longing for peace and strength that hold up in real life, Paul has the path.
When you go on vacation, you’re intentional about what you pack in your suitcase.
When people want to slim down or bulk up, they’re intentional about what they put into their bodies.
When we want to relax, or focus, or put our brains on auto-pilot, we intentionally choose content to help us achieve our mental goal.
This week in our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul teaches us how to curate our thoughts so Jesus can form our inner voices in his image.
You can’t wish your way into becoming the World Series MVP. You can’t play doomsday scenarios in your head over and over and hope it results in immeasurable wealth. You can’t wait your way into your dream job.
All of these require a plan and putting that plan into action.
Achieving a life of unshakable peace requires the same thing. And worry is not a part of that plan.
This week, our series Unshakable takes us to the Apostle Paul’s wisdom for how to live the life of peace you’ve always wanted.
Minimalism isn’t a fringe movement. Brand names reduced to consonants, simple logos, and simple packaging has become the norm for businesses. A limited menu – if there’s a menu at all – has become synonymous with fine dining. And instead of countless pictures on the wall, we choose one painting to allow the piece space to speak.
Minimalism has taught us that the best way to make a statement is by dialing back.
In this week’s message, the Apostle Paul, along with the sages who penned the Proverbs, teaches us that screaming tends to make people deaf to our message, while a gentle, controlled temperament has the power to pierce the noise of a chaotic soul.
We get annoyed when someone puts us on hold when we need assistance. We get perturbed when someone jumps in front of us because their friend is holding their place in line. And we get worried when we discover our romantic interest is still holding onto something from their ex.
But perhaps the worst thing that can ever be held onto is a grudge. Whether we’re holding it against someone or someone is holding it against us.
This week in our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul pleads with two disciples – and us – to put in the work to resolve our problems and reconcile our relationships, handing us the tools to do so when we’re ready.
Many people learn to play piano or guitar by obsessively learning the songs of their favorite artist. It’s not unusual for their first musical projects to be cover or tribute bands that play the tunes of their favorite artist. When they day comes that they begin to write their own music, it’s normal for them to sound a lot like their favorite artist.
As we jump back into our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul urges us to take the same approach with our discipleship – to pattern our discipleship after that of a disciple whose walk with Jesus we admire.
Trees produce fruit in season. As much as we may want them to always be creating beautiful, delicious fruit, it would be ridiculous to expect them not to go through times when they don’t.
But when humans experience seasons when our faith feels dormant, we wonder if it’s actually dead. But what if we could learn to navigate these times believing God just may be using these seasons to strengthen and solidify our faith?
This week, our friend Jeff Lucas walks us through the call of Gideon to help us be aware of struggles these seasons often bring with them and how we can learn to trust that God is up to something even in them.
There’s nothing wrong with a night out with good friends. There’s nothing wrong with spending your day off watching a good movie. There’s nothing wrong with making time for a good conversation over good coffee.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these good things. Unless any of these good things is getting in the way of a more important thing.
As we continue our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul shows us how to keep good things from getting in the way of the most important thing – knowing Jesus.
If your dream is to run a Fortune 500 Company, you’d jump at the chance to get an MBA from Harvard Business School. If you learned Peter Stern, President of Peloton, was hosting a leadership seminar in your area, you’d rearrange your schedule to attend. But none of these experiences would hold a candle to CEO of General Motors and leader in the electric and autonomous vehicles revolution Mary Barra offering you a personal invitation to apprentice and learn from her how to run a business.
This week, we come to arguably the most important truth in our series Unshakable – that the Creator and King of the universe invites you to get to know him personally so he can love you and teach you how to live an abundant life with him.
“Great job!” “That’s awesome!” “You’re amazing!” Just two words delivered in less than one second can change someone’s day – maybe even their life. Encouragement is that simple.
In a world where so many people use their words to tear others down, what if disciples of Jesus used their words to build people up? What if every time we saw someone act in kindness, compassion, service and love we took one second to say just two words to let them know we see their heart through their actions – and we’re grateful for it!
This week, our series Unshakable brings us to what may be the most overlooked portion of Philippians. But if we will slow down and listen to what Paul is doing and the power of his words, perhaps the Spirit will open our eyes and loosen our tongues to build up and encourage those around us.
We get irritated in traffic. We lament the long lines at the amusement park. We may get more panicked than we care to admit when our phone dies on our walk home.
But what if we saw traffic as extra time listening to a podcast or audiobook that furthers our discipleship to Jesus? What if the long line at the amusement park gave us an opportunity to learn more about a friend – or make a new one? And what if a dead phone enabled us to stop looking down and instead start looking up and around at God’s creation?
This week’s message from our series Unshakable shows us a different way to look at and live through the interruptions and inconveniences of life that can enable us to grow in Jesus, instead of losing sight of him.
The first time a ballet dancer attempts a pirouette, they can’t expect themselves to do so with the perfection and elegance of Misty Copeland. An aspiring screenwriter with innate talent can assume the first draft of their first screenplay won’t be The Shawshank Redemption. And while we’re at it, newlyweds – and those married for decades – may get a lot right, but they will most certainly get a lot wrong.
In every case, each needs to have grace for themselves. But they also must put in the work to grow and get better because of that grace.
Our series Unshakable brings us to one of the most important ideas in the entire Bible. It’s a truth that can free us from the shame of our past, empower us in the present, and change our future.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best in your field. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a leader in your community. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stand out in your friend group.
There is a problem, however, with letting being the best, being a leader, or being the standout go to your head. There is a problem with using your status to your own advantage at the expense of others.
This week in our series Unshakable, we come to one of the single most important poems in the Bible, a poem that gives us everything we need to live like our Messiah without developing a. Messiah-complex.
How would you respond to someone at the zoo complaining that the temperature inside the penguin house is way too cold?
What would you say to the college student grumbling that the games at the daycare are childish?
If someone who only speaks English goes to Sri Lanka and complains that all the signs are in Tamil, how would you react?
You’d remind these people that the world doesn’t revolve around them.
As we continue our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul reminds us of the mindset we must have as we aim to cultivate unity and love as disciples of Jesus.
The stock market is complex and confusing. But there’s at least one thing we all understand. No one invests in a stock just because of its current value. They invest in a stock because they believe in what it can become.
This week, Pastor Rob Harter takes us to the story of a man who encountered Jesus, and how Jesus didn’t see the man just as he was, but for who he could become.
Anyone who went to school with someone who grew up to be a successful musician will tell you: that person always acted like a musician. The way they talked, the way they dressed, the way they spent their time and money, everything was all about creating music.
They didn’t wait until they had “made it” to live like a musician.
They lived like it all along.
As we continue our series Unshakable, we find the Apostle Paul living in the present like the future has already come. And he teaches us how to with an eternal perspective now, like God’s Kingdom is already here, on earth, as it is in heaven.
Your phone. Your tablet. Your computer.
They may appear to just be sitting on your desk. But the truth is, they’re always working, always running countless programs in the background, all of them working together to enable your devices to run properly.
This week in our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul shows us that despite what our circumstances may lead us to believe, God is always at work, even when he seems inoperative.
You might give an infant a nursing bottle with smiling puppies all over it. You might give a toddler a puppy stuffed animal to cuddle with at night. And you may give your spouse a rambunctious puppy that loves to go for walks and play fetch.
But you wouldn’t give your spouse the nursing bottle to drink from, and you wouldn’t give the infant or toddler the rambunctious puppy to take care of. Why?
Because real love knows showing love looks different depending on who we are loving.
As we continue our series Unshakable, the Apostle Paul prays an incredibly practical prayer over his friends, asking God to give them wisdom for exactly how to love one another in the specific ways each person needs to be loved.
A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are each a force on the court, always ranking near the top of every list of best players in the WNBA. Wilson is a three-time MVP and helped her team become back-to-back WNBA champions. Clark won WNBA Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie to achieve a triple-double.
But Wilson couldn’t have done it without the rest of the Las Vegas Aces and Clark couldn’t have done it without the rest of the Indiana Fever.
As we continue our series Unshakable, we see the Apostle Paul model the importance of spiritual friendship, making the case that, just like the best WNBA players, we can’t live our calling without the help and support of those around us.A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are each a force on the court, always ranking near the top of every list of best players in the WNBA. Wilson is a three-time MVP and helped her team become back-to-back WNBA champions. Clark won WNBA Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie to achieve a triple-double.
But Wilson couldn’t have done it without the rest of the Las Vegas Aces and Clark couldn’t have done it without the rest of the Indiana Fever.
As we continue our series Unshakable, we see the Apostle Paul model the importance of spiritual friendship, making the case that, just like the best WNBA players, we can’t live our calling without the help and support of those around us.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO is designed to sway up to 18 inches in either direction. The Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower in Chicago, can sway 3 feet in either direction. And astonishingly, if you’re at the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, you could find yourself swaying up 6.6 feet!
Why? Because the architects and engineers who designed them know that high winds and earthquakes will sway and shake these colossal structures. So, they designed them to be able to endure the unexpected.
This week we begin a new series called Unshakeable where we’re working verse-by-verse through the New Testament letter of Philippians. In it, the Apostle Paul teaches us how to live unshakable lives in King Jesus, lives that can endure whatever life throws at us with joy and peace, and to do so by God’s grace at work in our lives.
When a child wants to learn to play baseball, the coach doesn’t hand them a bat, tell the child to step up to the plate, and then throw them a 90-mph fastball. No, the coach puts the ball on a T, shows them how to swing the bat to hit the ball, and then lets the child give it a try.
The way the coach teaches is by becoming like the child, doing what they want the child to learn to do, then letting the child do it.
This week, we look at the story of how God, throughout the Bible but specifically in the book of Isaiah, teaches us to become like him by him becoming like us.
You invested in a “hot stock.” But the stock tanked, and you lost a fortune.
You quit your stable job to take a chance on a startup you really believed in. Now, the startup is fighting to stave off bankruptcy.
You tattooed her name on your shoulder. Six months later she broke off your engagement.
We all have regrets. But sometimes, those regrets aren’t just mistakes we’ve made – they’re sins we’ve committed. So how do we recover and move forward without neglecting the reality of the harm our sin does to us and those around us?
This week, we’re going to a difficult passage in a difficult book in the Old Testament to find God’s remedy for recovering from our sin in a way that enables us to move forward into a life of abundant thriving in him.
“He literally died!”
“She loves soft pretzels!”
“I haven’t seen them in forever!”
We throw words around as if they have no meaning. We play it off, calling it hyperbole. Hyperbole has been normalized, and the extreme has become expected. And the price we pay is that words – actual words and what they actually mean – lose their meaning and the significance they are meant to carry.
So, because we’re so casual with the phrase “bless you,” even using it as a Pavlovian response to a sneeze, when Scripture talks about God “blessing” his people, many of us don’t actually understand exactly what God wants to do for us.
This week, we examine arguably the most important Blessing in the Bible in order to recapture our understanding of God’s character and his desire for his people.
At some point, it happens to all of us. Maybe it’s in high school. Maybe it’s in college. Maybe it’s in our first corporate job. Regardless of when it happens, all of us experience the moment when we stop hiding who we really are and begin demanding others just let us be ourselves, accepting us and loving us for exactly who we are. Did it ever occur to you that God has experienced that moment, too? In the final message in our series Passion & Pursuit, Jeff Lucas shows us how God, with the perfect combination of grace and truth, calls Jonah out for not letting him be who he is – compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
If you’re a mechanic who needs to fix the engine of a car, the most inefficient thing you can do is ask your toddler for help. If you’re a rocket scientist, how wise is it to ask a pre-algebra student to look over the calculations for your current project? If you’re an architect in need of a second opinion on the design you’re working on, is your child who recently discovered Lego going to be your best consultant?
It’s easy to see in these relatively high-stakes situations why it would be a bad idea for these experts to call on children for help.
Yet, God – the creator and sustainer of the universe, with wisdom, power, and abilities far beyond anything we could ever imagine – invites his children to help him do his work all the time.
In week two of our series Passion & Pursuit, we see God’s heart and his method for inviting even the most stubborn of his children to join him in his plan to bring hope and healing to the world.
A good story, a story that has the power to truly change your life, draws you in by connecting you to the protagonist. Over the course of the story, you learn the most intimate details about the protagonist’s complex character through their actions. This is how the character draws you in, makes you fall in love with them, and want to, by some miracle, know and be known by them in real life.
If you don’t feel that way about Jonah when you read the short book that bears his name – good! You’re not supposed to. Because he’s not the main character in the story.
God is!
This week, Capital’s longtime friend Jeff Lucas begins a three-week miniseries on the book of Jonah called Passion & Pursuit. In this first message, Jeff shows us why God is the main character in this story by exploring five character qualities of God that are beautifully and gracefully revealed in the story of a rebellious prophet – and available to us as his often-rebellious people.
If a family member wounds us with their words, it’s normal to air our hurt to a therapist. If we have an especially awful experience at a restaurant, it’s normal to lodge a complaint with the manager. If a co-worker’s aggressive interactions make you feel unsafe, it’s normal to take your problem to HR.
We’ve normalized expressing our sorrow and anger when others have mistreated us.
But what about the times when we feel mistreated by God? What about the times we watch him answer everyone else’s prayers, except ours? What about the seasons of depression, loneliness, infertility and the like where God seems nowhere to be found?
Thankfully, the book of Psalms has normalized expressing our sorrow, complaints, and anger to God, even when God is the source of our sorrow and the object of our anger.
This week, we look at the most gut-wrenching Psalm in the Psalter to learn how disciples of Jesus process their most visceral pain and disappointments with God.
Most people in our world strive for greatness. They want to do great things so others see them as a great leader. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be great.
But there is a problem with being great at the expense of being good – morally, ethically good.
Our world is overrun with great people and great products. But it’s lacking good people, good leaders creating those products, organizations, and families.
This week, we look to the Proverbs to learn how we can become great leaders who do great things without sacrificing our calling to be people of good character.
Your house is wonderful. But there will always be someone whose house you think is more wonderful.
Your career is satisfying. But there will always be someone whose career sounds more appealing.
Your friends are amazing. But there will always be someone whose friends seem more invested and connected.
So how do we remain content with where we are in life without ignoring or belittling the blessings of others?
We conclude our series Real looking at the second half of Jesus’ conversation with Peter on the beach to discover the misery of comparing our life to the lives of those around us.
Your jeans rip. Cover the rip with a patch. Problem solved.
Raw chicken falls on the counter. Clean it with hot water and bleach. Problem solved.
You report the pothole that caused a flat. The city fills the hole. Problem solved
You do something you’re ashamed of. Or you feel shame because something was done to you. No patch, no amount of bleach, no substance will cover, clean or fix the wound caused by shame.
Is there a remedy, something that can outmatch and destroy our shame?
This week in our series Real, Peter experiences the greatest failure of his life, and the shame that comes with it. The only thing greater than Peter’s shame is Jesus’ response to it – grace.
We all have good ideas. We all have bad ideas. The problem is, we can’t always distinguish between the two in the moment.
That’s because what’s in us taints the way we see the world around us. If we’re full of anger, envy, and fear, chances are we will respond to the world around us in kind.
This week in our series Real, Peter thinks he has a good idea, but it turns out to be a really bad one – and it’s because of what’s in him. Thankfully, Jesus offers us a way to transform what’s in us so we can transform the world around us.
In November 2022, Edwin Castro became the largest Powerball jackpot winner in history, winning $2.04 billion. That’s “billion” with a “b.” If it could happen to him, it could happen to you.
Between 1942 and 1977, park ranger Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning 7 times. The odds of this happening are 1 in 10 octillion – that’s 10 followed by 27 zeros. Still… if it could happen to him, it could happen to you.
In good ways and bad ways, whatever can happen to anyone can happen to everyone.
This week in our series Real, Peter begs us to learn from his experience and heed his warning – if he, one of Jesus’ closest followers is susceptible to failure, so are we.
Vintage furniture. Vintage guitars. Vintage clothes. Vintage motorcycles and cars.
If you love anything vintage, you know what it is to love something with all its imperfections. You know what it is to be drawn to something that is, in many ways, defined by its imperfections.
This week in our series Real, Jesus shows Peter – and us – that he is more than aware of our imperfections, and how he responds to our imperfections with perfect love.
Forgiveness and grace. We love these defining qualities of Jesus.
But we don’t always love that they’re supposed to be defining qualities of us as Followers of Jesus.
We especially don’t love that we are supposed to be defined by the way we offer our offenders an inordinate amount of forgiveness and grace.
This week in our series Real, Peter asks Jesus a reasonable questions about the boundaries of forgiveness. Jesus offers an unreasonable response of boundless grace.
How would you feel if a stranger walked into your house and started critiquing your every design choice? What would you think if the stranger then told you to knock out a wall? How would you respond if said stranger proceeded to tell you to changing the flooring, the light fixtures, the countertop, sink, and every appliance in your kitchen?
You would be utterly annoyed, if not offended!
Unless you discovered that stranger was world-renowned designer and home renovator Joanna Gains. If you knew it was Joanna Gaines telling you how to design your home, you’d do everything she says.
This week in our series Real, we come to a story where every detail is intricately and intentionally designed to show us who Jesus is so we will trust and do what he says.
“Hustle culture” tries to convince us that the only way to get ahead is to work while everyone else is asleep. But every physical trainer will tell you it’s when you sleep that your muscles recover, build and grow the most. Good quality sleep is also a key ingredient in weight loss. And everyone knows solid sleep creates better mental function throughout the day.
So, far from long nights of sleep being a sign of weakness, sleep is where your body does some of its most important work.
In our discipleship, it’s often in the areas of our lives that we consider weaknesses that Jesus does some of his most important and powerful work.
This week in our series REAL, we look at how Jesus leverages Peter’s moments of weakness to reveal his true strength.
It could be your LeBron jersey. Perhaps you only use DeWalt tools. Maybe for you, yes, it is Maybelline.
The jerseys we wear, the equipment we use, and the makeup we adorn tell people what we think of a ball player, a tool manufacturer, and a cosmetics company.
But more importantly, every decision we make and every action we take reveals what we think of Jesus.
This week in our series REAL, we explore a familiar, yet puzzling story where everyone’s actions reveal who they think Jesus is and how they live in light of their conclusion.
Most – if not all – of us have had the experience. Maybe it happened in junior high. Maybe at work. Maybe on a date. We know someone’s face and have heard rumors about them, and we have some preconceived ideas about what they must be like.
But then, we find ourselves in a situation where we are working or spending some time with them. And over time, time spent hearing their words and experiencing their actions for ourselves, our perception of them begins to change. It’s only by being with them that we’re able to truly get to know them.
This week in our series Real, we see how the story of Peter and other disciples spending time with Jesus is the only way they come to know him serves as a template and invitation for us to get to know Jesus for ourselves.
You send a text asking help. You stare at the phone screen. No response. No three dots letting you know they’re engaging with your request. Not even an indication they’ve read your message at all.
You call. They don’t pick up. You call back, this time you even leave a voicemail. Nothing.
You go to their house, knock on their door, and wait. In the cold. Alone. Nothing.
This week in our series Real, we step into a moment in Peter’s life where he desperately needs Jesus to do something, but Jesus doesn’t seem to care. In fact, Jesus is asleep. But Jesus responds in a way that tells us what to do when we feel like he’s ignoring us and doesn’t care that we’re drowning.
One of the highest compliments you can give a dog owner is that their pup is obedient, immediately following the commands of the human who takes care of them.
One of the highest compliments you can give a parent is that their children are obedient and respectful, immediately acting in accordance with the standards of the loving parents who take care of them.
But when was the last time you met an adult who saw their obedience as a compliment? In fact, have you noticed that more often that not, it’s only those who chart their own path and go their own way that we compliment and aspire to be like?
There are a lot of words you can’t say in our culture because they are or have become highly offensive, and obedience is one of them. Yet, for followers of Jesus, to be seen as obedient to his words and his ways is the highest ideal and the highest compliment we can receive. In the inaugural message of our series Real, we see how Peter’s obedience to Jesus leads to blessing, most importantly, the blessing of being with Jesus.
What are we told during every preflight safety brief? Should there be a change in cabin pressure, masks will fall from the compartment above you. But we’re given one crucial instruction that, if we fail to do it will keep us from doing anything else: Secure your mask first, before assisting those around you. If we bypass step one, we won’t be able to do any of the steps that follow.
As disciples of Jesus, there’s a vital first step that we cannot bypass if we’re going to love and serve those around us in life-transforming ways.
This week, we explore step one for all successful relationships – romantic, friendship, family, business, and every other relationship God blesses us with.
Even if you’ve never played baseball, chances are you know the most important coaching advice given to every player in every position: keep your eye on the ball. When a hitter misses a pitch or a fielder doesn’t catch the ball, you probably know what the coach thinks happened: you took your eye off the ball.
As disciples of Jesus, we have to keep our eyes on one thing if our faith is going to persevere. When we falter, it’s because our eyes were focused on something else.
In the final message of our series Lesssgoooo! we’re focusing all of our attention on the one thing, the only thing, that will enable us to run our race with perseverance, joy and love – King Jesus!
- This is a staggering number. It becomes even more ominous when we realize 2773 is a tally of one man’s failures. But he did not see his experience as 2773 failures. He saw it as 2773 chances to grow.
Thomas Edison’s records show that it took him 2774 attempts to create a working lightbulb filament. As an inventor, Edison understood the process of inventing requires perseverance, it requires a shift in perception, it requires we make a choice: to see our struggles as an opportunity to grow and get better.
In this week’s message from our series Lesssgoooo! we’re examining the role of perseverance in the life of disciples of Jesus, and how we can learn to grow through every struggle we face.
All the data says if you want better sleep, get rid of all electronics from your bedroom. Every trainer will tell you, if you want to lose weight, throw out all your junk food. You don’t have to be an olympic athlete to know if you want to zip through the water, you’ve got to get rid of every hair on your body if you want to be the fastest in the world.
So often, the first step to achieving our goals isn’t to add something new to our routine. It’s to get rid of whatever is slowing us down or standing in our way. And what’s true of sleep, weight loss and swimming is true of our discipleship to Jesus.
We’re kicking off our new 3-week series Lesssgoooo! by examining what the writer of Hebrews has to say about getting rid of anything and everything in our lives that is slowing us down and keeping us from living the life Jesus has called us to live.
We all have dreams. Dreams for our relationships, dreams for our career, dreams for so many parts of our lives.
But something happens when we misunderstand the nature and responsibility of dreams. Misunderstood and misused, our dreams become nightmares for us and those around us.
We’re kicking off the new year by examining the story of arguably the most famous dreamer in the Bible to find the wisdom – and the warnings – his story offers as we strive to faithfully live the dreams God has given us.
Your doctor requires it. Your waiter expects it. Your girlfriend demands it.
Vulnerability.
Your doctor can’t give you the medicine to ease your pain if you won’t admit you’re sick. Your waiter can’t bring you the food to satisfy and silence your rumbling stomach if you won’t admit you’re hungry. And your girlfriend can’t be your girlfriend in the first place if you won’t admit she sends your heart racing.
In the final message of our series Becoming, we examine how vulnerability empowers us to grow closer to Jesus by growing closer to others.
If you love Disney, you’re going to orient your spending around saving for a trip to Disney World. If you love skiing or snowboarding, you’re going to orient your schedule around time on the slopes. Whatever you love, you’re going to orient every aspect of your life around it.
Because our passions, in so many ways, determine that path we take in life, it’s crucial that we become intentional about what we are passionate about.
This week in our series, Becoming, we look at how meditating on God’s Word shapes our passions, and therefore shapes the paths we walk – and how we walk them.
Problems are unavoidable in our world. Stress is unavoidable in our world. Trials are unavoidable in our world. The temptation to lose ourselves in the problems, stresses and trials pervades our world.
But what if there’s a way to overcome them all? And what if Jesus hands us a plan and shows us how to put that plan into action so that we can become people who experience problems, stress and trials, but aren’t shaken by them?
This week in our series, Becoming, we examine prayer in the life of Jesus to see just how much his life revolved around the practice of prayer, which means our should, too.
You do it for strangers. Strangers certainly do it for you. Family, friends, acquaintances, at restaurants, online, in traffic, at the park – everyone is doing it everywhere.
What is this widespread activity permeating every area of life? Serving.
Whether it’s holding the door for others, waiting tables, letting someone merge so they don’t miss their exit, or allowing another family to use the swings at the park, our world is overrun with opportunities to serve. Because Jesus said he came to serve, not to be served, as his followers, we want to learn how to take advantage of every opportunity to serve like Jesus.
This week in our series, Becoming, we’re looking at the way serving shaped Jesus’ identity and how it shapes our own as we aim to become more like him.
It’s the holiday season. Your schedule is jammed. You’re busy with shopping for food to make and take to parties. Then there’s the stress of actually going to the party. You’re buying thinking about what presents to get for whom. Then there’s the stress of coordinating schedules to actually give them the presents.
Oh, and this is in addition to your regular job and regular extra items in your schedule. And if you’re a parent whose kids have jammed schedules of their own…
The problem is, it’s not just the holiday season. We’re always busy. We live in a culture that equates business with success. And all of this is out of step with the rhythm of Jesus and the rhythm of creation.
This week in our series, Becoming, we’re looking at God’s invitation to step into the spiritual practices of slowness and rests, beginning with page one of the Bible.
You’ve seen them. You’ve made the observation. You’ve made the jokes.
Medication commercials that highlight their ability to address one problem spend a comedic amount of time warning of the laundry list of problems they may cause.
The Bible takes a similar approach to the topic of money. There are benefits – but beware of the possible side effects and dangers!
This week in our series, Becoming, we’re carefully examining the apostle Paul’s wisdom about how to treat money and tame our desire for it so it doesn’t have power over us.
If your car breaks down you have to take it to your mechanic. If your computer isn’t working properly you have to reach out to your IT department. If your coworker’s negligence is undermining the project you have to go to your boss.
When this happens our first thought is I gotta take this broken car to my mechanic, I gotta reach out to IT about this malfunction, I gotta go to my boss with this problem.
Yet, our first thought isn’t always to bring these or any of our problems to God. Sometimes we even pull away from him when he’s the only one who can help us because we think it’s not okay to complain or even be angry with God.
This week in our series, Becoming, we examine the often-neglected spiritual practice of lament, and why failing to practice lament can lead to the deformation of our souls.
When you sit down to watch the movie you’ve been excited to see, you’re not going to watch it while at a parade for many reasons – for one thing, you won’t be able to hear the dialogue.
If you need to have an important, vulnerable conversation with a friend, you’re not going to suggest the discussion take place at a mall two days before Christmas for many reasons – for one thing, with all the clamor you won’t be able to hear their words.
Yes, you can attend college completely online, but you’re not going to listen to your professor’s lecture while waiting in line for a ride at an amusement park for many reasons – for one thing, you won’t be able to hear the wisdom the professor is sharing.
In all of these situations, you have to find a place where you can be alone if you’re going to truly hear what’s being said to you.
This week in our new series, Becoming, we’re looking at how Jesus’ practice of solitude enabled him to turn off the noise of life so he could tune into the voice of God – and how we can learn to do the same.
If a seed could talk, fear might cause it to scream as it’s thrown into a field. You can hear it objecting to being buried in the dirt. You can imagine it crying out for help as the rain pounds down upon it. And if all that isn’t enough, the pain it must feel as its skin cracks and gives way to some unknown force breaking it apart from within.
But we know what the seed must learn the hard way: all of these difficulties are unavoidable and necessary parts of the process of a seed becoming the beautiful flower or mighty tree it was created to be.
As hard as it is to accept sometimes, the process of becoming who Jesus created us to be is often a painful one. But one that is worth it.
This week in our new series, Becoming, our friend Jeff Lucas takes us to the book of Acts to see how God has a knack for transforming unfortunate situations into catalytic moments that form our soul and our identity as the Body of Christ.
Maybe it’s your favorite professor in college who has asked you to be her TA. Perhaps it’s a graphic designer you follow on Instagram who is gladly giving you feedback on your work. It could be a mom in your community, a coach you play under, a business owner in your entrepreneur’s cohort, or anyone else you look up to who is investing in your life.
There’s no doubt you respect and admire them. You have every reason to want to learn from them and be in their orbit. Your opinion of them matters.
But it’s their opinion of you and their belief that you – yes, you! – are worth their time, their attention, their patience, and their investment that truly makes a difference in your life.
This week in our new series, Becoming, we explore God’s self-selected character traits so we can better understand the Jesus we aim to become more like. As we do, we discover that as important as it is to think rightly about him, it’s far more important and life-changing to realize what he thinks of us.
When you’re training for a job, you’re usually paired with a leader who knows the job inside and out. The process may involve reading some manuals and watching training videos, but the most valuable part of the training process is being with the leader in charge of your training, learning what they do so you can eventually do it yourself.
There’s one nonnegotiable in the training process: you have to show up every day and be with the leader who’s training you.
Being a disciple of Jesus is no different. If we want to be his disciples, reading books and watching videos about life in him will only get us so far. But we absolutely must be with Jesus if we are going to become like him.