Capital Church Messages
Journey With Us
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Journey With Us
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How often do we hear someone say, “That’s impossible!” in a book or movie, only to find, just a short time later, it is possible? These words are often what signal us as the reader or viewer to get ready for something incredible – perhaps even miraculous – to happen. What if we began to live our lives with the same mindset we have when reading and watching these stories? What if we believed the impossible just might be possible. This week we dive into one of the most famous stories in the Bible to discover the kind of person God uses to do the impossible.
God always listens to our prayers. Whoever we are, whatever we’re reaching out to him for, he’s listening. But we all probably know “that person” whose prayers seem to get answered on a regular basis. This week in our series The Way, James guides us in how to become the kind of people who seem to have our prayers answered more frequently. And just to be clear: it has nothing to do with being more holy or a “better Christian” than others. But it does have something to do with our posture in his presence.
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 W
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
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 t
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
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 cre
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
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.
