Capital City Christian Church | Podcast

If you are not willing to honor God outside your prayer time, why would you expect God to honor what you say during your prayer time” If you are not trying to honor God on Monday, and Tuesday, and all of the rest of our “unholy days,” why would we expect God to honor what we ask him on Sunday. Wouldn’t that be kind of like … hypocrisy? Guys, God will not be “used.” God is no fool. God’s hypocrisy...

Your words matter. Tell the truth. A Jesus Follower will live differently. And it’s going to stand out like salt and light in this world. JESUS’ FOLLOWERS ARE CALLED TO RADICAL TRUTHFULNESS AND INTEGRITY. We are called to be honest people. Be honest with the oaths that you make. Be honest with the contracts and the promises you make. Be honest with all your words. Because any failure to keep your...

So anger and contempt is a poison we willingly drink way too often. Here it is: What is the antidote?’ It’s an idea we talk about here a lot: “Grace.” And, when it comes to anger and contempt, grace looks like “magnanimity” and “forgiveness.”

Jesus doesn't condemn our sexual desires even when those desires are provoked by unexpected or unwelcome temptations. And, notice how Jesus doesn't blame women for causing lust, and he doesn’t blame the culture or any external force. We become guilty, even of adultery, when we fan those flickers into flame. It's when we deliberately engage our will in the pursuit of lust. Martin Lut...

So, AI says that if you recognize the world around you is messy, and if there is any part of you that is interested in helping bring that change … then you need to start by working on yourself, build around reality, and then coordinate. That's how you can change the world. There you go. We all think the world's a mess. That's how you can fix it. Problem solved. There is … another wa...

Some Jesus followers are persecuted because they are jerks … obnoxious … abrasive … arrogant. Maybe they speak truth without grace … and when people push back, they think they are being persecuted for righteousness sake. Maybe not. Maybe they are being persecuted because they are jerks. Jesus is talking about doing the right thing when the right thing is hard. Jesus is talking about doing living b...

Blessed are the peacemakers.” Listen, guys, I want to look at these words a little differently this morning. This may challenge the way you have always understood these words. This may be an absolute paradigm shift. But hang with me. Listen, guys, your biggest war is not with any person … any person. Not your ex-wife, not your political enemies, not your parents, not your boss, not the people who...

In the New Testament Jesus seems to back David up. Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” It sounds like Jesus, like David, is saying there's a way to see God … and it can be a good thing for you … but no one is qualified. It feels like they are revealing the secret to access … but you can’t meet the terms. But what if you want it? What if you want to see God and...

Now, what's interesting to me is the promise part of this beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful,” the ones who show mercy, “FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY.” Jesus kind of gives us a mathematical equation of sorts where mercy received will be equal to mercy given. Essentially Jesus is saying that God is merciful and we should be like that. People who show mercy are acting like God. But also … the...

These first three Beatitudes feel like being emptied out, don’t they? It feels like an emptying of the self. Which means … you may be feeling hungry for something that can fill you back up. So, are you feeling hungry? Because if so, according to Jesus, then righteousness is yours. You will be filled. Do you want a Savior? If so, you will be filled. And if you’ve received that first righteousness –...

"Blessed are the meek … I don’t like that word. It’s a great word, actually, if you understand it properly. But too often we think it means “weak,” or “feeble,” or “timid,” or “passive,” or “cowardly,” even. The gentle Jesus, meek and mild … the cosmic doormat. What the word does not evoke, often enough, is power under God-honoring control. With Jesus … infinite power, under this stunning lov...

Blessed are those who mourn. Mourning is defined as the outward social expression of grief, and that's consistent with the idea behind the word that Jesus uses in this text. Usually when we think of grieving and mourning, we tend to think of death. We think of losing someone. But this text isn’t about death or loss. This type of mourning is about sin. We know this because of the context of th...

"So, what does it mean to be poor in spirit? I think we could say it this way: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY. Some people are qualified for citizenship in this new Kingdom with this new King. If you can recognize your own spiritual bankruptcy, if you can recognize how much you need a savior, then you are qualified for citizenship in this new Kingdom that Jesus...

"Good Friday and Easter Sunday are no accident. They’re not folklore to make an ugly moment in history look better. They are not twists on history controlled by those in power. They’re not even the backup plans of God, as if God’s plans were hijacked by man. I mean, can you imagine God watching all of this play out in real time, surprised that man was able to kill Jesus? As if God just sits t...

"You see, sometimes we want to respect Jesus as a “great teacher,” but that’s all. Or, we want to use him as a helper when we need him … when we need him. Sometimes we want a Jesus who will sign on to our agenda. But we resist calling him “Lord,” or “Master.” We want his strength, and his comfort … but resist surrender. We want him to be kind of like this benevolent spiritual force we can tap...

"And bottom line, I need the Good Shepherd, and you need the Good Shepherd. • Because, the reality is, we wander off, and sometimes we get flat out lost. • In fact, sometimes the paths we take lead directly into degradation and danger. • And we follow the wrong leaders, sometimes … we follow other sheep! • Or we just blaze our own paths … how is that working out for you? • And we come against...

We said it this way in passing last week: Prophecy is a miraculous spiritual gift where people receive revelation from God. God gives them something that they wouldn't know or wouldn't understand other than God miraculously giving it to them. And then the one who receives the message is expected to speak that message. The message is for the community. It’s for God’s people. And when they...

"I want to start with this picture from 2nd Corinthians to lay a foundation of what giving and generosity should look like. Because on top of that foundation, I want to get to one last really big idea for this series. And it may catch you off guard. For all Jesus Followers, giving is a command. But for some Jesus Followers – for some of you in this room – giving is more than a command. For so...

So, we may not be able to point at this specific time and place where Jesus said, "It's more blessed to give than to receive." But those words, I think, perfectly sum up Jesus' ethic. Jesus was all about generosity. Giving and being generous aligns us with God's generous nature. It's who God is. It's what God does. Giving and being generous is being like God. Giv...

Bottom line, don’t test God … don’t test God … unless … unless … God says, “Test me.” Which God does … only once in the Bible. It’s wrong to test God, but it’s equally wrong to disobey God if he tells us, explicitly, “Test me.” … Let me show you.

Our heart is connected to wherever we put our treasure. We FEED whatever is most important to us. So, if your heart is in two children while ignoring five other children, that means that your treasure is going to go to those two children, right? If your heart is in your career and not in your family, then your time is going to go to your career. Or maybe your heart is in your stuff — the accumulat...

Maybe you would ask: do I have to give money to be a Jesus Follower or to be a part of the church? Again, all good questions. Maybe you want to know why I would care what you give. Well, I don’t know what you give. But that question does get closer to the bigger, more important question. Which is, why does God care what we do with our money? That’s the big question. Why does God even care? What’s...

A story of hardship is interesting. But a story of hardship that intersects with Jesus and creates transformation has power to it. A story like that has the ability to move someone. YOUR STORY MAY BE THE STIMULUS THAT SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS.

But when we think about commitment to serving, just remember Jesus who didn't stop after washing the disciples feet that night. He continued to serve all the way to the cross where his body and his blood were broken for you and me. And today his words that Luke records for us ring loud and true to those of us who call ourselves his followers. Take up your cross daily and follow me. And if you...

"We’re saying food fills our stomachs and it fills our souls. Eating meets a physical need, and eating together can meet a spiritual need. And we’ve said it’s not really about the food itself. It’s about what you intend to do with that opportunity. All of this is about reaching the “ones” in your life. JUST 1 PLUS 5. Sharing a meal will give you opportunities to prove love while also reaching...