Capital City Christian Church | Podcast

The truth is, God is writing your story … but you don't have to accept it. You don't have to accept it. God will actually let you write your own story. One of the more shocking things that God does is that he allows free will, which means that we have the right to hijack the story. That we can take the pen from his hands, and we can begin writing our own story. We can make ourselves the...

"It means that creation rebelled against the Creator. It means that what God created as good fell; it broke; what it became was not what God meant it to be. It means that the Creator watched his creation fall, and it broke his heart! He cared! He watched us fall, and it broke his heart ... he cares! Do you get that? And do you know how much he cares? He cared so deeply that he took the form o...

Every generation has had to answer this question: “Who do you say that I am?” Who do you say that Jesus is? We answer those questions in lots of different ways … and if we get it wrong, we get everything wrong.

You see, we believe God meant it to be this way from the beginning. This is what God meant for his church to look like. Let me show you two weird verses: weird in that world and still weird in ours. The apostle Paul says, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one … in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3.28) Those were the kinds of polarizations that caused war...

"What do we need to grow spiritually? Last week we used this verse over and over, Ephesians 4:15. It says, “We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Plants physically need space, temperature, light, water, air, and nutrients. Humans physically need food, water, clothing, shelter, sleep. At CapCity we've identified the growth cataly...

Now, whether we understand the importance of spiritual maturity or not, we are Jesus followers, right? We believe there is a real God. And we believe that the real God is revealed in and through Jesus. And we want God to be … God. And … And … God expects us to mature spiritually. He thinks it’s good for us. He thinks it makes for the best life possible. Do you?

What is our purpose as Christ-driven, 24/7 Jesus followers?

"Is there a God? This is our starting point. This, I believe, is every human … every person's starting point. " Ben Webb, Associate Minister

"What if Easter is true? What if the one who claimed to be the Son of God actually predicted his death and resurrection and pulled it off? What if … what if you really are the mess God thinks you are? And what if … what if God is right and you can’t fix your mess? And what if Christmas is about God providing a way out, a way back? What if Jesus really is … Emmanuel, God on earth to dwell with...

One of the reasons Jesus shows up in a manger in Bethlehem is so that the mystery around God would be removed. Jesus would demonstrate to us who God is, who God likes, what God wants, what God values, and what God does. All those questions that we may have. This mystery around God is revealed in Jesus.

"To really understand the Christmas story, you have to go back even further … to the first chapters of Genesis … to the creation story … and the fall. You see, we learn from the creation story that we humans are special … we bear the “the image of God,” somehow. We are designed so we can do life with God, somehow. And, we learn that we humans rebelled against doing life with God … God’s way …...

"Marriage calls us to become servants of each other’s welfare. And that's not why you got married. In fact, you got married for the opposite reason. If we told people that's what marriage was all about, I think less people would get married. When I got married, it was because I thought she was going to bring some good stuff to my life. I got married because I thought that she was go...

This … big G God invented marriage, the coupling of a man and a woman till death do us part. Because our Creator, our Designer, thinks that model will work best … He thinks it will work best for your spouse, your kids, your clan, your community. And, our Creator, our Designer, thinks it will work best for you … it will help grow you into what you were meant to be … if … if you do it his way. And h...

"I'll tell you the best funerals that I have ever been to have been for those who are Jesus followers. It may be weird to you, but it's true. At the end of life, having hope is so incredibly valuable. It changes the dynamics of a funeral. But … I've also seen people who were great Jesus followers have a significant burden at their funeral. I've seen people who had Jesus en...

There's a conflict between the world's way and God's way. The world loves getting respect, but Jesus followers are called to focus on giving respect. We're all about getting respect, but God says as a Jesus follower, you should focus on giving respect. It's an obligation. It's even a command. It's all throughout scripture. It's all over the place. Leviticus...

God has a design and a plan for marriage. And in this marriage series, we're going to look through what it looks like to follow God's design. But it's not just for married people. In fact, the things that we talk through are going to apply to any relationship you may find yourself in. Now we will talk specifically about husbands and wives, and that's OK. The skills that we lear...

Following Sunday's message, Doc, Ben, and Kari discuss what the Bible says about homosexuality and how Christians should respond. For more, listen to the full message, "At Odds: Sexuality.

What does the Bible say about homosexuality? "Last week, Doc started this series that we are calling “At Odds” by talking about controversies surrounding gender in our culture right now. Today, I get the opportunity to talk about sexuality, specifically sexuality concerning same-sex relationships. Some of you may be wondering why a preacher would even care to talk about such things. Quite fra...

"What does the Bible say about Gender? "In a nutshell, our culture has been changing at light speed. Even the definitions of words have been changing at light speed. So, it’s hard to know the right words to use. Because what we mean by the words we choose may not be what you hear. And, what concerns us most – as Jesus followers – is that some of these cultural winds seem at odds … at odd...

As part of our At Odds series, Doc, Ben, and Kari dig deeper into how Christians should respond to gender issues. They will examine "Is there a binary or a spectrum? Should parents affirm their children's gender dysphoria? What if I believe God made me this way?" and more.

When God nudges us, what does that look like? Two of the most prominent ways in which God nudges us are these two other lighthouses that Sweet names: conscience and instincts. And they are linked together really well this morning because they both come from this inner dialogue. But they are different. They are unique from one another. They function in different kinds of ways.

How much does … “God’s will” matter to you? If you are a Jesus follower, is it important to know and to follow God’s will? Isn’t that kind of what being a “Jesus follower” means? And what if “God’s will” clashes with your will for your life? Because it will! When they clash, who wins? And, if you are not a Jesus follower yet, and if there really is a big G God, and if that big G God actually does...

"You have people who've pushed you and pulled you, encouraged you and challenged you. And spoke into your life. And it's the fulfillment of Hebrews 10.24-25. The writer says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…” I am the fulfillment of people who have spurred me on toward love and good deeds. I am the result of people being faithful to the...

If someone is speaking about something and it doesn't fit my agenda right now … if it's not the most important thing I can do at that moment … then I'm not interested. I don't want to hear it if it's inconvenient for me. And if it's terrible news, I sure don't listen to it, right? This is why most of us have these apps on our phones – these bank apps that tell us...

"Now, I am good at not listening. In fact, when I was writing this part of the sermon Thursday morning, there was quite a bit of chatter in the office. So I popped on my noise-canceling earphones, earphones flipped them on, and there was this blissful silence. • Some of you guys, when you don’t want to listen, turn up the volume on something else. Do you ever turn up the volume on your TV so...