Capital Church Messages

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.