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Author: capital-admin

“Big Things in Small Ways”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Kings, Luke.

Has God lived up to your expectations? Not all of us can say He has. Maybe you thought He’d do more to help your marriage, your career, or your health by now. Maybe you believe your struggles, or even you yourself, are just too small to bother our big God. When things go dark, when hopelessness sets in and your faith is shaken, know you’re in good company. The bible shows us time and time again how God uses the small, the unlikely, and even the broken to do big things in this world. We may not always see how He is working, but not because He isn’t working. Sometimes God does big things in...

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“Listen With Your Life”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in James, Luke, Matthew.

When we began our study of the Sermon on the Mount with the beatitudes, Jesus called us to question our perspective of the world and our place within it. He offered simple yet profound instructions of how we can be transformed from the inside out. Each week we’ve examined a new truth about our old ways of living. If you’ve followed along with us through much of this study, odds are you had at least one moment of pause where you knew God wanted you to examine part of your life in a new light. Maybe when we talked about truth, you knew your words don’t always tell it like it is. Perhaps...

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“Putting Money In Its Place”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Timothy, Colossians, Matthew, Proverbs.

How do you feel about money? Do thoughts of your wealth or the wealth you desire fuel your decisions and plans for your future? What we think about money and possessions radically affects the way we live and love. How we feel about stuff, more than almost anything in the world, influences the way we relate to God and others. What do you prize most? What would you hate to lose? What consumes your time, your thoughts, and your energy? Ask yourself today, what do you treasure? Throughout scriptures, money itself is rarely cited as the problem. When we put our trust in money, when we...

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“Don’t Worry”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Matthew, Philippians.

This week in our examination of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares some words of wisdom on the worries we carry in our lives and how we address them. Odds are, wherever you are today, there is something worrying you in your life right now. Between managing jobs, school, home, and our relationships, we all have a lot of people counting on us. This pressure to succeed weighs on our minds and hearts and sometimes it feels as though we are given no reprieve from the worry. Where the world offers us such advice as, “Hakuna Matata” and “Don’t worry be happy”, Jesus says, “…seek first His...

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“Judge Without Being Judgmental”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in James, John, Matthew, Romans.

In this week’s study of the Sermon on the Mount, we continue a series titled Inside Out. Through this sermon, Jesus shows us how to push through the external traits and impressions of the world around us and into the inner conditions of righteousness. As we explore His words on the tender subject of judgement, Jesus has an important message for us: Judge like you want to be judged. What Jesus has to say about how we judge is likely what you’d expect, but as we’ve come to expect from Him, he teaches with a twist. As easy as it can be to jump to the nearest and most convenient...

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“The Greatest of All Gifts…Forgiveness”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Corinthians, Colossians, Hebrews, Jeremiah, Luke, Matthew, Psalms, Romans.

As we continue to look at the Sermon on the Mount, we find the greatest of all the gifts in life tucked neatly in the prayer Jesus told His disciples to pray. It is a prayer that millions of Christ-followers have prayed routinely for 2000 years. Perhaps it is this familiarity of the prayer that allows us to innocently read and even quote it without personally comprehending the enormous importance of this phrase. When we pray “Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.” We pray our God will treat us as we have treated others. Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their...

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“Forgiven”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 John, Isaiah, Luke, Matthew, Micah, Psalms.

In this week’s study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls our attention to God’s forgiveness. Some of us have been walking with the heavy weight of guilt and shame of our sins. Maybe it’s a guilt you’ve carried around for years. Everybody has a past but maybe you feel like your past is chasing you. Maybe you feel like it’s gaining on you. As we pray to God to forgive us our debts, today we also ask, have we forgiven ourselves? When grace finds us, we’re usually a mess. Grace has a funny way of interrupting us and believe it or not you’re exactly the kind of person Jesus came to help. If...

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“Watch & Pray”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, James, Matthew, Proverbs.

As we continue our study of the Lord’s prayer this week, Jesus calls us to examine the presence and source of temptation in our lives. Though we traditionally translate the prayer “lead us not into temptation”, it is best understood in a permissive sense: Do not allow us to be led into temptation. First, we must ask where this temptation comes from. The concept of Satan in our culture has been watered down and romanticized as a mythic figure with horns and a pitchfork sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear, but the bible reveals him as someone looking for any and every...

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“Our Daily Bread”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Mark, Matthew, Psalms.

Are you haunted by a fear of not having what you need when you need it? Do you fear not having enough time, money, wisdom, or talent? Is your fear of not having enough robbing you of your joy? Now imagine being free of fear. Imagine facing financial pressure without panic. Imagine facing failure without sinking into despondency. Imagine approaching your problems with confidence, courage, and faith. The portion of The Lord’s Prayer we study this week says something about faith, but it also has something to say about fear and anxiety. “Give us today our daily bread” After reading the...

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“Hallowed Be Your Name”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Ezekiel, Matthew.

In the second verse of The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus calls us to bring glory to God’s name. When we say to the world, “I am a Christian”, we say “This is what it looks like to live a life with Christ.” Are you living up to His name? Does your life contrast the world around you? Do you talk differently? Do you talk about people differently? As followers of Jesus we must remember, God trusts us with His reputation. Our attitudes and actions are an advertisement to His character, to His nature. Like it or not, as others watch how we weather a storm, how we...

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“Your Kingdom Come”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 2 Peter, Matthew, Revelation, Romans.

We’ve all heard or used the phrase, “Heaven on Earth”. But what does Heaven on Earth look like? Is it a world where our checkbooks balance themselves and puppies stay young and cute forever? Maybe…but maybe we’re thinking too small. As we examine this week’s verse in The Lord’s Prayer, we contemplate what the world would look like if it worked the way God intended. If Heaven is the sphere where God’s will is perfectly followed, then wherever Heaven is peace reigns, justice holds sway, and love is the rule obeyed. But that isn’t the state...

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“Bigger than Big, Closer than Close”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Exodus, Genesis, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Psalms.

Have you sent a prayer to heaven, and silently wondered if God really hears you? Have you given your life to Christ only to slowly take pieces of it back because you fear he shouldn’t be bothered or because you can manage some parts without him? When we don’t receive the immediate satisfaction of God’s presence and our prayers seem unanswered, it may feel as though he’s a million miles away. It may be tempting to think the creator of all that exists couldn’t possibly have the time or desire to be with us in our everyday struggles. But our God is bigger than big and closer than...

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“Our Father”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ecclesiastes, Galatians, John, Luke, Matthew.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“An Audience of One”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Jeremiah, Luke, Matthew.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Don’t Play Fair”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, Luke, Matthew, Romans.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Marriage Matters”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 John, Jeremiah, Luke, Matthew.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Loving God and Loving Others”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in 1 Corinthians, 1 John, James, John, Matthew.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Love Back”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Colossians, Matthew.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Living An Honest Life”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Ephesians, James, Leviticus, Matthew, Proverbs.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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“Salt Talk”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Matthew.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” As the salt of the earth, everywhere you go, you’re going to bring the taste of heaven down to earth. Where people taste bitterness, we bring forgiveness. Where people taste sourness, we bring kindness. So, in a world filled with messiness, suffering, and pain, where do we start? We can start by looking right in our community, our neighborhood, and our workplace. As the salt of the earth, we are not just a preserving agent or a flavoring agent, we are also an agent for human flourishing.

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“Contempt Kills”

Written by capital-admin on . Posted in Ephesians, Exodus, Genesis, James, Luke, Proverbs.

Perched above, the Sea of Galilee below, his disciples listening in—Jesus shares the longest stretch of instruction for life that was as riveting and relevant then as it is today. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the secrets of life. God didn’t hand us a system of rules and regulations to follow; instead, Jesus explains how God originally intended us to live. In this series, we’ll sit at the feet of Jesus with the first disciples, peeling back each layer of Matthew 5-7, to discover that God isn’t interested in modifying our behavior to conform to his standards. He wants us to become the kind...

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