The Blog

CHBC Connect for October 18, 2024

A Great Command and a Great Commission:

At Capitol Hill Baptist Church our ultimate goal is to develop fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ who live by the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) and who fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Everything thing we in choosing ministries, activities, and fellowships are focused on helping one another love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, love our neighbor as ourselves, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing, and teaching them.

Loving God is where it all begins. When we commit ourselves to love God as called upon by Scripture, we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love.” Obedience to loving one another is evidence of genuine faith.

Not only will we love one another – remember love is doing something, not feeling something (see 1 Cor. 13) – but we will love those who do not know Christ and desire to see them come to repentance and faith. We will actively pursue ways to share the gospel with those who are now separated from Christ. We will pray for those who are lost, we will give so missionaries make it to places where people need to hear the gospel. That will include our neighborhoods, our workplaces, the halls of our city, state, and national government.

Loving God means loving neighbor, believing and unbelieving. It means learning more about God, becoming more like God, and acting more like God. The ramifications and applications are deep and wide. Christian men and women in the workforce will give their best at work as serving the Lord, so that God is honored, people benefit from their work, and co-workers and clients see a living gospel.

Christian moms and dads will parent in such a way as training their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Providing food, shelter, and clothing. But also providing love, nurture, correction, and discipline, so their children are cared for in this world, but are also aware of their need of a Savior for the life to come.

Believing retired adults will want to use newfound hours to spend worshiping God, serving His church, and investing in generations who are coming behind them. Their love of God will flow out to one another, as well as younger adults by showing themselves as an example of service in the church, faithfulness in marriage, and ongoing missional living.

No age or stage of life is exempt from living by the Great Commandment or fulfilling the Great Commission. It is up to each of us to discover how that is to be lived out where we are today. It is not something we get around to someday. It is what we do every day.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

CHBC Connect for October 11, 2024

What We Value, What We Love, and What We Do:

When something or someone is highly valued you find yourself loving it or them, and you also find yourself doing things to project and protect that which you highly value and love. It might be as a teenager when you get your first car. The time invested in waiting, perhaps paying for all or most of it, as well as its needed repairs, develops a love for that vehicle. You find yourself cleaning it, waxing it, and wanting to drive it around so your friends can see it.

In relationships if you begin to devalue the other person in your relationship, you will begin to feel at best numb towards them, and at worst find a growing disdain for them. Your actions will follow these newfound emotions, and you will, as they say in our culture today, cancel them.

What you value, you love, and it affects what you do. At CHBC we want you to value Christ, the Bible, and God’s glory. We call these non-negotiable features of the people of God, our Piers. Thinking about all the hurricanes and the floods our southern US states are experiencing right now, we have a good grasp of the importance of stable foundations, or piers. You will not stand against the tides of Biblical deception in our world without deep rooted committed to the piers of the Lordship of Christ over His church, the centrality of the Scripture in the life of every believer, and the glory of God as the ultimate purpose of every life.

Once you have these settled convictions in your soul, you will find a growing love of these truths. You will desire to see the Bible influence the teaching and function of the Church. You will become passionate for the mission of Christ to make disciples of all nations. You will love the breadth of Christ’s love for every person, regardless of their age, education, or background. Your life and ministry will be guided by these ever-deepening loves. We call these convictions of the soul our Pillars. You will love a church that is Biblically-modeled, Mission-minded, and Multi-cultural.

What you value, you love, and what you love, you act upon. With the proper convictions in place and your passions focused God-ward, you will purpose to equip believers, exalt Christ, and extend the gospel. You can be involved in the ministries of the church for awhile simply because it is what we are doing: discipling, worshiping, and evangelizing. But without settled convictions and deep passions, eventually you will find yourself going through the motions, and wondering if any of it really matters.

Church, work on what you value. If you value anything above God, destroy those idols. Make Christ, His Word, and His glory the most cherished thing in your life. Then regardless of personal circumstances you will hold the right convictions and pursue the right things. This is why every Sunday as the church gathers the whole focus is not on people, their needs, and their daily lives, but on God, His Word, and His Glory.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark