Church. That word may bring to mind the chapel where you hear the pastor preach, the school gym where you attended youth group, the place you go on Sundays, maybe even a service you watch online. Church is all these things, but so much more. It's not simply a building, it's a body. The body of Christ.
Christ, made up of diverse members who share a single faith.
We all struggle, but we all believe. We all go through trials, but we have hope that Christ will return to his body, his bride, his people.
There are many buildings where believers meet, but one true church where we affirm our faith in the one true God, who calls those from every nation, tribe, people and language to join his family. He calls us to meet together. We come together to acknowledge God's presence and power in our lives, confess our sins, receive mercy, hear the word proclaimed, sing praise, pray for peace, remember Christ's sacrifice, bear one another's burdens, and welcome all to this place of grace. Amidst loneliness and isolation. The church is a beacon of hope, a reminder of our need for God and for each other.
When we take time each week to worship, we join ourselves. To believers throughout the world, throughout the ages, to all who are members of Christ's body, the Church.
Good morning again. It's been over 36 years since I preached my first sermon at Capital City. It was February of 1989. That's not AI generated, by the way.
It was a Sunday night. I had a lot more hair when I started here. I had been selected by the Youth Ministry Search Committee to be the candidate to present to the congregation to fill the vacant position of Youth Minister and was told that I would need to preach on a Sunday night. Now, I would like it to be recorded that I was the last guy who was nominated to serve as the Youth Minister. Who was made to do that?
I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I thought I would let you folks know that little known fact. The following Sunday, I received a call from Mike Currins, who was the minister at the time, letting me know that I had received a 98% vote of approval for the position. 98? Wow. I hadn't received that high of a score or grade in anything that I had ever done, except for maybe a round of golf when I first started playing 98.
Three folk kept me from being 100%, but I do not hold grudges. Two of them are no longer here and I married into the family of the other. Just kidding.
I really don't remember who the third was. April 9, 1989 was my first day on staff here at Keppel City, 36 plus years I've had the opportunity to be a part of this family. We've seen a lot, haven't we? What Capital City Christian was when I came here is drastically different than what we see today.
But what we were has laid the foundation for what and who we are today and for what and where we will continue to go as long as Jesus Christ is our focus today, tomorrow, and in the weeks and months and years to come. I don't know about you, but I'm excited for what lies ahead for Capital City. Change is never easy. You know that 62% of people don't like change. So that means when you look around the room this morning, 2/3 of the people in this room don't like change.
Change brings uncertainty. But as long as Jesus is at the center, we know that it will work out. We've seen that idea played out here at Capitol city for over 65 years now. Those 20 to 25 people who first called Capitol City home in May of 1960 that met in a shape shop that had gone out of business just right down the road from here would probably be amazed at this place. But with God as their guide, they were willing to change what they knew to help bring this church into the city of Frankfurt.
And although change is not easy, I know that our leadership has followed God's lead to get us where we are today, where we're going in the midst of this transition. And I know that God will be honored by what we do going forward. I don't know what Capital City will look like in 10, 20 or 30 years. Don't know if I'll be lucky to be here that long. But I'm honored to be a part of what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will continue to do.
And I hope you are as well. It's a book that's in my library and I use that term loosely because if you know me, I'm not one who likes to read, but it is one that I've actually read. Jeff Walling is the author and the book is entitled Daring to dance with God. Do you like to be dared to do something? Well, from that book, I want to take a few moments and dare you this morning to further your relationship with Jesus Christ.
I want to challenge you to perform an action as a proof of courage. I want you to confront boldly. I want you to gain the courage to contend against, to venture or to try something new for God and for something new, maybe in your relationship With Jesus, I want to triple dog dare you. One of my favorite lines from a Christmas story. I want to triple dog dare you as a part of God's family, of his local body here at capital city, to do something that is going to impact the life of someone or this community in a way that brings glory and honor to our God.
So as we look at some different scriptures this morning, I don't believe you'll see the words I dare you written there, but I do believe the thought there. So let's get started. First, I'm going to dare you to be like David. You know, there are many things about David that we love, and there are many ways that we could strive to be like David. First Samuel 13 gives us this beautiful description of David.
In verse 14 we read, the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him as a leader of his people. I mean, is there any greater compliment that could be made than to be known as a man or a woman after God's own heart? Nowhere else in scripture is one referred to as David is. Here in First Samuel, David was also known as a mighty warrior. Many times we've read and we've heard about the stories of David's victories in battle.
There was the defeat of the giant Goliath. The children of Israel sang the praises of his conquest, singing that Saul had killed thousands, but that David had killed tens of thousands. David was a great musician. He was a skillful player of the harp. And it was he who could soothe the angry and tormented King Saul with the playing of his music.
And no poet has been so constantly used and quoted through the ages as David. All of those things worthy of being challenged to be or dared to become. But let me draw out one other characteristic from the life of David that I would challenge you to do, that I would challenge you to act upon. It's a little story found in 2nd Samuel, chapter 6. There we read these words wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.
Now let me give you a little bit of background here. The Philistines remember Goliath. He was a part of the Philistines. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of God, as the writer of Samuel describes, was the most precious of possessions to the children of Israel because it signified the very presence of God. Inside that ark were the stone tablets that had been given to Moses, the Ten Commandments.
There was. There was a pot of manna that reminded them of their wandering in the in the wilderness of Egypt. And there was Aaron's rod that he carried with alongside Moses when they confronted Pharaoh. The lid of the ark was called the mercy seat because it was there that the presence of God would rest while that ark sat in the tabernacle, which was very holy and precious to the children of Israel. The Philistines had captured the ark in one of their early conquests, and now David has defeated them and is returning the ark to Jerusalem and the place of prominence that it held.
So excited he was upon the return of the ark that we are told, he returned to the city of David with rejoicing, dancing. Now, it was in this time of rejoicing and dancing that apparently David got just a little carried away with himself and ends up running around in his underwear. Now, the Bible doesn't specifically call it his underwear, but the linen ephod was like a loincloth that many of the men would have worn under their clothing. And there is some speculation that possibly during this time of celebration that David might have even lost it. Well, Michael, David's wife, happened to see this while watching from a window.
And Samuel records for us that because of his leaping and dancing, she despised him. In her heart, Michael was the daughter of King Saul. And although she was married to David, many believe that she resented him because the people loved the David more than they did her father. When the celebration was over and David makes his way to his home, he is met by his wife. And in verse 20, we read these words, Michael says to him, how the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls, like any vulgar person might do.
To which David responds, I was dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and all his family. He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. So I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes. Now hear me on this.
I'm not daring anyone to start dancing in your underwear. I mean, can you imagine the sight of Ben or Doc up here on stage dancing around in their linen ephods? I'm not daring you to do that. But I am daring you to worship as David did. Worship continues to be a hot topic in our churches today.
It's talked about, it's written about, it's critiqued. It's critiqued and debated. How we do it, what instruments we use, what songs we sing, are all the sources of debates and controversies and division in the church. But, folks, all of that is irrelevant. To me.
For you see, what I want us as God's people to do is to begin to worship God like we're supposed to. With no thought, with no care, with no worry of who is sitting beside us or behind us or in front of us, with no thought, with no care, with no worry of what that person sitting beside us or behind us or in front of us thinks. Their opinion of your worship and how you choose to express yourself is moot. We are here, not just in this building, but we are here on this earth for the express purpose of worshiping a God who loved us so much that he chose to send his one and only son to die for you and me. So may we be able to say with confidence as David did when he walked into his house, I will celebrate before the Lord.
I will become even more undignified than this and I will be humiliated in my own eyes, but I will celebrate before the Lord. Worship is our number one purpose here at Capital City. And I dare you to be like David. I also want to dare you this morning to be like Peter. Peter is one of the outstanding characters that we read about in the Bible.
He was impulsive, but he was tender hearted. He was gifted with spiritual insight. And yet sometimes he was slow to understand the deeper meanings of the deeper truths that Jesus was speaking about. He was courageous in his confession of Christ, but he was also guilty of a cowardly denial when confronted that day in the courtyard. He became a leader of the group of 12 and was privileged to be a member of Jesus inner group alongside James and John.
He had many, many, many amazing characteristics. But I want to take you to a story that and share one that stands out to me. It's found in Matthew chapter 14. Jesus has just fed over 5,000 people. You're probably familiar with the story following that event, Jesus told the disciples, hey you guys get in a boat and head on across the lake and let me send everybody home.
And we're then told in verse 23 that Jesus went up to the hills to pray by himself. And we're not sure how much time has passed since the disciples got in the boat, but somewhere we're told around 3 o' clock in the morning, Jesus heads out toward the boat. But he's not in a boat, he's walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, some of them became terrified and cried out, it's a ghost. And just as he always does when his kids are afraid, Jesus calls out to them, take courage.
It is I. Don't be afraid. And here's the part of the story that I love the most. We're not told which of the disciples were afraid, but we are told in verse 28 that one of them calls out, remember that guy that's impulsive and courageous? Yeah.
Peter calls to him and says, lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you. Walking on the water. And Jesus says, come on. And immediately Peter got out of the boat and began walking towards Jesus. Can you imagine what the other disciples are doing?
What are they thinking as they stand there in the boat? Dagnabbit, why didn't I think of that? Why does Peter get to do all the cool stuff? If you know the story or if you keep reading on, we know that eventually Peter gets frightened because of the winds and the waves. And then he begins to sink because he took his eyes off of Jesus.
And we read that Jesus reached down, caught him, put him up, and then he chastised him a little by saying, oh, you of so little faith. Why did you doubt? You know, I've heard a lot of sermons that like to focus on that part of the story. How, if we will keep our eyes on Jesus, we will not sink when the storms of life come. And I believe that to be true from the bottom of my heart.
But this morning, I want to dare you to be like Peter. I want to dare you to get out of the boat. I want to dare you to walk on water. You realize that about Peter? He walked on water.
No other mortal man can make such a claim as Peter. I walked on water. None of the other disciples can say it. They stood in the boat and watched this one whose faith was big enough to move mountains. They saw one of their own do what they had never done before.
They saw a man take a step that they were afraid to take. So how about you? Are you willing to take such a step? Are you willing to get out of the boat that you've been sitting in that you've found safety in? Where might that step be?
There are so many. So many possibilities. But let me just focus on one.
Maybe it's seeing a new face here at church and saying, hello, my name is John, and I'm glad you're here. I mean, don't use my name. Use your name. Okay, use your name. But I think you get the idea.
Hello, my name is Tommy, and I'm glad you're here. Did you realize that a person decides in the first five to seven minutes of their arrival at a church if they'll return long before they've heard a Sermon. Thank goodness for that. Long before they've heard a sermon, and sometimes even before our worship starts, they have already made up their mind if they will come back next week. You see the role you play.
Will it require you to step out of your boat of comfort? Maybe it will require you to move in to the middle of the row so that it's easier for our guests to find a seat if they arrive just as we start. Or maybe even a few minutes late. Maybe it will require you to sit a little closer to the stage on Sunday mornings or park a little farther away. Sound familiar?
So that our guests have easier access to the building. Maybe it will require you to look for a face that you don't recognize and then introduce yourself to them. This is your home, isn't it? So welcome them here, just like you would if they were a friend who showed up at your house. So I dare you to be like Peter and take that step.
And then one last dare. I want to dare you to be like Abraham. Most of the time our first thought about Abraham is that he was this old man who had a son at the ripe old age of 100. I'm not really sure I would want to follow in those footsteps. And that's not what I meant when I said I dare you to be like Abraham.
The dare I put before you this morning comes a little bit earlier in his life. He's 75 now. Just because some of you haven't reached that age doesn't mean you don't have to listen. Okay, the age is not the focus. But I do think it's important for you.
See, you've got this 75 year old man married to a gal named Sarai who's still hanging out with his dad and his nephew Lot. The scripture tells us that they had set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. And for whatever reason, they don't make it all the way there. And they end up staying in Haran. And while in Haran, the Lord calls to Abraham and he says, I want you to leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to a land that I will show you.
Scripture tells us that God threw in a few other lines about what he would do for Abraham. And then we get this statement. So Abraham left as the Lord told him. I love the way the writer of Hebrews puts it. He writes, by faith.
Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Isn't that last phrase awesome? Even though he did not know where he was going, Abraham packed up all that he had. Probably said a tearful goodbye to his dad and the rest of his clan, got on his donkey and headed off to where? Which way would he ride?
North? South? East? West? We're told that he left without the slightest idea of where he was going.
All he knew was he was going to follow God and that if he followed him, God would show him the way to go and the land that he had promised him. You ready for that there? You ready to take up that challenge? Is God calling you to go somewhere? It may not be to a far off land or some distant country, but is God calling you to go somewhere or to do something for him?
Maybe it's walking down the hall and speaking to a co worker who doesn't know Jesus. Maybe it's sitting down and talking with a family member, a parent, a child, a sibling about what Jesus means to you. And who knows, maybe God is calling you to go somewhere to a land that he wants to show you and give you. It's a tremendous challenge. I don't know many of us who could have or would have handled that one.
After all, what would you tell family and friends when they ask, so where are you moving to? Wouldn't it sound pretty foolish to say I ain't got the slightest idea, But a fool I would love to be if when my life is over they wrote about me by faith, by faith.
When called to go to a place they would later receive as their inheritance, they obeyed and went, even though they did not know where they were going. This type of dare, this type of challenge wasn't just given to Abraham. We see it on a couple of occasions in the New Testament as well. The wording might be a bit different, but it's a similar dare. In Matthew 4 we read of Peter and Andrew, brothers fishermen casting their nets out on a lake one day trying to catch some fish, when Jesus walks by and says, come, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men.
And I love these words. At once they left their nets and followed him. And then there's James and John, brothers fishermen working on their nets one day with their dad, Zebedee. The scripture tells us that Jesus called them and immediately they left their boat and their dad and followed. There was Philip, to whom he said, follow me.
And Philip found his friend Nathaniel and invited him to come along. And on and on and on. This list of those who were dared, who were challenged to just get up and go. And they got up and went. Come and follow me.
Leave your country, leave your people. Leave your father's house and go to the land. I will show you. Nowadays we call them old hymns of the faith. Listen to the words of this old hymn.
It says it may not be on the mountain's height or over a stormy sea. It may not be the battle's front. My Lord will have need of me. But if a still small voice he calls to pass, I do not know. I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine.
I'll go where you want me to go. Where's God calling you to go this morning? Where is he daring you to venture? I know he's challenging each of us. He does it every day.
For someone here this morning, it might be the challenge to make him the Lord of your life. To take that first step in obedience to him and bow before him, acknowledge him as your Lord and Savior. For someone here this morning, maybe he's calling you to recommit yourself to him and do his work. To get off the sideline, to get out of the boat, to get involved in the work that God is doing here in his church capital city. Ultimately, the decision is yours.
So what's it going to be? Let me pray for us. Father God, again we thank you for this day. We thank you for the example of wonderful men who were willing to accept a dare. Willing to accept a challenge from you, Father.
I pray that we'll do likewise. Father. We'll be willing to open ourselves up and worship like David did. That, Father, we'll be willing to step out of that boat like Peter did and. And go where it is that you want us to go and speak to Whoever it is that you want us to speak to.
And Father, I thank you for the example of Abraham who was willing to leave everything that he knew to follow you. God. May that be a passion that burns in us so that we can continue to be a light that shines for you in this community, drawing others closer to you. In the name of Christ our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.