the Cross Orlando

Opening the series on the core value of life, this message turns to Job 38, where God answers Job out of the whirlwind with questions about creation, reframing Job's frustration over his suffering against the vastness of God's work in the world.

A guest speaker's second message on the value of lineage, using the giant sequoias of Yosemite as a backdrop for James 4:13-14, which describes life as a mist that appears briefly and vanishes, and asking how to make a short life count within God's larger story.

Beginning the series on the core value of lineage, this message turns to 1 Corinthians 15, reflecting on how the church receives and passes on a tradition it did not invent, just as Jesus came not to abolish the law and prophets but to fulfill them.

The second message on the value of peace examines Matthew 10:34, where Jesus says he came not to bring peace but a sword, contrasting worldly peace with the peace of God and reflecting on how Jesus absorbed injustice rather than overthrowing Rome or the religious leaders.

Opening a two-week look at the church's core value of peace, this message studies Philippians 4 and Paul's exhortation not to be anxious but to find the peace of God that surpasses understanding as an active force that guards the heart and mind.

Part of a series on the church's four core values (story, peace, lineage, life), this second message on "story" turns to John 4 and Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, showing how the gospel takes root where the story of the cross intersects each individual's story.

The opening message of a series on the church's four core values of story, peace, lineage, and life, focusing first on story as the story of Scripture, tracing how the Bible emerged from a community over centuries and how it differs from other religions' sacred texts.

The final message in the summer favorite-verses series looks at the cave of Machpelah in Genesis 23, where Abraham mourns Sarah and insists on buying a burial place from the Hittites, securing a permanent claim in the promised land.

Continuing the summer favorite-verses series, this message looks at Miriam's Song in Exodus 15 and the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground, recounting God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and the army pursuing them.

Continuing the summer favorite-verses series, this message centers on John 10:10, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly," explored through Jesus' good shepherd discourse and the contrast between the shepherd who leads to life and the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Continuing the summer favorite-verses series, this message looks at Zechariah 9:11-12 and its image of returning to the stronghold as "prisoners of hope" with the promise to restore double, set against the background of Israel's return from exile.

A guest speaker continues the summer favorite-verses series with Deuteronomy 6, focusing on the Shema, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," and Moses' charge to love God wholeheartedly and to remember and pass on what is true to the next generation.

The first message in a summer series on six favorite Bible verses, looking at Ephesians 5:12-16 and the phrase "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you," thought to be an early church hymn, alongside reflections on being people of the person of Jesus.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message turns to Luke 24:36-43, where the risen Jesus appears among the gathered disciples, announces peace into their fear and confusion, shows them his hands and feet, and eats with them, reflecting on the resurrection of the body.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message looks at the walk to Emmaus in Luke 24, where the risen Jesus joins two disciples without being recognized, opens the Scriptures to them, and is finally made known in the breaking of bread.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message reaches the Lord's Supper in Luke 22:14-23, where Jesus, having longed to share this Passover before he suffers, institutes the bread and cup as his body and the new covenant in his blood, even as his betrayer sits at the table.

Guest preacher Demetrius, filling in while Ben preaches at the sister church in Lake Mary, takes a detour into Isaiah 30, where God rebukes Judah for trusting in an alliance with Egypt rather than him, applying it to how we craft our own solutions out of fear instead of relying on God.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message works through Luke 14:1-24, where Jesus heals a man with dropsy on the Sabbath at a Pharisee ruler's house and teaches about taking the lowest seat and inviting the poor, leading into the parable of the great banquet.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message covers Luke 11:37-53, where Jesus dines with a Pharisee and pronounces a series of woes against the Pharisees and lawyers for cleaning the outside while neglecting justice and the love of God.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message examines the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, where Martha is distracted with serving while Mary sits at Jesus' feet, and Jesus affirms that Mary has chosen the good portion.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message looks at the feeding of the five thousand in Luke 9:10-17, where Jesus tells the disciples to give the crowd something to eat and multiplies five loaves and two fish, exploring the disciples' obedience despite their inadequacy.

Continuing the series on food in the Gospel of Luke, this message turns to Luke 7:36-50, where Jesus dines at a Pharisee's house and a sinful woman anoints his feet, with extended background on the Pharisees and the customs of a first-century meal.

The opening message of a new series on food in the Gospel of Luke, beginning with the call of Levi the tax collector in Luke 5:27-32, where Jesus feasts with tax collectors and sinners and declares he came to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous.

An Easter Sunday message on the resurrection from Matthew 28, recounting the women arriving at the tomb, the angel's announcement that Jesus has risen, and the risen Jesus meeting them, framed by reflections on building life around the marking of Easter.

A Palm Sunday message on the triumphal entry from Luke 19, presenting it as a rare scene of people worshiping Jesus well with heart and body even as their understanding lags behind, set against the backdrop of the journey to Jerusalem for Passover.