Oviedo City Church Sermons

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Have you ever moved, started a new job, or experienced another major life change? Some changes bring excitement, some bring challenges, but all bring disruption. Our lives are not the same. Salvation is the ultimate, "divine disruption" that redefines our lives in surprising ways. The new creation that broke into the world through the resurrection is transforming us and makin...

Acts9:1-19 The Bible is clear that one thing we can take comfort in is the never-changing nature of God. You can count on God being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Bible is also clear on another thing; God is in the changing business. He has promised ever since sin entered the world that He is on a mission to redeem, renew, and restore it. That includes us. God doesn't just want to tw...

Matthew 1:18-25 Where do you hide your Christmas gifts? In order to keep the surprise, we usually have to tuck them in unexpected places---and hope we remember where to find them! What reassurance we have in knowing that the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, is not hidden from us. Though he arrived in an unexpected place to an unlikely couple, God worked through these seemingly disgraceful circumstance...

Luke 2:8-20 Ridiculed, rejected, ostracized: not experiences we would ever want to suffer through. The very notion of being an outcast brings with it feelings of shame and unworthiness. Yet, when it comes to deciding who gets to see Jesus first, it is shepherds, an ostracized group of outcasts who are visited by an angelic host and sent to see the newborn King. One reality of the message of the bi...

Luke 1:5-25 It is one thing to be rejected. It is another thing altogether to be unknown, invisible, of no account or impact. We want to know that our life matters, that we matter. But what if you are ignored, if nobody noticed you, and if you were gone, nobody would miss you? Zechariah and Elizabeth were two people of no account in their world. They were irrelevant until God stepped in and change...

Isaiah 6:8-13 Have you ever been snubbed, ignored, or dismissed? If so, you're in good company! Isaiah, the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, was completely disregarded during his lifetime. Even before he began prophesying, God told him that no one would listen to him! And yet, in an imperfect situation, Isaiah was unstoppable. He persevered in telling of the One who would be called Wonder...

Genesis 3:8-15 | Genesis 3:21-24 It's the hap-happiest season of all! Or is it? Sometimes the Christmas holidays begin with expectation and end with disappointment (and debt!). We aim for a perfect "Martha Stewart" holiday but end up with the dysfunctional "Clark Griswold" version. But the wonder of Christmas is this: right in the midst of our imperfection and weakness is where we encounter the pe...

Exodus 3:1-15 We often speak of God as being all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent, which can make it seem like God is unlimited. But how true is that? Are there limits to God? If so, what are they, and how do they impact our lives and our relationship with God? If there are limits on God, wouldn't that mean there is something or someone greater than God that can limit Him? Or does it?

Matthew 5:13-16 Bad things seem to be happening more and more. Evil appears to be gaining the upper hand on a daily basis. If God is good, where did all this evil come from? Did God create evil? Will good triumph? These are questions people have been asking for thousands of years.

Genesis 2:1-3 Have you ever ignored your car's check engine light? Or thought, "I'll get to that maintenance later”—only to find that one morning, your car doesn’t start? Life has its own “check engine” light, which flashes at us when we’re hurried, harried, and overextended. But God has literally built into creation a time for soul maintenance: the Sabbath. It's a time to stop, rest, and delight...

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 There's a 4-letter word that makes all of us react: W-O-R-K. Some of us love it and some of us hate it. Some “live to work” and others “work to live.” But the biblical vision defies these two categories. Jesus is calling us to something so much greater—work that leads to deeper contentment in Him.

Psalms 90 Life's demands can feel unending. We make to-do lists, we multitask, we get up early and work late—all to improve our productivity. And it works! Well, kind of. Sometimes the more we get done, the emptier we feel. We constantly come up against our limits. In our new series, “Limited,” we’ll discover the liberating truth that God, our Creator, gives us limits for a reason. And that really...

Matthew 18:21-35 It has been said that nearly every counseling situation is a matter of someone needing to be forgiven, somebody who needs to forgive or both. Some of us have a hard time forgiving those who hurt us. Others have a hard time receiving forgiveness. Jesus tells a compelling story of failure to forgive and the tragic repercussions that ensue.

Luke 15:11-32 Is it possible to be so religious that it completely screws up your relationship with God? Is it possible to have your life be a dumpster fire that actually leads you to God? Do you ever feel like either way, God doesn't seem to care about you? The well known parable of The Prodigal Son may have some surprises for you.

Luke 12:13-21 To feel safe and secure in life, what resources do we need? How much is enough? Jesus said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed” (Luke 12:15). We often think of greed as love of money, yet excessive anxiety about money is also a form of greed. As we’ll discover this Sunday in the parable of the rich fool, Jesus calls us to a better way—and cares for us better than money ever c...

Matthew 7:24-27 What's the most foolish thing you've ever done? It's an uncomfortable question. Our foolish behavior reveals our tendency to build our lives on something other than Christ. But as we’ll see in this week’s message on the wise and foolish builders, Jesus offers us a firm foundation that can withstand any storm—even the storm of our own foolishness.

Luke 14:12-24 Have you ever had a moment or situation that you look back on and say to yourself, "I should have been there" or "I should have done that"? Not as a feeling of regret, but more as a realization of priority? What are the most important things to give our time and attention to and how do we sort out the things that are not worthy of our affections? As we look at the Parable of the Grea...

Matthew 13:44-46 These parables are two of the shortest of Jesus' parables, but they are nevertheless very meaningful. In only three verses, Jesus is able to encapsulate the worth of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Christian's desire to devote their whole lives to the Kingdom. How do we let this desire for the Kingdom of Heaven grow within us?

Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan may be one of the two most famous parables in the Bible. The story of someone helping a stranger who was in distress is inspiring but can also make you feel overwhelmed with guilt that you need to help every person you see throughout your day. There is a lot more to this parable that actually points us to Jesus and the work he does in our lives. Join...

Luke 18:1-8 Prayer is a big topic with lots of questions about how it works, why some get answered, and others don't. Justice may be one of the hottest topics in society today causing no small amount of debate and even arguments. Jesus, never afraid to deal with tough topics, combines both prayer and justice into one parable that is sometimes called The Persistent Widow, and other times, The Unjus...

Mark 4:30-34 We all love stories! Philosopher James K. A. Smith writes: "Stories seep into us… and stay there and haunt us—more than a report on the facts.” Is it any wonder that Jesus spent much of his ministry telling stories? These stories, or “parables,” were ordinary stories that spoke of an extraordinary kingdom—a kingdom of His loving rule and reign. Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, l...

We all forget things, whether it's our keys, where we parked, someone's name, or a special anniversary. But the most devastating thing we could ever forget is the explosive power of Jesus' sacrificial love. Isn’t it amazing how God doesn't leave it up to our forgetful, fickle hearts to remember? Rather, He regularly calls us around His table to give us the Lord’s Supper, which strengthens us spiri...

Baptism is one of the two most universally practiced Christian rituals. As such, you would think there was near universal agreement about what it means, how it is done, and who participates. Sadly, the opposite is true. Particularly for the last 500 years there has been much debate and arguing and even bloodshed, over something intended to show the unity of all followers of Jesus. Is it possible t...

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly being preached at? Whether it's by marketers or legislators, social media or news feeds, these voices can infuriate and exhaust us. This is not the preaching our souls crave. We need preaching that challenges us and comforts us, exposes us and satisfies us. We need preaching that isn't about “us” but about the One who loved us and gave Himself up for us. Joi...

CS Lewis says “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.” We serve God and we serve others through the giving of our time, our talents and our treasure. This is a way we love God and love others. The question is why do we do this?