the Cross Orlando

The chronological Bible series reaches King Solomon, focusing on 1 Kings 8 and his building of the temple to house the Ark of the Covenant, reflecting on Israel's golden age and on church as something believers are rather than a place they go.

This Christmas Eve message reflects on Luke's nativity account, noting how the story of Jesus is rooted in real history with its mention of Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, and taxes, and connects Bethlehem as the town of David to the chronological series' arrival at Samuel anointing David in 1 Samuel.

The chronological Bible series reaches 1 Samuel, telling of Hannah's prayer, the boy Samuel's calling, the corruption of Eli and his sons Hophni and Phinehas, and Israel's demand for a king in 1 Samuel 8, which God says is a rejection of his own kingship.

Continuing the chronological Bible series in the period of the judges, this message walks through the book of Ruth, situating Naomi's family's move to Moab against the origins of the Moabites and Israel's history with them.

Week seven of the chronological Bible series enters the period of the judges, recalling Joshua's charge to be strong and courageous and turning to Judges 2, where Israel forgets God after Joshua's death and the angel of the Lord moves among the people.

Week six of the chronological Bible series covers Israel's wilderness wanderings, the twelve spies sent into the promised land, and the people's fearful refusal to trust God's promise, drawing on Numbers 11 and comparing their rejection of a scandalously good gift to the gospel.

Week five of the chronological Bible series brings Israel to Mount Sinai, recalling God revealing his name "I am" at the burning bush, the plagues and exodus from Egypt, and the people's fear as God's presence descends on the mountain to give the law through Moses.

Week four of the chronological Bible series reaches the theme of deliverance, following Moses to the burning bush in Exodus 3 where God reveals his name, and reflecting on how God, after working unseen through Joseph, again speaks directly to humanity.

Week three of the chronological Bible series tells the story of Joseph beginning in Genesis 37, his father Jacob's favoritism, the coat of many colors, and his dreams, set within the larger narrative of how God works through Abraham's line to restore creation.

The second week of the chronological Bible series moves through the patriarchs in Genesis, focusing on Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant of land, offspring, and blessing, and his faith in building an altar and worshiping God in anticipation of a promise he could not yet see fulfilled.

This message launches a 31-week journey reading a chronological synopsis of the Bible from now through Easter, beginning with Genesis 1 and the creation account, and reflecting on humanity's longing to understand the beginning and how the story was given through Moses.

Continuing the series on the value of life, this message centers on 2 Peter 3:8 and Peter's letters, asking what it looks like to be found living peaceful, pure, and blameless lives as God's people while awaiting Christ's return.

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.