Conversational sermons for a questioned faith.
Cityview Podcast is a sermon feed shaped by lectionary readings, informal humor, and a steady concern for people left out of ordinary church assumptions. Its messages move from Easter, Lazarus, Acts, and the woman at the well into questions of power, belonging, accessibility, and faith that has to be wrestled with.
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Cityview Podcast presents sermons from a Columbus United Methodist church in a warm, unscripted register. It is not polished into distance. The feed keeps the small human details that make a room feel present: a microphone check on Easter, a joke about everyone going to the park, a matching game with vehicles, a pastor catching himself mid-thought, and the practical problem of a church lift that many leaders had not tried to use. Those details matter because the sermons keep returning to attention. Who has been missed? Who needs room made for them? Whose experience has been invisible to people making decisions? The biblical teaching follows the lectionary, especially through readings in Acts and stories from John. Resurrection is treated as more than a past event. In one sermon, Peter’s claim becomes a shift from asking what Jesus would do to asking what Jesus is doing. That move gives the show its pulse: ancient texts are read as active pressure on present habits. The preaching is also willing to name harm. David is discussed not as a flattened hero, but as a ruler whose power corrupts and wounds. The contrast with Jesus leads into language about an upside-down kingdom where enemies are loved, first and last trade places, and greatness is redefined. Other episodes spend time with Lazarus, the woman at the well, Nicodemus, and the spiritual journey of questioning inherited belief. Doubt is not treated as failure. It is described as part of faith becoming one’s own, especially for people shaped by religious pressure or old formulas. The show also opens its pulpit to community witness. Ty Smith’s NAICCO guest message brings Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio work into view, with attention to culture, community, sustainability, elders, identity, and belonging. Across the feed, Cityview Podcast feels pastoral without being tidy. It favors honesty, local responsibility, biblical reflection, and the slow practice of noticing people before systems do.
Made for: Best for listeners who want Christian sermons that allow doubt, social concern, humor, and practical church life to sit beside Scripture. It will especially fit people drawn to United Methodist preaching with a local edge.
What sets it apart: Cityview Podcast stands out for how often theology lands in concrete community practices: accessibility, making room, culture, belonging, and the failures of power. The sermons keep the texture of the room, which makes the feed feel less like religious content and more like a church thinking out loud.
Cityview Church is a church in Columbus, OH. We are an imperfect community of inclusive, authentic Jesus-followers striving to be a community of healing and growth, for ourselves and our city. We envision a world where trauma is healed, community is authentic, poverty is alleviated, injustice is corrected, unconditional love is experienced, and everyone knows they are a beloved child of God.
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Peter's claim that Jesus is alive leads to a sermon about power and the risen Christ's presence.
Peter's claim that Jesus is alive leads the preacher to ask what a living king can offer that other rulers cannot. He follows Peter's comparison of Jesus and David, then turns to David's abuse of a woman. A king remembered as great could still misuse his power.
Ty Smith explains how community input shapes NAICCO's programming.
NAICCO has welcomed people from more than a hundred tribes over the years. Speaking during the usual sermon time, project director Ty Smith describes the work of building community across distinct languages, identities and worldviews.
A Sabbath meal makes loving enemies a question of helping someone in need.
At a Sabbath meal in the home of a prominent Pharisee, Jesus is being watched, and a sick man stands before him. The preacher begins with Jesus' teachings in Matthew and Luke, then brings the command to love enemies into that room.
Two Bible translators unpack Scripture's hardest passages, from Revelation's 666 to the Witch of Endor.
Scripture, surrender and faith put into practice.
Pastor Joe concludes a series on the spiritual journey, discussing the final stage of embracing paradox in faith.
A sermon series exploring the spiritual journey through the lens of developmental theory, discussing encountering and learning about God.
A guided prayer and centering exercise for the first week of Lent, preparing hearts for a journey to Jerusalem.
A sermon exploring the necessity of questioning one's faith to make it truly personal, using the question 'Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?' as a starting point.
A church staff member introduces herself and her role before beginning a sermon series on leading in exile.
Cityview Podcast’s “Love Your Enemies - Week 1 - Jesus Eats With Pharisees” centers on Matthew’s line “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” and Luke 14’s Sabbath meal.
A pastor introduces a new sermon series on Acts, discussing the lectionary and the disciples' passion for sharing Jesus, drawing parallels to neurodiverse special interests.
Joe, a pastor at Cityview Podcast’s Cityview Podcast episode, uses Herod’s Temple and a homemade Temple Quest board game to examine how religious categories restricted access to the Holy of Holies.
Cityview Podcast’s “The Good News: The Triumphant Entry - March 29th, 2026” interprets Matthew 21:1-11 through the contrast between familiar vehicles and the stories people attach to them.
Pastor Joe introduces a sermon on the raising of Lazarus from John 11, focusing on the theme of God showing up late.
A pastor introduces a sermon about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, connecting it to Women's History Month.
Cityview Podcast features NAICCO Project Director Ty Smith discussing the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio and its role as an urban Native community in Ohio.