Reverberate: A Berean Bible Church Podcast | Knoxville, TN

Every marriage has room to grow.
Couples at Berean share how Grace Marriage has helped them communicate more openly, ask better questions, and make intentional time for their relationship. Through structured conversations and the encouragement of other couples, Grace Marriage creates a regular rhythm for strengthening marriages.
Whether you have been married for a few years or several decades, you can keep learning how to listen, connect, and work through challenges together.
Learn more about Grace Marriage at Berean: https://www.berean.church/grace-marriage

Title: Our Riches in Christ
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0:00 - Opening Prayer
1:43 - Our Riches in Christ
6:56 - You Are In Christ
11:56 - Our Sin Record is Forgiven, Wiped Clean, and Canceled
15:28 - We Are Adopted and Heirs
19:57 - We Have Access to God
29:22 - We Are Brought Into the Body of Christ
37:13 - We Are Citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom
39:10 - Death Holds No Claim Over Us
40:36 - Our Riches in Christ (Recap)
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2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
1 Corinthians 3:21–23
So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 2:13–14
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.
Romans 8:16–17
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Hebrews 10:19
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 7:25
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Ephesians 2:12–13, 19
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ... So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Ephesians 2:4–6
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (ESV)
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Every promise and spiritual blessing God gives his people is found in Jesus Christ. Because believers are united with Christ, their record of sin has been canceled, and no condemnation remains. They have been adopted into God’s family as heirs with Christ and may approach the Father with confidence because Jesus continually intercedes for them. Christ also brings them into his church, gives them citizenship in his heavenly kingdom, and removes death’s power over them. These riches have already been secured by Christ. They do not depend on feelings, circumstances, or personal merit. Those who belong to Jesus can rest in what he has accomplished and live with the confidence of God’s beloved children.
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Learn more at berean.church.

Title: Why Did Wisdom Fail Solomon?

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0:00 Introduction

0:37 What Protection Does Wisdom Provide?

5:07 Is "Don't Be Overly Righteous" Intentionally Bad Advice?

12:49 Examples of the Righteous "Perishing"

14:37 The Righteous Perishing Doesn't Make Sense

18:05 If Solomon Sinned, How Much Power Does Wisdom Have?

29:49 What's Next?

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Ecclesiastes 7:11–18

Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

an advantage to those who see the sun.

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,

and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Consider the work of God:

who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Ecclesiastes 7:23–29

All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?

I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (ESV)

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Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason examine the protection and limits of wisdom in Ecclesiastes 7. Wisdom helps us live according to the patterns God has placed within creation, relationships, and daily life. Yet it cannot guarantee safety or control future outcomes. The conversation also considers Solomon’s puzzling warning against being “overly righteous” and whether he is exposing the faulty belief that righteousness always produces prosperity. Solomon’s own life shows that insight alone cannot govern the heart. True wisdom must flow from humility, love, obedience, and the fear of God.

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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.

Learn more at berean.church.

Title: When Doing Right Goes Wrong
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0:00 Introduction
0:39 I Tried to Do Good, But Only Bad Came of It
11:26 Our Decisions Still Can Have Consequences
13:50 Our Intentions Matter
15:00 Character, Conduct, and Intent
17:59 Why Moral Wisdom Requires Nuance
19:30 What's Next?
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Ecclesiastes 7:13–16
Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Ecclesiastes 8:14
There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 9:11–12
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. (ESV)
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Can you make a good decision and still face a painful outcome? Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason explain why Christians cannot judge morality by results alone. Since we cannot know the future, a bad result does not prove that a choice was sinful. A good result does not make a wrong action right. Instead, Christians should examine their character, conduct, and intent in light of God’s Word. This framework helps us think through difficult moral questions, honestly examine past choices, and rest in the knowledge that a faithful decision can still lead to suffering.
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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.
Learn more at berean.church.

Title: God the Giver
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0:00 - Reading Ecclesiastes With a New Perspective
2:35 - Everything Under the Sun is Fleeting
3:32 - The Desire to Control Life Is Frustrating and Robs You of True Joy, Meaning, and Wisdom
3:52 - Life Includes Evil, Injustice, and Weights of Sadness - So Truly Mourn
4:41 - Life Also Includes God, His Gifts, and Meaningful Work - So Truly Enjoy
5:29 - Trust God for His Goodness Rather Than Trusting Self for Control
5:51 - How Do I Know What Is Wise and Good if I Don't Control the Outcomes? Fear God and Keep His Commandments
6:51 - Reading Ecclesiastes 12
8:49 - Enjoy What's Good, Even Though It Fades
12:33 - Remember Your Creator, Before the Evil Days Come
13:38 - Life Fades for Everyone
17:31 - Sometimes What Looks Good Doesn't Pan Out
20:09 - Death Happens
23:26 - Remember Your Creator
26:26 - When You Take a Good Thing that is Fleeting, and Try to Make it Last Forever, You Ruin It
29:19 - Trust God, Not Yourself
30:35 - Ecclesiastes Specifically Addresses Young People
30:56 - Death and Decay Are Real, You Are Not Indestructable
33:54 - God is a Good Giver, So Live Responsively to His Goodness
35:40 - The Summary of Ecclesiastes: Fear God, and Keep His Commandments
36:34 - Why Does God Call Us to Fear Him?
38:27 - Ecclesiastes: The Antidote to Anxiety
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Ecclesiastes 12
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (ESV)
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Ecclesiastes 12 reminds us that life and its pleasures are fleeting. God calls us to enjoy His good gifts without trying to hold onto them forever. Rather than chasing control or judging wisdom by outcomes, we can trust God as the good giver of every season. Remembering our Creator leads us to respond with joy, gratitude, fruitful work, and obedience. As fears of failure, death, and uncertainty lose their grip, the fear of God becomes the guiding force in our lives. The message of Ecclesiastes is not despair or anxiety. It is an invitation to fear God, keep His commandments, and rest in His goodness.
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Learn more at berean.church.

Title: Being Responsible vs. Trying to Be God
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0:00 Introduction
0:25 Isn't Every Decision an Attempt to Control the Outcome?
6:29 Influencing Outcomes vs. "Making Sure" of an Outcome
15:32 Ecclesiastes Makes Me Feel Like There's No Point
27:01 What's Next
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Ecclesiastes 7:13–15
Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. (ESV)
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Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason discuss how Ecclesiastes 7:13–15 challenges our desire to control the future. Christians should make wise choices, pursue good, and work for good outcomes. Yet faithfulness does not give us the power to guarantee results. Prosperity and adversity both remain in God’s hands, and painful outcomes do not automatically mean we acted wrongly. Instead of giving up when righteousness seems unrewarded, we can keep doing what is good, live faithfully in the present, and trust God’s character, compassion, and eternal purposes.
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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.
Learn more at berean.church.

Title: Wisdom and Watching the Wind
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0:00 - Life is Risky
3:27 - Reading Ecclesiastes 11
4:58 - Cast Your Bread on the Waters
6:59 - Prideful Responses to Risk
9:28 - Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
14:13 - Diversifying Your Risks in Various Areas of Life
17:17 - Studying God's Patterns Is Still Helpful
20:11 - Don't Limit Doing Good Because of Risk
23:13 - Keep Planting Seeds, Because You Don't Know the Future
30:35 - Pursuing Good Is a Work of the Ministry
34:22 - Enjoy Good
35:36 - Hardship Is Fleeting
39:00 - There's Always Risk. Do Good Anyways.
41:05 - How We Can Apply Solomon's Wisdom on Risk
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Ecclesiastes 11
Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. (ESV)
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In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon teaches us how to live wisely in a life filled with risk. Since we cannot know or control the future, we must resist both reckless confidence and fearful inaction. Instead, we should take wise risks, spread out those risks, and keep doing good without demanding immediate or predictable results. Like a farmer who continues planting because he does not know which seeds will grow, believers should faithfully invest in their relationships, work, ministry, and spiritual growth while trusting God to give the increase. We are also called to enjoy God’s good gifts with a clear conscience, remembering that both joy and hardship are fleeting. Wisdom accepts uncertainty, pursues what is good, and trusts the results to God.
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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.
Learn more at berean.church.

Title: What Your Hunger Says About Your Worship

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0:00 Introduction

0:37 Why Do We Even Have Appetites?

6:24 Is Goal-Driven Motivation the Same as Trying to Control Life?

10:08 How Do We Pursue God While Pursuing Our Appetites?

15:29 Is Dissatisfaction Always a Sin?

19:43 Distinguishing Satisfaction and Joy

25:35 We Can Ruin Joy By Holding On Too Tightly

29:02 What's Next?

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Ecclesiastes 6:7–9

All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. (ESV)

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Ecclesiastes tells us that our appetites never stay satisfied. Does that mean our desires are wrong? Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason discuss how God-given desires for food, relationships, meaningful work, and other good things can become sinful when we expect them to provide lasting satisfaction or give us control over life. They consider how Christians can pursue goals without trusting in outcomes, grieve what is broken, and enjoy God’s gifts without holding them too tightly. Lasting satisfaction comes from God alone, but that frees us to receive fleeting joys with gratitude.

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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.

Learn more at berean.church.

Title: When Wisdom Becomes Idolatry

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0:00 Pursuing Wisdom Without Making It an Idol

1:32 The Example of a Wise Driver

4:56 A Summary of The Teaching of Ecclesiastes

6:35 Reading Ecclesiastes 10

7:04 Appearances Aren't Always Truth

9:28 You Can't Always Tell if Someone is Wise By Looking

10:47 Wisdom Is Not Omniscience

12:30 Wisdom Still Helps Keep You On the Right Path

14:52 More Examples of Appearances Being Deceiving

16:44 So What Can Wisdom Do?

17:25 The Risk of Wisdom

19:52 Wisdom Still Sharpens Your Ax

21:31 Keep Wisdom In It's Proper Place

23:02 Wisdom Gives You Direction

24:09 What Does It Look Like for Wisdom to Sharpen the Ax in Your Life?

28:43 Where Are You Passive?

30:34 Where Do You Need to Sharpen the Ax?

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Ecclesiastes 10

Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench;

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,

but a fool’s heart to the left.

Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,

and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,

for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

He who digs a pit will fall into it,

and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.

He who quarries stones is hurt by them,

and he who splits logs is endangered by them.

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength,

but wisdom helps one to succeed.

If the serpent bites before it is charmed,

there is no advantage to the charmer.

The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,

and the end of his talk is evil madness.

A fool multiplies words,

though no man knows what is to be,

and who can tell him what will be after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him,

for he does not know the way to the city.

Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,

and your princes feast in the morning!

Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,

and your princes feast at the proper time,

for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Through sloth the roof sinks in,

and through indolence the house leaks.

Bread is made for laughter,

and wine gladdens life,

and money answers everything.

Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,

nor in your bedroom curse the rich,

for a bird of the air will carry your voice,

or some winged creature tell the matter. (ESV)

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Ecclesiastes 10 teaches that wisdom is a good gift from God, but it cannot give us control over life. Wise choices may point us in the right direction, yet they cannot guarantee the outcomes we want. When we expect wisdom to provide certainty, we turn it into an idol and seek the omniscience that belongs to God alone. Wisdom still matters. It sharpens the ax, prepares us for danger, and helps us pursue fruitful work without becoming passive or fearful. We can act wisely, accept the risks that come with meaningful work, and trust God with the results.

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Learn more at berean.church.

Title: God's Promise to Anxious People
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0:00 Introduction
0:22 Is Jesus Just Saying "Don't Worry About It?"
5:33 The Contrast of Serving God or Serving Money
8:21 Seeking First The Kingdom as a Cure for Anxiety
10:05 "I Trusted God, And the Thing I Feared Still Happened"
14:51 Developing A Robust Theology of Suffering
22:43 Does God Promise All Our Basic Needs Will Be Met?
33:11 The Focus is God's Love For You
42:57 What's Next?
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Matthew 6:25–34
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)
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Jesus does more than tell anxious people to stop worrying in Matthew 6:25–34. He points them to their heavenly Father, who knows their needs, values them, and cares for them. Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason discuss how anxiety often grows from our desire for control and safety. They also wrestle with difficult questions about suffering, loss, and Christians whose basic needs are not always met. Jesus does not promise a life without hunger, hardship, or grief. He calls you to trust God’s fatherly care, seek his kingdom, and rest in the eternal hope found in Christ. Even when the thing you fear happens, suffering cannot separate you from the love of God.
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Berean Bible Church is a non-denominational church in East Knoxville, TN. We are grounded in the Word, celebrating the transformative power of the Gospel. Our community thrives on worship and mutual encouragement, fostering deep connections among members. Committed to our mission, we reach out with compassion and hope, reflecting God's glory throughout our city and beyond.
Learn more at berean.church.