Reverberate: A Berean Bible Church Podcast | Knoxville, TN

Title: A Handful of Peace
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0:00 Ancient, Eastern Writing is Different Than Modern, Western Writing
3:20 Ecclesiastes' Foundational Premise
12:21 Reading Ecclesiastes 4
13:11 Grasping for Control with One Hand or Two?
20:32 Two-Handed, Envious Striving Hurts Your Relationships
24:27 Community Gives Purpose to Our Work
27:51 Community Gives Better Opportunities
29:47 Community Gives Safety
31:31 Community Restores You When You Fall
32:53 Community Strengthens You When You are Week
34:13 Community Protects You from Attacks
34:45 False Communities of the Modern World
38:06 Cultivate Real Relationships
40:01 First, Pray
41:15 Make a Plan
42:44 Ask Deep Questions
44:23 Don't Pursue Community as an Abstract. Pursue People.
47:06 Closing
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Ecclesiastes 4:4–16
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. (ESV)
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In *A Handful of Peace*, Jed Gillis teaches from Ecclesiastes 4:4–16 that a life driven by envy, control, and endless striving cannot give the peace people are chasing. Solomon does not call us to laziness or ambition for its own sake. He calls us to pursue good work with one hand while receiving peace from God with the other. That kind of trust frees us to love people instead of using work, success, and achievement to protect ourselves. The sermon shows that true community gives purpose to our work, helps us when we fall, strengthens us in weakness, and protects us in times of attack. Instead of chasing control or settling for shallow connection, believers are called to pray for and pursue real relationships with specific people in the body of Christ.
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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 Dead Desires Still Speak
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0:00 Introduction
0:26 If Our Flesh is Crucified, Why Do We Still Fight It?
9:43 Why Do We Still Feel the Desires of the Flesh
16:34 We Have Crucified Or God Has Crucified?
22:00 Fighting the Flesh in the Light of Christ's Victory
28:59 The Crucifixion Destroys the Rule of the Flesh
33:48 God Renews Our Desires
37:15 What's Next?
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* Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
* Galatians 5:16: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
* Galatians 5:17: “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.”
* Galatians 5:19-21: The works of the flesh, including immorality, anger, rivalry, dissension, and envy.
* Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit.
* Galatians 5:24: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
* Galatians 6:14: “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
* Romans 7: Paul’s description of the believer’s inner struggle with sin.
* Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all…”
* Colossians 2:23: Rules and self-made religion are “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”
* Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
* Romans 5:8-10: Christ died for us while we were still sinners and enemies of God.
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In this episode of Reverberate, Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason talk through Paul’s language of being crucified with Christ, crucifying the flesh, and being crucified to the world. The conversation wrestles with a question many Christians feel deeply: if the flesh has been crucified, why do sinful desires still feel so strong? They explain that crucifixion does not mean those desires disappear in this life. It means they no longer rule. Because believers are united to Christ, the desires of the flesh have been tied to the cross and exposed by the greater love, grace, and victory of Jesus. The Christian life is not about fighting sin through self-made rules or human effort, but by walking by the Spirit, looking again to the cross, and remembering that Christ’s grace gives us a new identity and new desires. 
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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: That's Not Fair!
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0:00 Introduction
2:29 It's Not Fair
7:17 Reading Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3
8:46 Dealing With Hard Questions
9:18 Dilemma 1: Injustice Exists Where There Should Be Justice
16:20 Dilemma 2: Hypocrisy Exists Where There Should Be Truth
21:31 Dilemma 3: Death Exists Where There Should Be Life
28:34 Dilemma 4: Oppression Where There Should Be Comfort
34:23 Solomon's Answers
35:09 No Injustice Gets Past God
39:22 You're Not God, And That's a Good Thing
43:46 You Should Genuinely Grieve Injustice and Oppression
43:53 Rejoice and Take Pleasure in God's Gifts Today
47:59 This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
50:25 Closing Prayer
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Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:3
Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. (ESV)
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In “That’s Not Fair!,” Jed Gillis teaches from Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:3 on the painful realities of injustice, hypocrisy, death, and oppression in a fallen world. Solomon does not pretend these things are small. He shows us that life “under the sun” often feels wrong because it is wrong. Yet God sees every injustice, and none of it escapes His judgment. The sermon calls us to grieve evil honestly, admit that we are not God, and rest in the good rule of the One who is. Since God will make all things right, we can trust Him with what we cannot control and still receive today as a gift from our Father. 
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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: It's Seed, Not a Light Switch
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0:00 Introduction
0:27 Determining If I'm Sowing to the Flesh vs to the Spirit
10:52  The Example of Preaching Christ with Wrong Motives
14:13  Don't Grow Weary of Doing Good
17:51 It's Seed, Not a Light Switch
21:16  Ordering Flowers on a Subscription Service
22:48 Is It Just About Motives? 
28:20 Adding God to Your Decision-Making Process
34:59 What's Next?
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* Galatians 6.
* Galatians 6:7-10.
* Job, especially the counsel of Job’s friends.
* Matthew 23:23
* Micah 6:6-8.
* Philippians 1:15-18.
* Philippians 2:3.
* Ephesians 4:15.
* 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
* Philippians 1:3-6.
* Galatians 5:17.
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Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason discuss Paul’s teaching in Galatians 6 about sowing and reaping. They explain that this passage is not teaching Christian karma, where good actions automatically lead to quick and visible results. Instead, Paul calls believers to examine where they are placing their trust. Even good actions can become self-reliant when they are used to control outcomes. Sowing to the Spirit means acting in dependence on God, trusting him to bring growth in his time. Like seed in the ground, spiritual fruit often takes patience, endurance, and faith.
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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: Truth & Transformation
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0:00 Mom's Favorite Verse
3:17 Reading Ephesians 4:21-32
5:09 A Simple Framework for Spiritual Growth
5:49 Put Off the Old Self
7:14 Why Sin Feels Like Part of Us
9:44 Deceitful Desires
15:58 Put On the New Self
20:12 True Righteousness and Holiness
25:45 Example: Speak Truth to One Another
27:25 Example: Words That Build Up
34:26 Speech as a Channel of Grace
36:51 Example: Kind Forgiveness
40:05 What Forgiveness Is Not
44:34 Forgiven as God Forgave Us in Christ
46:55 Spiritual Growth Is a Community Project
47:58 Encouragement for Mothers and Parents
49:37 Closing Response and Prayer
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Ephesians 4:29–32
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
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In *Truth & Transformation*, Jed Gillis teaches from Ephesians 4:29–32 that spiritual growth means putting off the old self, being renewed by the truth, and putting on the new life God is forming in us. Sin often feels like part of us because it is tied to old habits and desires that have been misdirected or allowed to grow out of place. But in Christ, believers are being renovated by the Spirit. That transformation shows up in how we speak, forgive, and live together as a church body. Instead of corrupting words, bitterness, anger, and malice, God calls us to words that build up, kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness rooted in the grace we have received in Christ
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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: The Spirit’s Fruit and the Gospel’s Rest
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0:00 Introduction
0:28 Practical Steps to Grow in the Fruit of the Spirit
5:33 Studying the Fundamentals So Then It Comes Naturally
10:18 Discerning True Fruit Versus Empty Fruit in My Heart?
14:55 I Feel Like I Don't Measure Up
24:41 We're Adopted Already
27:11 Reflecting The Fruit of the Spirit Back Towards God
31:44 Fruit Stemmed in Our Safety
34:32 Rest in Christ
36:10 What's Next?
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* **Galatians 5:16.** Walk by the Spirit.
* **Galatians 5:17.** The desires of the flesh battle against the desires of the Spirit.
* **Galatians 5:19–26.** The broader passage on the works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit.
* **Galatians 5:22–23.** The fruit of the Spirit.
* **Galatians 5:25.** “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
* **Galatians 5:13.** “You were called to freedom.”
* **Galatians 5:2–4.** Circumcision, law-keeping, and being cut off from Christ.
* **Galatians 4:6.** The Spirit crying, “Abba, Father.”
* **Galatians 1:4.** Christ delivering us from the present evil age.
* **Ephesians 4:1.** Walk in a manner worthy of the calling.
* **John 15:5.** “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
* **Luke 11:13.** The Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
* **Isaiah 55:11.** God’s Word does not return empty.
* **Psalm 1:3.** A tree planted by streams of water.
* **1 Peter 3:15.** Always be ready to give an answer for the hope within you.
* **Matthew 18:21–35.** The parable of the unforgiving servant.
* **Matthew 11:28–30.** “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.”
* **Psalm 27:14.** “Wait for the Lord.”
* **Psalm 37:7.** “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”
* **Psalm 130:5.** “I wait for the Lord.”
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In this episode, Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason discuss the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians and how Christians grow without turning spiritual growth into a checklist. They explain that love, joy, peace, patience, and the rest of the Spirit’s fruit are not meant to become a burden or a way to measure up before God. Instead, they flow from a heart resting in the gospel, depending on Christ, and walking with the Spirit. The conversation highlights the role of Scripture, prayer, community, confession, and daily dependence as the ordinary means God uses to shape his people. Rather than trying to “nail fruit” onto the outside of our lives, believers are called to abide in Christ, remember their safety in him, and let the Spirit produce real, inward transformation that bears fruit toward God and others.
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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: Breathe
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0:00 Life Full of Both Joy and Sorrow
3:27 Reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
5:14 What Do You Do When Life Doesn't Turn Out Like You Expected?
7:02 When You Try to Control Your Life, What is the Result?
9:04 Life is Full of Diverse Seasons
9:54 A Comprehensive Statement for Everything
13:10 Productivity and Action
15:42 Human Emotional Responses
16:27 Wealth and Possessions
18:29 Relationships
20:25 Life is Not All Sunshine and Roses, But It's Not All Funerals Either
21:10 What Gain Is There in a Life of Ups and Downs?
24:36 Everything is Beautiful in Its Time
28:59 Eternity in Man's Heart
33:38 Battle Against Control and Anxiety
37:30 Breathe and Live Life
40:23 Be Joyful and Do Good
42:38 Trust God and Embrace Your Limits
45:12 Trust God for Justice
46:32 Don't Be Detached. Attach Yourself to the Creator
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Ecclesiastes 3:1–15
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. (ESV)
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In this sermon, Jed Gillis teaches from Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 that life under the sun is filled with changing seasons of joy, grief, building, loss, laughter, mourning, work, and waiting. Solomon does not call us to control these seasons or detach from them. He calls us to receive life as a gift from God. Because God has put eternity in our hearts, we long for something lasting that this life cannot fully give. That longing should drive us to trust the Creator, not our own ability to manage every outcome. Followers of Jesus can mourn what is sad, enjoy what is good, do good with what God gives, and rest in the truth that God makes all things fitting in his time. Life is fleeting, but God’s work endures forever
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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 Rest Feels like Struggle
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0:00 Introduction
0:34 How Do I Know I'm Resting in God?
6:36 Trusting God With the Outcomes
9:03 What Is Your Refuge?
13:43 How to Rest in God During Moments of Stress
14:57 Resting in God in Our Failures
19:49 What's Next?
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Philippians 4:6-7.
Psalm 23:5-6.
Psalm 42:5.
Psalm 22:1.
Mark 14:36
John 10:11-13.
Colossians 1:1.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
Romans 7:15-20.
Ephesians 3:20.
Micah 7:7-9.
Romans 8:31.
1 John 2:1
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Pastor Jed, Pastor Isaias, and Jason talk about what it means to rest in God when life still feels hard, uncertain, or spiritually unsettled. They explain that biblical rest is not always a calm feeling. Sometimes it feels like a fight to turn away from false refuges and run to God instead. Through passages like Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 23, Psalm 42, Micah 7, and Romans 8:31, the conversation shows how God gives peace, refuge, and grace in the middle of anxiety, failure, temptation, and disappointment. True rest does not come from controlling outcomes, lowering expectations, or escaping pressure. It comes from trusting that God is for his children, that Christ pleads their case, and that his grace is enough even when the storm is still loud.
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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: Chasing the Horizon
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0:00 Introduction
0:19 Pointing Your Sail in the Right Direction
2:46 Solomon Testing the Sail of Seeking Pleasure
4:53 Pursuing the Sail of Achievement
8:41 Using Achievement to Replace God
10:32 The Sails Aren't Bad, But Which Way Are You Turning Them?
11:38 Is It Worth It?
14:24 Conclusions to Pursuing Knowledge, Pleasure, and Achievement
17:08 Is there Gain in Wisdom?
21:11 Despair
23:23 Don't Hide from the Dark Message of Ecclesiastes
26:29 Swim with Solomon through the Dark Waters
28:53 Ecclesiastes is Depressing if Your Sail is Pointed the Wrong Way
32:27 Finding True Joy
38:29 We Are Part Way Through the Rescue Dive
38:57 Grow in Knowledge and Trust
41:04 Find Joy in God
43:45 Honor God in Your Success
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Ecclesiastes 2
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In “Chasing the Horizon,” Jed Gillis walks through Ecclesiastes 2 to show how Solomon tested the common pursuits people use to build a meaningful life: knowledge, pleasure, achievement, wisdom, and success. Solomon had more opportunity than anyone to chase these things fully, yet he found that none of them could give lasting gain when life is viewed only “under the sun.” Pleasure fades. Work wears us down. Wisdom helps, but it cannot stop death or give us control. Achievement may bring temporary joy, but it cannot bear the weight of our hope. The sermon does not treat these gifts as bad. Instead, it shows that they become empty when we turn them into ways to replace God, control life, or create our own paradise. Ecclesiastes presses us into the darkness of life without God so we can see the better hope God gives. True joy comes when we receive knowledge, pleasure, work, and success as gifts from the hand of God. Rather than chasing the horizon, believers are called to trust the God who gives, find joy in Him, and honor Him in the good works He has placed before them.
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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: The Quest for Meaning
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0:00 Introduction
1:06 The Question of Meaning
8:00 Solomon's Search for Wisdom
9:07 Solomon: King and Sage
12:28 An Unhappy Business God Has Given Man
18:32 Striving After Wind
23:48 More Knowledge Won't Solve Your Fundamental Problem
29:56 Sometimes, the More You Know, the Worse You Feel
33:36 Be Willing to Say "I Don't Know."
36:22 Is Your Goal Control or Finding Joy in God?
39:02 Three Reminders to Take With You
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Ecclesiastes 1:12–18
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. (ESV)
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In “The Quest for Meaning,” Jed Gillis explains that Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 exposes the emptiness of trying to find meaning through wisdom, knowledge, or control. Solomon searches deeply and honestly, yet concludes that life in a fallen world remains frustrating, humbling, and beyond human mastery. The more he learns, the more he sees what is broken, and knowledge alone cannot straighten what is crooked or satisfy the heart. The sermon presses the listener to see that much of our striving is really an attempt to be in control, but that pursuit only brings sorrow and restlessness. Instead of chasing meaning through understanding everything, we are called to admit that we are not God, to let go of the need for control, and to find joy in trusting God and delighting in what he delights in.
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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.