Reverberate: A Berean Bible Church Podcast | Knoxville, TN

Title: Life's Treadmill
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0:00 Introduction
0:25 Life's Treadmill
2:58 Asking The Question: What is Life All About?
6:08 Ecclesiastes Won't Let You Get Away with Pat Answers
8:22 Reading Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
10:19 Key Phrases
10:19 Hebrew Word: Hevel
11:35 Life is Fleeting
13:35 You Can't Control Life
13:48 Life is Hard to Define
17:01 Under the Sun
20:19 Hebrew Word: Yitron
23:05 Reading Ecclesiastes with Breath and Profit in Mind
23:54 Cycles in Nature
24:07 Generational Cycles
28:05 The Water Cycle
29:19 How We Normally Try to Grab Control and Meaning
29:45 Novelty
32:51 Legacy
34:37 How Do We Resolve This Tension?
35:37 Look Beyond the Treadmill to Find Purpose
36:30 Embrace Your Limits
38:03 Remember Novelty Will Not Solve Your Desire for Meaning or Control
42:44 Remember Legacy Will Not Solve Your Desire for Meaning or Control
45:06 Pray for God to Work
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Ecclesiastes 1:1–11
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after. (ESV)
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In *Life’s Treadmill*, Jed Gillis shows that Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 faces the frustration many people feel in ordinary life. Day after day can seem repetitive, fleeting, and hard to grasp. He explains that the word translated “vanity” points to life as breathlike. It passes quickly, cannot be controlled, and often resists simple explanation. Under the sun, life can feel empty because human effort alone cannot produce lasting gain or secure meaning. The repeated cycles in nature expose our limits and remind us that novelty and legacy cannot satisfy the heart’s desire for control or purpose. New experiences do not solve the problem, and even what we build will one day be forgotten. The sermon calls listeners to stop looking for meaning within the treadmill itself and instead look beyond it to God. Real purpose comes from embracing our creaturely limits, rejecting false hopes, and receiving life as a gift from the good God who stands over all that is under the sun.
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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: More Than Applause
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0:00 Viewing the Resurrection Like a Sports Fan
2:23 Reading Second Corinthians 4
4:30 How Do You See the Power of the Resurrection?
6:30 God's Power is Displayed Through Our Weakness
12:59 God's Power is Displayed Through Our Hope
17:07 Jesus Is Our Hope
19:17 True Connection to the Hope in Jesus
22:36 Examples of Hope
25:44 What Does Hope Through Suffering Look Like for Us?
31:15 The Resurrection Powers Our Daily Faithfulness
33:42 It's The Best Way to Live, In Spite of the Hurt
36:30 It's Not a Blind Hope
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2 Corinthians 4:7–18
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (ESV)
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In *More Than Applause*, Jed Gillis explains that the resurrection is not something Christians simply admire from a distance. From 2 Corinthians 4:7–18, he shows that God displays the power of Jesus’ resurrection through weak, suffering people who keep trusting Him. Paul’s point is that believers do not see resurrection power by escaping hardship, but by enduring affliction with real hope because Jesus was raised and all who belong to Him will be raised as well. That future certainty changes how Christians face suffering, resist sin, love others, and remain faithful in ordinary life. The sermon calls listeners to move beyond applauding Christ’s victory and to live each day in the strength, hope, and perspective that His resurrection gives.
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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: Father, Forgive Them
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0:00 Being Seen and Being Loved
4:06 Reading Luke 23
5:58 The Characters of the Cross
6:33 Those Who Hated Him
8:10 Those Who Were Indifferent
10:40 Those Who Were Curious
11:39 Those Who Were Guilty
15:48 Jesus Knew Them
19:32 Jesus Loved Them
23:03 Known and Loved Without Hiding
28:37 Look to the Cross
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Luke 23:32–49
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (ESV)
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In *Father, Forgive Them*, Jed Gillis shows that Luke 23:32–49 reveals the heart of Jesus at the cross. Surrounded by mockers, indifferent rulers, curious onlookers, guilty criminals, and fearful crowds, Jesus responds with mercy, praying, “Father, forgive them.” The sermon traces the different people around the cross to show that Jesus fully knew each one of them, yet still chose to love and save sinners through his death. The repentant thief becomes the clearest picture of this grace, coming to Jesus with nothing to offer except guilt and need, and receiving the promise of paradise. The main burden of the sermon is that the cross answers one of the deepest needs of the human heart: to be fully known and still fully loved. Jesus knows the depth of our sin better than we do, and the cross proves that he loved his people enough to bear judgment in their place so they could come to God without hiding.
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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: Built by Every Part
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00:00 Burdened for Connection
02:52 Reading Ephesians 4
04:49 Three Principles for Church Connection
05:02 We Do Not Create Community. We Maintain It
07:50 We Do Not Consume Community. We Cultivate It
13:31 God’s Grace Comes Through Community and for Community
19:12 The Trellis and the Vine
22:08 A Roadmap for Connection at Berean
23:37 Pray Expectantly for Berean and Its People
27:28 Attend Regularly
31:59 Go Deeper in Relationship and Study
38:15 Find One Way to Serve
42:24 Give to Berean
43:57 Give and Receive Hospitality
45:26 Built Up in Love
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Ephesians 4:1–16
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (ESV)
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In “Built by Every Part,” Jed Gillis teaches from Ephesians 4:1–16 that Christ has already made His people one, so the church is called to maintain that unity with humility, patience, love, and truth. Christian community is not something believers create through programs or consume like customers. It is something they cultivate as members of one body under one Lord. God gives grace to His church both through leaders who equip the saints and through every believer, since each person has a part in the work of ministry and the building up of the body. The sermon calls believers to move past a spectator mindset and take part in the life of the church through prayer, regular gathering, deeper relationships, service, giving, and hospitality. As every part does its work, the body grows into maturity in Christ and is built up in love.
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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: Facing the Giants
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0:00 Intro
1:40 Opening Prayer
2:40 Reflecting on the Children of Israel
11:12 Spying Out the Land
14:26 The Report Back
17:23 Og, One of the Giants
18:51 The People’s Reaction
22:47 We Hurt the Heart of God With Our Unbelief
25:45 The Heart of God is to Do You Good
27:04 The Danger of Viewing God as Just a Giver of Benefits
30:05 What is the Difference Between a Consumer and a Worshiper?
31:18 Bringing Our Concerns to the Lord, But As a Worshiper
35:12 What Does a Worshipful Heart Look Like?
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Numbers 13-14
Duet. 2-3
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In “Facing the Giants,” George Waller uses Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land in Numbers 13 to 14 and Deuteronomy 2 to 3 to show that the greatest giant before God’s people was not Og or the other giants in the land, but unbelief in their own hearts. He contrasts the fearful, horizontal vision of the ten spies and the people with the God-centered trust of Caleb and Joshua, showing that Israel kept forgetting God’s faithfulness and responding to hardship with grumbling instead of worship. The sermon presses on the danger of treating God mainly as a giver of benefits rather than loving him for who he is, asking if we come to him as consumers who only want relief or as worshipers who want his presence above all. Waller’s main call is for believers to repent of self-centered unbelief, trust that God’s heart is to do his people good even through suffering, and learn to treasure God himself as the greatest gift.
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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: No Resumé, Just a Cross
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0:00 There is No Christianity without Jesus and the Cross
2:32 Reading Galatians 6
4:22 Paul's Emphasis at the End of Galatians
5:30 The Motive of the False Teachers
9:19 Are We Pursuing Approval, Safety, and Achievement?
10:47 What Do You Boast In?
14:28 Boasting in Jesus is Humbling
17:23 Boasting in Jesus is Exclusive
20:03 How Does the Gospel Change You?
22:08 Your Need for Approval
24:13 Your Need for Safety
26:18 Your Need for Achievement
28:25 A Call to Boast in the Cross
31:33 Celebrating Baptism--A Boast in Christ
32:36 Ending Prayer
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Galatians 6:11–18
See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But 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. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. (ESV)
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In “No Resumé, Just a Cross,” Jed Gillis closes Galatians by showing that true Christianity is not about building a spiritual resumé through human effort, approval, safety, or achievement. Paul exposes the false teachers as people who wanted to look impressive and avoid suffering, but their confidence was in outward performance rather than in Christ. In contrast, Paul’s only boast is the cross of Jesus Christ, because salvation, peace, and identity come by grace, not by works. The sermon presses this truth into everyday life by asking what we truly rely on for worth and rest. The gospel does not simply forgive past sin and promise future hope. It reshapes the heart now, freeing believers from slavery to the opinions of others, from the need to control life for safety, and from the pressure to prove themselves through achievement. What counts is not religious performance, but new creation 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 Garden of Grace
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0:00 Introduction: Don't Let Galatians 6 Undermine Paul's Message of Grace
3:01 Reading Galatians 6
4:15 The Picture of Reaping and Sowing Seed
6:01 What are Seeds in This Picture?
9:54 Sowing to the Flesh or to the Spirit
12:30 What Does Paul Mean by Flesh and Spirit?
18:35 What Separates the Seed?
29:45 What Do You Reap if Sowing to the Flesh?
31:37 Value Spiritual Instruction
35:18 Growing a Garden Takes Time
40:14 Closing Prayer
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Galatians 6:6–10
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (ESV)
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In The Garden of Grace from Galatians 6:6–10, Jed Gillis explains Paul’s sowing-and-reaping picture as a call to live out grace, not a warning that your life runs on a strict, mechanical scoreboard. “Seeds” are your everyday thoughts, words, choices, and habits. The real difference is where you plant them: into the flesh, meaning self-reliance and control, or into the Spirit, meaning faith that rests in God’s favor through Christ. Sowing to the flesh produces decay and relational fallout, even when the “seed” looks respectable. Sowing to the Spirit grows lasting life, so you keep doing good, value spiritual instruction, and do good to all, especially the church family, without giving up when growth takes time.
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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: Global Grace
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0:00 Intro: What Does it Look Like for God to be At Work?
4:47 Snapshots of God Working Through Acts
5:47 Seeing the Grace of God
8:32 What Did Barnabas Actually See?
12:42 Brokenness Does Not Equal Grace
13:32 Seeing God's Grace is an Opportunity for Joy
15:31 There's Still Work to Do
18:39 God's Grace Through Willing People in Ordinary Lives
22:27 Discipleship in Antioch
24:33 Freedom from Performance to the Law
26:17 Continue in Grace
27:21 God's Grace Doesn't Stay Bottled Up
29:28 Commended to the Grace of God
33:20 Pray For God to Send Laborers Into the Harvest
34:46 Closing Prayer
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Acts 11:19–30
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. (ESV)
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In *Global Grace*, Jed Gillis walks through Acts 11:19–30 to show what it looks like when God is at work, even when it does not look dramatic. Persecution scatters believers, yet the gospel spreads from Jews to Gentiles, and “the hand of the Lord” brings many to faith in Antioch. When Barnabas arrives, he “sees the grace of God” in visible change, people turning to the Lord, growing into “little Christs,” and beginning the work of discipleship that leads him to bring Saul to help teach for a year. Jed presses the point that brokenness by itself is not grace. Grace is God’s undeserved favor that frees people from performance, produces steady faithfulness, and gives real joy as you notice God’s work in ordinary lives. This grace does not stay contained. It overflows into mission and practical love, like the Antioch church sending relief to believers in Judea, and it calls you to keep going in grace while praying for God to send laborers into his harvest. 
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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: Mission Expectations
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0:00 Psalm 23
1:08 Opening Prayer
2:18 Overlaying Acts 16, Psalm 23, and Philippians
3:00 Introducing Jason Garro
4:42 Continuing Acts 16 From Last Week
6:08 What Is the Greatest Story?
8:35 Evangelism and Persecution
11:42 God Grows and Restores
16:08 Paul's Missions Trip to Macedonia
19:08 2015 Trip to Greece
24:42 God Leads
30:42 God Sustains
40:42 God Grows His Church
48:42 Berea, Our Namesake
49:42 The Discipleship Cycle
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Acts 16
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In *Mission Expectations,* Jon Farra, joined by Jason Garro, walks through **Acts 16** to show what mission often looks like when God is at work. Paul and his team face closed doors, then the Spirit redirects them to Macedonia, where God opens Lydia’s heart and begins gathering a new church through ordinary conversations and hospitality. Just as quickly, the work meets resistance, leading to public beating, prison, and an unexpected scene of worship at midnight. God sustains them through suffering, uses an earthquake without a jailbreak, and brings the jailer and his household to faith, reinforcing that the gospel advances even through hardship. Along the way, the sermon ties Psalm 23 to God’s restoring, guiding presence and connects Philippians to Paul’s later call to love with discernment and to embrace the fellowship of suffering. The main takeaway is simple: expect God to *lead, sustain, and grow* His church as disciples pray, follow His direction, and multiply the work through people and homes.
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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: Next Door to the Nations
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0:00 Introduction to Tim Hood and Opening Prayer
1:47 The Nations Parading into the Presence of Our Savior
3:32 Who's Next?
7:42 Many Have Not Even Heard His Name
10:28 Reading Acts 16
11:47 Prayer
12:30 The Call to Missions in the Midst of a Worship Service
17:42 Missions Has Struggles, Even in Relationships
20:00 The Importance of Contextualization
21:42 It Wasn't Enough
28:17 God's Calling
32:17 Answering the Call
41:17 Closing Prayer
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Acts 16:6–10
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (ESV)
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In “Next Door to the Nations,” Tim Hood walks through Acts 16:6–10 to show how God guides mission by both closing doors and opening new ones. Paul and his team plan to preach in familiar places, but the Holy Spirit redirects them again and again until Paul receives the Macedonian vision, and they move immediately in obedience, convinced God is calling them to bring the gospel there. Tim ties that moment to the church’s role in missions, where the Spirit sends through the church and the church “holds the rope” through prayer, unity, and support. He stresses that strengthening healthy churches is good, but it is not the finish line because many people still have little or no access to the name of Jesus. The sermon frames calling as first a call to Christ, which then leads to gospel proclamation, practical disciple-making, sacrificial living, quick obedience, and expectant faith that God will save and build his church among the nations.
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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.