Epicenter Church with Pastor Mark Knight

Summer of Rock (The Power of the Church) | Pastor Mark Knight | June 21st, 2026

This powerful exploration of Acts 12:1-19 challenges us to rediscover what it means to be the church—a community united in fervent, earnest prayer. The story of Peter's miraculous prison escape isn't just about divine intervention; it's about the collective power we possess when we pray together with intention and faith. The early church didn't just casually mention Peter in their prayers—they stretched out over him spiritually, using their faith muscle to move heaven itself. The Greek word 'ektenos' paints a vivid picture: stretching a muscle to its absolute limits, the same intensity Jesus demonstrated in Gethsemane when He prayed so hard He sweat blood. This isn't about changing God's reluctant mind; it's about aligning our hearts with what God already cares about. When we pray earnestly, our faith grows, and that faith must eventually make it to our feet—transforming from belief into action. The redwood tree illustration beautifully captures this truth: alone, we might have shallow roots, but intertwined with our community, we become unshakable. We're called to be gate shakers, people who don't give up when facing closed iron gates in our lives, but who keep praying, keep believing, and keep moving forward until breakthrough comes.

EPIC Starts Here | Pastor Mark Knight | June 14th, 2026

This powerful message challenges us to examine whether we're living with a reclining faith or a pouring-out faith. Drawing from the story in Mark 14 where a woman breaks an alabaster jar worth a year's wages to anoint Jesus, we're confronted with a profound truth: the posture of our heart determines where we place our treasure. While the disciples reclined in comfort and questioned her extravagance, this woman was on her knees in worship, giving everything she had. The contrast is striking and convicting. We discover that convenience has become the enemy of faith in our modern lives. We want God to pour out blessings upon us, yet we remain stingy with what He's already given. We want to be recipients of promises without engaging in the process that brings those promises to fruition. The message calls us to move beyond being consumers to becoming contributors, understanding that faith will always stretch us to do something inconvenient. God's opportunities never come when we have plenty of time or money—they come precisely when we don't, because He wants to see whether we'll trust Him or trust our stuff. This isn't just about financial giving, though tithing is addressed directly and honestly. It's about our entire life posture: Are we waiting to see what's left over for God, or are we giving Him the first and best, trusting Him with everything that remains?

Throw It Off! | Pastor Mark Knight | May 31st, 2026

The wilderness is not just a place we pass through—it is often the place where God reveals what we have been carrying. In this message, Pastor Mark Knight challenges us to recognize the weights, wounds, habits, mindsets, and distractions that slow us down spiritually and keep us from walking freely with God. “Throw It Off” is a call to stop dragging into the next season what God never intended for us to carry. Life in the wilderness can expose what comfort kept hidden. It can reveal our complaints, our fears, our unhealthy attachments, and the places where we have learned to survive instead of surrender. Yet the wilderness is not proof that God has abandoned us. It is often the very place where He teaches us dependence, obedience, endurance, and trust. The question is not simply whether we will make it through the wilderness, but whether we will let God strip away what cannot go with us into promise. This message reminds us that spiritual growth requires participation. God can deliver us, guide us, and sustain us, but there are still things we must choose to release. We cannot run the race God has marked out for us while clinging to bitterness, fear, compromise, offense, shame, or the familiar patterns of our past. At some point, we must decide that freedom is worth more than familiarity. The challenge is clear: throw off whatever is weighing you down. Stop carrying what Christ already gave you permission to lay down. Fix your eyes on Jesus, trust Him in the wilderness, and allow Him to prepare you for what is ahead. Because the wilderness is not the end of the story—it is often the place where God gets us ready for the promise.

The Change Up | Pastor Joseph Meisenbach | May 24th, 2026

Change is one of life's few guarantees, yet it remains one of our greatest challenges. This message reminds us that in every transition—whether we're students moving to the next grade, professionals switching careers, newlyweds adjusting to marriage, or parents navigating the complexities of raising children—God remains constant and present. Drawing from Peter's transformative journey, we see a man who experienced external change when Jesus called him to fish for men, mental change when he struggled to understand Jesus's mission, character change when he denied Christ three times, and finally spiritual change when the Holy Spirit empowered him at Pentecost. Peter's story mirrors our own: we stumble, we doubt, we sometimes run from what scares us. Yet God never abandons us in our mess. The critical question becomes: will we complain about our circumstances or call upon God? When life throws us a change-up—that unexpected pitch we're not prepared to hit—our response determines our growth. We're challenged to pray, listen, and obey rather than react emotionally or broadcast our struggles on social media. The wisdom here is profound: face your problems, don't Facebook them. Keep your inner circle tight and your faith tighter. Because the same God who didn't desert Abraham, Jonah, or Peter won't desert us either.

Rinse & Repeat | Pastor Mark Knight | May 17th 2026

This message challenges us to examine what we're repeating in our wilderness seasons. Drawing from Psalm 108 and David's intentional practice of beginning each day with worship, we're confronted with a profound truth: the duration of our wilderness experience often correlates with what we choose to rinse and repeat while we're there. David didn't wait for his circumstances to improve before praising God—he awakened the dawn with worship, grabbed his harp before the sun cracked the sky, and declared God's greatness regardless of what the day might hold. The message brilliantly connects this to Philippians 4:13, reminding us that Paul wrote 'I can do all things through Christ' not from a mountaintop of victory, but from a prison cell awaiting execution. What are we rinsing and repeating? Are we rehearsing complaints and defeat, or are we declaring God's faithfulness? The wilderness isn't necessarily a place where God can't use us—it might be exactly where He's raising up a gift within us. We're challenged to stop waiting for the miracle before declaring God as the miracle worker, to stop waiting for walls to fall before giving our shout. When we rinse and repeat the right things—worship, surrender, trust—our wilderness experience transforms not because the circumstances change, but because we've positioned ourselves to see God in the midst of them.