The Peace of Not Being in Control | Reverberate Podcast

Did Solomon Know About Heaven? | Reverberate Podcast

Title: Did Solomon Know About Heaven?---0:00 Introduction0:38 Ecclesiastes says "what happens to man and beast is the same." I thought we go to heaven when we die?6:28 Is "enjoy your work" really all there is?12:01 If all Scripture is inspired by God, why was Solomon confused about the afterlife?18:48 Solomon's complex journey to a simple conclusion20:43 What's next?---Ecclesiastes 3:18–22I 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? (ESV)---In this episode, Pastor Jed and Jason discuss Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 and Solomon’s comparison between the death of people and animals. The conversation wrestles with hard questions about death, the afterlife, human limits, and what we can truly know by observation alone. Solomon is not reducing human life to animal life or denying the hope of resurrection. He is reminding us that we are creatures, not God. Death, evil, injustice, and uncertainty all confront our desire for control. Yet Ecclesiastes does not leave us in despair. It calls us to receive God’s gifts, rejoice in the work before us, do good, and trust the Lord with what we cannot see.---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.

Christ Over All

Title: Christ Over All --- 0:00 Introduction: Christ Over All 4:05 Christ's Power Over Darkness 16:06 Christ's Power Over Sin 21:09 Christ's Power Over Death 26:55 Christ's Power Over Earthly Kingdoms 34:24 Christ's Power Over Every Power at His Return 38:52 Closing Prayer --- Colossians 1:15–20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (ESV) --- In “Christ Over All,” Isaias Viñales preaches from Colossians 1:15–20 on the supreme authority of Jesus Christ over every power. Christ is Lord over the unseen powers of darkness, which tremble and obey at his command. He is Lord over sin, breaking its dominion through the cross and forgiving the debt that stood against us. He is Lord over death, rising bodily from the grave and holding the keys of death and Hades. He is Lord over earthly kingdoms, outlasting every empire and establishing a kingdom that will never be destroyed. The sermon calls believers to take comfort in Christ’s present reign and urges all people to bow before him now as Savior and King, before every knee bows at his return. --- 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.

Painful Pieces in a Beautiful Story | Reverberate Podcast

Title: Painful Pieces in a Beautiful Story --- 0:00 Introduction 00:37 How Is Everything Beautiful if Despair Exist? 7:15 How Is Everything Beautiful if Evil Exist? 8:58 How Should We Think and Talk About Tragic Situations? 15:43 Trusting God Even If We Don't See the Good 18:11 Avoiding Both Emotional Detachment and Overwhelm 24:40 What's Next? --- Ecclesiastes 3:1–13 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. (ESV) --- Pastor Jed and Jason discuss Ecclesiastes 3 and Solomon’s statement that God has made everything beautiful in its time. They wrestle with how that can be true in a world filled with grief, death, moral evil, and painful stories we do not fully understand. The conversation points to Lazarus, Joseph, and the cross to show that evil is never called good by itself, yet God can make even painful things fit within a larger story of redemption. They also discuss how Christians should grieve honestly, trust God without easy answers, and resist emotional detachment while still resting in the hope of resurrection. --- 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.

Wandering Appetites | Ecclesiastes 6:3-9

Title: Wandering Appetites --- 0:00 Introduction 3:26 Reading Ecclesiastes 3:3-9 4:40 If Your Soul's Not Satisfied, What's the Point? 10:02 What Is Satisfaction? 10:45 Our Appetites Are Never Satisfied 18:00 What Advantage Does the Wise Have Over the Fool? 20:22 Don't Pursue Control. Pursue Good. 24:05 Wandering Appetites 27:54 Looking At the Good that God Has Given Right Now 31:28 The Proper Place for Goals and Ambition 33:28 Where Do You Fail to Enjoy Something Good Because Your Appetite Wanders? 35:42 The Woman at the Well 41:07 Closing Prayer --- Ecclesiastes 6:3–9 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place? 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) --- Jed Gillis’ sermon on Ecclesiastes 6:3–9, “Wandering Appetites,” shows how easily the human soul chases satisfaction in things that cannot finally satisfy. Solomon points out that even a long life, many blessings, wisdom, work, money, relationships, safety, or achievement cannot give lasting rest when the soul keeps wandering toward “just a little bit more.” Rather than pursuing control, God calls His people to pursue what is good, to see and enjoy the gifts He has already given, and to bring every restless appetite back to Christ, the only one who can truly satisfy the soul. --- 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.

How to Be Less Alone at Church | Reverberate Podcast

Title: How to Be Less Alone at Church --- 0:00 Introduction 0:39 What Does True Community Look Like in the Church? 7:16 If Community Has So Many Benefits, Why Do People Choose Isolation? 12:43 How Do We Draw Isolated People In Without Overwhelming Them? 18:11  Do Churches Sometimes Hurt Community Through Busyness 22:18 How Can Someone Cultivate Community in a Stagnant Culture? 29:09 What's Next --- Ecclesiastes 4:6–12 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. (ESV) --- In this episode of Reverberate, Pastor Jed and Jason discuss Ecclesiastes 4 and its picture of true community. The conversation explains that biblical community is more than being in the same room, attending the same events, or exchanging surface-level conversation. Real community gives purpose, creates opportunities to help one another flourish, restores those who fall, strengthens the weak, and reminds believers that life is not meant to be lived alone. Pastor Jed also addresses why people often choose isolation, especially after hurt, fear, pride, or a desire for control, while emphasizing that the gospel gives believers enough security to risk loving others again. The episode closes by calling the church to pursue isolated people with gentleness and by reminding individuals that programs can create opportunities, but people create community through repeated, intentional love. --- 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.