Mitchell Berean Church - Podcast

Reactions control us. Whether we are the one reacting, or someone else, the thought of a bad reaction will keeps us from saying, doing, or experiencing so much in life. There may be good reason for some things to not happen, but when it comes to sharing our faith we need to be able to overcome fear of reactions and take action steps for the sake of the lost. Paul in Acts 17 continues his missionar...

All of us have likely experienced a locked door. It can be humorous, frustrating, comforting, and confusing depending on the circumstances. Spiritually there are times where we find what seem to be closed doors. Moments and opportunities we hoped would come, but God seems to have other plans about. When these closed door moments happen, what is your typical response? Obedience and patience? Frustr...

One of the most difficult things for people to understand is when they or someone close to them receives something for free. Especially something that they clearly do not deserve. It makes us uncomfortable, confused, and even ashamed at times because of the reality we know, that we could never earn or deserve what we’ve received. In the early church there was a great struggle that arose because of...

Life can be a roller coaster. If we have no plan or objective in our life, then we have no choice but to follow our feelings and impulses to make ourselves more comfortable and surface-level happy. But when we embrace the mission that God has given to us, He supernaturally gives us a steadfastness to remain focused on the things of eternal importance. In Acts 14, the highest of highs are experienc...

When you’re sent to do something you feel unqualified for it can be overwhelming, frustrating, or straight-up terrifying. No one likes to go into something sure of their inevitable failure! In the Bible we can see that Jesus has called us as followers of Him to make and multiply disciples. To go into the world as witnesses of His Gospel. To represent the values of His Kingdom as ambassadors of rec...

The life of a disciple of Jesus is not “like” a war, it is a war. We will be tested and tried and will either end victorious or as a casualty. The stakes are high each and every day, but Satan and the flesh have a way to make our life not seem quite so urgent and not quite so important. Come join us as we look at Acts 12 and how our current war will test us with persecution, people pleasing, and a...

In our Christmas series leading up to this week we heard about the prophecies Jesus fulfilled. This week we'll discuss the reliability of those Scriptures and the benefits of studying the Bible. We invite you to join us in 2025 to complete a reading plan that will take us through the whole Bible in one year. Key Passage: Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ - “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching...

Christmas is one of our favorite times of year! We celebrate the coming Messiah, enjoy(mostly) time with our families, and give gifts to one another that represent joy and love. It truly is a wonderful time! The first Christmas, however, was not so wonderful for everyone. There were many different reactions to the birth of Jesus, and while some were positive, many were very against Him. Apathy, fe...

When we think about Christmas our tendency is to find glory in the story, and miss the true glory of the Savior! The prophecies spoken about Jesus’ birth in the Old Testament often come with dual meaning. Sometimes there is an imagery angle in an Old Testament character like Moses, Joshua, or David, but also point clearly to Jesus. Other times there is a prophecy that is fulfilled not just by one...

Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, God of Isra-El became Immanu-El by coming to earth over 2000 years ago. Prophesied some 700 years earlier, God through the prophet Isaiah predicted the Messiah’s birth, that God would be with us. Matthew 1 quotes Isaiah’s foretelling in verse 23: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” We...

As we celebrate this Christmas season, we are diving into a series called “As Promised.” Last we discussed the promise of a conquering King, but this week we will look at the Kings heart. How does God view disaster, loss, pain, and suffering? When things seem to be promising, yet take a turn for the worst, do we have a King who cares? Key Scripture - Hosea 13:14 - “I shall ransom them from the pow...

Every Christmas we get reminded about “the reason for the season.” Simply put, we celebrate Christmas because of Christ! However, the more you look at “the reason” the more miraculous it becomes. Did you know Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies? Many of these prophecies began taking place during the time of His birth. Prophecy is more than a foretold event. Rather prophecy is a revelation of God’s...

It can be difficult for us to trust God when He works in mysterious ways. The Jewish believers of the early church felt this and struggled heavily with the ways God chose to move among the Gentiles. As they worked on understanding and accepting the direction God was leading in Acts 11 He just kept moving forward! There is truth to understand that nothing will be able to hinder God’s plan from bein...

Have you ever come to a moment in your life where the plans, ideas, and hopes you had moving forward all shifted into something unexpected? The early church in Acts came to many moments like this, but none ended with more impact than the salvation of the house of Cornelius. These gentiles were the opening of the tap that led to a flood still raging to this day. As a church we have to ask the quest...

This weekend we look at the conversion of Saul, who later calls himself the “foremost of sinners.” The last we heard of him, he had aided and agreed with Stephen’s stoning. What an enemy of the church! But not for long. God had a masterful plan for Saul’s life to bring him into the light, both literally and spiritually. Let’s celebrate the miracle together that God redeems even the worst of sinner...

Whose kingdom are you building? Difficult times, especially unexpected times, tend to reveal our motives and purpose. Is our life fully devoted for the purposes of Christ? Or are we set on pleasing ourselves? Sometimes this can be tricky to discern. We are good at deceiving ourselves. Thankfully, God allows challenges, the unexpected, and failures to help expose our hearts so that we are aware of...

For centuries the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, walked in ways that were not with God. They had a good image going for being very spiritually rich, and full of devotion to God, but it was surface level at best and down right corrupt at its worst. This week as we look into Acts 7, Stephen gives a sermonette to the religious Jews who were accusing him falsely, about this very reality. They...

Have you ever been in a situation where there was a good thing you jumped at doing, only to find out later that a greater opportunity was missed? Sometimes this happens in our lives, and we have to walk with wisdom and discernment to not abandon the great for the good. It’s HARD though! We love to do what is good! It feels good, looks good, sounds good… Nobody will question us for doing good! The...

Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” The first thing we see in Acts 5 the result of a lack a reverent fear of the Lord, and God’s immediate judgment on this requires the life of two offenders. The result is a wide-sweeping reverential fear across the whole of God’s people. In contrast to the irreverent behavior of...

Feeling exhausted? At the end of your rope? Having a hard time believing God can provide a breakthrough? These are common challenges that face every follower of Jesus. We need more than good intentions, some Bible knowledge, and a weekly gathering to live a victorious Christian life. We are in a war and we need power! The early church lived in the power of the Gospel, but how? It was not through c...

Signs of the Holy Spirit’s arrival continue to be seen as we take a look into Acts 3. In this chapter, we see a man who had been lame from birth called to stand up and walk, and he does! But this isn’t the only miracle in Acts 3. Have a look at Peter’s boldness! This is the same man who denied Jesus three times on the night of His betrayal, and now he is drawing others’ attention to their denial o...

When my wife and I got married and formed the initial framework of a new family we began to identify values that focused us. Shifting from the life of a single adult to a married couple means new values towards new purposes. Once we started having kids and the family was growing those values became all the more important for us to hold to and keep focused on! In the early church we see values come...

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build His church, His "ekklesia," a term meaning a "called out group" or "movement" rather than a mere physical building or a social club. This "ekklesia" refers to a community dedicated to a divine cause. Jesus' intent was to establish a movement with a mission to glorify God by reaching every nation. This purpose is highlighted in Acts 2:1-41, where the divers...

Have you ever been in a new place and felt lost? We can study maps and pictures, but the real thing is often different than what we can visualize through graphics. Or perhaps you have helped start a new group, organization, or club. Whenever a new group forms there is excitement and often times some confusion. What should we do? How should we do it? In Acts chapter 1 we see A New Tribe forming. Th...

People are meant for relationships. We see this as people are drawn to various kinds of communities. Community can provide a sense of identity, belonging, and simply being involved with something that is bigger than yourself. This can come by way of sports teams, a job, a hobby, community support groups, home school groups, AMWAY groups, etc. Yet there is something that separates Christian communi...