Berea Baptist Church

Berea Baptist Church We are a body of believers that gather to do the Christian life together. We have Hope and we seek to share that hope at all times with everyone!

Berea is a friendly home for believers to gather and seek the Lord together. We realize the Christian life is hard and hope to join together to support and encourage one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). Through Sunday School, Worship and mid-week study opportunities we hope to be a Family of Disicples who make Disciples who make Disciples.

06/18/2026

Day 169 Today’s Reading – Luke 19
Devotional:
It’s hard not to strike up a tune in reading today’s passage. So, let’s sing it together… “Zacchaeus was a wee, little man, and a wee, little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior came that way, He looked up in the tree, and he said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down from there, for I'm going to your house today.’”
There… that’s better. Jesus did something audacious in visiting Zacchaeus. He basically called him down from the tree and invited Himself over for dinner. That probably wouldn’t be the greatest witnessing technique in our world, but for Zacchaeus it was perfect. Zacchaeus was a hated Jew. He was a traitor. He had decided to abandon his own people to serve as a vessel of the Roman government, a tax collector. Tax collectors were deceitful people. They were told by the Roman government to collect a certain amount of tax form their own people. In order to make their own living, they would add an exorbitant amount to the Roman tax. Given the fact that Zacchaeus was a “chief tax collector,” he had other collectors working under him. He would have dishonestly told them that the Roman’s figure was higher than it was so that he could also take his own cut. Zacchaeus had a change of heart. His faith in Jesus led him to make things right. Actually, the Old Testament law would have required him to give back the money plus twenty percent. Zacchaeus decided to settle accounts plus three hundred percent. This was not an act that brought on his salvation, rather evidence of the salvation he had already received.
How important is it that we give God praise? For us, it’s essential. The only way we will find fulfillment in this world, and safe passage to the next is by giving our lives to God in heartfelt praise. But from God’s perspective it is less so. While He would be heartbroken if we chose to reserve our worship for less praiseworthy things, He is not concerned that His praise would diminish. In fact, He has Plan B already in place. If we choose to stubbornly spurn the God who created us, the rocks will cry out in our place. Somehow, they will shout forth in majestic praise of their Creator. God is holy. He is worthy of praise and He will receive it, whether it is from man, beast or inanimate object. Let’s make our goal be to constantly praise Him with our actions and our words so the rocks may remain still and silent.


Pray For: Maltese of Malta

(MAHL-teez) – Pray for the University Bible Group ministry in Malta as they meet weekly for prayer and Bible study and as they hold fellowship and outreach events. Ask that the believing students will be encouraged and strengthened in their faith and that they will be bold in their witness. Lift up those who are curious and thirsty to know more, and ask that their eyes and ears will be opened to the truth. Pray for those in leadership to have wisdom and discernment, and pray for the nations to be impacted as students come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

06/17/2026

Berea Children’s Ministry is BACK tonight @ 6:30!!!
Don’t miss it!

06/17/2026

Welcome to

06/17/2026

Day 168 Today’s Reading – Luke 18
Devotional:
“Prayer is for every moment of our lives, not just for times of suffering or joy. Prayer is really a place; a place where you meet God in genuine conversation… Instead of beginning with prayer, we sometimes resort to it after all other resources have been used. When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God. We don’t need to be embarrassed that we are needy… Every feeble, stumbling prayer uttered by a believer is heard by God” (Billy Graham).
Prayer is as simple as a conversation, but more powerful than we can imagine. The believer who humbly (like the tax collector) comes before God in faith (like a child) will be able to see God readily answer every prayer. God has blessings unknown that He is ready to send our way, but we don’t ask Him. He waits to give us things we desperately need, but we haven’t humbled ourselves to be ready.
If the unjust judge is willing to “cave in” to the request of the widow, even though he doesn’t want to, because of her importunity (see Day 161 – Year 2), then how much more will the Perfect Judge, who wants to bless us, grant our requests? Persistence still has a role to play in this issue. How often do we allow the travesties of this world to affect us “day and night?” Are there things that we just cannot get off of our mind that we beg God for incessantly? Do we accomplish Paul’s command to “pray constantly” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) about any of our troubles?
We wouldn’t think of the widow as having faith. If we were to describe her actions, we would likely say that, having come to the end of her rope, she begged the judge hoping he might do something, realizing it was a long-shot. But, Jesus says that she had a faith that He was unsure He would find in His second coming (Luke 18:8). Instead of seeing the widow’s efforts as a last ditch plea that she expected would go unanswered, let’s see her as a more confident woman. She went to the judge daily (and nightly) because she knew eventually he would give in. She just wasn’t going to give up until he did. We’ve seen this type of persistence to be effective in our own world and in our own lives, but have we tried it in our prayer lives? Have we ever approached God with the confidence that He would answer our prayer? This childlike, humble faith is what we need to change our world.


Pray For: Muslims of Three States in South India

The Telugu-speaking Hajjam are a Muslim unengaged, unreached people group. They number about 17,000 and converse in Telugu with local people and in Urdu with other Muslims. Their name comes from the word “hajam,” which means “barber” and describes their traditional and current occupation. Additionally, some of them have more recently taken up carpentry. Please pray that believers will go to the Telugu-speaking Hajjam and share the truth of Christ. Pray that the hearts of the Hajjam will be open to believing these truths and that they will come to faith. Pray that the works-based hope they currently have will one day be replaced with an assurance and a living hope as described in 1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

06/16/2026

Day 167 Today’s Reading – Luke 17
Devotional:
What should the Christian life look like? If someone was to live a “normal” Christian life, not outstanding, nor subpar, what would be their character traits? Jesus says they would look like a humble slave. In a world where some people feel it is an accomplishment to merely come to church, so much that it seems they expect a pat on the back or a “thank you” card for merely darkening the door, how can we move toward such dedication?
Slave – δοûλος – (doulos) – This is the Greek word used to describe the slave in a master – slave relationship. Many modern Bibles have tried to “water down” this word to “servant,” but the original is clear. Some translations use the word “slave” when the Bible talks about slavery in Biblical times, and use the word “servant” when the Bible references our relationship with God. The reality is that, no matter the poor connotations we may have about “slave,” it is the word that is used. Just because the African slave trade showed the extreme abuses that may accompany slavery, that does not mean our relationship with God would be similar.
Too often we believe we should have an egotistical self-esteem. While God does want us to feel good about ourselves, He also wants us to understand ourselves the way He does. We truly are good-for-nothing. Left to our own devices sin would be the result every time. But, in Him we have righteousness, forgiveness and the ability to be pleasing to our Master. We cannot do these things on our own. It is only in Him. In this way, the master – slave relationship is indeed the best way to understand our relationship with God. We are nothing, He is everything. We have no ability to do good things, but in obedience to Him we may do incredible things. We are good-for-nothing, but as we do our duty for Him, we become something special.
So how should we live our lives? We should faithfully go into the fields all day long, come home and cook our Master supper and not expect a word of “thank you” from our Master or our coworkers. Said differently, we should witness for God all day long, seeking to be a light in our world even while we work. Then we should come home thinking about Him, praying, reading and being dedicated to Him. Whether life brings us blessings or trials, this must be our mission always. Don’t forget, unlike earthly slaves, we have a pretty good reward coming for our faithfulness.


Pray For: North Africans in Sun City, Europe

Four Arab students were hanging out between classes. Three of them share the same dialect of Arabic, while the fourth knows a different one, but with all coming to Europe to study abroad, they are able to communicate perfectly in English. As they were outside, waiting for their next class, they ran into two believers. They talked to the believers about their studies and life abroad, and then the conversation turned spiritual. Easter was a few weeks away, so the believers shared about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. One of the students said that she had heard this story before from one of her Christian friends. The students had a lot of questions, and two of them wanted Bibles, which the believers had with them and were able to give to them. Please pray for these university students. Thank the Lord that the one student had another opportunity to hear the gospel. Ask God to allow the seeds to take root in her heart and produce the fruit of salvation. Pray that God will grow the seeds that were planted that day much like what happened in 1 Corinthians 3:6 (ESV): “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

06/15/2026

Day 166 Today’s Reading – Luke 16
Devotional:
“Can’t get there from here,” apart from being a 1985 song by R.E.M., is the frustrated sigh of an undereducated direction giver. While it may be very difficult to get from one point to another, or costly to do so if the destination is far away, it is actually possible to get there. Any place on earth may be reached from any other place, it may just be a little difficult.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (it is a parable, which means the story has a “made up” element to it to make a point), there is a chasm that separates the afterlife of Lazarus and the rich man which Abraham says cannot be crossed. This is the only time in which the statement “can’t get there from here” is actually true. While some of the other details about heaven and hell in the story may be exaggerated for the sake of getting across Jesus’ point (inhabitants of each will not likely be able to speak to one another), the divide that separates the happy and tormentuous locales cannot be crossed. This would clearly call to question those who believe otherwise (such as those who believe in purgatory). When Jesus returns in judgment, or when we die, our destination is set for all eternity. No amount of begging or pleading could ever change that.
The rich man was surprised to see his destiny. He thought that as a child of Abraham he was somehow safe. He had amassed all sorts of wealth because of his faithfulness no doubt. What he had not done was be a good steward of those things. For this symptom of disbelief in God, he found an awful fate for eternity. Luke clearly was writing this down after Jesus had already been raised from the dead. An ironic twist to the fact that Jesus prophesied that the Jews would “not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (16:31).
Is it sinful to be rich? Absolutely not. Jesus says we should be astute with the things of this world. But, the reason for our shrewdness is so that we can use the things of this world to influence the next. We cannot take money with us to heaven, but we can use it now for heaven’s benefit. We cannot take our cars or homes to heaven, but we can use them now as a tool to lead people to Christ. It will only take seventy or so years to live on earth, but the consequences of our life will last for eternity. After that there will be a chasm separating us. Work to increase those on the good side.


Pray For: Northern Plateau Peoples of Southeast Asia

Please pray for the Tai Nua people of the Northern Plateau, an unengaged community deeply rooted in their traditions yet still waiting to hear the good news of Jesus. Ask God to break through spiritual barriers and open doors for His Word to reach them in their heart language. Pray for relationships to form between believers and the Tai Nua, that believers might learn to share Christ’s love in creative ways. May this be the season when the Tai Nua experience the hope and joy found only in Him.

06/14/2026

Greetings and welcome to Berea! We are excited to worship together with you. Today's scripture is found in Luke 11:5-13.

06/14/2026

Day 165 Today’s Reading – Luke 15
Devotional:
After a lost soul accepts Christ as their Savior, a minister often quotes today’s passage. He will tell the newborn Christian that at that very moment in heavenly places angels are rejoicing in a heavenly celebration that they’ve made this decision. Not the kind of bowling party the angels supposedly enjoy during thunderstorms, but an honest to goodness, non-metaphorical shindig to celebrate the Lamb’s Book of Life getting one name longer.
Over the years how has our response changed to this momentous occasion in someone else’s life? Have we grown cold to the miracle of salvation? Is the offer of free forgiveness routine enough that we don’t really care about the salvation of a new soul? Have we ever gotten frustrated that the church focused so much time catering to people who have just joined the fold when we’ve been here for decades being ignored? Instead of a party for new Christians, shouldn’t they be throwing a party to thank the dedicated leaders who make the church run so smoothly?
That’s the attitude of the prodigal son’s brother and the attitude of the ninety-nine sheep as they see the shepherd venture off to find the runaway. How often is it our attitude? Jealousy is not a characteristic becoming of a Christian. It has no place in the family of God.
The fact is, we will be surprised to see that some of those lost sheep from the other side of the world (or maybe just the other side of the tracks) will be given an awe-inspiring welcoming party to their heavenly mansion while some of our own Pharisees and scribes will be left out completely.
The rejoicing matches the forgiveness. Is it amazing that one of our church-raised children accepts Christ? Absolutely, the angels will certainly celebrate this salvation. But, it is even more amazing for someone who has never heard God’s name to make a jail-cell confession staving off an eternity in Hell merely hours before being executed. Which will have the greater celebration on earth? The good little Christian child. But, who will have the greater party in heaven? The one who has been forgiven most.
The brother’s jealousy is understandable, it may even be justified, but that’s the nature of God’s love. The faithful should remain faithful simply because God remains faithful to them. But, the real miracle is when someone who doesn’t stand a chance finds the passageway to heaven.


Pray For: Pakistan

Pray for Muslims in Pakistan as they observe Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), an Islamic holiday in which most households sacrifice an animal. Many people in Pakistan are seeking more answers about who Jesus is. Please ask God to put believers across their paths to explain the sacrifice that Jesus gave of His own life so that those who follow Him are slaves to sin no more.

06/13/2026

Day 164 Today’s Reading – Luke 14
Devotional:
What is humility? Is it the act of being humiliated? No, it can’t be. That wouldn’t be a desirable trait to have. Is it taking on the meek doormat persona that may be trampled upon by anyone who happens by? No, that doesn’t work either. Who would want to be trampled? If that isn’t what Jesus had in mind when He called us to take on a more humble outlook for life, then what is it?
A. W. Tozer put it this way: “the meek (humble) man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather, he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is, in the sight of God, more important than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything.”
So, when we go to banquets (we do this all the time, right), we should sit lower than we feel we deserve so as to be called up to our rightful position (is this the origin of “back-row Baptists?”). When we have guests over for dinner, we should be looking for those who actually need the food, rather than for people like us who would bear no ill effects of a missed meal or two now and then. We need to see ourselves in the appropriate light.
The man who is humble will care more about future benefit than immediate comfort. He will be the one who is willing to give up everything for the cause of Christ. He will abandon possessions, family and anything else that would hold him back to follow Jesus. Why? Because he understands how wretched he really is and how great a sacrifice Jesus made in saving a lost soul like him.
Note: Jesus’ use of the word “hate” strikes us as harsh. Our understanding of hate as being an antonym for the word “love” doesn’t help. From that we would think that, just like God wants us to love unconditionally, Jesus wants us to hate with equal fervor. But, Jesus was using the word “hate” as a tool for explanation. It is hyperbole, an exaggeration. We are to love our families as the rest of the Bible makes clear, but if family prevents us from following God… God better win that battle.


Pray For: Philippines and Beyond Cluster

“Easter Sunday was quite a day for Beverly! God answered her prayers. While her family members are not yet believers, they were willing to join her for worship! Please continue to pray for God to work in their hearts. Beverly has a big personality and she was over the moon excited to see how God is working. This is indeed the miraculous movement of God’s grace.”

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2033 N Road St
Elizabeth City, NC
27909

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Tuesday 9am - 2pm
Wednesday 9am - 2pm
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Thursday 9am - 2pm
Sunday 8:30am - 12:30pm

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(252) 338-8128

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