Be encourage with biblical encouragement and inspiration from Pastor Kevin Berry. Receive leadership tips to succeed in your work or daily life, follow along with daily devotionals, and receive practical steps to walk out your Christian life.
We are about to start a very exciting series on Sunday mornings that could drastically upgrade your life: The Great Pursuit. Seriously! With all that is going on in the world, we need to discover what the Word of God tells us is the greatest pursuit of all time! If you join me in this pursuit, I promise your life will begin a journey of massive upgrades.
The Bible is clear—the greatest goal is love! Nothing else matters. The greatest gifts you may have or desire to have, mean nothing without love. Love brings about the greatest transformation. Love—we were created for it.
Was love the motive behind all our actions on this earth? If you could take the entire Bible and sum it up in one word, it would have to be: LOVE.
Nestled between a description of spiritual gifts, and how they are to function in the church, we find that the real heart of the matter is love. The Apostle Paul said,
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3,13 NLT)
We desperately need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be properly exercised in the church today. However, as in Paul’s day, the gifts would mean nothing if there is not love.
The great evangelist D.L. Moody heard Henry Drummond expound on 1 Corinthians 13, the subject of love. In response, he said, “It seemed to me that I had never heard anything so beautiful. The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other. Would that we could all move into that love chapter and live there.”
But what is love? What does love look like when it shows up on our doorstep, offices, schools, and homes? In this series, we will discover what real love is—the kind of love that comes straight from the Father’s heart.
You were made for the one thing that really matters: LOVE.
To get the most out of this series, I strongly encourage you to connect with a Life Group! Discover the power of love together with friends and family and be transformed by the love of God. Looking forward to seeing you real soon!
Dear Friend,
Renee and I thank God for you, and we are praying Luke 1:45 over your new year!
You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said (Luke 1:45).
Mary believed in God and was blessed because of her faith. It is the same with you! There is a blessing for you that is linked to those words, “because you believed.”
An unwavering belief in what God said has shut the mouths of lions, caused walls to come tumbling down, brought salvation to an entire city, brought Israel out of Egypt, brought healing to sick bodies, caused the waters of the Red Sea to run out of the way, brought overnight miracles, and filled God’s people with courage in the midst of the impossible.
The times we live in call for unwavering belief. Will you put action to your faith by joining Renee and me in 21 days of fasting and prayer? We will start the fast on Monday, January 3 and continue through Sunday, January 23. We will then pray, worship, and celebrate together with a citywide prayer gathering on Wednesday, January 26, @ 7pm.
Fasting is the secret weapon for every Christian! Fasting can trigger freedom for you and for others! Fasting can transform your prayers, deepen your relationship with God, increase your spiritual senses, bring increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and result in personal revival.
Fasting can put you on the fast track to living your God-given destiny and bring freedom and awakening to our city and this region.
“Combining fasting with prayer can result in a spiritual atomic bomb that pulls down spiritual strongholds and releases the power of God in your life and the life of your church, its pastor, its leaders, and its members.” — Bill Bright
For more information on fasting, I highly recommend Pastor Dave Williams’ book, The Miracle Results of Fasting. You can stop by the Resource Center, just across from the Connect Center, to pick up a copy this Sunday.
During our fast and throughout the rest of the year, let’s read the One Year Bible together. You can access The One Year Bible online at: https://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/?version=51&startmmdd=0101. Or you can purchase one at the Resource Center. Just remember this— when you are reading your Bible, you are not just reading words. You are reading the very words of God.
As He promised, may the Lord reward you for your fasting this year (Matthew 6:18). May you be filled with uncommon faith as we read through the Bible together this year. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord give you peace! God bless you and happy new year!
Your Friend and Pastor,
Kevin Berry
The heroes of faith found in Hebrews 11 are examples of how to overcome when you are against all odds, and the culture of this world is against you. By faith, they brought what is in the Kingdom of God to earth. With their example in mind:
Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. – Hebrews 12:1-2
How do you bring God’s world into this world? (As it is in Heaven, let it be on the earth!) How do you live a holy life that runs against the culture of this world? According to the Word of God, success in the race we are called to run is accomplished by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus!
I’ve been thinking about my times deer hunting this year. When I sit out in the woods, my mind isn’t normally racing. I’m focused on one thing: hearing and seeing deer in the woods. I take in every sound and the beauty of creation all around me. I become sensitive to the slightest sound as my eyes scan the landscape. If I can train myself to listen for deer moving the woods, I can train myself to be sensitive to the sound of the Lord moving.
Whatever you respond to, you become sensitive to. Whatever you ignore, you become hardened to. Let’s practice responding to the Lord this week. May His slightest move or whisper capture our attention as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! May we bring some more of His world into this world. May your heart not be overcome by the evil around you. Instead, may your eyes and heart remain fixed on the King!
I LOVE YOU and am praying for you! As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m thanking God for you. My heart is filled with love for you, and it’s coming out as a prayer from the Apostle Paul.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for you with joy. And I’m confident that God, who began a good work in you, will be faithful to finish what He started. It’s right that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a special place in my heart! God knows how much I love you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:3-8
Did you notice how many times the Apostle Paul said the word “you” in that prayer? Six times! The people that filled the church in Philippi were at the front of Paul’s mind. I want you to know that you are on the front of my mind and close to my heart. I hurt when you hurt, and I jump for joy when you celebrate. The purpose of my letter to you this month is simply to say—I love you!
Recently on a Sunday morning, I prayed with a precious mom who, through tears, asked me to pray for her son to come off life support. We dropped to our knees and prayed right there. Seconds later, a young man told me of his desire to get engaged that morning. He asked if I would help orchestrate the moment where he would make the big ask. I called them over, and as she came near, he dropped to his knees and proposed. People around could see him holding out the ring, and they started clapping and celebrating the moment.
Experiencing the weeping and celebrating just seconds, and feet, apart reminded me of the variety of circumstances our church family faces every day. There is such beauty in the privilege of bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6) and sharing in eachother’s joys. Thank you for intentionally engaging with your church family every week! Thank you for simply taking time to walk through the hallways looking for opportunities to pray with and encourage somebody; for talking to somebody you usually don’t talk to; for stopping by the Connect Center and intentionally connecting.
The best way for the family of God to be there for each other is undoubtedly through close relationships. If you are not part of a small group, would you prayerfully consider joining one? You might think you don’t need to be in a small group, and I get it. But here’s the thing, somebody needs you! Together we can ensure that Mount Hope Church is the best protected, best fed, and best cared-for flock in the world. Thank you.
What a privilege it is to be your pastor. I feel the weight and joy of watching over your souls and being accountable to God for how I treat His children, the children He died and rose again for.
Thank you for allowing me the honor of being able to pray, love, and serve you.
Your Friend and Pastor,
Kevin Berry
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ Genesis 32:9
When Jacob faced a huge obstacle, he taught us a lesson on how to pray. He poured out his heart to God and told God how he was feeling. He was afraid, terrified, and thought the worst was going to happen. He thought his angry brother was going to destroy his family. But watch where he landed in his prayer… this is where the power is. He said, “Lord, you told me…” and reminded God what was promised to him. This is the game-changing moment of every prayer you pray. When you know what God has promised you, you have something to hold onto. That word from the Lord becomes the focal point of your prayers.
One of my favorite ways to pray is lining up my prayers with what God has said. It’s been a regular practice of mine for years to have about four pages of what I call declaration verses. They are scriptures that clearly say what God has said over my life, promises He has made to me through His written word. From my personal walk with God, my marriage and family, the ministry God has called me to, the friendships God has blessed me with, to the finances God has entrusted to me—I have searched God’s Word to find out what He has to say about that.
Here are some of my favorites that I wanted to share with you. Today, enjoy saying what God has to say to you! Go ahead and say them out loud and hear the Lord speaking over your life.
As you are reading God’s Word today, look for a promise, look for something God is speaking over you. Then take note of it, make a list. You can speak those words over you, and pray those words for years to come. Remember, He is faithful to keep His promises!
These days when there is chaos and confusion in the world around us, it is more important than ever to be connected to the One who brings order to disorder; to the One who helps us—the Holy Spirit. It is imperative in this season that you stay highly connected to your church family (Hebrews 10:25), and to the Holy Spirit!
We see the first activity of the Spirit of God on page one of our Bibles. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, but creation was a process, not done all at once.
The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2).
Formless and empty come from Hebrew words that mean a place of chaos and confusion, a lack of order.
This is where we see the Spirit of the Lord hovering (preparing to move something from chaos to order) over the surface of the waters, making something beautiful out of what was chaotic.
The Holy Spirit makes what is filled with chaos become filled with beauty; that is what He did at creation, and it’s what He still does today! Everything beautiful that God does in your life is accomplished through the direct action of the Holy Spirit! Are there areas of your life that are chaotic? Is there something broken that looks beyond hope? You need the Holy Spirit. As I look at the chaos around us, I’m reminded of our desperate need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You can look at all the chaos around you, or you can see the Spirit moving above it all. He’s preparing to bring life, order, and beauty!
This is what the Spirit does for us! He comes to live inside of us when we place our faith in Christ. He starts to untangle all the messes of our lives. He takes what was ugly—filled with sin and chaos—and makes it beautiful! Oh, I’m so glad that God doesn’t wait for us to be void of chaos before He comes to us!
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more (gradually) like him as we are changed into his glorious image
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).
I used to think that being filled with the Holy Spirit was optional. I knew being saved was essential;
that would determine where I would spend eternity, in Heaven or Hell, and the kind of life I would live on this earth. I could live an abundantly full life or a life of constant chaos on this earth. I thought water baptism was kind of an option. If I wanted to, I could be water baptized later on, and maybe someday I could be filled with the Holy Spirit. But that would probably be a way off; after all, the Spirit is Holy, and I didn’t always feel very holy. But that is not what the Scriptures teach us!
Throughout the journey of the early disciples, it’s apparent that being filled with the Holy Spirit was considered essential! How about you? Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed? Have you had the Holy Spirit come upon you since you believed? The disciples could not live out their God-given mission to take the gospel of Jesus to the nations of the world without first being filled with the Holy Spirit… and neither can we.
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away —all who have been called by the Lord our God” (Acts 2:38-39).
These words of the Apostle Peter are still true today: You will receive! The bottom line is if you are born again, that means you have the Spirit of God already living inside of you. Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will receive!
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13).
Friend, whether you are a brand-new believer or a seasoned follower of Christ, this promise is STILL for you! Simply ask, receive, and experience the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit!
Renee and I love you and are praying for you. We see the Holy Spirit moving above all the chaos that has come against your life and making something beautiful in and through you!
Your Friend and Pastor,
Kevin Berry
Over the last year, we were slammed with information about Covid, mask-wearing, vaccines, and so much more. Shockingly, we went through a season where the government told churches not to gather, and some that they could not sing! How do you know who to believe anymore? What’s the truth?
Beloved, you must be grounded in the Word of God!
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. – 2 Timothy 3:16
Contrary to popular opinion, there is right and wrong. Some things are true, and others are false. The Word of God will teach you to do what is right! The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and it teaches us what is true and points out what is wrong in our lives.
Let me give you a few critical reasons why you must be immersed in the Word of God.
Jesus said, “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We need a healthy diet of words—but not just any words—GOD’S WORDS! When you feed on the Word of God, you get healthy!
How is your appetite for the Bible? When a person loses their appetite, it’s a danger sign; it is a sign of sickness. If you have no hunger for the Word of God, it’s a sign of a spiritual sickness that will begin to eat away and erode every area of your life.
When you are desperate for God, you will become dependent on the sustaining power of His Word.
Perhaps one of my greatest concerns in this season has been the amount of “junk food” that people have been feeding on. People have been filling up on words from social media and the news. Yikes! I grew up hearing things like, “Garbage in, garbage out.” The reason so many people are talking garbage is that they’ve been feeding on it. Others get their fill from their favorite Bible teacher, which is okay, but it is no substitute for your own Bible study! Hear my heart—you need to be feeding on God’s Word personally! You are not supposed to live off the words God spoke to your pastor; God has a personal word and time of encounter for you! Read your Bible, encounter God there. Read your Bible and change your life.
I was up before the sun hoping for a word from you! – Psalm 119:145 MSG
There is nothing more important to your life in this season than for you to hear the voice of the Lord! The Lord wants to talk to you. His voice will speak to you about the relationship He longs to have with you! The overall theme of the Bible is God’s pursuit of you. He intends to adopt you through faith in Christ into His family!
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:4-5
His voice will speak to you about guidelines for your life. He will teach you what is best and direct you in the way you are supposed to go (Isaiah 48:17). The Great Shepherd of your soul, Jesus, will guide you along paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). The world has just plain flipped upside down and has thrown out even the concept of right or wrong. You need to hear the voice of the Lord about sexuality, holiness, pornography, sex outside the marriage covenant, and so much more.
Remember the words of the Apostle Paul where he said, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic. – Psalm 29:4
I hear the voice of the Lord speaking to you right now through His Word. Go ahead and open your Bible to Psalm 23. Read and listen; He is saying:
I am the Lord, your shepherd, you have all that you need! All that you need is wrapped up in me. I created you to cling to me, to be close to me. Nothing in your life will feel entirely right as long as you are filling up your life with things other than me. Now watch me, beloved, see what I do for you. I make you rest because I know you are at your best when you rest. The best only comes out of you when you are in a place of rest. I lead you into the peace of my presence! Yes, you are called to live in peace. Peace is your divine destination. Peace—my peace—is your inheritance. There in that place of peace, I restore your soul. I renew your strength. I make every part of you that is alive, fully alive!
I restore everything that was stolen from you. I restore everything that was damaged and broken in you. I AM the Lord, your Healer! And even when you walk through the darkest days, you will not be afraid! Why? Because I am right here close beside you! Oh, too many people have been more aware of viruses and the problems that surround them than they have been aware of me. But not you, my child! Look, take note, I’m not distant. I’m not far from you! No, the Lord your Shepherd is near you! I AM with you! My unfailing love and mercy will pursue you all the days of your life! Peace be to you!
Reading God’s Word isn’t enough; you have to obey it! Jesus said something that must have shocked those who heard it the first time. He told them that whoever listens to His teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds his house on a solid foundation. And when the rains come, and the winds beat against that house, it WILL NOT collapse!
But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come, and the winds beat against that house, IT WILL COLLAPSE with a mighty crash. – Matthew 7:26-27
In the last days, the Scriptures warn against false teachers and that some will depart from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1). The ones who are most at risk to false teachers and falling away from the faith in the last days are the ones who hear the Bible but don’t obey it; they are heading toward a mighty crash. Don’t let that be you!
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted. – John 15:7
You are my friends if you do what I command. – John 15:14
IF is one of the smallest, yet biggest, words in the Bible. If you do what Jesus commands, then you are His friend!
So my friend, just get started. Open up your Bible, get into that book, encounter God there and change the rest of your life!
Your Friend and Pastor,
Kevin Berry
The Lord has spoken the word TRANSFORMATION over Mount Hope Church this year. We learned earlier this year that one of the most significant transformational moments of your life is when you become filled with the power of the Holy Spirit!
Over these last several months, we have also learned that we are meant to be together. When we live out the best of days or go through the worst, we must be joined together as family. There are times of testing, trouble, and persecution ahead, yet there are times of wonderful joy as well! We are being prepared for an awakening like nothing we have experienced before. As we eagerly anticipate all that God is going to do, I cannot think of anything better than to give our entire church family the opportunity to be filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit.
You will want to be here on Sunday, August 29 with Pastor Dave Williams at 8:30 & 10:30am and a special 6:00pm service as he leads us into our next series, FILLED. You can’t miss the transformation of Jesus’ disciples before they were filled with the Holy Spirit and after they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went from cowering in fear to being bold and full of faith. Beyond obvious boldness, prophetic speech, and gifts of the Spirit at work, the disciples were filled with the love of God. Love made the difference between them and the rest of the world.
In this series, you will discover:
Following our powerful services with Pastor Dave, Life Groups will kick off on Sunday, September 5th as we dive even deeper into all the Holy Spirit offers us as believers. We know that we cannot succeed spiritually alone; we are meant to do this life together. As we grow personally and help others grow, would you join me in being part of a Life Group this fall?
We believe you have what it takes to host a Life Group right in your home! Sign up to host this 9-session series starting September 5. Each week, I’ll provide a video teaching with others pastors, questions to ask the group, and a week-by-week discussion guide.
I love America and thank God that while He could have put me anywhere on the planet, He chose America as my temporary earthly home. However, as I look across our nation and take note of the deception, division, violence, and sexual immorality, I’ve come to one conclusion. We desperately need another spiritual awakening in this nation! What the Scriptures call moral rot has filled this land. We need more than better policies and laws. It’s time for some unusual prayer. It’s time to become more intentional in leading people to salvation through Jesus. For the sake of people headed for the dungeons of the damned, an eternity in hell, we need revival. We, the Church, stand at a crossroads. What will we do? It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize our elected officials, the Church, and each other, but it will accomplish nothing.
This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ – Jer. 6:16
The greatest danger for America is not a virus, climate change, cyberattacks, or the terrorists on the outside, but the moral rot and wickedness within the country—
pornography, adultery, violence, sexual perversion, greed, deception, prayerlessness, and hypocrisy. At the heart of every sin is a rejection of God’s authority.
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability. -Proverbs 28:2
The Church is the only one that has the cure to America’s most profound problems. Who else can set people free from years of bondage? Who else can offer eternal life? Who else can transform hearts and lives? As followers of Christ, this is our time to rise to the occasion. The hope for America starts with these words taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people…” (that’s you and me)! It’s our time to pray and to represent the Kingdom of God on the earth every day!
Will you join me in prayer on Wednesdays at 7:00pm? Together, let’s write a new future through our prayers for our lives, this region, and our nation.
Heavenly Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son. We pray for our leaders in America—our local, state, national leaders, judicial, legislative, and executive leaders. We plead the blood of Jesus over them and their families. We ask you to direct the hearts and minds of our leaders according to Proverbs 21:1 that says the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and you direct it like a stream of water. May they make decisions based on your will and your plans for this country. Surround our leaders with godly counselors that will agree with your Word. Lord, we ask you to remove from positions of authority those who stubbornly oppose righteousness. Replace them with men and women who will follow your plans for our schools, cities, states, and our nation. Your kingdom come, and your will be done!
I love you, and thank God that we are in this together!
– Your Friend and Pastor, Kevin Berry