Berea Update for March 20, 2026
A lot of people really like this time of year because of the college basketball tournament. One of the things that makes "March Madness" so much fun every year is the way people rally around a Cinderella story. Even casual fans find themselves cheering for the overlooked team, the lower seed, the school that was never supposed to make much noise but suddenly captures everyone’s attention. There is something deeply human about that. We love seeing the unexpected rise. We love seeing the underdog welcomed into the spotlight. We love stories where someone who was overlooked, dismissed, or counted out is suddenly impossible to ignore.
In a much deeper way, this Sunday’s passage reminds us that Jesus has always been drawn to the overlooked. In Mark 1:35–45, we meet a man who was not simply underestimated or underappreciated, but truly pushed to the margins. He was the kind of person others avoided, the kind of person society kept at a distance. Yet when he comes to Jesus, he does not find hesitation or disgust. He finds compassion. He finds a Savior who is willing to draw near, willing to touch, and willing to make clean. At a time of year when so many are enjoying the excitement of surprising stories and joyful anticipation, this passage turns our hearts toward something even better: the mercy of Christ for the needy and forgotten.
The devotional readings below are meant to help prepare our hearts for worship this Sunday and deepen our reflection throughout the week. They invite us to think more carefully about the mercy of Jesus, the reality of our need, and the hope found in the One who welcomes those the world often overlooks. My prayer is that in a season filled with beauty, excitement, and anticipation, these devotions will help us rejoice even more deeply in our Compassionate King.
Easter is right around the corner! Find out details about the events during the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday below!
Upcoming Events
1. This Sunday we'll continue in our sermon series on Mark called "Who Do You Say That I Am?" I'll be preaching a message from Mark 1:35-45 called "The Compassionate King."
2. Tomorrow from 9:00 AM- Noon, there will be a workday to prepare for Easter-week events at Resurrection Garden. There will be chores for all ages, so this makes for a great family activity outdoors, and the weather looks to be great! We will be resetting irrigation lines, loosening mulch, weeding the hill, weed eating, blowing, raking turf and gravel, moving boulders, clearing brush along creek, installing hose holders in the shed, cleaning signs, and more. Tools will be available for those who don't have any, but if you have rakes, shovels, blowers, weed eaters, or hand tools, you are encouraged to bring them! If you have any questions, please contact Wendy May at 937-561-1191.
3. You are all invited to the upcoming AWANA Grand Prix this Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30 PM here at the church! Come cheer on all the racers that night! You’ll have a chance to help judge cars this Sunday morning, so make sure you’re here for that as well!
4. Easter week is just two weeks away! As we remember our Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, we pray that you'll be able to participate in the many events planned for that week. Cards are available at the Welcome Center to pick up that give all the details. Use these cards to invite friends and family members to join us! Here is a schedule for Easter-week events:
Wednesday, April 1
Time of Prayer at Resurrection Garden 6:30 PM (NO AWANA)
Church-wide invitation to fast together: Begin fast at 5:30 PM (will end on Thursday, April 2 at 5:30 PM)
Thursday, April 2
Communion/Foot Washing Service 6:30 PM (Family Life Center)
Fasting ends at 5:30 PM (for those who choose to participate)
Friday, April 3-- GOOD FRIDAY
Service at the Crosses 6:30 PM
Sunday, April 5-- EASTER SUNDAY
7:30 AM Sunrise Service at Resurrection Garden, followed by Breakfast in Family Life Center (No Sunday School)
10:00 AM Morning Worship Service in Family Life Center
5. The 2026 Operation Christmas Child Kick-Off will be held on Saturday, April 11 at 9:00 AM here at the church in the Gathering Area. Come hear what's coming in 2026, and also we'll be joined by a real-life shoebox recipient who will share his story. Snacks will also be provided! Come for a sweet time of fellowship together!
Ways You Can Pray This Week
1. Pray for the parents in our congregation. Pray for their strength, wisdom, and that they might bring up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord!
2. Pray for our "senior saints." We are so thankful for their testimony of faithfulness to the Lord! Pray that the Lord will continue to watch out over them and bless them, and that they might be used by Him in a powerful way in our church family!
***Please know that there are many individuals who need prayer this week due to health concerns and other events going on in their lives. Out of sensitivity to each individual's situation, these requests may not appear in this weekly blog. We have a "Prayer Team" at the church who receives more detailed information, and commits to praying for individuals in our church family.
This Week's Devotions
Day 1 — The God Who Sees the Lonely
Genesis 16:13 (ESV) “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’”
One of the deepest human fears is not merely suffering, but suffering alone. Physical pain is hard. Emotional pain is hard. But isolation adds another layer of sorrow. To feel forgotten, unseen, or pushed to the margins can be crushing. Scripture repeatedly shows us that God is not indifferent to the lonely. He sees the outcast. He notices the overlooked. He draws near to the afflicted. That truth matters because many people carry loneliness in ways others never notice. Some feel isolated in grief. Some in illness. Some in shame. Some even in a crowded church sanctuary. Yet the Lord consistently reveals Himself as the One who sees what others miss. He saw Hagar in the wilderness. He saw David in his distress. He saw Elijah under the broom tree. And He still sees His people now. As we prepare for Sunday, this reminds us that the ministry of Christ is never cold or mechanical. He is not merely a teacher of truth or a worker of miracles. He is the Savior who sees people fully. He sees pain that has gone unspoken. He sees burdens hidden behind polite smiles. He sees what years of rejection, disappointment, or inward struggle have done to a heart. And His seeing is never passive. It is the seeing of mercy.
Reflection Question: In what area of your life do you most need to remember that God sees you fully and compassionately?
Day 2 — When Weakness Leads Us to God
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
Most people do not naturally welcome weakness. We try to manage it, hide it, explain it, or overcome it. We prefer strength, capability, and self-sufficiency. Yet one of the repeated lessons of Scripture is that weakness often becomes the very place where God teaches us our need for Him. This does not mean weakness is good in itself or that suffering should be romanticized. It means God often uses our limitations to expose how much we depend on ourselves. A season of weakness can strip away illusions of control. It can reveal how fragile we really are. And in that humbling, it can become a doorway into deeper fellowship with God. This is one of the paradoxes of grace: the Lord often does His deepest work not when we feel strong, but when we know we are not. A person who thinks they are spiritually strong may pray very little. A person who knows they are needy often clings to the Lord with greater earnestness. Weakness can become a mercy when it drives us to Christ rather than away from Him. As you prepare for worship this week, consider this carefully: perhaps the burden you most want removed is also the place where God is teaching you dependence. The Lord does not waste frailty. He uses it to draw His people nearer.
Reflection Question: How has God used weakness or limitation in your life to deepen your dependence on Him?
Day 3 — The Cleansing We Cannot Give Ourselves
Psalm 51:2 (ESV) “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”
One of the most humbling truths in Scripture is that sin is not merely a mistake to be corrected. It is a stain we cannot remove by our own effort. People often try, of course. Some attempt moral improvement. Some bury guilt under busyness. Some compare themselves to others and conclude they are “good enough.” Some rename sin so it feels less serious. But none of these things can cleanse the heart. David understood this after his sin was exposed. He did not ask merely for a second chance or a fresh start. He asked for cleansing. He knew that what he needed was not superficial repair but deep mercy from God. That is always the posture of true repentance. It stops defending self. It stops minimizing sin. It comes honestly before God and asks Him to do what only He can do. This is one reason the gospel is such good news. Christ did not come merely to instruct dirty sinners on how to improve themselves. He came to cleanse what we could never cleanse. He came to do for us what law, effort, and shame could never accomplish. It is worth asking whether you have grown casual about sin. It is easy to become more concerned with appearances than purity. But the Lord desires truth in the inward being. He is not fooled by external polish. He calls us to come clean before Him so that He may truly make us clean.
Reflection Question: Are there sins you have been managing, excusing, or concealing rather than confessing honestly before God?
Day 4 — Compassion That Moves Toward Need
1 John 3:18 (ESV) “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Biblical compassion is more than emotion. It is not merely feeling sorry for someone. It is love that moves toward need. It acts. It serves. It bears burdens. It refuses to remain distant when mercy is required. That matters because it is possible to admire compassion without practicing it. We may speak kindly about loving others while remaining guarded, detached, or too preoccupied to engage real need. But Christlike compassion always has movement in it. It is willing to be inconvenienced. It is willing to get close enough to another person’s pain that love becomes costly. In everyday life, this may look less dramatic than we imagine. It may mean listening patiently to someone who is hurting. It may mean visiting someone who feels forgotten. It may mean speaking hope to a discouraged believer. It may mean helping quietly, praying faithfully, or entering someone’s mess without recoiling from it. This is especially important in the church. The body of Christ should be a place where hurting people encounter truth and tenderness together. Not watered-down truth. Not sentimental softness. But real gospel-shaped love. The Lord has shown us mercy not so we can hoard it, but so we can reflect it. Ask the Lord not only to help you receive compassion, but to become a channel of it.
Reflection Question: Who around you may need not merely your concern, but your active compassion this week?
Day 5 — Obedience in the Small Things
Luke 16:10 (ESV) “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much."
Many people imagine obedience mainly in terms of life-changing decisions. But the Christian life is usually formed in smaller moments. It is built in daily choices, quiet submission, hidden faithfulness, and ordinary acts of trust. We often want to do something significant for God while neglecting the simple obedience already set before us. Yet Scripture teaches that faithfulness in little things matters deeply. A guarded tongue. A truthful word. A resisted temptation. A prayer offered in secret. A confession made quickly. A kindness shown without recognition. These are not insignificant. They are part of the shape of discipleship. Small acts of obedience reveal something important: whether we truly trust the Lord enough to do what He says. Often the struggle is not confusion about God’s will but reluctance to obey it when it cuts across our preferences. We want room to negotiate. But discipleship is not editing Christ’s commands. It is yielding to them. Spiritual maturity is not measured only by what we know, feel, or profess. It is seen in whether we obey. Not perfectly, of course, but sincerely. Real love for Christ always leans toward obedience.
Reflection Question: What “small” act of obedience has God placed before you that you may be tempted to overlook?
Day 6 — The Savior Outside the Camp
Hebrews 13:12–13 (ESV) “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”
The gospel is not merely that Jesus helps the broken. It is that He entered fully into the place of shame to bring sinners near to God. Hebrews reminds us that Jesus suffered “outside the gate,” a phrase heavy with meaning. He was rejected, cast out, treated with disgrace. He stood in the place of reproach. This helps us understand the costliness of redemption. Salvation is not cheap sentiment. It is not divine kindness detached from justice. Christ bore shame, suffering, and judgment so that sinners could be brought in. He took what we deserved so we could receive what we never deserved. There is also a call here for believers. If Jesus suffered outside the camp, then following Him may also mean bearing reproach. Faithfulness to Christ will not always be admired. In some settings, obedience will cost approval. In others, it may cost comfort, reputation, or opportunity. But Christ is worth it. Better to be outside the camp with Jesus than honored in places where He is denied.
Reflection Question: How does the suffering of Christ reshape the way you think about your own calling to follow Him faithfully?
Day 7 — Come to Him as You Are
Isaiah 55:1 (ESV) “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…”
One of the great invitations of Scripture is the repeated call to come. Come thirsty. Come needy. Come weary. Come guilty. Come empty-handed. The Lord does not invite people who have already fixed themselves. He calls those who know they need mercy. That invitation is both comforting and exposing. It is comforting because no one is excluded on the basis of brokenness. It is exposing because it requires honesty. You cannot truly come to Christ while pretending you have no need. You cannot receive mercy while clinging to self-sufficiency. Coming to Jesus means admitting thirst. It means acknowledging that what this world offers cannot satisfy the soul. Church attendance can become routine. Sermons can become familiar. We can sit under the Word with minds engaged but hearts closed. But the Lord’s call is personal. Come. Do not merely analyze truth. Receive it. Do not merely observe Christ from a distance. Draw near to Him in faith. The deepest need in the room each Sunday is not just more information alone. It should be a fresh encounter with Christ through His Word. He is still the One who receives the needy. He is still the One who gives grace to those who come in humility and faith.
Reflection Question: What would it look like for you to come to Christ honestly and expectantly each Sunday?
Kids (and Kids at Heart) Korner
Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A: A gummy bear.
Have a great weekend! Hope to see you Sunday!
Mark