Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

Acts 5:1(NLT)—“But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.” Hmmm… Just try to imagine for a second this otherwise unimaginable scenario, as related in this PODCAST: A highly-respected individual walks into the cozy confines of Safe Haven, only to drop dead on the spot. Some time later, his unsuspecting wife walks in, and she too keels over, stone-cold dead. That is exactly what happened here in Acts 5, one of the most mysterious and misunderstood narratives in all of the Bible. For starters: That word “But,” δέ—as in “But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property”—is ominous in the extreme. In the technical grammar of the passage, δέ is an adversative particle, signaling something that could be translated: “On the other hand”; or, “Contrary to what you just read”; or, “By way of a startling, scandalous, and jaw-dropping contrast”… Alerted by that pesky particle, I can tell you that we are about to hear a strange story

As you will hear in this PODCAST, I stand in awe of our ancestors in the faith, the very first community of Christ-followers ever to walk this planet. By way of introduction, do you remember when, so very long ago, we studied the Sermon on the Mount? Let me remind you that Jesus introduced His signature sermon with 8 pronouncements of God’s blessing—We call them the Beatitudes. The most enigmatic of the 8 being Beatitude #3 that goes like this: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). You are about to see in full color, in High Definition, exactly what meek looks like, courtesy of our earliest brothers and sisters in the faith. Before we get to that, there is one additional Beatitude to which I want to direct your attention. It happens to be Beatitude #8, the last of Jesus’ pronouncements of God’s blessing. It reads: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and false

It is with a lump in my throat that I present to you this PODCAST. We are about to bid a fond farewell to someone who has become a dear friend of mine—a precious-if-forlorn 40-year-old lame man. It started out as just another ordinary day in Jerusalem, as if any day in the Holy City, in the two months following Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, could have rightly been described as ordinary. Peter and John made there way up to the Temple for their daily 3 PM prayers. They had no idea that by the end of that up-until-then ordinary day, their personal lives, the entire nascent Christian community, and all of Jerusalem would be rocked to their respective foundations. Peter and John encountered a lame beggar holding out a helpless hand as he sat in Temple Courts. Having compassion on this desperate middle-aged man, lame from birth, Peter and John mercifully proceeded to heal him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Naturally, at hearing this now-walking man leaping and praising God, thousands of worshippers

Let me take you back to Tuesday of Jesus’ final week. On that Tuesday, as you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus made a most-remarkable promise to His disciples, and by extension, to us. Allow me to remind you of what happened in Luke 21: “Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, ‘The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!’” Now listen to His promise: “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!” At the time, the disciples had no idea what Jesus m

As you are about to hear in this new PODCAST, a new day dawned upon these first committed Christ-followers. If that metaphor of a new day seemingly overstates the case, then at least we can say that a dark cloud now-shadowed the sun for these first committed Christ-followers. Not quite on the level of our eclipse; but portentous just the same. An ominous bellwether that signaled for these early believers a change in the temperature of Holy City. For the first eight-12 weeks following Crucifixion and Resurrection, these early believers were able to bask in the glow of their newfound faith unmolested. Not any more. Persecution was about to break out for first time in the now-2000 year history of Church. Relatively mild at first. No one died. No one was beaten. It was limited to Peter and John. But as you will hear, it did involve intimidation, incarceration, and threats of greater reprisals if the apostles refused to cease and desist as far as their preaching in Jesus’ name was concerned. Refuse they did. This

“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today,” Acts 3:24. What a remarkable statement. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, with those eleven words, Peter alerted that unsuspecting crowd that had gathered at the Temple for their daily 3PM prayers that the singular message of the entire OT was now beginning to be fulfilled right before their amazed and curious eyes. Jerusalem in all of its storied history had never before experienced anything like the events of the past two-to-three months. Going all the way back to Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into the Holy City, then His cleansing of the Temple, the crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Day of Pentecost. And now, for the past two-to-three months, nonstop, ongoing miracles. All of that leading up to this: a very public, and deafeningly loud miracle—the healing of the lame man whom everyone in Temple precincts that day had passed every day on their way up to Temple. I say loud because, as we can only imagine, when this man now went “wal

Ironies abound, in the four verses I just read to you. A full compliment of ten ironies by my count. Ten! The most soul-stirring and hope-producing irony being this—the takeaway of this PODCAST: Your most influential, inspirational, impactful life-message—greatest chapter of your story—will come not out of your successes, but out of your failures. To invoke Jesus’ masterful metaphor — “You ARE the light of the world.” That being true, your brightest beacon of light will shine forth from the depths of your darkest hour. And no, I am not referring to the failure of the thousands who gathered at the Temple on this day in Acts 3 to hear Peter indict them for their greatest failure, as stunning as that failure certainly was. There is buried within the syllables of this story an even greater failure. An absolutely epic fail, one that hinges on exactly one word—one word about which I will tell you as you get into this podcast. A failure that underscores the blessed reality that… “Your most influential, inspirational

“Let There be No Doubt.” As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, If you were going to compose a title for this, only the second sermon Peter ever preached, you could not do much better than this: “Let There be No Doubt.” By the time Peter draws this homiletic masterpiece to its rousing conclusion, there will be no doubt in the minds of his hearers. No doubt about who Jesus is. No doubt about who they are. No doubt about what they have done. And no doubt about what they now need to do. “Let There be No Doubt.” A sermon made all the more remarkable given who preached it: an uneducated fisherman who just weeks before had denied, disowned, and so completely denounced Jesus that he quit as a disciple and returned to fishing. A man who wept bitter/angry tears in the wake of his profound disappointment and deep disillusionment as he watched in horror as Jesus was led away in chains, to be killed as a common criminal by the very people—the barbaric, interloping, country-occupying, universally-hated Romans—whom Pe

We may not know his name. But as you will hear in this PODCAST, we surely know his story. As did some 5000 men plus countless women and children, whose lives—after hearing this man’s story—would never be the same again. This one story—the first of fourteen separate and specific miracles recorded in the book of Acts—exemplifies why I sometimes refer to God as “The God of the surprise.” Both then and now, God can and will—when we least expect it—apply His divine touch to our circumstances that seem to us to be impossible. Trust me, to this man who had been lame from birth for now more than forty years (Acts 4:22), his tragic circumstance was definition of impossible. Yet, as Jesus once declared to His watching and wondering disciples (this in Matthew 19), “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” He is, and ever shall be, “The God of the surprise.” Here’s the point. A grand and glorious point indeed: Within the boundaries of God’s perfect will, there is no such thing as a hopeless sit

“For more than forty years.” As you will hear in this PODCAST, five simple words, easily missed if we hastily read the account as recorded for us by Dr. Luke. Five astonishing words that unlock this entire episode in the life of the first early church in Jerusalem. “For more than forty years.” For more than forty years, everywhere this man went someone had to carry him. For more than forty years this man never knew the simple pleasure of standing on his own two feet. For more than forty years this man knew nothing of the joys of going for a walk, let alone a jog. For more than forty years he could never once kick a soccer ball, hit a baseball, throw a football, or run through the waves as they lapped upon the shore of the Mediterranean. For more than forty years this man never knew a healthy day—never knew for even a minute what it would be like to have two legs that weren’t as limp as dishrags. For more than forty years this man had in his legs no feeling, no movement, no sensations of any kind. For more tha

While I am away speaking at a Junior High/Middle School Camp at a place near and dear to my heart--Hartland Christian Camp--may I welcome to the Upper Room, and Jesus’ farewell address to His beloved disciples. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, as we break the seal on this, Jesus’ final night before the crucifixion, I do so with something of a lump in my throat and the pinkish hue of embarrassment upon my otherwise rosy cheeks. This because this particular portion of the grand story of Jesus’ life and ministry hits me most personally. And if, as they say, “Confession is good for the soul,” then I make my confession to you, my beloved little Safe Haven family, tonight. There is embedded within this most amazing scene, Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, a timeless lesson that, if only I could turn back the hands of the clock and the passage of time, I would have taken to heart way back when I was just starting out in my ministry. This pointed and practical warning is as timely today as it was that night

These were exhilarating times indeed for that original company of committed Christ-followers. In this PODCAST, and in the upcoming weeks, it will be our privilege to relive these salad days of the first ekklesia—in Jerusalem—as we join in a virtual sense these first precious believers, our ancestors in the faith. Last week, we looked at the four foundational dynamics that characterized this first early church. Foundational for them; foundational for us. You will remember that we considered each of these in some detail—that marvelous biblical blueprint for every local church, both then and now! The elegant simplicity and sincerity of which was breathtaking for us to behold. Now, we will consider a day in the life of these very first committed Christ-followers. The precious and precarious first hours of this first church’s delicate-if-exuberant infancy. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you richly

After a wonderful week ministering at Hume Lake, it’s so good to be home. And so glorious to be back in the amazing book of Acts. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, the elegant simplicity of what God intended His local churches to look like and how He intended for them to function, coupled with unencumbered sincerity of His biblical blueprint for every local church ministry, is breathtaking to behold. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you richly as you listen.

While I am away speaking at Hume Lake, please enjoy this encore PODCAST. You are about to hear an amazing story about a remarkable man, AND an encounter with Jesus that includes one of the most important and practical biblical principles that you will find anywhere in the pages of the Bible. Quite a claim, I know. One that I will absolutely prove in this PODCAST. A principle that I will be presumptuous enough to suggest that you and I need to hear, and of which we need to be reminded, perhaps often. This is on the surface a story about a man born blind (which would be remarkable enough). But it is also a story about sheep, about a sheepfold, about the door of the sheepfold, about Jesus who identified Himself as the “door of the sheep,” and about life in the desert in which the sheep and shepherds in Israel lived and continue to live. Before we get to the story itself, I need very briefly to remind you of something we talked about way back on February 2, 2013, nearly 3 years ago. When God appeared to Moses in

It is an elegantly simple, straightforward, non-controversial statement (at least in original language). Yet, as you will hear in this PODCAST, one that has led to nearly 2000 years of confusion. Confusion over things like: What is the proper mode of baptism? (Sprinkling? Immersing?) Should babies be baptized? Is baptism a sacrament? An ordinance? What’s the difference between the two? And what does it matter? Must someone be baptized in order to be saved? And if you have not been baptized, are you then not going to Heaven? My, oh my. How adept we humans are at taking something so supremely simple, and making it so insufferably complicated. My friends, we have a lot to talk about. Specifically: We need to talk about: 1. What did Peter actually say? 2. What did Peter not say? 3. What is the Scriptural significance of baptism? 4. Where exactly did Peter say this? IOW, is this story even plausible? Where in the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day do you find enough water to baptize three thousand people? 5. What are implica

It is time for us to celebrate. That’s the tone with which I want to share this PODCAST with you tonight. A tone of celebration. A celebration of a day unlike any other. A day that began so ordinarily; but one that ended so spectacularly, in the Holy City, on the southern steps of the Holy Temple Mount. So many miles from this place (McMinnville); so many years from this year (2017). Yet this was a day—the effects of which are so clearly manifested in the fact that you would not be listening to this podcast right now if this glorious day had not occurred. We’re talking, of course, about the Day of Pentecost, in or around AD 33. Which would make this the 1,984th Pentecost weekend since the Dispensation of God’s Glorious Grace began so wondrously nearly two millennia ago. Jesus, in Matthew 16, made this awe-inspiring declaration to jaw-dropping effect as far as His disciples were concerned (Verse 18), “I will build my ekklesia” (Jesus’ brand new, yet-to-be-born, worldwide family of faith), “and all the powers o

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, to our Western sensibilities, Acts 2:23 plunges us into a theological quagmire of staggering proportions. The age-old debate between God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. But trust me. When Peter introduced this indictment of that Day of Pentecost crowd, he didn’t even flinch. And therein lies the story. Consider this: It’s verses like Acts 2:23 that have given rise to literally centuries of endless (and may I humbly suggest, pointless) theological debate. All the while, Peter’s words in this landmark verse are so wonderfully elegant in their economy—a rather modest 15 words in the Greek; though something of a more elaborate 31 words in our English (NIV) translations. So here it comes. Acts 2:23. With its attendant theological quagmire. Hear it as it does… Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you richly as you listen.

It was proof undeniable. A reality on the ground about which every person in that vast crowd on this most significant Day of Pentecost knew. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, Peter triumphantly trumpeted to that crowd, and to us, “As you yourselves know.” Boy, did they know. How could they not have known? Fact is, reports of this wonder-working man from Galilee had circulated far and wide throughout the whole of the Roman Empire. Eyewitness accounts of His “miracles, wonders, and signs” had spread to every corner of the Mediterranean world. Fact is, if the people who had gathered in the Holy City on this Holy Day were honest with themselves and honest with the facts, they knew that what Peter’s voice boomed in Acts 2:36 was undeniably true: “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah.” Yes, they knew. “For certain,” they knew!!! Of course, the obvious questions are: Why did they know for certain? How could they have known fo

Welcome to Peter’s first-ever sermon. As you will hear in this PODCAST, this fisherman-turned-preacher’s initial foray into the world of sermonizing is memorable in extreme. And whether you realize it or not, Peter’s first sermon out of the gate is all about… Grasshoppers. As in locusts. Lots and lots of locusts. A plague of locusts. A past-plague of locusts. A coming plague of locusts. And a future (even future for us) plague of locusts. See it there in Acts 2:14-16? Listen as I read it to you, and see if you can hear ominous chomps of locusts: "Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, 'Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel.'" See any locusts in that? No? Well, then, keep listening. Because as you are about to hear, it is vital that we d

It is one of the great ironies of Christian life. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, the Holy Spirit came to this earth in Jesus’ absence in part to bring a supernatural unity to committed Christ-followers throughout the world. For example, we read in Ephesians 4:3, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” That phrase “the unity of the Spirit” notwithstanding, Christians throughout the world have arguably divided more over the gifts of Holy Spirit than any other single issue. Divisions that, quite frankly, have turned spiritually toxic. There are those who will tell you and me with some measure of intensity that if you do not speak in tongues, you are at the least not filled with the Spirit; and at the worst, not a Christian at all. There are those who will tell you and me with some measure of intensity that if you do speak in tongues, you are believing a false Gospel and consequently going to Hell. So as we enter this discussion, I will give to you my promise, and