Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

Luke 10:1 (NKJV) reads, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” In light of that verse, I want to float a theory. My theory is this: Jesus did nothing arbitrarily or randomly. There was purpose behind everything that Jesus did. Including His sending of the 70. So if my theory holds, that Jesus did not send out the 70 randomly or arbitrarily, we are face with two most-intriguing questions: 1. Why in the world did Jesus send out 70? 2. What does it mean to us today? And as you will soon hear in this PODCAST, it means everything to us today. 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.

Key word for this PODCAST? Expectations. There is nothing more toxic to our faith than when we base our faith on misinformed expectations. More precisely, holding God to expectations that He never intended for us to form; expectations God never committed Himself to fulfill. They say that "confession is good for the soul." OK, here's my confession to you: Every week, when I open the Bible and begin to teach, I keenly, keenly feel my inadequacy. That’s not a me-trying-to-sound-humble statement; that’s a me-being-brutally-honest statement. A true statement, an honest admission, because I know that each and every person who listens to my voice and hears my words is experiencing their own challenges, asking their own questions, working through their own difficulties. Consequently, there is so much that I would like to tell you, but literally so little time. How much can we accomplish in less than an hour together each week? I am certainly not alone in my frustration. I take great comfort that Jesus felt it too

It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and meaningful of our Christmas carols. As you will hear in this PODCAST, its seven stanzas tell the complete story of Christmas, brilliantly combining both Matthew’s and Luke’s Nativity narratives. The carol to which I refer? The First Noel. The First Noel, the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay; In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep, on a cold winter's night that was so deep. Chorus: Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. They looked up and saw a star shining in the east beyond them far. And to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night. And by the light of that same star, three wise men came from country afar. To seek for a king was their intent, and to follow the star wherever it went. This star drew nigh to the northwest, o'er Bethlehem it took it rest. And there it did both stop and stay right over the place where Jesus lay. Then did they know assuredly within that house t

Welcome to December. Not our December, even though today’s date is December 13. Which, BTW, is for our Jewish friends the 7th day of Hanukkah. As you will hear in this PODCAST, I’m talking about Jesus’ December, His final December. As John observed in John 10, it was winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem for what John calls the Feast of Dedication. As we break seal on this story, we are now a mere four months from the crucifixion. When we last left Jesus, He had just healed a man born blind following the Feast of Tabernacles in October. This led to a rather heated confrontation with the religious leaders who kicked the now-healed blind man out of synagogue and denied that this man was ever blind. When that didn’t work, because everyone in Jerusalem knew this formerly blind-beggar, they accused Jesus of healing Him in the power of Satan. The confusion caused by these Pharisees left the crowd reeling. Thus we read, “Many of them said (of Jesus), ‘He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?’ Others sa

Spoiler alert! You will find this PODCAST heartwarming in the extreme. Let me set it up in this way: When Jesus declared “I AM the good shepherd,” He revealed volumes about Himself and where you and I stand with Him. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that contained within those five words are our theology of exactly who God is and what God is like. Most importantly, how we relate to God, and how He relates to us, in His own words, according to His own description of Himself. And as you will soon hear, of all of the metaphors used by the biblical writers to describe God, none comes close to the beauty of this one statement: "I AM the good shepherd." What does that statement mean -- to Jesus’ original hearers, and to us today? More than you can possibly imagine. 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.

Last week, I introduced you ever-so-briefly to the subject of shepherds. This because Jesus drew our attention to all-things sheep-and-shepherd-related when He defined Himself by saying, “I AM the door (gate) of the sheep.” This week, in this PODCAST, we’ll discover together exactly what Jesus meant when He identified Himself as the “door of the sheep.” The important point to remember from last week is this: Life for the shepherd was and is unpredictable and oh-so-difficult. You might remember that when his or her world is rocked by undeserved trauma of some sort, a shepherd will never ask the question of God, “Why?” Or “Why me?” It is a given that life in the desert is tough, and that problems are the norm. Shepherds “get it” -- that in this world of ours, bad things do indeed happen. Bad things do indeed happen to good people. We live in a world where, as but one example, men are born blind. And as Jesus made crystal-clear in John 9, it has nothing to do with the man’s sins, or his parents' for that mat

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 the Burning Bush, He made a most remarkable statement: “I have come d

Humanly speaking, he didn’t have a chance on this earth. Until Jesus came along... In this PODCAST, you will meet a man whose deck was decidedly stacked against him. Until Jesus came along… PLEASE do not be tempted to think that because you (thank God!) were not born blind, this story has nothing to say to you today. Truth be told, I cannot think of a more appropriate passage for us to consider together, especially in light of recent events, than this one. Jesus, the master-artist, painted for His hearers (and for US!) a picture worth far more than the proverbial “thousand words.” Welcome to an encounter with God’s Son that you will never ever forget. 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 as you listen.

Jesus made quite a splash (pun intended) when He stood up at the Feast of Tabernacles to declare to the crowds that He was the source of “living water.” As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, He only added to the drama of this most remarkable moment the very next day when He declared Himself to be the “light of the world.” I mean, you talk about a guy who never failed to polarize a crowd, meet Jesus. The hundreds of thousands of people in that crowd on those days either loved Him or hated Him. Just like today. One thing for sure: No one in that crowd, that Josephus numbered at three million, could ignore Him. Just like today. It is today as it was then. 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 as you listen.

The Apostle John, whom you will meet up close and personal in this PODCAST, was a man miraculously transformed. Transformed by an unexpected encounter with a woman of questionable character, brought to Jesus by an unlikely group: the leading rabbis of His day. An encounter that John would never forget. An encounter that I am quite confident WE will never forget. As this woman, and Jesus’ reaction to her, changed John’s mind, heart, soul -- John's LIFE -- forever, may it change ours as well. 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 as you listen.

In this PODCAST, a new chapter has dawned in our ongoing chronological study of the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus has just left His beloved Galilee for the last time. He will not return to Galilee until after the Resurrection. A point not to be missed, Jesus left Galilee now in order to be in Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles. OK, so here's my question: Why in the world did Jesus literally risk an early arrest and possible untimely death in order to be in Jerusalem for this feast? He surely knew the risks involved. He told His brothers bluntly, "The world hates me… You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come." Yet, He changed His mind and actually went to the Feast, though secretly so as not to be seen. So again I ask, Why now? Why this festival? What was so special about the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) that Jesus risked everything to travel to Jerusalem secretly? In answering this question, you will see a s

As you will hear in this PODCAST, in Matthew 18:21, Peter asked a profoundly important question. A question that haunted him. And if we are honest, a question that at times haunts us. Matthew 18:21 reads, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Can you think of any question that hits us more profoundly right where we live than this one? There is not a one of us who hasn’t been hurt significantly by someone or someones in the past. Perhaps in the very recent past. Perhaps the person’s hurts continue into the present. Consequently, this whole issue of forgiveness -- what it means and what it does not mean -- could not come too soon, could not be more practical. Especially given the timing and location of Peter’s question. Something that you will hear in this podcast. “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Let’s talk about this. Please remember tha

“Epic,” as in Your-Salvation-and-Mine-Rides-or-Falls-on-This. I kid you not. This PODCAST is going to be fun, and so instructive. Instructive on two levels. 1. Instructive as we discover together exactly what Jesus meant here in Matthew 18:18-20. 2. Instructive as we are handed, courtesy of Jesus, an opportunity to learn what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what not to do with the Bible. As you are about to see, we must bring to this passage every interpretive tool in the tool box in order to arrive at an accurate interpretation and application of this passage. Let me put it this way: The Apostle Paul encouraged his protégé, young Pastor Timothy, to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Do you know why Paul encouraged Timothy to handle the word of truth correctly? Because there were then, as there are now, scores of people -- pastors, teachers, conference speakers, authors, co

In this week’s PODCAST, as we continue in our chronological study of the life and ministry of Jesus, we come to Matthew 18:15-17 -- one of the most important passages in all of the New Testament, the so-called “Church Discipline” passage. Church Discipline, a teaching in many local churches that really rose into prominence in the late 1970’s and became quite the trend. I can remember attending church leadership conferences back then and hearing pastors -- I’ll use word “boast” -- of the fact that they recently removed an individual or individuals from their churches, thereby “preserving the purity of their churches.” Others would then oooh and ahhh at the boldness of the pastor in confronting the sin in his church and taking decisive action in order to preserve the purity of his church by the process of Church Discipline as outline by Jesus here in Matthew 18. Today, one of this nation’s leading Church Discipline proponents insists that church discipline, as outlined in Matthew 18, is one of the marks of a

In this week’s PODCAST, courtesy of the disciples, we get a rare-yet-precious glimpse into the heart of Jesus, the heart of God. A truly remarkable glimpse. An ironic glimpse. Ironic because as you will soon hear, the Gospel writers go to great lengths in this story to show us this side of God’s heart. Yet, it is an aspect of God that is rarely talked about. Inexplicably, it receives scant attention.  But we’ll balance the books in this podcast. And in doing so, tender and heartwarming as this story is, we will hear Jesus will make one of the most severe statements of His entire 3 ½ year ministry. He will trumpet a dire warning and wave a red flag that needs like never before to be waved today, throughout our country and around the world. You are in for an eye-opening treat, guaranteed. 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 as you listen. And PLEASE, if you think about it and are so inclined, cons

Tell you what…  If you want to see up close and oh-so-personal the heart of Jesus, look no further than this PODCAST’S passage here in Mark 9. You are about to see a side of Jesus that is both breathtaking to behold, and irresistible to consider. A high definition video of Jesus that says so much even though it emerges from one very short story. Perhaps the best place to begin our discussion is here: I love the disciples. I absolutely love the disciples. More to the point, I love how the Gospel writers consistently give to us a brutally honest, utterly unvarnished series of snapshots of exactly who these guys were. And how these guys thought and acted and reacted to each and every situation in which they found themselves. I love them because to read their stories, to get into their minds and hearts, to understand struggles of their souls, all of that floods my own soul with copious amounts of hope. The hope that if Jesus could love men such as these (and He did!), He can love me too; He can love you too. Whic

My friends, get ready to grow some goosebumps as you listen to this PODCAST. While I am away speaking at Hartland Christian Camp (one of my all-time favorite places on this planet) consider this your very own personalized tour, with me as your humble tour guide, as together we travel the storied streets of the Via Dolorosa. A short walk riddled with “Ah Ha” moments, too many to count! Enjoy. And may God bless you richly as you listen. Please note that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

My goal in this PODCAST? Simple: To keep you out of jail.  Yes, this story in Matthew 17 is THAT positively practical. It’s interesting to me that of the four Gospel writers (for reasons that we’ll get into in the podcast), only Matthew records this particular story about (of all things) an obscure Old Testament reference to an otherwise obtuse Moses-mandated responsibility, one that Jesus had apparently overlooked or outright rejected. It’s not surprising to me that Matthew records this. But given the significance of the story, and its practical implications for our lives today, it is very surprising to me that none of the other Gospel writers makes any reference to this curious little episode. An ever-so-brief snapshot into the life/heart of Jesus. There’s quite a lot going on here. So we’ll now pick it apart and see what it all meant to Jesus back then, and what it means to us today. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to

Believe it or not, there is in the Bible a grand total of (Are you ready?) 31,102 verses. And, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, of these 31,102 verses, the one verse that best summarizes the state of my relationship with God is this one verse here in Mark 9. In all honesty, this is right where I live.  And, were the truth to be told, I’d be willing to wager that most of us live here too. These words uttered, by the desperate dad in this story, could well be my words, my plea, my prayer every day in every situation. And I rather suspect they could be yours as well. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed it may take up to 60 seconds for the podcast to begin to play. God bless you as you listen.

As you are about to hear in this week’s PODCAST, knowing God’s will for you life is far easier than you may have been led to believe. Far easier. Uncomplicated. Abundantly knowable. Readily understandable.  In a word, God WANTS you and me to know His will for our lives. The reason for this discussion this week is the fact that last week I inadvertently created a vacuum.  I made a point last week (not even the main point of the message, but a valid and timely point nonetheless). Last week we discussed the fact that we have come to a place in our day where far too many Christians rather cavalierly throw around the phrase, “God told me...” “God spoke to me and said…” “God is telling me…” or its equivalent. Does that ring a bell? And we noted then that, Look, words mean things. When we or others invoke such phrases as, “God told me...” “God spoke to me and said…” “God is telling me…” what are we really claiming? Did we hear an audible voice, such as the voice heard in our passage for this podcast?  And what is th