Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

“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

Defining moments. There aren’t many of these throughout the course of someone’s lifetime. But when they occur, as you will hear in this PODCAST, they are utterly unforgettable. We are talking about game-changing moments; history-altering moments; LIFE-altering moments. Rare snapshots of seminal events, frozen in time, after which your world will never be the same again. Welcome to one such defining moment, courtesy of Jesus, after which the disciples -- three of them -- were never the same again.  And maybe, just maybe, after considering this spectacularly significant sequence of events, with all of its ramifications for our world today… Maybe, just maybe, we too won’t ever be the same. Let’s find out. 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 Bible is THE one and only Life-Giving Book. But how to approach it? In this PODCAST, you will be given the answer to that question! Courtesy of Jesus, we will learn how to read it! With all of its 66 books, printed in minuscule font, with no pictures, strange names, weird customs, unfamiliar geography, violent history, where do we even start? What's the first step? More to the point, what is our connection to this great book? My friends, the answer to that question is startlingly simple. Hear my approach to the Bible, one that has literally revolutionized by understanding of and love for God’s Word. It may just revolutionize yours 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.

Jesus was a revolutionary on so many, many levels.    As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus was never afraid to break with convention and go with something that was totally counter-cultural to the times in which He lived, and to the religious tradition to which He belonged.   It is both my sincere hope and confident belief that you will find in this lesson much refreshment for your soul, especially if you are a female.   The time has come for us to -- courtesy of Jesus -- balance the books that have been so out of balance for so long in so much of our present-day Christian culture.   Please remember that depending upon your connection speed and web browser, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.   God bless you as you listen. And PLEASE “Share” this with your family and friends if you do indeed find it to be an encouragement to your soul.

For all of you End Times enthusiasts, this one's for you! Welcome to an epic day in the lives of the disciples as a whole, and Peter in particular.  As you are about to hear in the PODCAST, Peter was a guy who in the blink of an eye rose to the dizzying heights of declaring the very words of God, only to plunge into the abyss of speaking the very words of Satan, and from there to receive from Jesus what could arguably be described as one of the most precious promises Peter or we could ever imagine. All this in the space of just a few hours/minutes. From all outward appearances, Jesus and the disciples were fighting a losing battle. By this time into Jesus’ ministry (2½ years into it, with only 7 months or so before the crucifixion), He and disciples were but a not-so-merry band of 13 men. They were reeling from their resounding rejection at the hands it seemed of everyone. Jesus in particular was at this very moment both a political and religious refugee. The Romans under Antipas’ command were hunting Him; th

When we last left our old friend, John the Baptizer, his faith was in a free-fall.   He was here last week, sort of, to tell you his scintillating story in his own words. (If you have not heard that PODCAST, may I respectfully request that you listen? A story that I promise you, you will never forget.)   Think of it. John… The man whose coming was predicted by the prophets… Whose birth was foretold by an angel… Who identified and introduced Jesus to the world…   John the Baptizer didn’t believe in Jesus any more.   His situation was dire, languishing as he was in Antipas’ Dead-Sea-Side prison (on Eastern side of Dead Sea), his life literally dangling by a thread. The madman Antipas holding in his bloodstained hands the frayed ends of that thread...   Tormented, no doubt John was, by the unobstructed view he had of his boyhood home. directly across the Dead Sea on its Western shore, adopted and raised as John was by Essenes of Qumran…    John had to have THE answer to his doubt-fueled, double-edged question, a

While I am away speaking at a High School camp, I have left you in wonderfully capable hands. Namely, those of our old friend, John the Baptizer.   John the Baptizer is, by his own admission, a walking contradiction. As you will hear in this PODCAST, he had a remarkable beginning, and yet a dismal crash and burn.   In a word, his faith in Jesus COLLAPSED, completely.   His is quite the story to tell. But as you will hear me say, it is John’s story to tell, not mine.   So, if you can employ a little sanctified imagination, I will do my best to be true to John’s story, and respectful of John’s memory, as I sort of try to “become” (if I can put it that way) John the Baptizer.   Please remember that depending upon your connection speed and web browser, it may take up to 60 seconds for the podcast to begin to play.

Jesus now has exactly seven months left. As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus knows it. He understandably recoils from it. But He must now prepare His disciples for it. Here in Matthew 16, and its parallel passage in Mark 8, we have reached a crucial moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. Make no mistake about it. These words here in Matthew 16 are a game-changer… One that reveals much to us about the character of Jesus and the strategy of Satan. An intriguing story that raises our understanding of spiritual warfare to a whole new level. One that will impact YOUR life just as it has my life, in a profoundly insightful way.  As always, we have much to talk about. And trust me, you will be encouraged as you and I study this watershed passage together. 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 disciples were never at their lowest. Yet our friend, Peter, was never at his finest. As you will hear in this PODCAST, Peter made a declaration the reverberations of which have echoed down through the two thousand years of church history. This was HUGE. What Peter said and where he said it are mind-blowing in their impact upon our world and in our lives. This might just be my very favorite passage in all of the Gospels. Perhaps after hearing this, it will be yours too. 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. Enjoy! And may God richly bless you as you listen.

You are in for a rare treat! One PODCAST consisting of two precious parables. While I am away ministering to some pretty special people at Hume Lake Christian Camp, you have the opportunity to listen in on a past podcast that brings with it a present and priceless blessing. Two of them! Why these two parables don’t get more attention, I’ll never know. For contained within them are two of the most blessed truths of our faith. The two parables of which I speak: The Parable of the Buried Treasure, and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price. Two parables that, despite their similarities, reveal two totally distinct but equally precious truths. If you need a jolt of overwhelming encouragement, you need look no further. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it might take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you as you listen. And PLEASE share a link to this podcast with your friends.

We are going to begin this week's PODCAST precisely from where we left off in last week's podcast. We left off last week by considering together this most enigmatic verse (Hebrews 5:8): “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.” If you are at all uncomfortable with that, then the rest of this story will make no sense, and will leave you with an even greater discomfort. But if you are willing to allow for the fact that “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered,” then you are in for this great big blessing: The grand and glorious realization that Jesus, just like you and just like me, learned in real time what it means to live a life of obedience to God the Father. We stressed last week, and I will ever-so-briefly remind you now, that Jesus was fully human, just like us. Last week we discussed some of the implications of Hebrews 4:15, where the writer emphatically affirms this ever-so-comforting reality: Jesus "understands all of

Welcome to one of the strangest stories -- many would call this a troubling tale -- in Jesus’ entire life and ministry.   As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, what happens here in Mark 7, and its parallel passage in Matthew 15, seems highly uncharacteristic of Jesus; uncharitable to a tragically needy-yet-remarkable mommy; and unnecessarily cold and calloused as far as a Jesus is concerned.   A Jesus, I will humbly remind you, who defined Himself as “gentle” in Matthew 11, and who described His mission as one “to seek and to save the lost in Luke 19.   As you read this story, at first blush anyway, Jesus was Anything.But.Gentle in the way He spoke to this panic-stricken mother who was understandably distraught over the condition of her daughter.    Tell you what: If His mission was to seek and to save the lost, you couldn’t find anyone more lost than this woman.   As we read this story together (it’s only 8 verses in Matthew’s account), you tell me if you find this encounter between Jesus and this mom at

I’ll keep this short and sweet. In this PODCAST, you are about to see a side of Jesus that you’ve likely never seen before.   Your love for Jesus is about to grow exponentially. And rightly so.   Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take as much as 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.     God bless you as you listen.