Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

Welcome to Parable #1.    That’s right! In this PODCAST, we begin in earnest now to understand Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13.   Oh, you’re in for a treat. Because this first parable, just like the eight that will follow it, speaks directly to our lives at this time, in this place, in our day, today.   This is as personal as it gets.    Jesus now shifts His focus completely, from talking to the crowds of His day, about the many challenges that they faced, to talking directly to us in our day, about the many challenges that we each face today.   I cannot stress enough the absolute importance of understanding these parables. Neither could Jesus, who begins this first parable with the word, “Listen.” And then ends the parable by referencing those of us who do indeed “listen and understand.”   In this podcast, we will do both -- listen and understand.   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.     God bless you as you lis

You’ve perhaps heard his name -- a rather strange name at that! His name is Job. The man who had it all, only to have it all taken away.   As you will hear in this PODCAST, in the blink of his eye, everything changed. And not for the better.   The book of Job poses for us a number of VERY IMPORTANT and DIFFICULT questions:   Why did such unspeakable things happen to such a godly man?   Why did God let it happen?   Why did God give permission to Satan to torment Job as he did?   What (if any) was God’s purpose behind it all?   What are WE supposed to learn from his story -- about our lives, about our circumstances, about our painful challenges, and about our God?   What does the story have to do with our ongoing study of Jesus in HD?    All of these questions, and so many more, will be addressed in this podcast.   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.     May God bless you richly as you listen, and share this m

I can’t tell you how excited I am, both about this particular message AND the enormous encouragement that I know it will bring you as you listen!!!   In this week’s PODCAST, we break the seal on the parables. As you will hear, Jesus had quite compelling reasons for completely changing His teaching style -- from preaching to the masses to huddling with the disciples; from sermons to stories; from proclamation to parables.   This particular discussion will set up our Fall, sort of a series within a series, as we will take the next several weeks to consider together each of Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13. Specifically, what they meant to the disciples to whom Jesus spoke them, and what they mean to us today.   Jesus used parables to reveal new truth never before mentioned in the Old Testament. This is brand new stuff. Stuff that relates specifically to the day in which you and I are living. Stuff that explains some of the many challenges we are facing as committed Christ-followers today.   This is a personal as i

My heart goes out to Mother Mary.   Her name means “Bitterness.” Sadly, and quite frankly, in many ways Mary lived up to her name.   Being the mother of Jesus was no small task. One that she fulfilled with great dignity. But boy did she face her challenges.   In this PODCAST, we will gaze upon a Scriptural snapshot of Mary unlike anything you have ever seen before. Not only that, but we will encounter Jesus in His darkest hour, second only to that night before the crucifixion when He sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.   As we do, our love for Him will deepen. Our respect for His mom will broaden. And our understanding of the both of them will stir up within our own hearts a sense of God’s presence in our lives like we’ve never experienced before.   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.     May God richly bless you as you listen!  

My heart goes out to Jesus. After preparing for this week's PODCAST, I feel such a profound sense of compassion for Him. Thing of it is... I knew that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day hated Him. I understood that at this point in His ministry they no longer regarded Him as an irritation to be tolerated or a troublesome teacher to be discredited. Now they saw Him as a colossal threat to be killed. I got all of that. What I didn’t get until this week was how toxic -- both to Jesus and to the precious people to whom He ministered -- the religious environment in which Jesus found Himself had become. Even more significantly, the source of its toxicity. And even more significantly, what it means to our lives today. The challenges He faced within His own religious tradition were overwhelming. So are ours. Trust me when I say that we have a sympathetic Savior who knows all about it. He's been there, and lives to tell the tale. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take u

In this PODCAST, so many, many questions will be answered. How do we know there is a God? Why does the Bible say that all people are without excuse? How did people in the Old Testament get "saved"? What about people who have never heard of Jesus before? Just to name a few!!! Open your ears. Open your eyes. Most importantly, open your heart. You will be amazed at all that you are about to learn!!! 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. HAPPY LISTENING!!!

Call it what you will… The Unpardonable Sin. The Unforgivable Sin.   No matter what the name, the consequences are unimaginable.    In this PODCAST (which I believe for you will find to be enormously encouraging and reassuring), you will learn exactly what this sin is, what this sin isn’t, whether or not it is possible today to commit this sin, and if so, whether or not you have or ever will commit it.   In terms of its eternal ramifications, no conversation is more vitally important than this one.   Find out what Jesus said, to whom He said it, why He said it, and what His dire warning means for us today.   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.     HAPPY LISTENING.

Here, in this PODCAST, is some much-needed hope for every brokenhearted mom. Not to mention every brokenhearted dad. This hope comes courtesy of a man named Levi, though you’d never know it by reading his account of Jesus’ life and ministry. While there is scant little detail in the Bible regarding this remarkable man (Levi is mentioned by name a grand total of only 5 times), scratch beneath the surface and we could write a book about him. Levi deserves our focused attention, and we will be all the richer for having had this discussion. A polarizing figure, Levi was. They either loved him or hated him. Or to put an even finer point to that: The religious hated him; Jesus loved him. And in loving him as Jesus did, Levi becomes a living, breathing canvas on which the heart of Jesus is painted in vivid colors and bold relief. Please Note: Depending upon your web browser, it may take up to 60 seconds for the podcast to begin to play. HAPPY LISTENING!

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.

If you know of anyone who has some mental obstacles to understanding who Jesus is, THIS is the message for them to hear.    An Encore PODCAST while I am speaking at Hume Lake Christian Camps.    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.

We could give this PODCAST a variety of titles.   The Ballad of the Broken and Battered Woman.   The Indignation of the Idolatrous “Holy” Man.   I prefer the title, Oh.My.Word, for reasons that you will soon hear.   We have come to a tipping point in the life and ministry of Jesus. After this encounter with a broken woman and a “holy” man, things will never again be the same for Jesus.   The full fury of the religious leaders will come to full flower as a result of this one meal that Jesus shared with this one man and one woman.   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.

As you will hear in this PODCAST, my faith was in a freefall. Jesus knew exactly what to say, how to say it, and when to say it to bring me back.   What did He say? And what does it mean to you?    You are in for a treat. And so is anyone with whom you share this podcast. A totally biblical view, a (May I say?) a thoroughly refreshing view of exactly who Jesus REALLY is. From His own lips to your own heart.   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.   HAPPY LISTENING!!!

While I am away speaking at one of my all-time-favorite places on Earth (Hartland Christian Camp), the topic of this encore PODCAST is one of those subjects that touches us all, deeply and profoundly. The ripples of any divorce, every divorce spread their concentric circles far and wide.   Which compels us to take a sober look at exactly what Jesus DID SAY HERE in Matthew 5:31-32, as well as -- and perhaps especially -- what Jesus DID NOT SAY HERE.   Because once again, this is one of those passages which, when lifted out of its context -- both Scriptural and Cultural -- is so often and so tragically made to say something other than what Jesus intended for it to say. Heaping truck loads of unnecessary grief and guilt upon poor precious people who are just trying by God’s grace to rebuild their broken lives.   Trust me! Over the years, having dealt up close and personal with many, many people, I have heard some of the most atrocious applications of this passage. This to the point where emotionally and spiritua

Sometimes things really are as simple as they seem. This will certainly be true in this PODCAST, as we discuss together one of Jesus’ most remarkable statements.   We could use a whole series of words to describe what Jesus said, all of which begin with the letter “S.”   His message was surprising, as Jesus will say something that sounds totally out of character for Him.   His message was sobering, as His words contain a warning that, as you will hear, went completely unnoticed.   His message was simple; in fact, you could boil down all that He said in this powerful passage to one simple word. One word that truly is the Gospel in miniature.   Leave it to Jesus to take what we make so complicated and turn it into something so simple.   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.     From my heart to yours, HAPPY LISTENING!!!

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

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.     HAPPY LISTENING.

It happened in the no-nothing little town called Nain.   Why there? Why to that woman? What was the point?   And most importantly, as you will learn in the PODCAST, what does this teach us about the nature, character, and heart of God? His heart towards me. More significantly, His heart towards YOU!   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.     HAPPY LISTENING!

In so many of our past podcasts in our Jesus in HD study, we have examined many of the things that Jesus did.    In this PODCAST, we will take a good long look at something Jesus NEVER did.   WWJND? What Would Jesus NEVER Do? Certainly not this!!! Jesus NEVER did this. When you discover what He never did, you’ll be so eternally grateful that He never did. And never will. Not to you. Not to anyone.   And because He never did this, we love Him, and admire Him, and aspire to be like Him all the more.   You will find this to be so endearing a study that I cannot wait for you to get into it.   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.     HAPPY LISTENING!

Jesus was a master-builder, a trained and professional artisan, a teknon, a worker in wood and stone. As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus knew all about soil, sand, rock, and proper foundations on which a house can stand strong and secure against floods and winds. So the question becomes, on what foundation are you and I building our lives? 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. HAPPY LISTENING!!!

They say that confession is good for the soul. So here goes: I confess that I'm feeling terribly conflicted about the passage we discuss in this PODCAST. On the one hand, this is as sober and serious as it gets, Jesus' climax to His signature sermon. Yet on the other hand, I find myself strangely comforted by His words. Comforted because they explain SO MUCH of what we see done today in Jesus' name. If you know of anyone who has some mental obstacles to understanding who Jesus is, THIS is the message for them to hear. 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.