Dewey Bertolini's podcast

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As you are about to hear this PODCAST , it was a night that Peter would never, ever forget. Nor should we. For embedded within the events of this night is a blessedly-enduring word of hope and assurance. Hope and assurance for you. Hope and assurance for me. And certainly hope and assurance for someone or someones whom you and I deeply love. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and...

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"And just when you thought all was lost…" As you will hear in this PODCAST , after his customary-yet-warm greeting, Peter could have begun his first foray into his rather short-lived, two-letter, dual-epistle-writing career with these words: "And just when you thought all was lost…" Because for Peter's original readers, All. Was. Lost! For these now-"scattered abroad exiles" had just been forcibly...

OK, dear friends. In this encore PODCAST (while I am away speaking), we are about to leap off of the high dive into the shark-infested waters of what has become today an unnecessarily emotionally-charged, needlessly controversial issue among many of our so-called evangelical/fundamental churches. One that has done immeasurable damage to the precious women in far too many congregations. It absolute...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , Peter begins his first lovely little letter literally with a literary explosion. It's as if he has so much that he wants to say so quickly, that the syllables come pouring out of him like a waterfall of words. Believe it or not, verse 3 all the way to verse 12 is one long and winding and wondrously scenic sentence. You heard that right. A grand total of 3...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , all you need to know about the precious people to whom Peter wrote is summarized in three telling terms. One phrase, really. One phrase that so accurately described them. One phrase that so accurately describes each of us. ἐ κ-λεκ-το ῖ ς παρ-επι-δ ή -μοις διασ-πορ ᾶ ς—literally, "elect foreigners in the diaspora." Now why in the world would Peter begin hi...

What perfect timing!!! This PODCAST coming not a moment too soon! Last week you might remember, I referenced the fact that so many of our precious Safe Haven family—You, not to put too fine a point on it—are going through profoundly challenging and difficult times. Well guess what? In God's perfect timing, that just happens to be the theme of 1 Peter. "God's Sustaining Strength Through Our (Your!)...

Did you know that Adolph Hitler survived at least six—SIX!—assassination attempts? As you will hear in this PODCAST , these six assassination attempts occurred in 1921, 1938, 1939, two in 1943, and the final attempt on July 20, 1944. Get this: Any one of which, if successful, would have either prevented World War II—as well as the wholesale slaughter of six million of our precious Jewish friends—o...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , last week as I was rushing at the end to complete on time our discussion of Peter's release from prison—an effort at which I failed miserably, BTW—we mentioned-in-passing two noteworthy individuals, each of whom deserve far more than passing-mention. Mary, a generous homeowner and gracious hostess who opened her home for going on-fourteen years by the tim...

When we last left our old and dear friend, Peter, he was in Jerusalem, languishing in a Roman prison cell, awaiting what he thought was his certain execution. As you will hear in this PODCAST , Peter had been held in that prison for up to eight long, arduous days—the week of Passover. So to help you feel this story—if I may put it that way—I need you to think back to one week ago. It was exactly o...

Acts 12 begins with this poignant—or pregnant with meaning—phrase, Κατ ᾽ἐ κ-ε ῖ -νον δ ὲ τ ὸ ν και-ρ ὸ ν, "About that time..." Words that, as you will hear in this PODCAST , could just as well have been translated, "At the same time." "In the meantime." Or "Meanwhile." Meaning that while our old friend from last week, the Prophet Agabus, was in beautiful downtown Antioch 300 miles to the North, wa...

On its surface, storyline in these final verses of Acts 11 is really pretty simple. And as you will hear in this PODCAST , this story is as heartwarming as it is simple. This story is also—and so importantly—equally trend-setting. So much will be set in motion that affects how we do things (or ought to do things) even today! So. Much. Here, my friends, to give you and me pause to ponder, to think,...

The year is circa AD 44. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , a tectonic shift began to rumble through the region approximately 300 miles due North of Jerusalem. A movement of God's Spirit that ignited a gloriously-spectacular conflagration that began to combust in Antioch, that has since swept the world-over, kindling a flame of God's glory that today burns brightly even in your own soul. A...

Spoiler Alert: As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , one of the disadvantages of words on a page is that we cannot hear tone; we do not see body language nor facial expression. In this message, I am attempting tonight to place myself in Peter's sandals, sit myself at Luke's writing table, and to teach tonight's passage—one of most important in NT—in the tone and with the emotions with which P...

It is one of the most enigmatic statements in all of Scripture. Ironically, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST , this mysterious statement follows one of the clearest, most-unambiguous and glorious proclamations in all of Holy Writ. Two statements--one perplexing, one perfectly understandable--both written by our old friend Peter. Timely statements each, given that the Easter season is upon...

Peter didn't write much. No surprise here. As you will hear in this week's PODCAST , the hyperactive-apostle could not sit still long enough to put pen to parchment. There is one of the four Gospels credited to Peter—but even that he could not write himself. Peter employed Mark to record his recollections. And no surprise that in reading what could-well be entitled, The Gospel According to Peter a...

Embedded deep within the pages of the Old Testament we find one of God's most precious promises. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , this bright ray of hope-filled sunshine was written to Jewish exiles in Babylon who were at the time experiencing their darkest hour. It was written by the weeping prophet Jeremiah, who himself desperately needed a stabilizing reassurance from God that He had...

I want you to imagine for a moment this scenario. (As you will hear in this PODCAST , a potentially familiar biblical story to you.) That being said, see if you can guess the name of its principle player. His people were ravaged by a barbarically blood-thirsty Empire, the armies of which decimated his land, desecrated his holy places, and butchered his people. His hatred for these pagan barbarians...

I cannot think of a more beautiful tribute to committed Christ-followers everywhere—including YOU—than Jesus' words here in the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the salt of the earth." As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , Jesus, ever the master of the metaphor, came up with a doozie with this one. "You are the salt of the earth." I am excited about this for a couple of compelling reasons: 1. Th...

In this week's PODCAST , we engage in a most important discussion that flows directly out of 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 conf...

Her Hebrew name was Tabitha. And as you will hear in this PODCAST , Dorcas was her Greek name. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Well, she may have had nothing to do with Romeo and Juliet. But fact is, Tabitha by any other name, AKA Dorcas, would still be as sweet, kind, and beautiful. For both Tabitha and Dorcas both mean "Gazelle." Distinctly beautiful names each, both of which sp...

I need to read Acts 9:35 to you its context. As you are about to learn in this PODCAST , there is so much more here than meets the eye. At least that meets our eyes. Acts 9:35 is a truly remarkable statement for original readers of the book of Acts. It will soon be truly remarkable for us. For this one verse exposes the underlying reality in the spiritual climate of the Land that you and I might e...

It had to be a rather rude awakening to be sure—Paul's initial introduction to the unenviable life of an apostle. As we will learn in this PODCAST , there is much—much more than we could possibly imagine—behind Paul's otherwise enigmatic statement in 1 Corinthians 4:9, a rare moment of personal reflection (and dare-I-say exasperation and frustration) in the writings of this most-prolific apostle:...

Do you know what I love about Bible? Well, truth be told, there are a lot of things that I love about the Bible. Far too many to tell in this PODCAST . But certainly residing at or near the top of my rather lengthy list is this: The window the biblical writers open to the growth and maturity of its principle players. Case in point: The Apostle Paul. Paul did not emerge from his road to Damascus en...