Dewey Bertolini's podcast

I believe that I can say this without equivocation. See if by the end of this PODCAST , you agree with me. My unequivocal observation? He is the single-most important person in the New Testament of whom you have never heard. There is an overarching theme to tonight's discussion, born out of this story. One that relates directly to something that Jesus said. You talk about Paint the picture, Rabbi....

You talk about a rising star. You are about to meet him in this PODCAST , up close and personal: Saul of Tarsus. Disciple of the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel. One of the Jerusalem-based Pharisees. Soon to become a voting-member of Israel's Supreme Court—the Sanhedrin. This was a guy whose career-path was rocketing skyward in an ever-ascending trajectory to greatness. In terms of his religious tradition...

Hate is a horrible thing. Hate unbridled and unchecked is a murderous thing. Hate in name of God is terrifying and terrorizing thing. And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST , hate in the name of God is indeed a terrorizing thing because such religious hatred is actually viewed by the hater as a righteous thing. Just ask a certain Pharisee—emphasis upon that lofty religious title, Pharisee, s...

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus made some absolutely amazing statements, as only He could do! As you will hear in this PODCAST , Jesus was able to pack into just a few words the most deeply profound theological truths, the implications of which have taken the most incisive theological minds centuries to unpack. Case in point: This otherwise obscure little gem buried deep within the Miracle...

It has become THE iconic image of Christmas: a Manger scene. So readily recognizable that its image graces the fronts of so many of our Christmas cards. So singularly significant that churches throughout country often display what they call a Living Nativity. So emotionally effusive that the mere suggestion of placing a Manger Scene on the steps of a City Hall can stir up a cauldron of contention....

The Christmas story is without a doubt #QuiteAStory. A familiar story. A profound story. An oft-repeated story. So familiar is this story that I really do not need to comment on it. Or do I? As you will hear in this PODCAST , the principal parts of the story are well-known. The principal players in this biblical drama are names everyone has heard -- Mary, Joseph, Jesus. Yet, with all of that famil...

You've perhaps heard the old line, "Things aren't always as they appear to be." Well, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST , sometimes things are exactly as they appear to be. Case in point, Peter's exposé of Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer. Kudos to Peter. The apostle properly diagnosed the terminal condition of Simon's tortured soul with pinpoint accuracy. A diagnosis that, were I to be honest...

If this doesn't send shivers up your spine, I don't know what will. In this PODCAST , you are about to hear an absolutely amazing story about a most-remarkable individual, whom we barely met last week—Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer. A man, BTW, whose eternal destiny—when all is said and done—remains a question mark, shrouded in mystery. For of Simon we read, "Then Simon himself believed and was bapt...

His legacy is set in stone, indelibly etched in granite as Simon the Sorcerer. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , Simon the Sorcerer is the very first person we meet outside of the cozy confines of the Holy City, Jerusalem. #ThisIsHuge! You talk about a guy who had the deck stacked against him, meet this Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer. That gasp you just heard was the rush of disbelieving ai...

His name is Saul of Tarsus. To us, he will forever be memorialized as the celebrated Apostle Paul. Though, as you will hear in this PODCAST , he would reject out of hand that lofty adjective "celebrated." We celebrate Paul because we owe to him more than we could ever hope to repay. For starters, thirteen epistles preserved as New Testament Scripture. Which, when taken together, form 23% of NT. It...

Philippians 1:3 (in the NLT) reads, "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God." As you will hear in this PODCAST , Philippians is a "Thank You" note from Paul's sizable soul to the not-so-sizable ékklesia —or small faith family—meeting in Philippi. Paul wrote this precious little letter upon receiving a financial gift that the believers there sacrificially sent to him to help sustain him...

It was a sermon for the ages. As you will hear in this PODCAST , it was originally preached by a layman. He had no formal training in advanced biblical studies. There is no mention of any degrees. No diploma hung on his office wall, if he had an office. We have no indication that he had studied under a leading rabbi, such as Saul studied under Gamaliel. His only claim to fame? Stephen was (Acts 6:...

I LOVE meeting new friends. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , we have the privilege of meeting yet-another. A standout individual. A stellar human being. Though given his humility, I am sure that he would not be comfortable with my characterization. His name is Stephanos . Significantly, a Greek name. (As we learned last week, a not-so-trivial factoid.) A man affectionately known to us as...

It was a scandal in the making. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , a vast cultural divide threatened to rip asunder the fragile fabric of unity these first believers in Jesus earlier enjoyed. As we learned last week (Podcast #27), the story begins, "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking...

It was a matter of life and death. Literally. Make no mistake about this: As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , these "rumblings of discontent," as Luke characterized them, represented anything but some small-time, garden variety, trivial church-squabble. What happened here in Acts 6 exposed a clash of cultures that tore asunder the awe-inspiring oneness heretofore enjoyed by the Jerusalem Ch...

He is the unsung hero of Church History. As you will hear in this PODCAST , I would not be overstating the case to suggest that if it wasn't for this individual, there would be no Church History. Indeed, if it wasn't for him, all twelve apostles would have been executed, summarily stoned to death on the spot. Hear it for yourself in Acts 5:33, "When they heard this, the high council was furious an...

Luke records in Acts 5 that "The apostles (rejoiced that) God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus." As you will hear in this PODCAST , a most-interesting word, "disgrace." Both the NKJV and the NASB translate it "worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus." In the ESV? "Worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. It's a word that means to render infamous through...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , The Apostle Paul made an astonishing statement to the committed-Christ-Followers living in Rome. In other words, to those living in the belly of the beast. Rome. The capital of an Empire that redefined hedonism, paganism, unbridled moral perversion. Rome. The city that literally drank itself into daily stupor on cheap wine and human blood. Rome. The city...

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-co...

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...

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. Pe...

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 whe...

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 b...

"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...

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 th...