Dewey Bertolini's podcast

"Jesus said…" As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , the fact of the matter is this: Jesus said seven statements, this as His life was literally dripping out of Him drop by precious drop. Each one of the seven — when considered separately — tells a most-dramatic tale. All of the seven — when considered collectively — give us an unparalleled insight into the heart of Jesus. It was, after all, J...

It is called, appropriately enough, the Via Dolorosa, Latin for "The Way of Sorrows." For Jesus, it absolutely was a way of sorrows — every single excruciatingly painful step of it, from the Antonia Fortress (where Pilate sentenced Him), to Golgotha (where Jesus' execution awaited Him). In this PODCAST , we will walk that path together. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and conn...

His name is Pilate, as in Pontius Pilate — P-i-l-a-t-e, not p-i-l-o-t — even though Pilate did manage to fly himself right into middle of a maelstrom of religious and political corruption and compromise with devastating consequences. In this PODCAST , as we now approach Jesus' impending crucifixion, the greatest irony of this entire sad saga is that the whole thing is motivated by one thing: self-...

To say that after "they" — to quote the Apostle John — "bound Jesus and brought Him first to Annas," Jesus' life would never be the same again would be a gross understatement and wholly inaccurate. Fact is, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST , only some 15 hours after this cohort of some six hundred elite Roman soldiers led Him away in chains, Jesus' life would be over. The Roman leader prin...

They say that "one picture is worth a thousand words." Sometimes, on rare occasions, one word is worth a thousand pictures. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , this is one of those occasions. In this case, that one word is "Gethsemane." As in the Garden of Gethsemane, that very garden to which John referred when he wrote, "On the other side (of the Kidron Valley) there was a garden, and Jes...

No matter how you cut it, this man was an enigma. As you will hear in this PODCAST , this man -- handpicked by Jesus and elevated to the rarified air of the apostles -- repaid Jesus' generosity by betraying Him to His executioners. Is there any human emotion more painful than that of betrayal?  Ever felt it? Betrayal? That midnight darkness of the soul that enshrouds us like an impenetrable fog wh...

It's Christmas Day! And to our many precious Jewish friends, the night of December 25 marks the beginning of Hanukkah, 2016. With that in mind, I thought it appropriate to take a little trip, to another time and place -- specifically, to Jesus' final Hanukkah mere months before His crucifixion. As you will hear in this PODCAST , what is most remarkable to me is that Jesus went "up to Jerusalem" to...

Jesus' final words here at the tail-end of the Upper Room Discourse connect directly with Jesus' opening words at the very beginning of the Upper Room Discourse. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , Jesus began His parting words to His disciples with this promise: "When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." That is the beginning of John...

If you have ever asked yourself any of the age-old questions like... What's it all about? Why am I here? What is my purpose? If you have ever asked yourself these or similar questions, then you are in for a treat in this latest PODCAST . Because in this podcast, you will get the answer to these most-important questions. So let me start with a news-flash for you. One of considerable consequence. Ye...

Not to be clichéd! But if the words, "Mission Accomplished" ever meant anything to anyone in any situation, they absolutely apply here in John 17. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , this is the moment, courtesy of John, now forever frozen in time. The singular moment toward which all of human history, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, had been slowly but steadily building. The...

On this Thursday night of Jesus' final week, mere hours before the crucifixion, Jesus was worried about His disciples. And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST , He was worried for a very good reason. I don't know if you have ever associated the word worry with Jesus, but as you will hear, in this case, at this time, in this place, that word worry is most appropriate. Don't worry (pun intended...

Get yourself ready for a massive dose of encouragement. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , it's amazing to me how a couple of significant storylines are coming full circle with Jesus' words John 15. Specifically, last week we saw how Jesus' assertion, "I am the vine," is final of Jesus' seven "I Am" statements recorded in the Gospel of John. Now, for this discussion, here's a Bible Trivia...

Oh how I love a good irony. That being said, how ironic in terms of timing is it that in this PODCAST , on this our fourth anniversary together as a Safe Haven family, we come to Jesus' statement here in John 15, in the Upper Room Discourse, when He said to His men (and to us!), "I am the vine, you are the branches"? The irony to which I refer lies in fact that this statement completes John's port...

Welcome to Part Three in this 3-part mini-series within a series concerning the Mysterious Member of the Trinity, AKA The Holy Spirit. As you will hear in this PODCAST , here in the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus presented to His disciples the first extended discussion of the Holy Spirit to be found anywhere in the Bible. Yes, the Holy Spirit was very present and quite active in the Old Testament, ma...

You could call the Holy Spirit Jesus' going away present, first to His disciples, and then, of course, to each of us. As you will hear in this PODCAST , we're talking about The Third Member of Trinity, the Mysterious Member of the Trinity. Here in John 14-17 -- the so-called Upper Room Discourse, even though as we noted last week, Jesus taught the amazing truths of John 15-17 after He and the disc...

Welcome to the Upper Room Discourse. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , we are now standing on the precipice of Jesus' passion -- Judas' betrayal, Jesus' arrest, Peter's denial, Jesus' incarceration, His trials, His Crucifixion, climaxing of course in His glorious Resurrection. What should have been a night primarily of celebration   -- of the Passover, and all of its rich meaning -- quick...

It was an epic one-two punch to the gut. Jesus' gut, not to put too fine a point on it. A brutal betrayal coupled with a devastating denial by two of Jesus' handpicked and beloved disciples. In this PODCAST , I am referring of course to Judas' betrayal and Peter's three-time denial. If there is a silver lining to these increasingly billowing clouds, it is this: There is a clear pattern emerging he...

So many things are going to become So. Very. Clear in this week's PODCAST . You are about to hear something of… The precision of the Bible; What theologians call the "inerrancy" of the Bible; How the precious truths of the Bible sometime hinge on just one word ; The relevance of the Bible; How a cultural reality from the time and place of Jesus speaks to us in real time, to our very real circumsta...

Welcome to the Upper Room, and Jesus' farewell address to His beloved disciples. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , as we break the seal on this, Jesus' final night before the crucifixion, I do so with something of a lump in my throat and the pinkish hue of embarrassment upon my otherwise rosy cheeks. This because this particular portion of the grand story of Jesus' life and ministry hits...

Welcome to the Thursday of Jesus' final week. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , with these words, we are less than twenty-four hours from the crucifixion. Words wherein Jesus could just as well have said to Peter and John, "Go and prepare my final Passover meal together, so that we can eat it together." Jesus will on this Thursday evening celebrate with His disciples THE singular observan...

It's getting real. Real fast. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , something in the last few days of Jesus' final week triggered Judas to do the unthinkable. You talk about someone selling their soul to the devil, literally or figuratively? Well, Judas did both. Judas sold his soul to the devil, literally and figuratively. "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." Why h...

Let me tell you! If you want to see in crystal-clarity the character and the heart of God, this is it. Right here, right now, in real time, in this PODCAST . This in a breathtaking public display for all the world to see, at which the whole world will marvel. The broken heart of our God whom Peter described as "not wanting anyone to be destroyed (a word that means to destroy fully, to bring to not...

Spoiler Alert: This PODCAST  will not be paradigm-shifting. This podcast will be paradigm-shattering. There is so much going on here in Jesus' conclusion to His landmark End Times Olivet Discourse that I hardly know where to begin. Last week, we saw that Jesus told a parable about ten bridesmaids, five who were wise and five who were foolish. This week, we'll note that He told a follow-up parable...

As you will hear in this PODCAST , we are fast-approaching the end of our mini-series within a series, this one having to do with all-things End-Times related. We are, as you well-know, well into the Olivet Discourse. Jesus' primary teaching on End-Times events, as given on the Tuesday of His final week on earth. In two weeks, we will pivot to the Thursday of Jesus' final week, including His Upper...

I was away this week, sharing a precious memorial service for my dearly beloved mom with my family. Consequently, I have selected one of the MOST IMPORTANT podcasts that we have recorded in our Jesus in HD series. In this Encore  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 seriously significant passages in al...