Dewey Bertolini's podcast

It’s universally called “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” Universally, that is, except where Jesus is concerned. As you will hear in this PODCAST , if Luke 10:33 in the NLT is any indication, Jesus would have most likely entitled this, “The Parable of the Despised Samaritan.” A title which goes to the heart of this story, really. Something that I need for you to feel as you listen, and to feel...

Jesus was happy. Truly, genuinely happy. Which, if you think about it, and as you will hear in this PODCAST , is a most remarkable statement. As you know, and as we have chronicled over the now 3½ years of this Jesus in High Definition study, Jesus was (to quote Isaiah): "despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Never will that become so heartrendingly obvious as...

It is, without a doubt, one of the most precious truths in all of the Bible. From the lips of Jesus Himself to the seventy upon their return from their first mission’s trip, in this PODCAST you will hear Him say, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Fact: Satan is a fallen foe. Fact: The devil has been defeated. As we have discussed for the past two weeks, Fact: Satan is not los...

Last week, when talking about Jesus watching Satan fall from heaven, we were encouraged by the fact that Satan is a defeated foe. As you will be reminded in this week’s PODCAST , Satan isn’t losing the war; he has already lost it. Be that as it may, however, the devil is winning his share of battles, and the destruction he causes is painful in the extreme. Of all of the names of Satan I shared wit...

You and I are embroiled in a cosmic collision of good and evil, a spiritual war that is taking place in real time, in the present tense, on a scale of epic proportions. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , there can be no doubt in any thinking person’s mind that this war is real, and that it has a profound affect upon our world and our lives. Even an atheist who denounces the existence of Go...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , there is IMHO a no more beautiful blessing in all of the Bible than the one we are going to discuss here. I honestly cannot put into words how excited I am for you to listen in. As you are about to hear, Jesus perfectly defined the Gold Standard for dynamic Christian living. Not only that, but He also gave to each of us the highest calling, the loftiest p...

As I publish this week’s PODCAST , I am brimming with optimism. Whether you realize it or not, we are blessed with a singular privilege: To be alive at this time, in this place, at this precise moment in human history. As you will hear in this study of Luke 10, we have been handed a golden opportunity to fulfill that which is the highest calling that can be bestowed on any human being. Lofty words...

Luke 10:1 (NKJV) reads, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” In light of that verse, I want to float a theory. My theory is this: Jesus did nothing arbitrarily or randomly. There was purpose behind everything that Jesus did. Including His sending of the 70. So if my theory h...

Key word for this PODCAST ? Expectations. There is nothing more toxic to our faith than when we base our faith on misinformed expectations. More precisely, holding God to expectations that He never intended for us to form; expectations God never committed Himself to fulfill. They say that "confession is good for the soul." OK, here's my confession to you: Every week, when I open the Bible and begi...

It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and meaningful of our Christmas carols. As you will hear in this PODCAST , its seven stanzas tell the complete story of Christmas, brilliantly combining both Matthew’s and Luke’s Nativity narratives. The carol to which I refer? The First Noel. The First Noel, the angel did say, w as to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay; In fields as they l...

Welcome to December. Not our December, even though today’s date is December 13. Which, BTW, is for our Jewish friends the 7th day of Hanukkah. As you will hear in this PODCAST , I’m talking about Jesus’ December, His final December. As John observed in John 10, it was winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem for what John calls the Feast of Dedication. As we break seal on this story, we are now a mere f...

Spoiler alert! You will find this PODCAST heartwarming in the extreme. Let me set it up in this way: When Jesus declared “I AM the good shepherd,” He revealed volumes about Himself and where you and I stand with Him. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that contained within those five words are our theology of exactly who God is and what God is like. Most importantly, how we relate to God,...

Last week, I introduced you ever-so-briefly to the subject of shepherds. This because Jesus drew our attention to all-things sheep-and-shepherd-related when He defined Himself by saying, “I AM the door (gate) of the sheep.” This week, in this PODCAST , we’ll discover together exactly what Jesus meant when He identified Himself as the “door of the sheep.” The important point to remember from last w...

You are about to hear an amazing story about a remarkable man, AND an encounter with Jesus that includes one of the most important and practical biblical principles that you will find anywhere in the pages of the Bible. Quite a claim, I know. One that I will absolutely prove in this PODCAST . A principle that I will be presumptuous enough to suggest that you and I need to hear, and of which we nee...

Humanly speaking, he didn’t have a chance on this earth. Until Jesus came along... In this PODCAST , you will meet a man whose deck was decidedly stacked against him. Until Jesus came along… PLEASE do not be tempted to think that because you (thank God!) were not born blind, this story has nothing to say to you today. Truth be told, I cannot think of a more appropriate passage for us to consider t...

Jesus made quite a splash (pun intended) when He stood up at the Feast of Tabernacles to declare to the crowds that He was the source of “living water.” As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , He only added to the drama of this most remarkable moment the very next day when He declared Himself to be the “light of the world.” I mean, you talk about a guy who never failed to polarize a crowd, meet...

The Apostle John, whom you will meet up close and personal in this PODCAST , was a man miraculously transformed. Transformed by an unexpected encounter with a woman of questionable character, brought to Jesus by an unlikely group: the leading rabbis of His day. An encounter that John would never forget. An encounter that I am quite confident WE will never forget. As this woman, and Jesus’ reaction...

In this PODCAST , a new chapter has dawned in our ongoing chronological study of the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus has just left His beloved Galilee for the last time. He will not return to Galilee until after the Resurrection. A point not to be missed, Jesus left Galilee now in order to be in Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles. OK, so here's my question: W...

As you will hear in this PODCAST , in Matthew 18:21, Peter asked a profoundly important question. A question that haunted him. And if we are honest, a question that at times haunts us. Matthew 18:21 reads, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Can you think of any question that hits us more profoundl...

“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 y...

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 ch...

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 attent...

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 he...

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...

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 ap...