Dewey Bertolini's podcast

Believe it or not, there is in the Bible a grand total of (Are you ready?) 31,102 verses. And, as you are about to hear in this  PODCAST , of these 31,102 verses, the one verse that best summarizes the state of my relationship with God is this one verse here in Mark 9. In all honesty, this is right where I live.  And, were the truth to be told, I’d be willing to wager that most of us live here too...

As you are about to hear in this week’s PODCAST , knowing God’s will for you life is far easier than you may have been led to believe. Far easier. Uncomplicated. Abundantly knowable. Readily understandable.  In a word, God WANTS you and me to know His will for our lives. The reason for this discussion this week is the fact that last week I inadvertently created a vacuum.  I made a point last week...

Defining moments. There aren’t many of these throughout the course of someone’s lifetime. But when they occur, as you will hear in this PODCAST , they are utterly unforgettable. We are talking about game-changing moments; history-altering moments; LIFE-altering moments. Rare snapshots of seminal events, frozen in time, after which your world will never be the same again. Welcome to one such defini...

The Bible is THE one and only Life-Giving Book. But how to approach it? In this PODCAST , you will be given the answer to that question! Courtesy of Jesus, we will learn how to read it! With all of its 66 books, printed in minuscule font, with no pictures, strange names, weird customs, unfamiliar geography, violent history, where do we even start? What's the first step? More to the point, what is...

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, espec...

For all of you End Times enthusiasts, this one's for you! Welcome to an epic day in the lives of the disciples as a whole, and Peter in particular.  As you are about to hear in the PODCAST , Peter was a guy who in the blink of an eye rose to the dizzying heights of declaring the very words of God, only to plunge into the abyss of speaking the very words of Satan, and from there to receive from Jes...

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 foret...

While I am away speaking at a High School camp, I have left you in wonderfully capable hands. Namely, those of our old friend, John the Baptizer.   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...

Jesus now has exactly seven months left. As you will hear in this PODCAST , Jesus knows it. He understandably recoils from it. But He must now prepare His disciples for it. Here in Matthew 16, and its parallel passage in Mark 8, we have reached a crucial moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. Make no mistake about it. These words here in Matthew 16 are a game-changer… One that reveals much to u...

The disciples were never at their lowest. Yet our friend, Peter, was never at his finest. As you will hear in this PODCAST , Peter made a declaration the reverberations of which have echoed down through the two thousand years of church history. This was HUGE. What Peter said and where he said it are mind-blowing in their impact upon our world and in our lives. This might just be my very favorite p...

You are in for a rare treat! One PODCAST  consisting of two precious parables. While I am away ministering to some pretty special people at Hume Lake Christian Camp, you have the opportunity to listen in on a past podcast that brings with it a present and priceless blessing. Two of them! Why these two parables don’t get more attention, I’ll never know. For contained within them are two of the most...

We are going to begin this week's PODCAST precisely from where we left off in last week's podcast . We left off last week by considering together this most enigmatic verse (Hebrews 5:8): “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.” If you are at all uncomfortable with that, then the rest of this story will make no sense, and will leave you with an even great...

Welcome to one of the strangest stories -- many would call this a troubling tale -- in Jesus’ entire life and ministry.   As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , what happens here in Mark 7, and its parallel passage in Matthew 15, seems highly uncharacteristic of Jesus; uncharitable to a tragically needy-yet-remarkable mommy; and unnecessarily cold and calloused as far as a Jesus is concerned....

I’ll keep this short and sweet. In this PODCAST , you are about to see a side of Jesus that you’ve likely never seen before.   Your love for Jesus is about to grow exponentially. And rightly so.   Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take as much as 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.     God bless you as you listen.

With this PODCAST , we break the seal on the last year of Jesus’ life here on earth.   And admittedly, His last year begins on a rather ominous note.   Immediately following this story, Jesus will leave the country. That is no exaggeration. For the first time in His storied 3½ year ministry, Jesus now has to get out of Dodge, fast!   As we have seen in past podcasts, Jesus was run out of His adopt...

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 impenetrabl...

A bit of Bible trivia for you. A little factoid that is anything but trivial.   There is one miracle, and only one miracle, that Jesus performed that is recorded in all four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry.   Only one such miracle. And you are going to hear all about it here, it this PODCAST .   If you didn’t know anything about Jesus, if this discussion was the first time you ever hea...

It may sound strange to you, as you will hear on this PODCAST . But if I kicked a bottle and a genie popped out, offering to grant me but one wish, any idea what I’d wish for? I’d wish for the ability to point my finger at anyone, anywhere, at any time, and become that person for 10 minutes. On the surface of things, an odd request, I know. But if you think about it, for me it makes perfect sense....

This is going to be So. Much. Fun for me. (And for you, I hope!) So indulge me here, because I LOVE this stuff. Look carefully and you might see my bemused smile on my face! It is just so comical to me how easily we take what Jesus made so simple, only to make it so insufferably complicated. And to be perfectly honest with you, I am awestruck. That’s the tone with which I want to teach this PODCAS...

You might call this discussion “One Daddy’s Lament.” Or to put an even finer point on it, “My Daddy’s Lament.” Or even “This Daddy’s Lament.” The “This Daddy” in that title referring to me.   All if which I will explain in mere moments as you listen to this PODCAST .   But for now, I don’t have to tell you that Jesus was a radical in every sense of that word. Jesus did things things that were tota...

It was without a doubt the absolute worst day of Peter’s long and storied and challenging life. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , we’re talking about one particular Saturday -- the day after the crucifixion.  The day after Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ accusers. The Saturday before the very first Easter Sunday.  And since for us at Safe Haven, tonight happens to be the...

I want to show you something that I discovered this week. A treasure of a truth that is so practical and so refreshing. Especially in light of this discussion that we began last week.   As you will hear in this PODCAST , we are asking a vitally important question, this in light of Jesus’ words to His apostles:   Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my...

Welcome to one of the most practical and profitable passages in all of the Gospels.    As you will hear in this PODCAST , Jesus’ words hit us right where we live. I mean, this goes right to the heart of who we are as Christ-followers, how we interact with our world, and how the world consequently perceives us.   Given the positive responses of so many of the people at Safe Haven where this message...

So here’s my question: If you were Jesus, and you wanted to convey the idea in a way that no one could possibly miss,  That you loved someone… That you cared about someone more than they could ever even begin to imagine… That you would be there for that person No. Matter. What… That in their loneliest moments, when they felt totally abandoned and isolated and detached from everyone, that you were...

As you will hear in this PODCAST , I have now reached a point in my life and ministry where I am easily bemused. Bemused by a question that I more and more frequently get asked.   When I am out speaking at a camp or a conference, often times a young man or woman just starting out in the ministry, or headed for his first ministry, will with furrowed brow and pen poised at the ready ask me this sing...