Dewey Bertolini's podcast

It is without a doubt THE single most unpleasant topic in all of the Bible. The subject of this week’s PODCAST : God’s wrath.   We discuss it here because here in Matthew 10, Jesus made reference to the iconic display of God’s wrath: the twin-cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.   And for good measure, Jesus also referred to “the day of judgment.”   Since Jesus brought it up, we will bring it up -- unple...

In this PODCAST , we will discover together an amazing privilege that is ours, especially given tormented world in which we live. We have been given a unique gift of God’s blessing that Jesus Himself empowers us to bestow on His behalf to others.   Just so you know, this is the kind of person I long to be.   This blessing and privilege defines a pretty amazing purpose statement for our lives.    T...

Truer words were never spoken. It is an axiom of life. An undeniable reality that is obvious on its face:   You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube.   What does toothpaste have to do with Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 10, you ask? Everything. Everything.   For the fact of the matter is that there are some things in this world of ours which, once they are done, there’s no going back. Which is so...

The day before yesterday, I read a recently released report out of University of Missouri on the subject of Facebook Depression.   Well, as you will hear in this PODCAST , I really didn’t need to read a report about that. I know all-too-well what happens in my own rather sizable soul when I scan my FB newsfeed. Sometimes I just can’t help but to feel so deeply and compassionately and sadly for man...

We have come in this PODCAST to a monumentally significant section of Scripture.   And yet ironically one of the most ignored.   As we will learn over the next several weeks, here in Mark 6, and its much more complete parallel passage in Matthew 10, we read of something that was for Jesus enormously emotional, and for us incredibly instructional.   Emotional because of its context (Jesus’ compassi...

As you will hear in this PODCAST , on the night before He went to the cross, Jesus made a series of remarkable statements to His disciples, in the Upper Room, during their final Passover Seder together.   John 13-17, those 5 chapters, are often referred to as Upper Room Discourse. They contain rich and rewarding teaching that we’ll dissect and digest in, oh… 3 years or so when we get there.   Ther...

Well, I’ve got good news for you. Great news, at least as far as Jesus and His disciples were concerned. Just in case you were worried about this.   As you will hear in this PODCAST , Jesus finally got a break in the action.   Finally, mercifully, after His enormously long and draining and tiring day -- in which He taught a series of seven parables, sailed to the other side of the sea, stilled a r...

OK. So I’ve got to tell you that I find this entire series of events that we will be discussing in this PODCAST …   All of which I will remind you took place in less than 36 hours…   This entire series of events that took place in just one day in the life of Jesus…   I find to be remarkably REFRESHING, while at the same time to the followers of Jesus’ faith utterly unsettling...    Absolutely REVO...

She was a footnote in this chapter of the Jesus Story. But she was NEVER a footnote to Jesus.   And neither are you, as you will be reminded in this poignant PODCAST .   If I had to choose one word to describe this woman -- and let me assure you, there are many to choose from, such as desperate, fearful, impoverished, unclean, shunned, rejected, lonely, isolated, alone, damaged --    If I had to c...

Whenever I talk about Satan, demons, spiritual warfare, or anything remotely related, the numbers of distractions in the room increase exponentially.   This is a pattern I have documented over 40 years of ministry.   Regardless of time of day, day of week, season of year, or venue in which I teach, it’s as if the devil himself does not want anyone (including you) to hear what the Bible teaches abo...

He is truly an unsung hero of the Christmas Story.   Ironically enough, as you will learn in this Christmas-themed PODCAST , his name means “one who listens.”    Are you ready to listen?   Having read the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus, I have no doubt that you have heard of him. But I would be very much surprised if you knew much about him.   All of that is about to change.   Ready to vi...

Ever feel spiritually inferior? Like you don't measure up? Like you can't measure up? Then you are in the right place. This message is for YOU! In this PODCAST , we bid a fond farewell to the parables.  I cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed our study of each of them. The seven parables of Matthew 13 speak so clearly to us, revealing to us exactly what Jesus said the spiritual climate in...

It has become THE doctrinal debate of our time -- Is there really a Hell?    It is THE question that is addressed clearly and unambiguously in this PODCAST .   Is there Really a Hell?   This 7th of 7 parables answers the question.   And if the answer is “Yes,” the logical followup question would be, “What is Hell Really like?”   Turns out that the Bible is amazingly straightforward about whether o...

You are in for a Thanksgiving treat! One PODCAST consisting of two precious parables.   Why these two parables don’t get more attention, I’ll never know. For contained within them are two of the most blessed truths of our faith.   The two parables of which I speak: The Parable of the Buried Treasure, and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price.   Two parables that, despite their similarities, reve...

It is without a doubt one of the most beloved and timeless stories in the entire Bible, courtesy of Jesus Himself.   In this PODCAST , you will hear the story has you have never heard nor read it before.   A story for Jesus’ day; a story for our own day.   A story for Jesus’ disciples; a story for us as Jesus’ disciples.   Just imagine that the principle player in the story told you his story in h...

OK… So... I am rarely one to say “I told you so.” But sometimes I just can’t help myself.   As you will hear on this week’s PODCAST , my dear friends, I told you so.   All courtesy of Jesus.    All centered upon a #MostSignificantParable.   One of a duet of parables, actually. The first having been discussed at length last week. The second to be discussed here and now.   Get ready to think. Be pre...

Oh, my friends. You are about to be amazed... In this PODCAST , you will be amazed that in such a few words, Jesus taught such a tremendously timely and thought-provoking parable. Exactly WHAT the disciples (and US!) needed to hear; exactly WHEN they (and WE!) needed to hear it. If the world seems to be spinning out of control... If it seems that we are losing... If life becomes for you at times o...

It’s a day that receives NO recognition.   I don’t know why. I have no explanation. It’s simply a fact.   This holiday (Holy Day) is the 3 rd most important date on our calendars. 3 rd only to Christmas and Easter.   And yet, year after year, it comes and it goes with nary a mention. As happened #JustLastWeek!!!   So in this PODCAST , we are going to mention it. What this holiday is. How it came a...

Welcome to this Jesus in HD Encore PODCAST .   I am coming off of an exhilarating week with the best students in the world, the Joshua Wilderness Institute students. So in my absence, and for your edification and enjoyment, I have reached way back into the archives, all the way to Podcast #61. This was at the time a wonderfully received and enormously helpful discussion that brought so much peace...

Ready to have a somewhat sobering, definitely enlightening, and #Oh. So. Encouraging discussion?    Then welcome to this week’s PODCAST !!!   An encouraging discussion, certainly to me personally, and hopefully to you, because Jesus’ 2nd parable, The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (the 1st we discussed last week, The Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seeds) is spot-on as far as Jesus predicting...

Welcome to Parable #1.    That’s right! In this PODCAST , we begin in earnest now to understand Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13.   Oh, you’re in for a treat. Because this first parable, just like the eight that will follow it, speaks directly to our lives at this time, in this place, in our day, today.   This is as personal as it gets.    Jesus now shifts His focus completely, from talking to the cr...

You’ve perhaps heard his name -- a rather strange name at that! His name is Job. The man who had it all, only to have it all taken away.   As you will hear in this PODCAST , in the blink of his eye, everything changed. And not for the better.   The book of Job poses for us a number of VERY IMPORTANT and DIFFICULT questions:   Why did such unspeakable things happen to such a godly man?   Why did Go...

I can’t tell you how excited I am, both about this particular message AND the enormous encouragement that I know it will bring you as you listen!!!   In this week’s PODCAST , we break the seal on the parables. As you will hear, Jesus had quite compelling reasons for completely changing His teaching style -- from preaching to the masses to huddling with the disciples; from sermons to stories; from...

My heart goes out to Mother Mary.   Her name means “Bitterness.” Sadly, and quite frankly, in many ways Mary lived up to her name.   Being the mother of Jesus was no small task. One that she fulfilled with great dignity. But boy did she face her challenges.   In this PODCAST , we will gaze upon a Scriptural snapshot of Mary unlike anything you have ever seen before. Not only that, but we will enco...

My heart goes out to Jesus. After preparing for this week's PODCAST , I feel such a profound sense of compassion for Him. Thing of it is...  I knew that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day hated Him. I understood that at this point in His ministry they no longer regarded Him as an irritation to be tolerated or a troublesome teacher to be discredited. Now they saw Him as a colossal threat to be kil...