Dewey Bertolini's podcast

Jesus pronounced this amazing blessing on His people: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” An amazing blessing to be sure. But is it an empty one? Who of us is actually “pure in heart”? Did not Jeremiah pronounce our hearts “desperately wicked”? Yes, I’m afraid he did. And who of us can actually see God? Did not God tell Moses that “no one can see Me and live”? Yes, I’m afraid...

Did you know that there are nine different Greek words used in the New Testament to refer to grief, sorrow, sadness, mourning? Nine! As you are about to discover in this PODCAST , there needs to be a variety of words because sadness is such a large part of our daily lives. If you think about it, the whole of human history is a solemn story largely written with the ink our tears.  Sorrow, sadness,...

It is mentioned 611 times in the Bible; 147 times in the book of Psalms -- the prayers, the heartfelt pleas of God’s people as they (we) reach out to Him. It is the universal cry of the human heart. Down through the millennia of human history, our most precious literature is replete with references to this elusive quality. Yet, in our culture, in our day, I hardly ever hear it mentioned anymore. I...

Have you ever sat back in wonder while beholding a masterpiece?  In this PODCAST , you are about to do just that. Not my sermon. No, no, no, no, no. We’re talking here about Jesus’ signature sermon. A masterpiece: You could call it His pièce de résistance, magnum opus, tour de force. (You pick the synonym.) Jesus’ message on the mountaintop exceeds all of those lofty designations. A masterpiece: A...

This week, my dear bride and I are ministering at a place near and dear to our hearts -- Hume Lake Christian Camp. But fear not, my friends. I have not left you in the lurch. In this Bonus PODCAST , you will hear a message that I spoke at Hume some two years ago, one that contains my favorite and most personally meaningful biblical principle.  Jesus used a metaphor familiar to His original audienc...

...And all I can say is, “Oh my...” We are going to connect several dots in this PODCAST . So much about to come into focus. AND we will complete a major segment of life and ministry of Jesus. In the coming weeks, you will notice a dramatic change in the tone and themes of this Jesus in HD series. But for now, light bulbs are about to come on in your head as we place a rather remarkable and compel...

Are you ready to have a life-changing discussion? And believe me, I don’t use that term “life-changing” lightly. There is nothing clichéd about that. In this PODCAST , you are about to be introduced to a concept which, if we will fully embrace it, will change our lives AND revolutionize our relationship with God in ways that we cannot as of yet even imagine. PLEASE NOTE that depending upon your we...

They were ready to kill Him on the spot. They had the motive -- Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. They had the means -- an inexhaustible supply of rocks. They had the opportunity -- Jesus stood before them, a sitting duck for their carefully aimed stones. In this PODCAST , you will hear Jesus on trial for His life. And in defending His life, He will call a full complement of five witnesses to tes...

It is indeed the singularly significant question that every single one of us must answer at some point in our lives.  Not only that, but we must answer this one question correctly.  In this PODCAST , you will hear the question asked, listen as the question is answered, and understand why the answer to this question is absolutely true.  Please note that depending upon your web browser, it might tak...

It begins... Those two words sound sort of ominous, don’t they? And well they should. I won’t give anything away here. No spoiler alerts necessary. Except to say that I have a feeling that in this PODCAST , you are about to meet a soulmate. Someone who “gets it,” someone who understands what you’re going through, what it’s like, how it feels... And someone who can offer you truck-loads of comfort,...

I woke up this morning with these words ringing in my ears, “We must never forget.” Our salvation was paid for with Jesus’ blood. That we will never forget. But there is a whole heavenly host of precious committed Christ-followers who have gone on before us, without whose testimony we would never have heard about Jesus’ shed blood. They shed their blood too. And that, we must never forget. So in t...

I’ve got some great news for you. The best news, really. Courtesy of Jesus, and the 3 Gospel writers -- Matt, Mark, Luke -- who recorded these precious, life-giving , spirit-refreshing words. In this PODCAST , we are about to consider together one of the most exciting sayings of Jesus in the entire Bible. Quite a claim, I understand. But I am confident that in the next few minutes, you will see th...

Here, in this PODCAST , is some much-needed hope for every brokenhearted mom. Not to mention every brokenhearted dad. This hope comes courtesy of a man named Levi, though you’d never know it by reading his account of Jesus’ life and ministry. While there is scant little detail in the Bible regarding this remarkable man (Levi is mentioned by name a grand total of only 5 times), scratch beneath the...

The time bomb starts ticking. A time bomb that will one day detonate, the concussion of which will reach around the world and throughout human history. An explosion that will result in Jesus’ execution. It all starts here in this story that you are about to hear. There is so much going on here that I cannot possibly even begin to tell you about it with these written words. You’ll just have to list...

Time for us to have a vitally important conversation. A discussion about a topic that touches each of our lives in a profoundly personal way. Tonight, courtesy of a leper, of all people, we are going to develop a theology of sickness and disease. Don’t let that word, “theology,” throw you. It’s a compound word, theology is. Theos is the Greek word for God; logos is the Greek term for word. “Theolo...

It's a wonderful little chorus, the wonder of which is found in its repetition: "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back." In this  PODCAST , you will hear about the day that Peter first sang that song. And even though this happened to Peter a-way back then, his story has so much to say to us today regarding o...

Does the word, “boundaries,” mean anything to you? As in establishing boundaries, and not feeling guilty about that? If not, it will in just a few brief  minutes.  How about the word, “No”? As in saying “No” to someone, and NOT feeling guilty about that? How about purposefully leaving some things undone, leaving some needs unmet, just because you need a break, and not feeling guilty about that? My...

Today was a day that I will NEVER forget. Nor will our son, Dave. Nor will our family. My son was ordained to the ministry today, in an age-old tradition that dates all the way back to the first days of the Early Church.  We read in Acts 13, "(The church leaders) placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed (by God) to do this work."  Today, church leaders placed th...

Welcome to the world of spiritual warfare. A world in which you and I live and -- frankly -- battle each and every day. This one incident in the life and ministry of Jesus raises for us all sorts of practical spiritual questions, questions that we need to answer. Questions that we will answer in this PODCAST . Fair to say that Satan would prefer to remain in the shadows and work behind the scenes,...

REJECTION. I can hardly bring myself to say the word sometimes.  REJECTION: A word loaded with searing memories, deep scars, and jaded emotions. REJECTION: Is there anything more painful? Is there anything more devastating than loving someone who who spurns your love? May I get personal with you for a moment? May I have your permission to ask, Have you ever felt the betrayal of rejection? Have you...

WWJD? That is the question we are attempting to tackle in this PODCAST . If I was tweeting this on my Twitter account, I would use #MindBlowing. Yes, what Jesus did was THAT remarkable. Each week, I follow a predictable pattern when I teach. If you have listened to any of these podcasts, you will readily recognize this pattern. Basically, I read the passage, explain the passage, and apply the pass...

The cards were unfairly stacked against her. By anyone’s definition, she was a total loser. This woman was by anyone’s standard the quintessential poster-child of the societal outcast. She lived on the fringes, neglected, or even worse, forgotten by everyone. Forgotten by everyone, that is, but Jesus. This one encounter, between Jesus and this notorious woman, changed her life forever. It might ju...

It’s THE question that I get asked more often than any other. And believe me, I get asked all sorts of questions. But in one form or another, I so often get asked some incarnation of the question, Why do you believe that the Bible is true? A perfectly fair question, if you think about it. I mean, the Bible is an ancient book, written from a place and about a place far, far away, and written so lon...

Have an Android Mobile Device? Get the Safe Haven Android App by clicking HERE ! It’s called the most beloved verse in all the Bible, no pun intended as it is a verse about God’s love. It’s called the Gospel message in miniature. It’s the most memorized verse in the Bible, and usually the very 1st verse most of us memorized. John 3:16 is all of that, and so much more. But note this: John 3:16 did...

It wasn't a pretty picture, the day that Jesus visited the Temple -- His first official trip after the beginning of His ministry to that holiest of all holy places.  But holiness is not what He found there. Not by a long shot. Can I say this reverently? Jesus lost it. He lost it BIG TIME. You can hear all about it by clicking HERE . So here are the 3 questions that we must answer in light of the g...