Author Archives: deweybertolini

Saul Goes to Seminary

Posted on January 28, 2018 by deweybertolini

Do you know what I love about Bible?

Well, truth be told, there are a lot of things that I love about the Bible. Far too many to tell in this PODCAST.

But certainly residing at or near the top of my rather lengthy list is this: The window the biblical writers open to the growth and maturity of its principle players.

Case in point: The Apostle Paul.

Paul did not emerge from his road to Damascus encounter with Jesus a wholly-mature believer. Nor did Paul burst on the scene armed with a fully-formed theology that would become the capstone of his prolific writings. Paul had to grow in his faith as a committed Christ-follower just like the rest of us.

I love that!

Paul moved from a measurably primitive understanding of Jesus to a remarkably profound comprehension of who Jesus was and is and all that Jesus did and accomplished. This growth, this development, this maturity takes place right before our wondering eyes ever to behold in all of its spiritual splendor.

In short, Paul was a person in process, just like us! A process well-documented in the New Testament that as we are about to learn slowly-but-surely took place over many, many years.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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“All for the Want of a Nail”

Posted on January 21, 2018 by deweybertolini

I believe that I can say this without equivocation. See if by the end of this PODCAST, you agree with me.

My unequivocal observation? He is the single-most important person in the New Testament of whom you have never heard.

There is an overarching theme to this discussion, born out of this story. One that relates directly to something that Jesus said.

You talk about Paint the picture, Rabbi. This story here in Acts 9 paints THIS amazing picture.

Jesus said, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” That was in Matthew 19.

So important is this principle that Jesus repeated it in the very next chapter:

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Whatever did Jesus mean? More to the point: What does this look like? Paint the picture, Rabbi.

Fortunately for us, Jesus is about to paint this picture—as beautiful a picture as you’d ever want to see—courtesy of Saul here in Acts 9, as illustrated so wonderfully in the lives of two otherwise anonymous individuals.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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Saul, the Man Who Had It (And Lost It) All

Posted on January 14, 2018 by deweybertolini

You talk about a rising rockstar.

You are about to meet him in this PODCAST, up close and personal: Saul of Tarsus. Disciple of the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel. One of the Jerusalem-based Pharisees. Soon to become a voting-member of Israel’s Supreme Court—the Sanhedrin.

This was a guy whose career-path was rocketing skyward in an ever-ascending trajectory to greatness.

In terms of his religious tradition, passed on to him by his Pharisee-father, Saul was a guy who had it all—

  • A rapidly-increasing influence.
  • A growing respect among his peers.
  • Certainly the pride of his parents.
  • The possibility of fortune to go along with his ever-expanding fame.
  • And, of course, to his way of thinking, the super-abundant approval of God, along with all of God’s bountiful blessings that Saul though he deserved, and that allowed Saul to justify to himself his murderous rage.

Indeed, Saul had it all.

And consequently, Saul had it all to lose.

And lose it, he did. In the blink of an eye, literally.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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The Remarkable Man to Whom was Passed the Torch of Torah

Posted on January 7, 2018 by deweybertolini

Hate is a horrible thing.

Hate unbridled and unchecked is a murderous thing.

Hate in name of God is terrifying and terrorizing thing.

And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, hate in the name of God is indeed a terrorizing thing because such religious hatred is actually viewed by the hater as a righteous thing.

Just ask a certain Pharisee—emphasis upon that lofty religious title, Pharisee, since it goes to the very heart of this story—named Saul. Yes! Saul was a Pharisee.

On the night before He was executed, as Jesus and His now-eleven disciples were slinking through the dark alleys of Jerusalem, literally one step ahead of His betraying-disciple Judas, the Temple guards, and the Roman cohort that Judas was leading to arrest and ultimately to crucify Jesus, Jesus made this chilling statement which should have given His disciples pause, assuming that in that desperate hour they had presence of mind to pause.

It’s found in John 16:2, where Jesus said this:

“The time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”

A prediction, a prophecy that has historically come to pass in our day—the bitter result of religious extremism—far too many times to count. Bloodshed in the name of God. Be that blood shed at the hands of the Christian Crusaders, Muslim suicide bombers, or a now-ranking member of Sanhedrin—keep that label in mind; it too goes to heart of this story—Saul.

From where did Saul’s unbridled fury, his murderous hatred for Jesus and all things Jesus-related come?

Tonight, we will consider together much of what is often overlooked in any discussion about Saul-to-become-Paul’s background.

All of which will expose the degree to which God went when preparing His “Apostle to the Gentiles.”

Indeed, Paul will write in wonder in Galatians 2:8,

“For by God’s power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles.”

That power was clearly at work in Paul’s/Saul’s past. And as you are about to hear, that power was equally at work in Saul’s present here in Acts 9.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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Predestination: A Cause for Separation or Celebration?

Posted on December 31, 2017 by deweybertolini

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus made some absolutely amazing statements, as only He could do!

As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus was able to pack into just a few words the most deeply profound theological truths, the implications of which have taken the most incisive theological minds centuries to unpack.

Case in point: This otherwise obscure little gem buried deep within the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, AKA “The Feeding of the 5000.”

Jesus said in John 6:44,

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me.”

An absolutely remarkable statement that underscores our gloriously precious theological proposition known as Divine Election, along with its sister doctrine of Sovereign Predestination—sadly, with all of its attendant questions and endless theological wranglings, divisions, and separations that these blessed concepts unnecessarily generate.

Trust me, courtesy of Philip and an unnamed Ethiopian Eunuch, this is a cause NOT of confusion, but of cerebration!

For as you are about to hear, this eunuch’s story is your story.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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“And THIS Shall be a Sign Unto You…”

Posted on December 24, 2017 by deweybertolini

 

It has become THE iconic image of Christmas: a Manger scene.

  • So readily recognizable that its image graces the fronts of so many of our Christmas cards.
  • So singularly significant that churches throughout country often display what they call a Living Nativity.
  • So emotionally effusive that the mere suggestion of placing a Manger Scene on the steps of a City Hall can stir up a cauldron of contention.
  • So famously familiar that many-a-home have a Manger Scene proudly/prominently displayed on a table or mantle.

And as you will hear in this PODCAST, so iconic that hand-carved Manger Scenes are far-and-away the #1 hot seller when I take people to my favorite olive wood shop in Bethlehem.

A Manger Scene.

Even though everything about it is absolutely wrong.

No knock on the artisans who hand-craft these treasured keepsakes. But you see, it’s all about a picture. An iconic picture.

Manger Scenes paint pictures in wood.

Luke painted a picture in words. And Luke’s picture, when properly understood, is SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL than any hand-crafted manger scene could ever hope to be.

It is simply an undeniable fact, an inconvenient truth, that from Luke’s quill and parchment to our wooden manger scenes today, so much has been lost!

And we are the poorer for it.

But not anymore. Not after hearing this podcast.

Merry Christmas, from my heart to yours.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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“While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night…”

Posted on December 17, 2017 by deweybertolini

The Christmas story is without a doubt #QuiteAStory.

A familiar story. A profound story. An oft-repeated story.

So familiar is this story that I really do not need to comment on it.

Or do I?

As you will hear in this PODCAST, the principal parts of the story are well-known. The principal players in this biblical drama are names everyone has heard — Mary, Joseph, Jesus.

Yet, with all of that familiarity, there is one little tidbit of information — one word, really — that absolutely jumps off the page at me.

  • One word that puts the entire Christmas story into its proper perspective.
  • One word that goes straight to the heart of who Jesus was, who God is, what the Gospel is all about.
  • One word that goes straight to the heart of who we are.

One word…

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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My Story

Posted on December 10, 2017 by deweybertolini

You’ve perhaps heard the old line, “Things aren’t always as they appear to be.”

Well, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, sometimes things are exactly as they appear to be.

Case in point, Peter’s exposé of Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer.

Kudos to Peter. The apostle properly diagnosed the terminal condition of Simon’s tortured soul with pinpoint accuracy.

A diagnosis that, were I to be honest with you, hits me way too close to home. For as much as I am ashamed to admit it to you, I have battled this very demon too.

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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The FIRST of Some Pretty Amazing Firsts

Posted on December 3, 2017 by deweybertolini

If this doesn’t send shivers up your spine, I don’t know what will.

In this PODCAST, you are about to hear an absolutely amazing story about a most-remarkable individual, whom we barely met last week—Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer.

A man, BTW, whose eternal destiny—when all is said and done—remains a question mark, shrouded in mystery.

For of Simon we read,

“Then Simon himself believed and was baptized” (Acts 8:13).

So far, so good!

But then we read a mere 8 short verses later,

“But Peter replied… ‘Your heart is not right with God.’”

Uh oh.

Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer—A living, breathing contradiction—as we might expect from someone trafficking on dark side.

There is so much to this story that it is hard to know where to begin. So we will start with this…

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer

Posted on November 26, 2017 by deweybertolini

His legacy is forever set in stone, indelibly etched in granite as Simon the Sorcerer.

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, Simon the Sorcerer is the very first person we meet outside of the cozy confines of the Holy City, Jerusalem. #ThisIsHuge!

You talk about a guy who had the deck stacked against him, meet this Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer.

That gasp you just heard was the rush of disbelieving air exploding out of the collapsing lungs of Luke’s original readers.

Trust me: We should gasp too!

Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.

God bless you richly as you listen.

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