As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, we stand on the shoulders of giants. The names of several of whom will become quite clear as you listen.
Thank you for listening, and for sharing this message!!!
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God bless you richly as you listen.
If that title—O Holy Night—calls to your mind my favorite holiday of the year (Christmas), guess again.
In this PODCAST, we’re going to talk about my second favorite Holy-Day of the year, this courtesy of Paul and his Galatian readers.
Thank you for listening, and for sharing this message!!!
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.
(Fun Fact: Of all of the thousands of messages I have given over the years, THIS one is my devoted daughter’s all-time-favorite!)
“It’s the holiday season.”
A statement, as you will hear on this PODCAST, that cuts two ways.
For far too many of us, this is not “the most wonderful time of the year.” For you, or someone you know, it’s the loneliest time of the year.
But it does not have to be.
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God bless you richly as you listen.
It is time for us to celebrate.
That’s the tone with which I want to share this PODCAST with you tonight. A tone of celebration.
A celebration of a day unlike any other.
A day that began so ordinarily; but one that ended so spectacularly, in the Holy City, on the southern steps of the Holy Temple Mount.
So many miles from this place (McMinnville); so many years from this year (2017).
Yet this was a day—the effects of which are so clearly manifested in the fact that you would not be listening to this podcast right now if this glorious day had not occurred.
We’re talking, of course, about the Day of Pentecost, in or around AD 33. Which would make this the 1,984th Pentecost weekend since the Dispensation of God’s Glorious Grace began so wondrously nearly two millennia ago.
Jesus, in Matthew 16, made this awe-inspiring declaration to jaw-dropping effect as far as His disciples were concerned (Verse 18),
“I will build my ekklesia” (Jesus’ brand new, yet-to-be-born, worldwide family of faith), “and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Jesus began to build His ekklesia here in Acts 2, on this dazzling Day of Pentecost. Yes! On this Day of Pentecost, Jesus’ ekklesia was born! 1,984 years later, the powers of hell have yet to conquer it. In fact, as you are about to hear, despite every effort of the Evil One to silence it, the witness of Christ around the world is more powerful today than it has ever been!
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.
Ready to hit the ground running? This is so exciting. And just remember, I Love this stuff!
As you will hear in this PODCAST, in the culture of Jesus’ day, the agricultural cycle of sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting, was absolutely central to the existence of the Jewish people. So much so that the agricultural calendar was an essential part of the day-in and day-out rhythm of their lives, including Jesus’.
You can understand why. They could not simply go to Roths, Winco, Alberstons, Safeway or some other grocery store to buy their food. Their lives literally depended upon, revolved around their agricultural calendar. Hold onto that thought for a second.
Allow me now to shift gears ever so slightly, to this thought:
God wants you to know with absolute certainty, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that death is not the end, but is a gloriously grand beginning. Think about that for a second.
We live (in theory) with an awesome, palpable sense of anticipation for the day when we will get brand new bodies, just like Jesus’ resurrected body. That day coming in the Future.
Here in the Present, we are now watching the fulfillment of God’s promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit as He moves throughout earth in real time, every single day, saving the souls of precious people from Hell, and guaranteeing them, and you, an eternal place in Heaven. We are talking about the redemption of our bodies in the future, and the redemption of our souls in the present.
In order to paint that picture, God inserted Himself into the very soil of the culture of the New Testament. And He did so on two separate specific, picturesque days — separated from each other by exactly 50 days. Two Holy Days, Jewish holidays each, that were exactly 50 days apart. Both of which were agricultural. Both of which the people felt keenly.
And after hearing this podcast, you will feel it 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.
Call me a contrarian, but I LOVE Halloween.
And I, for one, am not prepared to concede this holy-day to the enemy. Here’s why:
Halloween is a contraction of two words, Hallows’ Eve.
“Hallows” (related to the word “holy”) is a reference to “saints” (having nothing to do with the Church conferring sainthood on dead people, but having everything to do with every one of us who loves, worships, and serves Jesus Christ). (See Ephesians 1:15 for but one example of the biblical usage of the word “saint.”)
“Eve,” of course, refers to evening, much as we use the word in reference to Christmas Eve.
Put it all together, and Halloween is in reality a “Holy Evening,” the night before “All Saints Day.”
Simply put, Halloween is the one night out of each year set aside for the dual purposes of (1) Identifying those precious saints of God, those committed Christ-followers who have had a significant, positive, and holy influence in our lives; and (2) Planning how we are going to honor them on the following day, November 1, All Saints Day.
This in the spirit of Romans 13:7, “Render to all men their dues… respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due” (Amplified Bible).
Think of it this way: We have days set aside to honor our Mothers, Fathers, Presidents, historical individuals like Columbus, King, and others, our veterans, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice (Memorial Day), etc., etc.
All Saints Day is the one day out of each year to honor those who have encouraged us in our walks with Christ, including those who have…
Led us to faith in Christ,
Taught us His Word,
Set an example for us of godly living,
Encouraged us,
Prayed for us,
Counseled us,
Loved us,
Helped us along the way to take one more step in our spiritual journey,
Or perhaps the most important of all… Were there for us when no one else was.
Tonight is the night to identify these precious people, the unsung heroes of our personal faith, and to plan how best to honor them the very next day.
We can honor them in so many simple and yet oh-so-important ways:
A card, a letter, a note, a phone call, a text message, a Facebook post, an email message, a gift. Some sincere expression of what these dear people mean to us, and how these individuals have blessed our lives.
What a beautiful concept. More than that…
…What a BEAUTIFUL DAY. All Saints Day. Preceded, as it is, with an equally beautiful evening. An evening devoted to identification and preparation. An evening called Hallows’ Eve!
So in the true spirit of this sacred holy-day, let me extend to each of you a heartfelt…
…HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Dewey Bertolini’s Podcast
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Dewey Bertolini 