Pondering My Pilgrimage
February 18, 2020
“So I think my biggest takeaway is that the Holy Land might have begun in Israel, but it was never meant to end there.” … More Pondering My Pilgrimage
Author: Jeremy Berg
The Rev. Dr. Jeremy Berg is the founding and lead pastor of MainStreet Covenant Church in Minnetonka Beach, MN, where he has served since 2010. He is an adjunct professor of Biblical and Theological Studies who has taught classes at Bethel University, University of Northwestern—St. Paul, North Central University, Crown College, and Solid Rock Discipleship School. Jeremy earned a doctorate in New Testament Context under Scot McKnight at Northern Seminary (Chicago). He and his wife, Kjerstin, have three kids, Peter, Isaak and Abigail.
My 20 Year Holy Land Pilgrimage
February 4, 2020
For the past twenty years I have been getting the Holy Land inside of me through my studies and ministry experience, and now its time for me to go inside the Holy Land! … More My 20 Year Holy Land Pilgrimage
Why Christians Shouldn’t Argue Over Politics
February 1, 2020
Your favorite candidate will win or lose based on how our country votes this November. However, the church will win or lose based on our behavior between now and then. … More Why Christians Shouldn’t Argue Over Politics
The Feast is Ready! Come and Get it!
January 28, 2020
“Every wise teacher trained in the kingdom is like the homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new and old things” (Matt 13:52). Jesus warned against trying to pour new wine into old wineskins—a constant warning to Christians and church leaders down through the ages not to get too attached to our ministry models … More The Feast is Ready! Come and Get it!
Evangelicalism’s Big Trap
January 22, 2020
My teacher Scot McKnight just published a piece at Jesus Creed, now hosted at Christianity Today online, warning Evangelicals of the trap of “statism” running amok in Christian circles. This statism was on full display in the reactions to Mark Galli’s editorial piece on Trump a few weeks back. Here’s a couple paragraphs, but you … More Evangelicalism’s Big Trap
Wisdom Culture & the Juvenalization of American Christianity
January 21, 2020
“Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 Churches are busy with many good endeavors, but seeking and passing on wisdom seems to have fallen down the list of priorities. According to my teacher, Scot McKnight: “People today care less about growing up or gaining wisdom and far more about staying young, maintaining relevancy, and dressing according … More Wisdom Culture & the Juvenalization of American Christianity
A Snowman Explains the Meaning of Life
January 19, 2020
How does making a snowman explain the meaning of life? … More A Snowman Explains the Meaning of Life
Kids Say the Profoundest Things
January 18, 2020
We all know the phrase, “Kids say the darnedest things.” It usually refers to an embarrassing remark a child utters in a public setting. But sometimes kids say the profoundest things. … More Kids Say the Profoundest Things
I Wonder What Sort of a Tale We’ve Fallen Into?
January 17, 2020
“I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We’re in one, of course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards.” … More I Wonder What Sort of a Tale We’ve Fallen Into?
Wise Words for Church Leaders
January 16, 2020
I’m grateful for the wise and courageous leadership of our Conference Superintendent Mark Stromberg. These are some words from a recent letter to churches and pastors. The ministries in which you are involved matter. The manner in which you conduct yourselves also counts, as it is noticed by others and either reflects well on your … More Wise Words for Church Leaders
A Benediction
January 15, 2020
Life is short, And we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us. So… be swift to love, and make haste to be kind. And the blessing of God, who made us, who loves us, and who travels with us be with you now and forever. AMEN
I’m an Anabaptist – What and Why?
January 15, 2020
While I don’t often use the label, I self-identify as an Anabaptist in many aspects of my faith and theology. My teacher Scot McKnight offers this brief sketch. … More I’m an Anabaptist – What and Why?
On Reading Scripture
January 9, 2020
This week I am teaching on the nature of the Bible — authority, inspiration, infallibility, etc. — in my Christian Theology class at Solid Rock Discipleship School. I dug up this post from 2011 I wanted to share again as we begin a New Year. In the October 2011 issue of Christianity Today, J. Todd … More On Reading Scripture
May the Force be with You!
January 7, 2020
Those angels outside Bethlehem could have been Jewish Jedis when they came with their greeting that was essentially, “May the Force be with you” — that is, may the Peace or Shalom of God be with all upon whom God’s favor rests (cf. Luke 2:14)! … More May the Force be with You!
Are You Ready for Epiphany?
January 6, 2020
The very name Epiphany carries a wonderful abundance of connotations: revelation and realization and disclosure and manifestation, all with an element of surprise – a illumination of insight in which everything is transformed. … More Are You Ready for Epiphany?
WOW – On Worldliness
January 2, 2020
“Worldliness is everything in the world around us that makes sin look normal and that makes righteousness look strange.” -DAVID WELLS … More WOW – On Worldliness
Keeping Watch in the New Year
December 31, 2019
I’m so glad the shepherd’s near Bethlehem didn’t have smartphones or Netflix that first Christmas. Can you imagine the scene? … More Keeping Watch in the New Year
WOW – Aquinas on the Incarnation
December 30, 2019
This week’s Words of Wisdom (WOW) come from Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274): “The time of the Incarnation was most suitable. Had God come to man to redeem us immediately after the first sin was committed, human pride would not have been humbled in consequence of that sin; man would not have realized, through an impressive stretch of time, the greatness of the treasure he had lost. … More WOW – Aquinas on the Incarnation
Urgent Message for a Smartphone Generation
December 27, 2019
Here’s a great and urgent message by Skye Jethani filled with Scriptural wisdom touching on the key themes of the smartphones and the rise of mental illness and suicide rates, the role of fathers in our search for identity, and our proneness toward placing our security and significance in things other than God. … More Urgent Message for a Smartphone Generation
Millennials Not Coming Back?
December 26, 2019
538 viaJesus Creed Millennials have earned a reputation for reshaping industries and institutions — shaking up the workplace, transforming dating culture, and rethinking parenthood. They’ve also had a dramatic impact on American religious life. Four in ten millennials now say they are religiously unaffiliated, according to the Pew Research Center. In fact, millennials (those between the ages of 23 … More Millennials Not Coming Back?
WOW – Augustine on the Incarnation
December 25, 2019
“Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.” … More WOW – Augustine on the Incarnation
Sermon: The Greatest Gift
December 25, 2019
Someone has said that the door of the stable where Jesus was born was very low to the ground, so people had to bow down humbly on their hands and knees in order to approach the manger to worship the savior. And did you ever notice that we find the same kind of folks surrounding the manger as we find at the foot of the cross? … More Sermon: The Greatest Gift
The Three Kings (Longfellow)
December 24, 2019
Three Kings came riding from far away, Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar; Three Wise Men out of the East were they, And they travelled by night and they slept by day, For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. The star was so beautiful, large and clear, That all the other stars of the sky … More The Three Kings (Longfellow)
Prince of Peace, Reign Through Us
December 23, 2019
Oh, Prince of Peace, help your people to establish your reign of shalom in our war torn world. Use your Body, the global church, to obliterate the dividing walls of hostility we have erected. … More Prince of Peace, Reign Through Us
A ‘Set Apart’ People in a Partisan Culture
December 21, 2019
To all God’s beloved living in the United States today, Paul would write urging us, like the church in ancient Rome, to be a set-apart people, setting up little beachheads of Christ’s eternal kingdom right here and now in the swamp of partisan politics and idolatrous nationalistic sentiment. … More A ‘Set Apart’ People in a Partisan Culture
Kingdom Harbor 