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.
From the DI archives. -JB Are you tired of Top 10 lists? Are you tired of talk of resolutions? I like most top 10 lists but find the resolutions to be a bit too predictable and repetitive. Here’s one such list. According to their research, here are the top 10 New Year resolutions for the past … More New Year’s Idolatry
“How are you doing today?” I asked Rob (not his real name), and extended a hand. “I am blessed,” he proclaimed, then asked pointedly, “What else can I say?” Rob and I stepped out into the cold December day. We crossed the busy Minneapolis street and headed to the car, where my colleague unlocked the … More Warmth & Kindness (by Rachel Evans)
-From C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian, p. 50-52: The Son of GOD became a man to enable men to become sons of God. We do not know—anyway, I do not know-—how things would have worked if the human race had never rebelled against God and joined the enemy. Perhaps every man would have been “in Christ,” would have shared the … More Tin Soldiers & The Incarnation
“[Jesus Christ], who being being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:6-7). “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness” (John 1:14). What words are able … More A Christmas Parable
“One goes out — and they all go out!” This is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of working with Christmas lights. For the whole string of lights to shine brightly and beautifully they ALL need to be in healthy working order. If one light goes out, the whole string suffers. God has created us to … More Christmas Lights 3: A Closed Circuit Community
An oldie from the Daily Illumination archives. -JB Gather around little boys and girls. It’s time for our annual reading of the Christmas story — this time with a twist. I’ve seen many a nativity scenes and Christmas pageants over the years with wooden stables, sheep and goats, ox and ass, and Mary and Joseph … More The Red Dragon in the Nativity
“Do you hear what I hear?” Yep, if what you’re hearing is crying kids, a cranky parent (i.e, me), crowded malls and cringe-worthy Christmas tunes on the radio (you know, that one with all the synthesizers or the one that keeps repeating “Simmmmmply haaaaaaaving a wonderful Christmastime”). Let’s be honest, it’s hard to hear anything amidst … More Do You Hear What I Hear?
“I’ll retire when they pry my cold, dead fingers off of my Bible.” -R.C. Sproul R.C. Sproul died this past week and so we mourn the loss of one of the stalwart defenders of the faith and larger-than-life Bible teachers of the last century. Here’s my meager tribute. My college years at Bethel were a … More R. C. Sproul (1939-2017)
From the DI archives. -JB In part 1 of my “Christmas Lights” series I explored the Ongoing Epic of God and His Flickering Lights. The Bible tells the story a humanity “unplugged” from the life of God by sin, and how Jesus came to earth to reconnect us to God by dying on the cross … More Christmas Lights 2: Flipping the Switch
From the DI archives. -JB There is a scene in the classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) is ready to show off his creativity and hard put into decorating the house with thousands of lights. After the drum roll he plugs in his precious lights only to find….nothing. They refuse to shine. … More Christmas Lights 1: The Saga of God’s Flickering Lights
I just sent a very strange, funny and slightly embarrassing email to a former teacher and coach at my high school. In a former life, I was a star basketball player who held the all-time leading scoring record at my high school for quite a while. My career total of 1,307 points was immortalized in “permanent” marker on a ball inside a trophy case near the gymnasium. … More My Fading Glory
By Nancy Adsem I make mittens. I love the search for old wool sweaters and great buttons – the cutting and stitching and lining with fleece. Each pair is different and, I think, has a unique “personality”. Each fall I gather with another mitten friend, and we sell our mittens at an out-door Christmas festival … More Mittens for Yvonne (by Nancy Adsem)
by Allan Bevere Now that the special Senate election in Alabama is over, it is time for some Christians on both sides of the political aisle to repent of selling their souls in exchange for temporal political power. Conservative Christians who supported Roy Moore in spite of the fact that there were numerous credible women … More It Needed to be Said
“As Jesus came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). Jerusalem was in the news as President Trump announced the … More Jesus & the Palestinian Woman
I owe more to N.T. Wright for my understanding of faith and the Bible than anyone else. Period. If you’ve never read a book by Wright, this might be a nice way to ease into his style and brilliance this season of Advent. From the publisher: Advent for Everyone: A Journey with the Apostles provides … More The Wright Christmas Gifts
So, I walked into a Holiday Gas Station bathroom this week, and suddenly a light from Heaven burst through the dim light of that grimy little stall and I felt the Presence of the Divine touch my shoulder and smile upon me! Bear with me….I’ll explain … More Epiphany in the Porcelain Sanctuary
“Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi Modern readers tend to take the above statement as a kind admonition towards acts of charity and service in the name of Jesus. But, they are usually quick to make clear that the primary means of evangelizing is through … More A City on a Hill: A Biblical Theology of Missions
Here’s a book I wrote exploring the big plot of the entire Bible through the metaphor of a Divine Symphony or the Dance of the Trinity. Just in time for Christmas! … More My Take on the Bible’s Big Story
As we begin to wrap up this year, I’m taking inventory of some of my reading activity this past year for future reference. I read more than usual this year due to two main factors. First, I started school again for my doctoral degree and this is requiring thousands of pages of academic reading! Second, … More 2017: A Bookish Year
I wanted to share one other encounter in the nursing home chapel this past week. As I went around shaking hands, I tried to make eye contact and said things like, “God bless you!” or “Have a Merry Christmas!” One gentlemen sat expressionless in his wheel chair, waiting for his turn to be pushed back … More “It’s Good to See You!”
Two voices spoke from single face: One named truth, the other grace. Truth was stern, direct and strong, Truth declared the right from wrong. Truth proclaimed the pure and right, Truth distinguished dark from light. Everything he spoke was true; Truth had perfect point of view. Overwhelmed by all he said, I sat, I wept … More Truth & Grace (by Darrelyn Tutt)
When God’s Word is unleashed in a room with passion and fervor, let people drop to their knees with conviction, rise up with cheers of excitement, or form an angry mob and try to throw me off a cliff; just deliver me from the spiritual wet blanket of indifference. … More Deliver Me From Indifference
By Mike Fox On my desk at work I have a scripture-a-day calendar. When I get to work in the morning, one of the first things I do is tear off yesterday’s verse and look at the new verse. I never look ahead. I look forward to the surprise. Last week one of the verses … More “Here I Am!” (by Mike Fox)
I took a long, deep breath and caught a strong whiff of a memory of a moment that probably never happened. Was I smelling joy or sadness, gratitude or longing in that old pole shed? Was I really searching for an old book in that oversized shed, or something less tangible like a feeling of nostalgia, or a burst of joy, or the echo of a memory of a time I never knew and a place I never lived when things were perhaps simpler, more wholesome. … More Antiquing: In Search of Something
The focus of this new season of Advent is to beg God to intervene (“come down”) in our sin-stained world and rescue us from the filthy mess we’ve made of this world and our own lives. One huge mess being paraded past us in the headlines daily is the flurry of sexual harassment allegations against very public figures. … More Breaking News: Man Caught Being Faithful (#MeToo)
Kingdom Harbor 