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.
Journal from December 9, 2017 I’m 38 years old. Forty is not far away. Time is our most valuable commodity. I want to make the most of my limited trips around the sun. If my most Formative Years are now behind me (19-37), and the years beyond 60 are Legacy Years where we focus on … More Life is Fleeting
“Stars cross the sky, wise men journey from pagan lands, earth receives its savior in a cave. Let there be no one without a gift to offer, no one without gratitude as we celebrate the salvation of the world, the birthday of the human race. Now it is no longer, “dust you are and to … More Basil the Great: Epiphany
A good reminder for a New Year. A repost from about 9 years ago. -JB Somewhere along the way, largely in the wake of the Enlightenment’s enthronement of human reason, Christianity morphed into a rational quest for right knowledge and head beliefs. Discipleship naturally became a classroom exercise with teachers, Bible curriculum and eager (and … More Life’s the Curriculum, You’re the Assignment
Most people don’t read the Bible at all. Some Christians read them a bit, trying to apply a “daily verse” to their life somehow. Few experience what you might call “inhabiting Scripture” — entering into the text, plumbing its depths, making your home in a particular scripture long enough to know your way around it … More LIFE VERSES 1: Intro
We all have some explaining to do, and maybe some repenting. Here’s the deal. Imagine grandpa’s turning 100 years old, and you’ve spent countless days planning the most magnificent birthday celebration. Invitations have gone out to hundreds of guests. A towering cake and a great feast from renowned catering service has been ordered. The banquet … More Poor Grandpa’s Epiphany
“For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that “nothing happens” when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find … More QUOTABLES: On Reading ‘Thick’ Books
I picked up a very old (1887) biography of Henry Ward Beecher over Christmas, as I occasionally like to read (and hold and smell and marvel at the beautiful cover art of) vintage books. I know very little about this influential man from the Civil War era and I’m immediately discovering his unparalleled gift for … More Henry Ward Beecher on Cynicism
“Why are the nations so angry? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together.” –PSALM 2 The New Year began today with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un stating, “The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a … More Listen Up World Leaders! (Psalm 2)
From the DI archives — December 2009. I love fresh starts. Clean slates. New beginnings. Therefore I love New Year’s day. It’s a time to take inventory of our lives’ rhythms and priorities, make necessary adjustments, or those pesky “resolutions” and all the rest. For the Christian it is a time for inward reflection on … More “Shackled” for the New Year (James 4:13-17)
A pastor once challenged his congregation, “I’m not going to preach on another Bible verse until we start obeying and living out the one I preached on last week.” He supposedly preached on that same verse an entire year, or so the story goes. … More New Year: One Verse
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
Kingdom Harbor 