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.
One divine melody permeates the grand narrative of redemptive history. In this series, Jeremy is guiding us through the biblical narrative–from Genesis to Revelation–with “ears to hear” the penetrating God-beat keeping everything in tune. A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January … More FATHER’S SONG (4): Whistling Alone in the Dark (Abraham)
Good Friday is one of my favorite, most moving evenings of the year. It is the holiest of nights, the most somber of times, the pinnacle of human reflection of the gravity of humanity’s sin problem and the depths of God’s love ing provide a way to freedom. For several years I have tried to … More Gethsemane: A Journey to the Cross
All sin is spiritual garbage, and necessarily meets its end in destruction. God can’t let garbage into heaven. Only if the “sinner” won’t let go of his garbage does he get burned with it. God offers to take the garbage off his back, to separate the “sinner” from the sin so that the sinner is … More QUOTABLES: Peter Kreeft
Since the creation of the world God’s perfect melody, the Father’s Song, has been clearly heard, it’s harmonious rhythms and soothing beats echoing forth from all that God has made, so that people are without excuse. For although we knew the Father’s Song — which is written on our hearts — we chose to deafen … More FATHER’S SONG (3): Cosmic Dissonance (Fall)
LORD God you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through JESUS CHRIST our … More QUOTABLES: Anonymous Prayer
“It’s amazing, in fact, what one highly charged, crazy man can do.” -Peters & Waterman, In Search for Excellence Here’s my problem. I actually believe our role as Christians today is just as significant as God’s servants in the Bible. Our call is no less real as that of Abraham or Moses, Deborah or Mary, Peter … More Out of my Mind for Christ
The Creator could have chosen an infinite number of methods to bring the universe into being. God chose to sing. Well, we don’t know if God actually sang, but the creation narratives make plain that the first stars, moons, trees, oceans, platypuses and people danced into existence through the spoken word of God. (“And the … More FATHER’S SONG (2): Creation Song (Creation)
A message is currently circulating on Facebook that claims that “men are scum.” Here’s a bit of it:
“Despite all the romantic notions that men or women may have about how men really are, the fact remains that nature has pretty much made them all one way: hormone-crazed animals bent on blessing as much of the planet as possible with their genetic code. Like any other male animal on this planet, the foremost thought on the untrained human male’s mind is sex… I estimate that 99.87% of adult males walk around in a hormone induced zombie trance of lust. For every thousand men, 13 of them are rationally thinking gentlemen.”
Well, boys? What do you think of this claim? Is this true? Is it partly true but overblown a bit? If so, which part is true? Which part is overblown? What beliefs about human nature, nature, human development, morality and God leads this person to this portrayal of human males? Please read on…. … More Spring Break on Facebook (or “Are Men Scum?”)
SERIES INTRO: One divine melody permeates the grand narrative of redemptive history. In this series, Jeremy guides us through the main episodes of the biblical narrative with “ears to hear” the penetrating God-beat keeping everything in sync. Leave the dissonance of the world and join the Dance of the Trinity as we catch a glimpse … More FATHER’S SONG 1: The Dance of the Trinity
This is a repost from a few years back. -JB Chap Clark has written a must-read book for all youth workers and those who want to understand the current world of today’s teenagers. Listen to these honest words of a (typical) high school student in Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers: “I’ve always been … More Masks & Belonging: Deeper than Nude Beaches & Palm Branches
We celebrated Peter’s dedication to the Lord at MainStreet Church on March 18, 2012, among family and friends. The meaning and significance of this event is amplified by the fact that when Peter was conceived we barely had a church in existence in which to have such a celebration. A baby dedication service is largely … More Dedicated to the Lord
“When the wanderer stands by the little hidden spring in the woods and observes how the newborn brook searches its way between moss and heather, it is difficult to understand that this is the beginning of a mighty river that a few hundred miles farther on plunges down into deep gorges and finally flings itself … More QUOTABLES: E.A. Skogsbergh on Small Beginnings
Now for a second key point to Jesus’s “cosmic landfill” image of Hell. We should not speak of eternal damnation as something God imposes on us against our will, as if we had no choice in the matter. Jesus has taken our trash upon himself, his offer of forgiveness is always before us and he … More GARBAGE DAY 11 – Locked From The Inside (Hell 3)
It is with great excitement that I share the fruit of my research and labor pertaining to the life and legacy of E. Aug. Skogsbergh – early pioneer leader and revivalist preacher of the Covenant Church who had a powerful ministry in Minneapolis and on Lake Minnetonka in my backyard. Building this website has been … More E.A. Skogsbergh Website Project ‘Completed’
What then does Jesus’ graphic allusion to Jerusalem’s garbage dump tell us about the nature of hell? First, as we have already discovered, each person has been created for the common purpose of bringing glory and praise to the Creator. We were made to be showcases of God’s majesty. We fulfill this role whenever we … More GARBAGE DAY 10 – Scissors That Won’t Cut (Hell 2)
Earlier I mentioned the unpopularity of the topic of repentance both inside and outside the church today. An even more hair-raising, gut-wrenching topic, offering a greater challenge to our culture’s sensibilities is the idea that an all-loving, all-merciful God would send people to some hell for all eternity. Shall we pour a cup of coffee and talk about Hell for a moment?
… More GARBAGE DAY 9 – God’s Cosmic Landfill (One Hell of a Mess)
Statement made during assembly of evangelical pastors in 1877 pleading for a union of evangelical believers based on scripture alone without regard to human creeds or confessions: Let us in this matter be followers of Jesus and not split into different denominations and factions; we have the same Savior. Rather may all those who are … More QUOTABLES: P.P. Waldenstrom
I’ve been studying the history and founding fathers of the Covenant the past several months. Perhaps the greatest influential figure of the 19th century revivals that swept through Sweden was C.O. Rosenius (1816-1868). He became one of Sweden’s most widely read religious writers of his time as the editor of Pietisten used heavily by the Mission Friends … More Carl Olof Rosenius on a Living Faith
Are we willing to let go of certain things we love in order to gain something of even greater value? This is the whole concept behind a rummage sale, is it not? Clear out the old, unused clutter to make room for newer, better things? The Apostle Paul was faced with the same question, and made his decision abundantly clear…
If we take a quick glance at the lifestyles of Christians in America today, they are hardly distinguishable from those who don’t know God. We are a church of Marthas, fussing about in our own respective kitchens. But Jesus invites us to clear away the clutter and find time and space to sit at his feet along with Mary (Luke 10:38-42). Herein lies the key difference between spiritual garbage and spiritual clutter…. … More GARBAGE DAY 7 – Boasting in our Busyness
“Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul preached on and on” (Acts. 20:8). Every pastor has to deal with the issue of preferred sermon length among his or her congregation. What is the ideal sermon length? In some traditions, the 15-20 minute homily … More Thoughts on Sermon Purpose, Style and Length
While continuously ridding our lives of sin’s toxic presence is of central importance, there is another type of spiritual waste that needs to be kept at bay. I call it spiritual clutter. If spiritual garbage represents the sin polluting our lives, spiritual clutter represents the numerous distractions that constantly compete for our immediate attention, drawing our focus away from God’s kingdom purposes…. … More GARBAGE DAY 6 – Spiritual Clutter
There was a day when God went dumpster diving. Some 2,000 years ago God so loved the world that he sent his only Son into the dumpster of sin and death, so that everyone who believes in him shall not go to waste but have the eternal kind of life (John 3:16). Jesus came and took out our garbage for us; for we had let it pile up so high that it was now too heavy for any man to carry. As Isaiah said, “We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags” (Isa 64:6). But Jesus exchanged our trash for God’s treasure (1 Pet 1:3-5)…. … More GARBAGE DAY 5 – The Day God Went Dumpster Diving
You have heard the quote, “There’s a God-shaped void in every heart that only God can fill,” and it is attributed to Blaise Pascal. In fact, that is only a paraphrase of what he actually said. Here’s the quote it must come from: What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there … More QUOTABLES: Blaise Pascal
Kingdom Harbor 