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.
The book of Romans doesn’t mess around. Paul is shooting straight and going to the heart of things. Our senior youth group is plowing through portions of Romans this fall and winter. We’re still bogged down in the swamp of chapter 1 and Paul’s description of the fallen human condition is growing darker verse by … More Sin & Monopoly (Rom 1:18-32)
I am currently teaching a 4-week class on the topic of Heaven with our high school students. What a fascinating and inexhaustible topic to explore! Among many questions that this raises is ‘What happens immediately upon death?’ Of course, Christians believe the soul lives on beyond the last heart beat and cessation of brain activity. … More D’Souza on Life After Death
Join the conversation on how to approach Jehovah’s Witnesses when they come to your door at Jesus Creed today. Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog at Beliefnet.com is ranked the #6 most popular Christian blog, the #1 blog of the emerging church by Technorati and receives nearly 500,000 visitors per month. Thanks again, Scot.
Some will still protest, saying: “I tasted the morning coffee only to have it turn bitter in my mouth! I jumped up at the first breakfast call only to find stale cereal and sour milk waiting on the table! The sweet song of the morning bird was quickly drowned out by the loud ruckus of … More ALARM CLOCK 11: Everyday is a Fresh Start
USA TODAY.com News featured a story entitled How Stressed Are Kids? More Than We Think. I care deeply about the world today’s teens inhabit and the unique challenges they are facing. To the best of my knowledge and from my own personal observation, the world of teenagers has been changing over the last couple decades … More Teens and Stress
I read an article today about the things that teens today are most stressed about. I was rather surprised by the results and wanted to take my own poll to see if it matches the results of this finding. So, if you wouldn’t mind, please take a moment to weigh in on this poll if … More POLL: What stresses TEENS out most?
The debate over the legitimacy of virtual church vs. traditional church has heated up at Out Of Ur over the past couple weeks. (Dr. Mark Roberts has a series of posts as well.) I’ll be honest and admit that I have at times been too critical and skeptical of the “virtual church” movement. I see the … More Is ‘Virtual’ Church ‘Real’ Church?
We all owe the man who invented the alarm clock radio a heart felt thanks. I am still baffled by those who insist on waking up to obnoxious beeps or irritating buzzers. I still remember my first year of college, living on a dormitory floor with some thirty other freshmen. Every morning as I … More ALARM CLOCK 10: God’s Alarm Clocks
Just one more reason my wife is so amazing. She really knows how to throw a party and puts extra time into the little details that make it more special. Check out her creepy crawler cookies and cupcake creations! They sure didn’t taste as scary as they looked. PS: She even let me put some … More Keri’s Creepy Crawler Cookies & Cupcakes
Here’s an old post salvaged from the old DI archives from a couple years back. Enjoy! I love the Bible. But I’ve never been good at citing “chapter and verse” as they say. Have you ever met those Christians who always need to have a verse cited to back up every statement made? When reading … More Beyond Chapter & Verse
Business marketing strategists have even capitalized on the power of the olfactory sense. Fast food joints located within close proximity to other businesses are rumored to pump their deep-fried smell into the parking lot in hopes of drawing in hungry shoppers for a bite. Coffee shops grind their own beans, filling the air with that … More ALARM CLOCK 9: Your Smell Gives You Away
Dr. Ben Witherington, well-respected New Testament scholar provides a nice, short critique of the common arguments against women in ministry in a post entitled “Why Arguments Against Women in Ministry are Unbiblical”. What are your thoughts on this issue? What do you think of Dr. Witherington’s treatment of the debated biblical texts?
I found this post at Jesus Creed — originally from Umair Haque at Harvard Business Publishing. No parent likes it when their idealistic college-aged kid comes home for Christmas and begins criticizing the ways of the older generation. This post sounds like just such a rant. Some strong points made here, and one … More Generation M Manifesto (or “Hindsight is 20/20”)
I spent the weekend with 400+ senior high teens at Trout Lake Camp’s fall “Break-away” retreat. The weekend featured energetic worship led by the talented and fun Bensonwells and animated speaker Ketric Newell. Most excitingly, I saw students ministered to and challenged to be a generation that rises up and takes the baton and lives all … More Fusion Fall Retreat
“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.” Who can forget this classic coffee jingle? Before there was a Starbucks on every corner, there was Folgers. I can still picture the fake smiles of the actors in the ads as they enjoy their first sip of the morning. For many, coffee is the best part of waking up. For … More ALARM CLOCK 8: The Smell of Coffee in the Morning
STRESS: We all experience it. Here is an easy test to determine your current stress level. I am not sure exactly how this works, but this is amazingly accurate. The picture below has two identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at the Mayo Clinic and later … More Are you stressed out?
I love this kind of thing. Check out this moving story on VIDEO. Who’s hanging out in your church parking lot? And a bonus video below that I found beautiful — even though I’ve never stepped foot on a skateboard. God bless the skateboarders! If Jesus came back today, I think he might be found hanging … More Skateboarding with Jesus
Once we awaken to face God’s glorious New Day, another question naturally arises: How should Christ-followers approach the all-important task of waking others? What kind of alarm clocks should we be? Most morning people I have met take great pride in this particular quality. They even have signature phrases to promote this special trait. … More ALARM CLOCK 7: Ugh! Morning People!
Many families have been blessed by the common sense, biblical approach to money management taught by Dave Ramsey. Financial Peace University is bringing hope to those drowning in financial debt and providing a way forward toward a debt-free lifestyle and wise stewardship of our money. But what if we could help young people avoid the … More Teenagers & Money
The following post is featured at Jesus Creed today. Join the lively conversation THERE. “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you … More Does God Have Season Tickets? (Jesus Creed)
In Sunday school we used to sing a song that went, “I’m alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic <clap-clap>.” Even if we were half asleep, or didn’t like singing, we would move our lips along to the song just to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Similarly, many churchgoers are spiritually lip-sinking to the right tune, looking … More ALARM CLOCK 6: Half Awake Is No Way to Live
One of the strangest memories I have from my summers at church camp as a kid involves a certain sleepwalker. At an early age Kristin had fallen in love with the television series The Little House on the Prairie. She owned the entire collection and had watched them probably two dozen times each. She knew … More ALARM CLOCK 5: Spiritual Sleepwalkers
I am not a morning person. I both envy and secretly resent those early bird types. A typical Sunday morning not long ago about sums it up. I had stayed up late the night before getting some late night reading in. When Sunday morning arrived more quickly than expected, my wife had already showered, dressed … More ALARM CLOCK 4: Rude Awakenings
A former student (now in college) asked the following question a while back. How would you answer this fascinating theological question about the nature of Satan, forgiveness, judgment, heaven and hell? Q: I was discussing Lucifer and his fall from heaven with a roommate, and she wondered if Lucifer ever had a desire to return … More Q&A: Can Satan repent, be forgiven and saved from Hell?
But an alarm is still an alarm. And sleep is still so alluring and peaceful. The covers are snug and the coolness of the morning breeze keeps us wrapped tightly in the sheets. And even the most dazzling sunrise hurts eyes so accustomed to the dark. So we often linger in our comatose state, … More ALARM CLOCK 3: Heavy Sleepers Are Hard to Wake
Kingdom Harbor 