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)
By Peter Scazzero “You are concerned about many things. Only one thing is needful.” -JESUS Instead of highlighting The Fastest Growing Churches, I recommend we highlight The Slowest Churches, i.e. those that help us most to slow down and pay attention to God, ourselves, and others. When our churches continually remind our people that “only one thing … More Only the Slow will Reach the World (Peter Scazzero)
We’re honoring the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation at MainStreet this month by exploring some of the key figures. Last week we focused on Luther, and I preached a portion of a Luther sermon. This week we’re meeting John Calvin! I can’t think of a better place to turn to learn about John Calvin and … More John Calvin the Preacher
Have you ever argued with an author, or wrestled with a book? Has an idea ever so overwhelmed you that you gasped audibly and threw the book down in either disgust or delight? Have you ever returned to a section, re-reading a sentence over and over hoping to find some other way to interpret it? … More On Wrestling with Books: Luther’s Tower Experience
We are celebrating “Luther Week” at MainStreet as we honor the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. We watched the 2003 Luther movie on Wednesday night, and we will be discussing the movie and Reformation this Wednesday night at Three Taverns. This Sunday I also spent time introducing this truly one-of-a-kind flawed heroes of the faith. … More Preaching Luther
Human beings glorify God not by curling up in a helpless, hopelessly depraved blob just relieved that God is great enough for the both of us. Rather, God is most glorified in us when we, God’s image-bearers in the world, are living most in tune with God’s purposes for our lives, utilizing our God-given gifts and passions, flourishing in our God-directed pursuits, and accomplishing great things in the name of God and for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. … More God’s ‘Man-centered’ Gospel & Glory
In our digital age, many (if not most) the messages we receive throughout the week come stark naked — i.e., disembodied. I’m finishing up my first doctoral thesis paper today, and exploring the power of and need for “embodied teaching” in the church and “embodied words” in our lives as a whole. We get sprinkled with text … More Naked & Embodied Words
WWJT? “What would Jesus Tweet?” I’ve been asking this question this week as I watch people wax bombastic on their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds. There’s a lot of shouting past one another and very little listening (not to mention loving). Strong opinions abound while grace and civility are in short supply. So, how might … More Social Media & The Sermon on the Mount
Do you ever wish you had a time machine so you could go back to relive various moments a second time? I’m not talking here about moments you regret and wish you could “do over.” I mean going back to moments that seemed so ordinary at the time, but in retrospect you wish you would … More Greg Boyd, Apologetics & The Case for a Christian Movie
In November 1979, while I was a 4-month old sucking down baby milk, Bob Dylan was getting his first taste of the milk of newfound faith in Jesus Christ. Dylan was about to shock the world and confuse and offend most his fanbase with his first tour as a “born again” believer. His next tour … More Dylan & Denominationalism
During bedtime prayers this week, something incredibly silly and irreverent happened. Complete hilarity ensued before the throne of the Almighty as toddler humor took over our prayers. I didn’t know whether to scold and lecture my kids about making light of prayer, or burst out laughing along with my 4 and 6 year old. What … More Fowl Prayers: Silliness Before the Throne
“I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to … More QUOTABLES: Mike Yaconelli
In 2012 a newspaper article was published describing the original vision for our MainStreet location, and I encourage you to go read it here. Here’s a taste: MainStreet will soon open a new center in the Stonegate Plaza in Mound. Hometown Pastor Jeremy Berg is quick to make clear, “This is not a church building; … More NEW: Three Taverns @ MainStreet
We just snapped that classic milestone photo of our 6-year old, Peter, climbing up those enormous school bus steps, turning around for that split second with a proud smile, and the look of excitement with tinge of apprehension in his eyes. Snap photo. And just like that the driver pulled the lever and the doors … More The Upward Climb: First Day of School Reflection
Tomorrow morning we send off our firstborn, Peter, to his first day of kindergarten. And he wants to ride the bus. [Cue the tears.] So, as we all behold those yellow buses on the move, shuttling precious loads of anxious, squirmy, hyperactive, pimple-faced, (hopefully!) potty-trained rug rats, let us pause and ponder their place in our … More Jesus on the Ancient School Bus
We gathered at the beach for our annual baptism service and potluck. Always a highlight to preach in the open air with the lapping waves and morning breeze coming off of Lake Minnetonka. I resisted making mention (this time!) that just a few hundred yards down the shoreline Bill Bright housed the Campus Crusade headquarters … More Imagine a World: Treasure Seekers (Matt 13:44-46)
Just skimmed a little book by the great NT scholar, James Dunn, on Jesus’ Call to Discipleship (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992). If you’ve ever wanted a short, concise summary of the heart of Jesus’ radical teaching and summons to discipleship, here’s a great summary from pp. 121-122: 1) It begins from God and … More Jesus’ Call to Discipleship
She was 16 years old, and for some reason attending a dance at the Technical College in her hometown. He was about 20, and for some reason flirting with a high school girl. (It was the 70s after all – people did a lot of “iffy” things.) He asked her to dance. She said yes. … More Happy 42nd Anniversary, Mom & Dad!
I’m going to see U2’s 30th Anniversary Joshua Tree Tour concert at U.S. Bank Stadium in a few weeks. My only other U2 concert was their Popmart Tour 20 years ago at the Metro Dome (a horrible echo-chamber for concerts). Needless to say, it’s about time. I’m pumped. I’m a long time fan of U2 and an … More Bono & the Psalms
Strangely enough, it started with the popularity of our local Westonka “Dog Days” celebration. Everywhere I drove around our small community I saw red yard signs in proud pet owners’ lawns making it clear to all residents and visitors of our city: “We love our dogs!” The event, now in its 7th year, is a … More ‘Love Your Neighbor as Your Dog’
Jesus’ parables, in the words of my teacher Scot McKnight, invite hearers to “imagine a world like this…” Like a good novel or film, you get swept up into another world for a moment and when its over you’re dropped back into our world pondering what you just saw, heard, experienced or imagined. Jesus’ parables fire … More Imagine a World: Grateful Stewards (Matt 21:33-40)
A member of our church paid me a great compliment this week. She said, “I’m discovering a trend among MainStreeters I am getting to know. I keep hearing people say, ‘Well, Jeremy challenged us to do such and such and here’s what resulted.” She quickly qualified her statement with, “Don’t worry, its the good kind of challenge … More A Faith that Relieves & Releases
I’ve been reflecting again on the community life of the first Christians described in Acts 2:42-47. We now stand 2,000 years removed from this first glimpse into the radical social experiment called ‘church’, and we marvel at the quality of their koinonia, or life together. I wonder what Christians 2,000 years in the future (if … More Acts 2:42-47 Rewritten for Today
Sunday 2 Serve – July 30, 2017 Last summer, on Sunday, July 31st, seven local area churches spent their regular worship time going out to serve local communities together. This joint initiative, called Sunday 2 Serve, was a roaring success in its first ever year of joining many churches together across many communities. In just … More Churches Unite For ‘Sunday 2 Serve’
“Daddy, why are you going to Chicago again?” my 6 year old asked as I tried to explain why this would be our last “story and snuggle time” for an entire week. The conversation continued as follows: “Peter, you know how Jesus was a great teacher, right?” I asked. “Yes.” “And how he had 12 … More Back to School: A Rabbi & His 12
Jeremy Berg 