J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

010 - Good Friday

In this episode, Mark and Cameron share some music recommendations to enhance your Good Friday devotion, comment on what the crucifixion and resurrection teach us about Christ’s humiliation and exaltation and explain why the Christian hope is not to spend eternity in heaven. They will also ask what it is about Easter that speaks to every human heart.

In this episode, Mark and Cameron share some music recommendations to enhance your Good Friday devotion, comment on what the crucifixion and resurrection teach us about Christ’s humiliation and exaltation and explain why the Christian hope is not to spend eternity in heaven. They will also ask what it is about Easter that speaks to every human heart.

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross begins at the 1:22:40 mark here:

https://www.facebook.com/SDSymphony/videos/923279091767716/

To listen to Mark’s podcast with SDSO’s Maestro Delta David Gier about Bach’s St John Passion, visit: 

https://www.hearingthemusic.org


THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

009 - Prophet, Priest, and King

In this episode, Mark and Cameron review the challenges and lessons of their Lenten fasts, and talk about what happens when physical fasting doesn’t lead to spiritual feasting. Then they comment on how seeing Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King enriches our understanding of the work of redemption.

In this episode, Mark and Cameron review the challenges and lessons of their Lenten fasts, and talk about what happens when physical fasting doesn’t lead to spiritual feasting. Then they comment on how seeing Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King enriches our understanding of the work of redemption.

The conversation references a series of questions and answers from the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 23-26). You can find the catechism online in PDF form here:

https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ShorterCatechismwithScriptureProofs.pdf

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

008 - The Gift of Repentance

In this episode, Mark calls Dan Reed to follow up on his sermon from last Sunday, exploring a question about how Jesus took the curse of sin upon himself at the cross. Then Cameron and Mark explore the idea that repentance is best thought of, not as a choice, but as a gracious gift from God.

To listen to Dan’s sermon “The Serpent and the Savior,” follow this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-serpent-and-the-savior/id601540290?i=1000512938357



In this episode, Mark calls Dan Reed to follow up on his sermon from last Sunday, exploring a question about how Jesus took the curse of sin upon himself at the cross. Then Cameron and Mark explore the idea that repentance is best thought of, not as a choice, but as a gracious gift from God. 

To listen to Dan’s sermon “The Serpent and the Savior,” follow this link:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-serpent-and-the-savior/id601540290?i=1000512938357

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

007 - Preparation

In this episode, Mark and Cameron are joined by Dan Reed to talk about how to prepare for worship—especially for hearing a sermon. We’ll also share some eureka moments from seminary education, and explain why you should always take the Order of Worship home with you after a worship service.

In this episode, Mark and Cameron are joined by Dan Reed to talk about how to prepare for worship—especially for hearing a sermon. We’ll also share some eureka moments from seminary education, and explain why you should always take the Order of Worship home with you after a worship service.

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

006 - All About Baptism

In this episode, Cameron asks Mark about how the sacrament of baptism in the Reformed faith works as a means of grace. They unpack how this differs from both the stereotypical Roman Catholic and Evangelical/Baptist perspectives. This leads to some commentary on the Lord’s Supper, too — particularly how to think about Christ’s “real, but spiritual” presence at the Table.

In this episode, Cameron asks Mark about how the sacrament of baptism in the Reformed faith works as a means of grace. They unpack how this differs from both the stereotypical Roman Catholic and Evangelical / Baptist perspectives. This leads to some commentary on the Lord’s Supper, too — particularly how to think about Christ’s “real, but spiritual” presence at the Table.

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

005 - Fasting to Feast

In this episode, Cameron and Mark comment on the way that fasting physical fasting can make room in your life for spiritual feasting. They also discuss why Christians need to recover an understanding of ourselves as sojourners and exiles. And, if you’re looking for some extra reading between now and Easter, they make a challenging suggestion: Dostoevsky.

In this episode, Cameron and Mark comment on the way that fasting physical fasting can make room in your life for spiritual feasting. They also discuss why Christians need to recover an understanding of ourselves as sojourners and exiles. And, if you’re looking for some extra reading between now and Easter, they make a challenging suggestion: Dostoevsky.

Mentioned in this episode

Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life, by Rolf Dobelli

Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan: With Texts

“The Grand Inquisitor,” from The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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Laurie Bertrand Laurie Bertrand

004 - The Christian Calendar

In this episode, Cameron and Mark comment on what “the day of small things” in Zechariah’s prophecy should teach us about our own humble circumstances, about how liturgy in worship and the church calendar can shape us for discipleship, and what the transfiguration revealed about who Jesus really is.

In this episode, Cameron and Mark comment on what “the day of small things” in Zechariah’s prophecy should teach us about our own humble circumstances, about how liturgy in worship and the church calendar can shape us for discipleship, and what the transfiguration revealed about who Jesus really is.


THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

003 - We Adore A Good Mystery

Mark and Cameron comment on what the concert hall can teach you about prayer, how Grace incorporates the psalms into every worship service, and why it’s so important in theology to cultivate a sense of mystery … without using mystery as a veil to obscure what the Bible actually reveals.

Mark and Cameron comment on what the concert hall can teach you about prayer, how Grace incorporates the psalms into every worship service, and why it’s so important in theology to cultivate a sense of mystery … without using mystery as a veil to obscure what the Bible actually reveals.

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

002 - Life Without Walls

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. In this episode, Mark and Cameron talk about the interesting connections between prophecy and history in the Old Testament, what it means to “live without walls,” and whether the prophet Zechariah, who said the New Jerusalem would have no walls, actually got it wrong — since Revelation 21 definitively mentions those walls!

In this episode, Mark and Cameron talk about the interesting connections between prophecy and history in the Old Testament, what it means to “live without walls,” and whether the prophet Zechariah, who said the New Jerusalem would have no walls, actually got it wrong — since Revelation 21 definitively mentions those walls!

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND J. MARK BERTRAND

001 - In Too Deep?

In the debut episode of THE COMMENTARY, Pastor Mark and co-commentator Cameron Brooks discuss changing the lyrics of questionable songs, why the Apostle Paul thought “the present form of the world” was passing away, how to go deeper in our current sermon series on Zechariah, and what to do if you’re already in over your head.

In the debut episode of THE COMMENTARY, Pastor Mark and co-commentator Cameron Brooks discuss changing the lyrics of questionable songs, why the Apostle Paul thought “the present form of the world” was passing away, how to go deeper in our current sermon series on Zechariah, and what to do if you’re already in over your head.

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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