512 results for tag: blog

When Your Dreams Wind Up in the Pit – by Greg Albrecht

Keynote Scripture: GENESIS 37:19-36 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."  The background to our story involves a 17-year-old boy named Joseph. He lived with his father Jacob and his ten brothers in the land of Canaan. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son. Showing favoritism to one child is a huge mistake for any parent, but it is the stuff of real life, is it not? The ongoing story of the family of Abraham given to us in the book of Genesis reads like a soap opera. This specific ...

Son of a Preacher Man – by Greg Albrecht

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" —Matthew 16:24-26  The passage in Matthew that forms the basis of our message talks about losing your life so that you might gain it. At first it may seem to you that Jesus' assertion amounts to little more than theological double-talk. But this teaching begins to make profound spiritual sense ...

Chaos or Community? by Greg Albrecht

Martin Luther King Jr. set out to redeem the soul of America from the triple evils of racism, war and poverty. MLK Jr. loved Isaiah 40:4-5: Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind will see it. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (published in 1967), was the fourth and last book written by Martin Luther King Jr. before his assassination in 1968. In Chaos or Community? Dr. King pleaded for an end to violence, because violence always gives birth to the chaos of more violence—he ...

The Pearl of Great Value – by Greg Albrecht

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.—Matthew 13:45-46 We turn our attention to one of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven. In the Authorized King James Version the parable is called The Pearl of Great Price. As I normally use the New International Version, we'll refer to it by the title given to it in that translation, The Pearl of Great Value. Here's the widely accepted Christian interpretation of this parable: The merchant is you or me. We decide to look for Christ, and finally, after much effort, we find ...

Stop Trying To Get Saved -Greg Albrecht

Are you saved, brother?” the earnest young man asked me. He continued, “If you’re not saved, you need to get saved.” I responded to him, “Before I reply, may I ask you what it is you believe I need to be saved from?” The young man didn’t miss a beat (as I suspected he wouldn’t) and immediately rattled off the stock answer he’d been taught. The young evangelist wanted me to get saved so he could save another soul from the eternal torment of the fires of hell. He told me I needed to get saved from my sins so I would not go to hell. So I asked, “Let me get this straight. I need to get saved from my sins so I won’t go to ...

The Gate of the New Year – by Greg Albrecht

On Christmas Eve 1939, King George VI of England gave a BBC radio broadcast to the British Empire heard around the world. During his message, he quoted the preamble to a poem given to him by his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, written by Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957). Then titled “God Knows,” the poem later became known as “The Gate of the Year.”  Upon the death of King George VI in 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen of England – she was the longest living monarch in the world. She had “The Gate of the Year” engraved on brass plaques at Windsor Castle, where her father is interred. In 2002, when her mother, the Queen ...

God and Jonah: Ships Passing in the Night – by Greg Albrecht

Many, even those unfamiliar with the Bible, have heard of Jonah. Most remember the story of Jonah as it is depicted in children's books—a man named Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish and lived to tell the tale. As we go a little deeper into the story (deeper even than the whale went with Jonah) we see that Jonah is yet another biblical example of how humans can completely misunderstand God. We can misunderstand God as Jonah did, and in terms of our relationship with God, be, as he was, like two Ships that Pass in the Night.    The book of Jonah begins with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian ...

New Creation in Christ – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from January 2023: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation is come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17 This New Year of 2023 is a great time to remember that we, as Christ-followers, and CWR/PTM Friends and partners, are friends of Jesus and we are, by God’s grace, New Creations! God creates us as new creations out of what we were. He makes us “something” in terms of our spiritual worth when before we were, by comparison, “nothing.” He finds us and we discover him, in the process we lose “the old” and we gain, by his grace, “the new”! We become new, ...

Great Exchanges – by Greg Albrecht

Your first thought at this time of the year might be those frenzied crowds in shopping malls and department stores on the days immediately following Christmas. People exchanging and returning gifts they received that were the wrong size, wrong color—or just plain wrong! But there's another exchange we need to keep in mind. This great exchange is the reality of the cross of Christ. Jesus Christ took our sin and died for it, paying the debt that we could not pay. In exchange, God, because of his grace, gives us eternal life. Our sin for eternal life! The great spiritual exchange. Great exchanges characterize the month of December for Christians ...

Christmas Presence – by Laura Urista

We’ve celebrated many memorable Christmases over the years. Sometimes it was a special trip or a special meal with all the family gathered in one place which made the day so memorable. But the one Christmas that stands out in my mind as the most memorable was not a very merry one. It is so memorable to me because I learned a valuable lesson. It was December “1990-something” and our daughter, Tawny, wanted a new bike for Christmas. After much searching, my husband and I found a bike that was the perfect size and in her favorite color—purple. With smiles of anticipation, we beamed with pride and joy as our wide-eyed little girl opened ...

What If God Was One of Us? – by Greg Albrecht

"Stop Acting Like God. Start Acting Like Jesus." The message, on a poster being waved during a rally in support of a minority group, confronted and challenged me. It seemed to be directed at me and my fellow Christians.  If they really knew Jesus, I thought, they would know that he is God and he was God in the flesh!  I continued to ponder the poster until a free translation of its intended meaning occurred to me: "Jesus, save us from your followers who seem to be acting like our stereotype of the Old Testament God."  It was obvious they had a vague notion that Jesus didn't hurt people, that Jesus didn't abuse people, and that Jesus ...

The Little Stranger in the Manger – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from December 2016 Come down to the manger, see the little stranger  Wrapped in swaddling clothes, the prince of peace. – “Christmas Must be Tonight,” The Band The invitation come down to the manger, see the little stranger announces the arrival of the God who cares, the God who comes near and the God who becomes one of us.  The invitation come down to the manger, see the little stranger proclaims God’s love being born into our story.  Come down to the manger, see the little stranger bids us to come receive the unconditional love of God who holds us near and dear.  When ...

The Gift of Time – by Greg Albrecht

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.—Isaiah 55:6 Time is the enemy of teachers, speakers and preachers—we are always battling with the clock. In the context of formal church services, this battle goes back to the so-called olden days when preachers walked up and took their place behind the pulpit. At the beginning of the sermon an hour glass of sand was turned on its end. The passing of time was determined as small quantities of sand passed from the upper chamber, which at the beginning of the hour was full, to the lower chamber.  When the last grains of sand filtered through the hour glass into the lower ...

Information is Not Knowledge – Greg Albrecht

Wisdom, according to the prevailing notions popular early in this 21st century, is derived from access to information and the subsequent knowledge that applies that information. But just as information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom. One must wonder whether our 21st century infatuation with information is helping make us and our world a better place. Is passionate addiction to information retrieval systems and inordinate desire for electronic connection enhancing or endangering wisdom? The Information Highway, as one former presidential candidate called the Internet, is not automatically producing more prudent and judicious ...

Arrival of Joy – by Laura Urista

From a young age, we are taught that Christmas time is always filled with happiness, joy and fun. We are assured, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” We are inundated with advertisements about products, foods and experiences guaranteed to fill us with joy. We rush around, busy with extra activities meant to brighten the holidays for ourselves and others—addressing and mailing greeting cards, purchasing gifts, wrapping and hiding them. We search for the perfect tree, haul it into our house and spend hours decorating it. We purchase all the ingredients to prepare our favorite holiday recipes. Amid bright, sparkling lights and ...

The Visitor – by Greg Albrecht

The Visitor - Greg Albrecht       KEYNOTE SCRIPTURE: John 1:1-18   There are two biblical stories about the birth of Jesus. One is the factual story of who did what, when and where, given to us by Matthew and Luke. The other story occurs in our keynote passage.   The "other story" concerns itself with the profound significance of what happened at the intersection of time and eternity, when God in the person of Jesus came into our world to be one of us. The first 18 verses of the first chapter of the Gospel of John is powerful, majestic, and in some ways mysterious. As literature, this passage ranks among the most profoundly ...

Fiat Lux – The Light of All People – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from December 2022 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. – John 1:1-4 When we think of the birth of Jesus, and then of his subsequent life and teaching here on earth, we often forget the many things that happened at night. We don’t know for certain, but Jesus may have been born at night – if so his first meal at the breast of Mary was at night. He had his last meal at night. A man named ...

The Peace of God – by Greg Albrecht

  Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14). The night seemed normal—nothing out of the ordinary. The shepherds were watching the sheep, just like they always did. But suddenly something abnormal happened—an angel appeared. The shepherds were terrified. After assuring the shepherds they had nothing to fear, the angel announced the coming of the Prince of Peace.   Then God composed and arranged a musical anthem performed by a heavenly choir to emphasize the importance of the angel's message. The Bible uses a military term, host, to describe the angelic choir (Luke 2:13). A heavenly ...

Reckless Love by Greg Albrecht

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:38-39). When Christ-followers take up their cross and follow Jesus, losing their own interests in the greater cause of serving Jesus, by the grace of God they begin to experience the “reckless” love of God. Reckless love is the self-sacrificial, serving love of our Savior, and as a priority of life in Christ, reckless love stands opposed to a greater commitment on our part to safety and security. Don’t get me wrong—let me clarify right away with a disclaimer! ...

Thankful For What? – by Greg Albrecht

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, ...