503 results for tag: blog
In Need of Grace – by Greg Albrecht
Keynote Passage:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”—Romans 1:16-17
This week we are beginning a three-part series on God’s amazing grace—based on the first few chapters of the book of Romans.
This week our sermon is titled In Need of Grace, based on Romans 1:16-17, and on the larger passage that follows, Romans 2:1-3:20.
Next week we will discuss Grace ...
God Save the King – by Greg Albrecht
When her health declined, Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022) travelled from London to her beloved family home in Balmoral, Scotland, perhaps because it was there, amidst treasured memories and traditions, she wished to die. On Thursday, September 8, when news of the Queen’s deteriorating health became known, crowds gathered around Buckingham Palace in London. When the sobering, staggering news of her death swept across the throng, without prompting, many started to sing the national anthem, only with slight lyrical adaptations, gender specific words changed to reflect the new king. In that moment, God Save the Queen became ...
Cracked Jars and Golden Scars — by Brad Jersak
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There's a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
The religious ego -- our 'inner Pharisee' -- demands perfection, is embarrassed by our failings and punishes us for them with self-loathing. Co-opting the God-given conscience, it ascends to the judgment seat reserved for Christ alone and points the accusing finger of condemnation. The fruit is anxiety, shame and an intense desire to shrink back, to burrow into the mud and hide out our years. It reminds us of our inadequacy and sets up this ordinance of hypocrisy: "Your ...
Law and The Gospel – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from September 2015
The distinction between law and gospel is the highest art in Christendom. – Martin Luther
Have you noticed that when you take God’s grace seriously, you start to hear advice, offered with a sweet, patronizing smile, that goes something like this: “Of course God loves you, but his love is not a one-way street – you have a contribution to make as well.”
If you are told you are in charge of activating, purchasing or producing God’s love, that’s law. If you understand that God’s in charge, that’s grace. If you are told that God’s love and grace are produced by ...
The Heart of the Matter – by Laura Urista
If you knew for certain you only had a few hours left on earth, how would you spend those last precious hours? What would be the most important thing you’d want to do? I think I would want to tell my dear ones how much I love them and give some instructions about what I would want them to do going forward—to help comfort and prepare them.
Sometimes people will give what is called a “deathbed confession” or provide their final wishes or last will and testament in their final precious moments. In any case, this is a time when you want to truly get to “the heart of the matter.”
This is exactly what Jesus did on the night before his ...
“The Good Deed” Brad Jersak
artwork by: https://www.facebook.com/RichYoungRule
The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-26 NLT)
16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”18 “Which ones?” the man asked.And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as ...
Self-will vs Surrender: Gospel Language for Postmoderns – Brad Jersak with Laurence Singlehurst
“For if Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore, all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
I had the great privilege of chatting with Laurence Singlehurst, a seasoned British missiologist who has thought deeply about the language we use to share the Good News in our postmodern era. He’s addressed the problem of our lingo for years, in such books as The Gospel Message Today: Language That Connects in Communicating the Gospel.
What follows are ...
Our Daily Walk – by Ed Dunn
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (Matthew 6:34, The Message Bible)
There’s an old tale of two priests who went for a long daily walk in the woods just after a prolonged and stormy downpour. As they walked and meditated along their way, they came upon a small river that not long before had been a shallow stream. As they did, a young woman from the neighboring village dressed in fine clothing stood by the rain-soaked, muddy bank trying to see how she might get across. ...
But What About Rewards? – by Greg Albrecht
Q: Jesus spoke of God rewarding people for charitable giving, for prayer and for fasting: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4). "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your ...
CWR Video – The Trinity – by Lucy Peppiatt
4 minute Lucy Peppiatt video on the Trinity.
Field of Dreams – by Ed Dunn
Friend and Partner Letter from September 2022
Once again Ed Dunn favors us by writing our letter this month. Given the topic of baseball which forms the illustration of the vital spiritual lesson Ed shares below, we might say he has become a regular in our batting order, coming up to bat for our September letter!
As most of you know, as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ed wears many hats at PTM. Earlier this year he authored “Looking at Life from the Outside In” for the cover of our March Plain Truth. Many appreciated it as a powerful and inspiring account of some of his own struggles in life as he has picked up his own ...
The Dirty Laundry Ritual – Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler
Living, as we do, in a dirty world, the clothing that I wear each day gets dirty, sweaty and smelly. So with daily regularity, I take off my dirty clothing, and piece by piece, I carefully cast them toward a clothes basket that is placed quite conspicuously against a wall in our bedroom.
There was a time in my life when I did not do this; when my clothes dropped onto the floor wherever my body happened to be when that particular item of clothing was removed. But when I married, certain social adjustments had to be made, and personal habits were revamped. I could no longer live like a bachelor “pig.” I had to “clean up my act.”...
God Is After You – by Greg Albrecht
by Greg Albrecht
Moses was born into slavery. Freedom was a foreign concept to his people, the children of Israel who lived in bondage in Egypt. The Hebrews had no idea what it would be like to be free.
Like many oppressed minorities throughout history, the Hebrews started to out-populate the majority power. The population explosion of the Israelite slaves was becoming such a problem that the Egyptian king, called the Pharaoh, decided that all male babies had to be killed at birth so that the Hebrews would not eventually out-number the Egyptians.
In one of those unexpected turn of events in which God seems to delight, God used the very family of ...
Built to Last – by Ed Dunn
Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV) - “Therefore everyone who hears these
words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built
his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it
had its foundation on the rock…”
As we’ve all been faced
with the fear and uncertainty caused by recent events, and many of our
normal rhythms and routines of life have been forced to change, at least
for the time-being, I’ve been reflecting on a favorite teaching Jesus
offered for just such a time as this.
In this passage,
Jesus presents the parable ...
Getting or Being Saved? – by Greg Albrecht
by Greg Albrecht
Are you saved, brother?" the intense young man asked me. He continued, "If you're not saved, you need to get saved!" When the young evangelist cornered me, I surmised he was hoping to save another soul from the eternal torment of hell-fire. I responded, "Before I reply, may I ask you to tell me what it is you believe I need to be saved from?" The earnest young man didn't miss a beat (as I suspected, he rattled off the stock answer he'd learned in Saving Souls 101) "if you don't get saved, you're going to hell."
I locked eyes with him and asked him another question: "So, let me get this straight—I need to 'get' saved so I won't ...
The Universal Body of Christ – Greg Albrecht
The teaching ministry of Christianity Without the Religion (CWR) offers weekly online sermons, with Christ-centered teaching, fellowship, prayers and communion. We minister modestly, without religious embellishments, primarily to individuals and small groups who are part of the body of Christ, rather than overflowing crowds in warehouse-like sanctuaries or in majestic, stained glass cathedrals.
We minister in the name of Jesus, remembering his promise in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” We insist that the church is who YOU are, in Christ,far more than it is a physical location to which ...
The Walking Wounded – by Greg Albrecht
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.—Psalm 34:17-18
When we think of the term "walking wounded," we usually consider warriors who served their country, whose wounds are visible and known, as well as those whose wounds are not as apparent.
Most recently, we are familiar with The Walking Wounded who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. While one of the tragic consequences of any war is The Walking Wounded left in its wake, one of the most publicized examples goes back a genera...
More on Inviting our Everywhere-Present God – Brad Jersak
Awhile back, I wrote a post on why we ask Abba for gifts already given. In that article, I distinguished between problematic assumptions about our need to ask (e.g. needing to beg a stingy God) and healthier reasons why we Christ instructed us to ask (e.g. God honors our permission).
In this post, I will pick up on the important difference between alienation, separation and space as we conceive our relationship with God.
Alienation vs Separation
This weekend, I was thinking about the Prodigal Son's real experience of alienation from his father. That is, he felt the pain of turning from his father's love. Out of this alienation, he ...
Why Forgive? – Greg Albrecht
Years ago, as a pastor, I visited prisoners in jails and prisons. In those days prison officials would often remind people like me, whom they considered naive “do-gooders,” that we were visiting convicts, and that convicts will say anything and pretend to be something they are not in order to expedite their release from prison. Pastors like me were warned not to be fooled by someone who pretends to “come to Jesus”—who fakes a conversion hoping to deceive a pastor or social worker into supporting and vouching for the convict to receive early parole.
Statistical evidence was given to pastors who visited prisoners demonstrating that ...