512 results for tag: blog

Today Is a Gift – by Ed Dunn

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12, NIV Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present.’ – Eleanor Roosevelt We sat together in the cold doctor’s office at County Hospital in Los Angeles, California. It had been a long two-day stretch of testing and we were both tired. I was there as a friend, and yet, I was there as far more than just a friend. I was there in that doctor’s office to be her memory, and to try my best to also be her voice. Several years earlier, things had begun to change dramatically for my friend, my ex-wife and the ...

How Great is the Love – Greg Albrecht

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1 There’s a great story about a little boy who was trying to learn the Lord’s Prayer. One night he was kneeling down by his bed, and he prayed: “Our Father who are in heaven, how do you know my name?” St. Augustine, revered as one of the great theologians of the Christian faith, once said that Jesus loves each of us as if there was no one else to love. We can see that reality in the life and teachings of Jesus—time after time we read about people Jesus met who felt and experienced his radically personalized, individual ...

Strange Magic – Stuart Segall

I wanted to share with you some “strange magic” so very recently experienced.  To introduce the magic, I would first like to ask you a question. What are your feelings about the words in 2nd Corinthians 1 where Paul shares thoughts about God’s comfort and consolation? 2nd Corinthians 1:3,4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”  Do you see yourself in that statement? Today I am saying goodbye to some clients. I am moving on. These are clients that I have had for 10 years and have spent a fair amount of time with over this period. I have not ...

Focus on Christ – Not on Fear – by Greg Albrecht

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself— nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance" (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, first inaugural address, March 4, 1933). Weltschmerz—a German word meaning world-pain or world-weariness is used to describe mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state. Based on the anxiety and concern contained in reports and letters we receive from those we serve, as well as a general condition of weltschmerz in our society, there is no doubt that fear, worry, stress and tension are wreaking ...

What Is Prayer All About? – Greg Albrecht

Question: I know that praying is not really about us, but for the purpose of helping us draw closer to God.  But I have also heard that prayer for others, even when they have no idea we are praying for them, is important for and to them.  How is that possible?  I'm not clear how it necessarily helps the person we're praying for in cases where that person is never aware we are praying for them.  My (flawed?) premise is that God is Perfect Love and already knows the perfect solution or course of action and will not be persuaded to change His will by my prayer.  So again, I ask...how does my prayer specifically for ...

Let the Party Begin – by Greg Albrecht

  WHEN JESUS WANTED PEOPLE TO  UNDERSTAND GOD'S KINGDOM PRESENCE,  HE USED PARTIES AS A PICTURE     Key Text: The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)   The very idea of any kind of party, any kind of laughter, feasting, light-heartedness and yes, even enjoyment of life itself, is suspect in some religious environments. Our keynote passage does more than just record history, it is inviting you and me to a party, a party that is already in progress! There's important teaching in this passage.    You may have heard one of the take-offs on our passage, which goes something like this: Jesus turned water into wine almost ...

Contentment – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from October 2022 If you are like me, you have had the experience of seeing an old friend your own age, whom you have not seen in “forever,” and thinking how old they have become since you last saw them!Meanwhile, we fail to remember we have been seeing our own aging reflection in the bathroom mirror every day. No one likes to get older. Surgical procedures, injections, creams, lotions and diets are sold, promising to restore what has long since gone down the river of life. Sam went to a new dentist, and as he was in the waiting-room he saw a diploma on the wall —it seemed his new dentist had attended the ...

Q&R: “Let there be light!” Brad Jersak

Question I have had this nagging question. God said, "Let there be light." But it wasn't the physical light. Somehow, the world was already in a state of darkness & needed Light. I know Light can mean Truth, but what is your understanding?  I just want to grasp a God who Loves versus the god I learned through my church, who hates me for imperfection.  Response What an excellent question! Let's start with verse 1 - "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." John 1:1 reads this verse through the gospel. IN CHRIST, God created... We read in John 1 and Colossians 1 that all of creation came to be ...

The Center of the Gospel – Greg Albrecht

Christianity WITHOUT the religion defines Christ-less religion as any systematic method used to either earn or gain favor with God initially, or to improve and maintain one’s ongoing standing with God on the basis of deeds, involvement, attendance, performances, rituals and ceremonies. One of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr, speaks of the “performance principle” as the absolute foundation of all religion.The “performance principle” is the myth that leads humans to live lives defined by achievement—it is a myth that is rooted in and driven by fear. Fear is the foundational building block of Christ-less religion. The “perfor...

It’s All About Grace – by Greg Albrecht

Keynote Passages: Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. —Romans 3:31 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. —Romans 4:4-5 This is the third message in our three-part series discovering what the introductory chapters of this great book of Romans tell us about God’s amazing grace. The first sermon, In Need of Grace, discussed the fact that we are spiritually sunk without God’s grace. We reflected on Romans 1:16-17, as well as the ...

Who is God and What is He Like? – Greg Albrecht

BREAKING NEWS: God is who he is, not who we think he is because of what we have been taught. If you have created God in your own image, or wittingly or unwittingly allowed someone to help you do that then God will probably be a member of your church and denomination. He will keep and observe all your religious ceremonies, holidays and holy days, all your rules and regulations and all your rituals. • God created in your image will hate the people you hate. • God created in your image will vote for the person you vote for. • God created in your image will be a member of your race, nationality and perhaps even your gender. When God ...

Under Reconstruction: Crazy Characters, Unreliable Narrators and the Divine Architect – Brad Jersak

    After Deconstruction The last years have seen a grand deconstruction of Scripture reading and interpretation—some would say of Scripture itself. Of course, this has been an ongoing centuries-long project, but two unique elements dominate the past decade: first, the ‘New Atheists’ are actually reading the Bible—carefully and, unlike liberal scholars, they have read it literally with a view to destroying faith. “The Bible says it; I reject it; and that settles it.” And second, their dance partners in this deconstruction have been evangelicals who are finally questioning the modernist lingo of ...

Grace Alone – by Greg Albrecht

Keynote Passage: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just ...

CWR Video – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – by Greg Albrecht

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 ...