503 results for tag: blog

The Stretch Marks of a Mother’s Love by Greg Albrecht

Several years ago, an ad agency created a campaign for their clients to impress upon the public at large how important mothers are. They created a set of calculations to help everyone determine how much they owed their mother. The first measurements were all about the time and effort a mother invests in her growing baby during her pregnancy and during her labor when she gave birth. The calculations asked each person to include the time their mother spent in labor delivering them—the amount of weight she gained carrying them and the diet she voluntarily followed while she was pregnant to ensure her new baby was as healthy as possible. ...

Salvation by Faith Alone? – Greg Albrecht

Question How can you justify saying that salvation is by faith alone or as you often say “faith alone, grace alone and Christ alone” when James 2:14-20 says something different? Answer Some suggest, from the passage in James 2:14-26, that works or deeds in some way conditions of God’s acceptance of us.  By way of response: 1. If this passage can be perceived to say such a thing would one passage (a proof text if you like) invalidate the gospel of Jesus Christ and the many passages in the New Testament that emphatically teach that salvation is by Christ alone – faith alone, grace alone and Christ alone?  This ...

The Good & Beautiful Shepherd – Kenneth Tanner

Middle Eastern shepherds in the time of the Bible did NOT break the legs of sheep and carry them on their shoulders to keep them from running away again, or “hold them close to their heart” or whatever myth you heard growing up.  It’s terribly impractical, for one thing. Sheep can weigh up to 75 pounds. It’s a tremendous hindrance to properly caring for the whole flock. It can also permanently disable the sheep.  Imagine having a number of immobilized or broken sheep in a flock. What a mess that would be. The rod of the shepherd was used to defend the flock from predators, not beat the sheep. And the hooked staff was ...

The All Star Game of Faith – Greg Albrecht

Baseball season is in full swing, and, as always, this season includes controversy and arguments – not always about the game played on the field.  Once again this year politics are creeping into Mom, Apple Pie and Baseball.  Reacting to political decisions made by the state of Georgia, the hierarchy of MLB has decided to award the All Star Game, previously scheduled for Atlanta, to Denver, to be played on July 13. While I have my opinions about this year’s MLB All Star Game, I will not here enter the swamp of political debate about this decision, but rather propose a far more interesting game in which two teams play an All Star ...

Unwavering Faith? Greg Albrecht

A friend of mine, enduring some painful struggles, asked me to continue to pray for him.  He was particularly concerned, as he said, that “my faith doesn’t waver.” I started thinking about “unwavering” faith.  Everything human wavers – love, commitment, trust, honesty, fidelity, patience – it all wavers.  Human faith wavers.  We are not the rock – Jesus is.  Jesus is the unmoved mover.  He is always here for and with us.  Jesus never walks away and abandons us.   He is perfectly faithful.    It may well be the most faithful ...

Lost and Alone – Looking for Home – Greg Albrecht

Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God, believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?– John 14:3 Most of us have never been physically homeless, but all of us, at one time or another, find ourselves without a spiritual home.  We all, at some point in life, are spiritually lost.  Sometimes we enter the Father’s house but then we wander away.  We may come and we may go.  The door is always open.   No coercion.  No lockdowns. Jesus says that the Father’s house has many rooms ...

Listen to Greg Albrecht Unplugged

"Take Away the Stone" Greg Albrecht Unplugged - Weekly Podcast Message A short message from John 11 on Jesus setting us free and a new life in him. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/GA032.mp3 Links to Greg Albrecht Unplugged

April 2021 CWR Magazine

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: When Jesus Rode into Town– pg. 2Laura Urista: The Heart of the Matter– pg. 4Ed Dunn: Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled– pg. 5Brad Jersak: Pastoral Perspective – pg. 7

Is It True? by Greg Albrecht

The next time you are in the checkout line at the grocery store imagine turning to the person next to you and joyfully announcing “Christ is risen!” Can you picture the bewildered expressions of your fellow shoppers? Imagine you are taking a walk and when someone passes by you greet them by saying, “Christ is risen!” Some of those people would ignore you, and perhaps walk a little faster to put more distance between them and you. Is it true that Jesus was resurrected? Is it true that Jesus is now alive, with his same physical body made immortal, a body that is incorruptible, impervious to aging, disease and death? Did you know ...

Looking to Jesus – We gaze on the Light when shrouded in Darkness – Greg Albrecht

Greg Albrecht - PTM President Yet again we have been shocked at the perverse darkness of evil evidenced through the tragedies of shootings and terrorism.  Just when we think the valley of the shadow of death could not get any darker it does. We will mourn with those in grief and we dare not stifle their angry cry of lament. Yet again, the Psalmist's cry echoes across the millennia "How long, O Lord!?" Yet again political parties co-opt our grief and loss as a platform to gain supporters for their cause as they point out real or imagined inadequacies of those on the “the other side of the aisle.” Just when we thought politics ...

No Religion Allowed Beyond This Point by Greg Albrecht

Think of a huge sign posted on the Cross of Christ. Warning!  No Religion Allowed Beyond This Point.   The gospel truth is that the Cross of Christ stands for no more lies, prevarications, manipulations, characterizations and deceptions.  Warning!  No Religion Allowed Beyond This Point is the gospel truth.   The BIG LIE of Christ-less religion is that God is angry with you and me.  The “gospel” of Christ-less religion is that even though God is really upset with you and me, we can please and appease him with our behavior, so that he will not send us to hell as he would have had we not appeased him. ...

The Prodigal Bible – Brad Jersak

Reader's Comment  I was reading Isaiah 40-45 this morning with new eyes thanks to your ministry. It is so wonderful to read the Old Testament with the new knowledge that our God, my God, is always loving like the father in the parable of the prodigal son.  The Spirit is shining a new light on the text and a new light is penetrating my heart. Response I must say that you've inspired an aha! moment for me in terms of framing the whole of Scripture within the context of the gospel itself. If all Scripture is meant to be read in the context of the gospel and if the gospel is summarized beautifully in the parable of ...

PSA’s Moral Monster – Brad Jersak

"I'm afraid that the Evangelical doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) can ultimately lead a thinking person away from Christ altogether. When hate is interpreted as love there is little chance for trusting Jesus Christ to take root." - Lazar Puhalo Some people who believe in penal substitution say that they know how much God loves him BECAUSE he killed his Son instead of them. To sacrifice one's own beloved child instead of me shows how much he values me. BUT the problem with such a disturbing vision of "love" is exposed by the way it fractures the human heart in its call to respond to such perverted love. The questions ...

It’s Either Old or New – It Can’t Be Both – Greg Albrecht

By way of introduction to It's Either Old or New—It Can't Be Both! I would like to introduce two special guests. Before going any further, I should explain that our special guests will appear as caricatures—in the form of a communication that they might have had with each other—so that there is, as far as I know, no actual resemblance to anything they've ever said to each other, if indeed they ever had a one-on-one conversation. I hope that clears me—that's my disclaimer. Our first guest is Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart has come, over the past few decades, to symbolize the paragon of a dutiful, skilled, energetic and creative homemaker. ...

Spiritual Growing Pains – Brad Jersak

I have this painful memory circa 1975 when, as a middle school adolescent, I was sidelined from a series of exciting outings (including my annual Halloween junk food haul) due to excruciating leg pain associated with growing. And skinny though I was, my growth spurt even featured stretch marks at the top of my thighs. But it was the deep and untreatable ache that haunts me most. In my book, A More Christlike Way, I spend a chapter exploring alternative metaphors to the trendy word, "deconstruction." I looked at art restoration, home renovation, extreme makeovers and, my favorite, dry-cleaning my daughter-in-law's vintage wedding dress. A summary of ...

The Dragon and the Baby – Greg Albrecht

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born” (Revelation 12:1-4, my emphasis). Chances are you will not see or receive a Christmas card depicting the nativity in ...

Five Stages Leading to Religious Violence – Greg Albrecht

“From whence come wars and fightings among you?” – James 4:1 During a time of feasting and festivities when we deck the halls, hang ornaments and lights, resurrect the nativity scene from the attic or garage, buy and wrap presents, bake and consume cookies, enjoy dinners, concerts, friends and family – lost is the fact that violence and refugees are part of the story of the first Christmas. Just before Herod’s massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem an angel warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus, and to run for their lives to Egypt. Idyllic scenes depicted on Christmas cards notwithstanding, an undercurrent and backstory of violence forms ...

Does God “use” us? Brad Jersak

In his first non-fiction book, Lies We Believe About God, Wm. Paul Young challenges a host of commonly accepted Christian assumptions that he feels need to be second-guessed, given the track record of harm they do in the real world. In chapter six, he addresses the expression, "I just want God to use me." At first glance, we might be tempted to concur with the phrase. Pretty much all people are looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. We would rather feel useful than useless and if we feel that God has a role for us in the grand scheme of his kingdom, then our sense of self-worth and importance to God grows, doesn't it? That seems so ...

He’s All In – Greg Albrecht

The word story painted in the first chapter of the book of Job speaks of Satan showing up at God’s house for a visit. Details are not provided, but we get the idea that Lucifer did not bring flowers. It didn’t take long before the Prince of Darkness started to condemn Job, one of God’s servants. Reading this story the other day, I was thinking of another way we might imagine the Evil One visiting our heavenly Father—but this visit wound up on the cutting room floor when the final version of the Bible was edited. You may remember comedian Bob Newhart, who often set up hilarious scenes he imagined happening with the phrase “it might have ...

Just Wondering – Greg Albrecht

I was recently challenged by someone whose religion causes them to believe God the Holy Spirit to be an “it” rather than a divine Person.   Their mannerisms as they “taught me” reminded me of mansplaining - the current term that women use for men who patronize them, adopting a condescending conversational tone as if they are empty headed, immature children.  After I listened to this person “setting me straight” I said I had a few questions – they of course had to allow me to say something, since I had listened to them, and “questions” sounded good because it may have seemed I wanted clarification.  Indeed I did ...