520 results for tag: Brad Jersak
“Turn the Other Cheek” – Brad Jersak
“To turn the other cheek is to turn our faces from past pain and toward the face of Christ.”
CWR Video – Agape Means Respect
In this CWR video, Brad and Laura explore how the Greek word for love, Agape, also means a keen value or worth of the other, or in a word, respect.
https://vimeo.com/1038672199
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The Virgin Birth is a Christological Faith-Claim – Brad Jersak
"For us men and for our salvation,
came down from heaven and was Incarnate
of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary."
Gospel claims to Mary's virgin birth (or conception) of Christ are far more than borrowed mythology, co-opted from a host of earlier hybrid-god myths. The historic Christian faith received the story as a revelation delivered via the Gospels of Luke (1:26-38) and Matthew (1:18-25).
Yes, we know that the original Hebrew prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 was not about an actual virgin (and can be rendered "young woman") nor even, initially, about Mary or her Son. That said, the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT) does use the term parthenos or ...
New – Questions & Response Page
Keep checking back for more questions.
Plain Truth Ministries and Christianity Without the Religion have received thousands of questions from readers like you over the years. We thought it might be helpful to bring many of these questions and their response together in one resource page Q & R - (Questions & Response). If you have questions or just want to see what other people are asking about, check out our new resource page.
Click here for Questions and Response
PTM’s Questions & Response feature addresses actual questions on various topics sent to us from all over the world. Greg Albrecht and Brad Jersak answer as many ...
Q&R: How can David killing Goliath be Christlike? Brad Jersak
Question:
I’m reading through your books, which are faith-saving! The gospel is indeed beautiful. But after 40 years as an evangelical, I’m finding some things hard to read Jesus into… for example, David killing Goliath.
I’ve heard one teacher say that God had to use violence in the culture of the day but will redeem it in the final judgment.
He also says that Jesus on the Emmaus Road refers to the broad sweep of Scripture, not every last bit of the Old Testament.
In a more Christlike view of God, how is David’s victory over Goliath Christlike?
Response:
The clarity of your question is extremely helpful. The Jewish Scriptures record this ...
Sometimes Waiting Is Hard – Brad Jersak
Advent is a word I was unfamiliar with as a child growing up in my Baptist tradition. But in my years with the Mennonites, I became familiar with the ritual of lighting candles on the Advent wreath in anticipation of Christ’s nativity.
Advent, I learned, meant arrival, but intrinsic to that word was the waiting, the anticipation, and the longing of God’s people for his appearance and especially his deliverance. As a little boy, I relived that expectant hope as the calendar slowly edged forward to Christmas.
Sometimes, Waiting Is Hard
I think most children find waiting for the climax of Christmas morning difficult… but they may also ...
CWR Video – King Jesus
In this CWR Video, Brad discusses what is meant by Jesus Christ as King.
https://vimeo.com/1011060169
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Q&R: “Vengeance is Mine”? Brad Jersak
Romans 12:9 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” How shall we read that?
December 2024
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Brad Jersak Sometimes, Waiting Is Hard – pg. 2
Laura Urista Great Gifts in Small Packages – pg. 4
Greg Albrecht Believe Him & Receive Him – pg. 5
Christian Tracts? Brad Jersak
Question:
I have just finished reading your book A More Christlike God and found it thought-provoking and wonderful. I have been deconstructing my Evangelical faith. I am contacting you to ask if you know of any tracts with this Beautiful Gospel on them. I don't like most of the tracts evangelists use, so I thought I would check with you before trying to reinvent the wheel! I feel burdened to reach the "ripened harvest:" but everyone I know is preaching a gospel of fear dressed up in love! I don't find it easy to stop and speak to people, but I want something I can confidently hand out to them.
Response:
Thanks for reaching out. I ...
Q&R: If grace is free, why a ‘price’? Brad Jersak
If grace and forgiveness is a free gift from God, why does the Bible use payment language, such as 'ransom,' 'redemption,' 'bought' and 'purchased' to describe the Cross?
Your Highest Moral Mountain – Brad Jersak
Photo by Alexey Trubachev
Moral Mountains:
Every individual and every tribe or nation lives by a hierarchy of moral standards. These standards can vary dramatically across a population or even within a person, like the peaks in a mountain range. But over time, we tend to see one peak dominate the horizon, reaching upward to a higher elevation than the others. That is not to say the highest peak is always that best. It may only be the most dominant.
In his book, The Second Mountain: the Quest for a Moral Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Brooks says,
"The first mountain is the individualist worldview, which puts the desires of ...
The E-Word Reclaimed: A Good Message & a Good Path – Brad Jersak
“Conversion” isn’t about indoctrination or recruitment or colonizing. It’s an invitation to experience God’s love, joy, peace, hope, and freedom—the healing of our hearts as we join Jesus and each other on his Good Path.
Election Aftermath – Brad Jersak
Plain Truth Ministries endeavors to center our focus on Jesus at all times. Our Mission Statement says, "We proclaim Christianity without religion. Our Christ-centered ministry is based on faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone."
That said, we recognize that our gospel also directly engages events in the real world... and this means more than an exercise in journalism. We know that world events can and do affect our readers. It's important that we acknowledge rather than ignore significant events and the feelings that follow.
Some of our readers will have experienced strong feelings about the recent election in America, ...
CWR Video – Children of God
In this CWR Video, Brad reflects on what it means to be Children of God.
https://vimeo.com/1011054977
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Beyond Either/Or Theological Meltdowns – Brad Jersak
Question:
Confusion, confusion. Please help! I am part of a weekly Bible study of various denominations who have been meeting weekly for decades. But the things we're discussing now are tearing us apart. None of us are of the opinion that our 'good deeds' get us to heaven. We know the 'work' was done on the cross. But some believe salvation is a free gift for all even if one doesn't choose to accept it or even want it, and others feel that salvation is a free gift but has to be accepted and acknowledged, thus giving us free will to choose heaven or hell. Which is correct? Are we all destined for heaven regardless of our will?
Response:
...
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – Part 3 – Brad Jersak
Part Three: The Gospel of Jesus Preached:
To read Part One: What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
To read Part Two: The Gospel Jesus Preached.
After his ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the gospel Jesus preached throughout his earthly ministry became the Gospel of Jesus preached by his apostolic proteges and by Paul.
Post-resurrection, Jesus’ disciples could finally see how the gospel Jesus embodied in his life is the same gospel fulfilled in an ultimate and universal sense through his death, resurrection, and ascension. That is, the healing and deliverance seen in each ...
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – Part 2 – Brad Jersak
Part Two: The Gospel Jesus Preached:
To read Part One: What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
When we refer to the gospel according to Jesus, we need to speak in two registers: (i) the gospel Jesus preached with reference to the kingdom of God, embodied in his mission and focused on how he came to save; and (ii) the gospel of Jesus preached by his apostles, focused on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. These were not two different gospels but are one message delivered by Jesus in first-person and by his disciples in second-person accounts. We’ll begin with the Gospel Jesus Preached:
Jesus preached, “The kingdom of ...
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? – Part I -Brad Jersak
Part One: What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?
After sixty years, my life-long love affair with Jesus Christ and his Good News for the world still captivates me. The gospel I know today has emerged from my encounters with grace amid my missteps, and in my subsequent reflections on how often my stumbles have been met by mercy. Whatever growth I’ve gained is through glimpses of the expansive love of God for everyone and everything, (ii) through intimate communion with the person of Jesus, and (iii) in gratitude for the liberating mercy the Spirit has shown me.
Today, I have more questions. Lots of questions. Questions about the what and how ...
CWR Video – Biblical Prophecy
In this CWR Video, Brad and Ed discuss approaches to talking about Biblical Prophecy.
https://vimeo.com/999189252
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