520 results for tag: Brad Jersak
Q & R: Are all people God’s children or only Christians? Brad Jersak
Brad Jersak
Question:
Previously, I responded to the question, "Is Christ in ALL people or only in Christians?" In that post, I talked about Scriptures that say, "As ALL were in Adam, so now ALL are in Jesus Christ," by virtue of the Incarnation. Christ in ALL because he united himself to ALL humanity.
But I also identified at least four types of New Testament texts that narrow Christ's "IN-ness" to those who reciprocate the covenant relationship. Those who identify with Christ by faith, relate to him intimately, focus on him through prayer and worship, etc. are "in Christ" and Christ is "in them" in a particular way. In those cases, "IN" ...
October 2024
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(PDF Format)
Brad Jersak Simone Weil: An Astonishing Life – pg. 2
Greg Albrecht "Everyone Is Forgiven" – pg. 5
Gift After Gift After Gift – Brad Jersak
We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift (John 1:16, MSG, The Message Bible).
Out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace (John 1:16, NEB,The New English Bible).
The first chapter of the Gospel of John presents an unequalled, beautiful and profound exploration of what, to the human mind, is “the genesis of God the Word,” made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. Of course, God has no actual beginning, but the eternal One concedes to speak to the limitations of our human perspective and language.
John draws a parallel in his New Testament genesis to the first chapter of the Old Testament Genesis, emphas...
Q&R: Romans 8:9 – Who doesn’t belong to Christ? Brad Jersak
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Romans 8:9
Question:
First, I want to say how much your work has helped me grow in the faith and seeing the beautiful reality of the gospel. My question is about a verse I'm trying to understand. Romans 8:9 says in the second part of this verse that "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to him." I just read your article, "Is Christ in All people or only in Christians?". I get the part where you say, "Some Scriptures define our Being (all are ...
Q&R: The “Free Will Defense” & the “Freed Will Response” – Brad Jersak
Question:
I have been reviewing PTM's summary of the dozens of Scriptures that dare us to hope. Among these, I see Jesus' stated intention to draw ALL people to himself, along with Paul's prophecy that "EVERY knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord," not to mention Peter's expectation in the "restoration of ALL things," or John's testimony of Jesus saying, "I am making ALL things new." On the other hand, I'm also aware of Jesus' deep commitment to our freedom, including the freedom to turn from him and say no to God's grace. In fact, he laid his life down for that freedom, even when we misused it to crucify the Lord of Glory. I ...
Rethinking Evangelism: “No more yellow pencil religion” – Brad Jersak
This article is about how I moved on from "Attack & Extract" Evangelism.
The Difference between Shining & Performing – Brad Jersak
Shining:
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers the Beatitudes (Blessed are you) as a summary of what the character of Christ looks like as he shines through the lives of his disciples. He then offers two analogies to encourage them to be faithful Christ-bearers in this world.
"You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world... like a city on a hill and like a lamp on a lampstand." He urges his disciples not to lose the taste of salt or the radiance of light. And he concludes, "Let your light so shine [i.e., shine in this way]: that people may see your good deeds and [thereby] glorify your heavenly Father."
Now, ...
“He ran, fell on his neck & kissed him” – Brad Jersak
“He ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
The Gospel According to A.I.* by Brad Jersak
The Gospel According to A.I.* (*Artificial Intelligence)
Well, I didn’t see that coming! For decades, science fiction has forecast the possibilities and perils of artificial intelligence, from do-it-all Jetsons maids to Terminator robots arising to wipe out the human race. But in real life, the sheer speed of online A.I. advances today are outpacing our ethics and promise to render my analysis obsolete even before I can blink—a quaint relic from yesterweek.
I was relatively early to the game of computer-generated images (and their copyright issues). The basic concept is that you feed a verbal description into one of the many ...
CWR Video – Prayer
In this CWR Video, Brad Jersak and Ed Dunn discuss the topic of Prayer.
https://vimeo.com/911290969
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August 2024
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Brad Jersak The Gospel According to A.I. – pg. 2
Greg Albrecht "Divine Appointments?" – pg. 5
Ed Dunn Running the Race – pg. 6
Women on Trial (Numbers 5) – A More Christlike Reading – Brad Jersak
A MORE CHRISTLIKE READING OF NUMBERS 5 -
QUESTION:
Many things still trouble me in the Old Testament. For instance, the treatment of women under the law, such as we see described in Numbers 5. I would like to be able to hear your perspective on that passage.
RESPONSE:
This is such an important question that I decided to do a deep dive on Numbers 5:11-31. Without presuming to claim an answer, I will do my best to respond.
My first instinct was to compare the passage across several translations, with special attention to Jewish translations, including the Septuagint (LXX), Philo of Alexandria, Robert Alter’s The Hebrew ...
Blessed are Those Who Wrestle – Brad Jersak
"Those who believe that they believe in God, but without passion in their hearts, without anguish in mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, without an element of despair, can in their consolation believe only in the God idea, not God himself." (Miguel de Unamuno)-
Jacob, the Wrestler
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless ...
Q&R: What does “trusting God” mean in our suffering? Bradley Jersak
Question:
Can you help me understand what it means to trust in God? I trust that at the end of this life, God will save me from the consequences of sin. Is it about happiness? fulfillment? meaning? And how does trust relate to those, like me, who experience the suffering of chronic illness?
Response:
That is such an important question, and I can see serious answers already embedded in your question. I can also see how you're asking warns against speaking of trust in platitudes.
Let's just start with the assurance that in and after death, God will raise us and heal us and receive us in the End... that assurance will ...
Q&R: “Why does God allow…?” Brad Jersak
“Why does God allow ...”
Anger as Sacrament – A Response – Paul Fahey
Greetings, Brad. I read your article, "Does God feel anger?" It was great. I wanted to share with you an additional facet of God's anger that has been on my heart for the past several months.
A couple of years ago, the previous pastor at my parish, acting from his own trauma and insecurity, publicly and falsely accused me and several other former parish employees of grave sin. This was the public culmination of years of his narcissistic behavior that happened behind closed doors. The whole experience wrecked my relationship with the church, a relationship God had been slowly rebuilding in the years since.
In any case, last fall, I was ...
“Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out” – Brad Jersak
Be sure your sin will find you out. It's not getting caught that creates the shame. It's the secrecy itself.
Q & R: Is Christ IN all people or only IN Christians? Brad Jersak
Brad Jersak
Question:
Is Christ in all people or is Christ only in Christians or only in some Christians?
Response:
Full disclosure: my response comes with a two-fold agenda.
To say that we can find a good number of verses that make "in-ness" exclusive (e.g. believers are in Christ), but those passages do not negate the truth of the inclusion texts (i.e. humanity is in Christ). Both Scripture sets are true. They are simply referring to different truths.
To say that neither inclusion-focused believers ("Trinitarians" for example) nor exclusion-focused believers (Evangelicals for example) need to force all the ...
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