81 results for tag: Christ-centered

Grace At Church

By Greg Albrecht— To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified ...

God Really Likes You

by Greg Albrecht Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."—Revelation 21:1-4 Does God love ...

What’s So Bad About Cults?

By Greg Albrecht If PTM wants to get lots of letters from readers, all we need to do is publish an article explaining and defending Christ-centered-Christianity against some wrong teaching or biblical misinterpretation. Defending and explaining biblical doctrines is called apologetics. An apologetic article in The Plain Truth usually results in a tidal wave of letters and emails, pro and con. The cons often go something like this: "Why are you so critical of other Christians? Why don't you just leave other people alone and let them believe what they want?" Most Christian denominations were originally formed because they disagreed with ...

Son of a Preacher Man

By Greg Albrecht— Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" —Matthew 16:24-26 The passage in Matthew that forms the basis of our message talks about losing your life so that you might gain it. At first it may seem to you that Jesus' assertion amounts to little more than theological double-talk. But this teaching begins to make ...

When Your Dreams Wind Up in the Pit

By Greg Albrecht— "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into ...

The Pearl of Great Value

By Greg Albrecht— Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.—Matthew 13:45-46 We turn our attention to one of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven. In the Authorized King James Version the parable is called The Pearl of Great Price. As I normally use the New International Version, we'll refer to it by the title given to it in that translation, The Pearl of Great Value. Here's the widely accepted Christian interpretation of this parable: The merchant is you or me. We decide to look for Christ, and finally, after ...

Ships That Pass in the Night

By Greg Albrecht— Many, even those unfamiliar with the Bible, have heard of Jonah. Most remember the story of Jonah as it is depicted in children's books—a man named Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish and lived to tell the tale. As we go a little deeper into the story (deeper even than the whale went with Jonah) we see that Jonah is yet another biblical example of how humans can completely misunderstand God. We can misunderstand God as Jonah did, and in terms of our relationship with God, be, as he was, like two Ships that Pass in the Night. The book of Jonah begins with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the ...

May 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Blessings - Why You... and Not Someone Else? – pg. 1 The Stretch Marks of a Mother's Love – pg. 2 A Covenant... Not a Contract! – pg. 6 Dog's Grace – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

April 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: The Wounds that Heal – pg. 1 Cindy Brandt: Easter: The Game Changer – pg. 6 Paul Young: The Shack - Interview with Paul Young – pg. 7 Greg Albrecht: "Have I truly accepted Christ?" – pg. 10 Greg Albrecht: The Mother of Us All – pg. 11 Brad Jersak: The Great Descent – pg. 15

March 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Two Parades – pg. 1 A Son or a Hired Hand? – pg. 2 Grace Notes – pg. 5 No More Gatekeepers – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

February 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: How Great is the Love? – pg. 1 Cindy Brandt: Outgrowing the Christian Bubble – pg. 5 Rob Grayson: Fear God... Or Fear Not? – pg. 7 Greg Albrecht: "I feel like I never do anything right!" – pg. 9 Jeff K. Clarke: This World IS My Home and I am NOT Just Passing Through! – pg. 10 Josh Valley: Being Cross-shaped in a World Bent out of Shape – pg. 13 Brad Jersak: Ghouls, Ghosts... and Gospel! – pg. 15

January 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Faith in Jesus or Faith in Sinai? – pg. 1 Religion - Where is the Love? – pg. 2 Cargo Cult Christianity - All about Appearances – pg. 5 Missed Opportunity – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Winter 2016

Articles: Dare to Hope...Can All Be Saved? - page 4 32 Scriptures that Dare Us to Hope - page 6 7 Myths about Christian Universalism - page 8  "If you want to see folk damned..." - page 12 Changing Diapers for God - page 15 Nones and Dones - page 16 One Road; Two Ditches - page 20 A Perfect Plan for Your Life? - page 23 Jesus, Son of Adam - page 24 "When the time had fully come..." - page 25 What Itching Ears Really Want to Hear - page 31

Fall 2016

Articles: Remembering 9-11: 15 Years Later - page 4 When Towers Fall - page 11 Five Stages of Religious Violence - page 14 Religion That's Lost Its Way - page 16 What's so "Christian" about Christianity? - page 17 "Fear Not" - page 18 Raising Children with Fearless Faith - page 20 The Dogs of Legalism: Can Religion Help with Stress? - page 21 The Therapeutic Massage of Prayer - page 25 George MacDonald's Spiritual Journey (& mine too) - page 26 House of Cards - page 27 Times of Refreshing and Restoration - page 31

Nov-Dec 2016

Articles: The Parables of Jesus--Part 2 - page 1 For Those Who are Banged Up a Little - page 2 "No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 2 -page 5 A Little at a Time -page 7

Sep-Oct 2016

Articles: The Parables of Jesus--Part 1 - page 1 Living a Life of Love - page 2 "No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 1 - page 5 "That's more than I wanted to know..." - page 7

Summer 2016

Articles: Whose Image Is on the Coin? Religion & Politics - p4 Why We Love The Walking Dead - p8 I Wish the Bible Had Never Been Written - p14 God Is Not a Monster - p15 The Gospel in Three Words - p17 Because He First Loved Us - p18 Raising Children Un-fundamentalist - p20 You Don't Need Another Study Bible - p21 Putting the World Back Into Christianity - p23 Burning Ember: The Steve Bell Adventure - p25 Father, Forgive Us - p28 Walking Through Minefields Together - p29 Missing What Mark? -p31

Jul-Aug 16

Articles: Beatitudes--Part 4 - page 1 I Fought the Law - page 2 Obedience is Dangerous - page 5 Is Jesus a Protestant? - page 7

May-Jun 16

Articles: Beatitudes--Part 3 - page 1 Grace Is Senseless, Irrational and Absurd - page 2 What's New about the New Covenant? - page 5 Calling in the Pros - page 7  

Spring 2016

Articles: The Jesus Way - p4 Out for Blood? - p7 Golgatha: Collision of Sin and Grace - p13 The verdict Is In... -p14 Jesus at the Gates of Hell - p17 The Importance of Doubt - p19 Strange Land of Dread and Denial - p20 More Than Magazines (2015 Year in Review) -p26 Kissing Evangelism Goodbye - p28 The Jewish Teacher - p29 God Is Not the Witch -p31