200 results for tag: grace

Confessions of a Write-Off by Brad Jersak

I was a write-off - I know, I know. We don't like to descend into the dehumanizing "worm theology" of those degrading faith traditions that spout our "total depravity." I firmly believe we're all precious children of our heavenly Father and no matter how disordered, we still bear the image of God. By using the term "write-off," I'm not talking about our identity in Christ. I'm describing my subjective experience... how I have often felt in times when the human condition gets the best of me. In those periods of cloudy introspection, it's easy enough to conclude, like David (in Psalm 22), "I'm a worm and not a man." It's not a statement of reality but ...

April 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Logos, Light & Lamb – pg. 2 Greg Albrecht: Everything Happens for a Reason? – pg. 4 Greg Albrecht: Nailmarks, Scars & Doubts – pg. 7

No Carry-on Baggage Allowed – by Greg Albrecht

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are born by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity. "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." —Isaiah 46:1-4 If you have flown commercially lately, for business or pleasure, you know ...

God’s Grace Has You Covered – Pt 2

God's grace is sufficient - there is enough of his grace to cover you and me during our suffering. In Christ we see God's grace personified and exemplified - he entered into our pain so that we might grow and mature in him.   https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR364.mp3

God’s Grace and Our Pain – Pt 1

In this first of a two-part series on pain and suffering we ponder the paradox Paul explained - when he was physically weak he was strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Join us as we discover that in Christ our suffering does not need to be meaningless and how God can transform us in the midst of our pain.   https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR363.mp3

Q&R with Brad – “Why pray for forgiveness if we’re already forgiven?”

Question: The sin issue is cropping up again. I lose my temper.  I get stressed out.  I am short with my family... but I have gotten to the point where I feel as though Christ once and forever dealt with sin (alienation, darkness) at the Cross and my constantly asking Christ directly for forgiveness (again and again) for the same sins seems hopelessly pointless. Response: The reason why I regularly pray, "forgive us our trespasses," is first of all, because Jesus taught us to do so. He quite literally says, "When you pray, pray this: Our Father,..." And while some folks dismiss this prayer as "pre-cross" and "old covenant" ...

Grace at Church – by Greg Albrecht

KEYNOTE SCRIPTURE:  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 ...

Grace = No More Score Keeping!

Keeping tabs on human performance in the family, at school and at work as well as in the world of athletic endeavors fascinates humans - but did you know that God's grace means no more score-keeping? https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR325.mp3  

November 2022

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Generosity Without Expectations – pg. 1 The Peace of Thanksgiving – pg. 2 Count Your Blessings – pg. 5 Infernal Interruptions! – pg. 6 In Plane Site – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

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 ...

October 2022

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: HELP! The Future Has Arrived – pg. 2 Ed Dunn: Today Is a Gift – pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Christianity Without JESUS? – pg. 7

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 ...

A Transformation-Not a Transaction – Greg Albrecht

Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches us that we are saved BY grace FOR works—contrasted with the completely erroneous idea of the virus of legalism, alive and well within so much of Christendom. The performance-based legalisms of Christ-less religion propose and insist that we are saved BY works FOR grace. Paul teaches us in Ephesians 2:8-10 that we are saved BY grace FOR the works that God determines for us, so that we may become his workmanship. To underline this critical truth of the gospel—we are saved BY God’s grace, FOR HIS works—not by OUR works. Our salvation is a transformation of grace, not a transaction of works. God’s grace and the ...

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 ...

But What About Rewards? – by Greg Albrecht

Q: Jesus spoke of God rewarding people for charitable giving, for prayer and for fasting: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4). "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your ...

It’s All About Grace

  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 article in a three-part series discovering what the introductory chapters of this great book of Romans tell us about God's amazing grace. The first, 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 longer passage of ...

Grace Alone

  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 and the ...

In Need of Grace

  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 Grace is one of those prodigious, stupendous words introduced to us in the New Testament. Grace is the manner in which God operates. He relates to us on the basis of grace, on the premise of his generosity. Humans relate to one another on the basis of performance—on the foundation of producing works and ...

God Is After You – by Greg Albrecht

by Greg Albrecht Moses was born into slavery. Freedom was a foreign concept to his people, the children of Israel who lived in bondage in Egypt. The Hebrews had no idea what it would be like to be free. Like many oppressed minorities throughout history, the Hebrews started to out-populate the majority power. The population explosion of the Israelite slaves was becoming such a problem that the Egyptian king, called the Pharaoh, decided that all male babies had to be killed at birth so that the Hebrews would not eventually out-number the Egyptians. In one of those unexpected turn of events in which God seems to delight, God used the very family of ...

The Walking Wounded – by Greg Albrecht

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.—Psalm 34:17-18 When we think of the term "walking wounded," we usually consider warriors who served their country, whose wounds are visible and known, as well as those whose wounds are not as apparent.   Most recently, we are familiar with The Walking Wounded who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. While one of the tragic consequences of any war is The Walking Wounded left in its wake, one of the most publicized examples goes back a genera...