1750 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

Religion is Counterfeit Christianity

Jesus came to save us from religion, the belief that if we work hard and long enough God will like us -- that we must obtain salvation through our own efforts. Religion is one reason Christ died on the cross.

How Big Is God? – by Greg Albrecht

Many Christians seem to believe that Jesus came to this earth as a kind of Plan B. They've been taught that Jesus came to this earth to save us because Adam "fell"—and further, they've been told that when Adam "fell" God had to, in effect, scurry around and come up with Plan B. This reasoning is of course, unbiblical—and beyond that, it doesn't make sense. Why would Christmas, the incarnation of God, be Plan B? Why wouldn't Christmas have been on the drawing boards from the very get-go? Why wouldn't Jesus have been planning to come anyway? Years ago I read a little book by J.B. Phillips titled Your God is Too Small. J.B. Phillips wanted the ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 25, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “When it comes to marital love, so many people are not willing to forgive, blaming their husband or wife for all marital difficulties, and then off they go ‘looking for love in all the wrong places.’  They fail to forgive the imperfections of others and they fail to realize their own flaws and foibles and thus they start looking for their ‘soul mate’ – thinking that someone somewhere will make them deliriously happy, without stopping to consider how they might make that someone happy. ‘Dear Abby’ once concluded this short letter in her newspaper column: ‘Dear Abby: I am divorced, 50 ...

Weird Ideas Are Out There

It usually starts with a sincere desire to please or appease God. But the result is a cult -- a tight, "holy huddle" trying to keep sin on the outside and goodness on the inside. Such isolation leads to weird ideas.

Getting Caught Up in a Religious Show – by Greg Albrecht

Acts 5:1-11                      The story of Ananias and Sapphira Here's a story that might seem as if it belongs in the Old Testament rather than the New. The story related by our keynote passage begins with an idyllic picture of new Christians, living together and sharing their lives. But then, in the midst of this upbeat picture of God's favor and blessings, comes a depressing story of a man and his wife who gave an offering to God, but misrepresented the actual amount of how much they gave. In the middle of this time when God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all (Acts 4:33) God took the life of this husband and ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 23, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “A law-based, rules-focused ministry or church will eventually turn you into a hypocrite, because in a religious environment where the emphasis is on human perfection and human performance, you can never admit to being who you really are. In such a religious environment you must pretend that everything in your life is near-perfect, because if you give any hint that you are less than perfect you will be regarded and probably treated as a failure. So, in order to survive and thrive within religious legalism, you must pretend to be someone (a near-perfect person) whom you are not. In such an atmosphere, ...

Couch Potato Christianity

Is it possible to be a "Couch Potato Christian"?  The Bible says that our citizenship is in heaven and that we're not to be conformed to this world.  What does that mean for the role of a Christian in society?  Don't miss this vital discussion of practical Christianity. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0193.mp3

Hope In Christ

What are your hopes?  Does your future look bleak?  It was that way for the disciples for awhile.  Their hopes were dashed after Jesus' crucifixion but intensely re-ignited after his resurrection.  Similarly the only real hope for our future is in Christ and his resurrection. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0189.mp3

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 21, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “Sad to say, religion, including many parts of Christendom, has been responsible for the repression of women over the years.  Many biblical passages have been subjectively interpreted by men to mean that they are superior to women. This was a convenient interpretation for men, of course, as they were, and still are ‘in charge’ of many churches. So, men have, sometimes in the guise of Christianity, lorded it over women, maintaining their domination over women by interpreting biblical passages in such a way that women would be charged with being ‘barefoot and pregnant’ – almost like a possession. ...

Lost and Found

The Prodigal in the Parable of the Lost Son "comes to himself" and returns home.  He is met on the way by his eagerly welcoming father, and there is great rejoicing over the son who "was lost and is found." https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0188.mp3

Who Is This Jesus?

Don't miss our dramaticized interviews with Zaccheus, the woman at the well, the woman taken in adultery and the apostle Peter for their perspectives about Jesus.  He changed their lives and continues to change lives today.  Be sure to listen! https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR109.mp3

Downward Mobility – by Greg Albrecht

Jesus tells his disciples, in no uncertain terms, if you think that my kingdom is going to replicate the power-hungry, authoritarian, serve-the-big-shots-first-and-foremost kind of authority this world often sees, then think again. "Not so with you." Jesus tells his disciples that if they choose to be ministers in his kingdom then they will choose love over power. If we want to follow Jesus, serving others in his name, then our lives will be exemplified by sacrificial love as he demonstrated on his cross rather than the crass control mechanisms of authoritarianism, whereby Christ-less religion and its leadership always gets served first, many times ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 18, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “Some people seem to think of God in a similar way as they recall their grandmothers.  Some may remember when they visited Grandma that they had to be extremely careful not to disturb the museum-like setting of what was erroneously called her ‘living-room.’  As children, they weren’t allowed to sit down, to touch anything, and they had to take great care not to break anything. God’s kingdom of heaven is not a grandmother’s living room that’s virtually roped off, to be used for viewing purposes only. Our relationship with God is more like sitting down at his kitchen table (which, to be ...

The Cost of Discipleship — Sacrifice

Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds."  Jesus tells us to follow him.  He laid down his life for us.  Authentic Christianity involves laying down your life for others. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0184.mp3

The Perpetual Virginity of Mary? – Greg Albrecht

Question: A friend of mine who is a Catholic Christian differs with me on many topics about our common faith.  In a recent conversation he told me the Virgin Mary was not only a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus but she remained a virgin until her death.   I mentioned Matthew 13:55 which seems to say that Jesus had brothers (half-brothers at least) but he says that the verse does not prove Jesus had brothers and that brothers in his verse means what we call cousins. Can you explain further? Response: It seems the difference in opinion you and your friend have about the meaning of “brothers” in Matthew ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 16, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “Years ago, I gave a sermon on suffering. I think I was about 30 years old. At the time I was studying the principles of the art and practice of homiletics (preaching).  I had just learned an axiom which preachers are often taught – ‘there’s a broken heart in every pew.’ Suffering is always a relevant, necessary and critical part of our lives. Every one suffers during their lives, and everyone desires to find meaning in their suffering.  Understood properly from a Christ-centered perspective, suffering always leads us back to Christ and his cross.  Paul said: 1 Corinthians 2:2: ‘For I ...

Giving More Than You Get

Love or bean-counting?  Mary extravagantly anoints Jesus with expensive perfume as a gift of love.  Judas complained, "It might have been sold."  Our world is much like Judas, considering the monetary value of everything and being blinded to love.  What do you see? https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0183.mp3

King and Kingdom

We have a fascination with royalty, perhaps because of their privilege, power and wealth. Yet many monarchs have ruled through fear and heavy-handedness. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0182.mp3

Forgiving Obnoxious Stinkers – by Greg Albrecht

  Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes. God bless little children while they’re still too young to hate. – Tom T. Hall, Old Dogs, Little Children and Watermelon Wine  His mother told the little four-year old boy he should learn to forgive those who trespassed against him. Her son had never heard the King James word “trespass” – but he realized trespass must be something someone did/does that is really bad. He “translated” the word “trespass” into one of the worst things he had been taught not to do. A few days later, when he was having dinner with his parents, his mother asked him what he had learned ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

May 14, 2024 - Quote for the Day:   “Immediately following 9/11, two well-known American religious professionals alleged that God allowed the attacks to happen because, while they presumed God had once protected the United States, now they believed God was so angered by our growing acceptance of abortion and gay rights that he had removed our so-called ‘hedge of protection.’ Along with millions of others who share their superstitious and off-the-wall ideas of who God is, these so-called ‘evangelists’ seemed to believe that God sits on his heavenly throne, peering down on all our corruption and evil, getting more and more ...