1762 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

4 Ways to be Successful in Religion

This tongue-in-cheek program suggests four things you can do to be successful in religion (as opposed to authentic Christianity). These four strategies are prominent in our religious world today. See if they don't ring a disturbingly familiar bell with you. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0252.mp3  

Are You a Believer? – by Greg Albrecht

Many Christians use the word believer as a short definition of their way of life and as a way of separating their practices and teachings from non-believers. Without further qualification, the term believer can be just one more in a long list of clichés and "in-house" terminology. After all, a believer might describe someone who believes in UFOs and aliens from outer space. A believer might describe someone who actually believes in the ghosts and goblins of Halloween. So the term believer begs for further definition, doesn't it? Belief in what or who? The answer may seem to be obvious, but sadly, in many cases it isn't. Ponder with me two ...

Politicizing the Gospel – Part #3 by Greg Albrecht

In PART 1 of “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we considered the last 100 years of warfare and the way in which politics and religion often intermingle.   In PART 2 of “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we specifically examined ways in which politics and religion are intermarried, particularly in the United States.  In this third and last installment, PART 3 OF “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we will examine five stages in which religious violence can grow, while comparing it with the parallels to political violence. In the wake of recent internal extremism within North America, Canadians and Americans are reflecting about the root ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 26, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “Many people are terrified of a God of wrath, the God they believe is just waiting for the opportunity to ‘take them out’ and ‘teach them a lesson.’ That ‘god’ is not the one, true God. That is the same ‘god’ humans believed in long before Jesus – a pagan god who is angry, vengeful, and delights in seeing people ‘get what’s coming to them.’ God has been and is horribly misunderstood. When Christ-less religion continues to proclaim that misunderstanding, it causes enormous grief. The one true God is all about inviting us to embrace his grace.  God loves us because of who he ...

Finding a Perfect Church Pt 2 – If You Find It, Don’t Join

Greg talks in today's program about the visible and the invisible church. Just what are those? In this program important to every Christian, Greg talks about some of the hallmarks of a healthy church and gives some guidelines for finding one. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0387.mp3      

Sitting Shiva – Greg Albrecht

“Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you” (Isaiah 41:10 – The Message) The book of Job begins with an unimaginable tragedy experienced by a man who “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Identified as “the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:1) Job experienced a financial disaster when he lost 500 oxen, 500 donkeys, 3,000 camels and 7,000 sheep, and the deaths of the many servants (laborers) who tended them.  In the wake of this financial catastrophe, a hurricane-like “mig...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 24, 2024 - Quote for the Day:  “To some degree the disciples couldn’t help but think that the cross of Christ meant that Jesus was a failure – after all, if he was as powerful as they thought, then why did he let himself be crucified? And then – another miracle – the resurrection from the dead! They must have considered some, if not all of these paradoxes just as human beings are not born to virgins, just as God does not become flesh, just as God in the flesh doesn’t let himself be crucified, so too are humans not resurrected from the dead.”  Originally published in: Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul, ...

Finding a Perfect Church Pt 1 – What is the Church?

There is much debate about what "church" means. Many groups claim that they are "the church." What is the perfect church and how does one become a part of it? This is a vital question for every Christian to have considered and answered. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0386.mp3  

Greed

In 1985 Ivan Boesky told UC Berkeley Business School graduates, "Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that greed is healthy. You can be greedy and feel good about yourself." Don't miss God's perspective on greed in today's program. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0250.mp3  

Loving Legalism – No Such Thing! – by Greg Albrecht

From the time the first human beings walked the face of the earth, literally billions of people have been living lives of religious legalism—attempting to do for themselves what God has already done for them—trying to replace God's infinitely powerful grace with empty, useless human effort. After Jesus came to us, telling us about and showing us God's unconditional love, and after establishing his church, it seems we should have gotten the point. But even though Jesus, God in the flesh, came as one of us revealing the Father, religious legalism continues even among people who claim to be Christians. In fact legalism, as a counte...

November 2024

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Politics and Religion as Usual – pg. 1 Hope, Comfort, Encouragement & Healing to be Found in Christ – pg. 2 The World's Story Told Well – pg. 4 Friday Mornings with the Rabbi – pg. 5 Rehearsals – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Self-Defense and Christ Followers – Greg Albrecht

Question: We are seeing an increase in criminal activity in the area of the United States in which my family and friends live.  I don't own a firearm.   My wife thinks I should have a handgun to defend the family should criminals attempt to enter our home and place the lives of family members at risk. I know Jesus protected Israel before the people rejected his rule in favor of human kings...so they could be like other nations. I have no desire to follow the crowd. I want our Father's will to be done. My family strives to yield to Christ's authority over our lives, to yield to the Holy Spirit for understanding in all matters. I ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 22, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “Toward the end of No Country for Old Men, Tommy Lee Jones goes to visit his father, who lives in an old shack in the middle of nowhere.  He talks to his father about retiring.  His father was himself forcibly retired when he was crippled in the course of his job in law enforcement. Tommy Lee Jones is standing by an old kitchen sink in his father’s crumbling shack, drinking a cup of coffee, gazing wistfully out the window at the wastelands of west Texas.  As I recall, he turns and says to his father, ‘You know, I always thought when I got older God would come into my life.  ...

Three Ways to Live Your Life

There are three ways to live your life - 1. Run away from it -- drugs and religion help people do that. 2. Run along with it -- the way of indulgence and selfishness. 3. Let God help you run your life. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0247.mp3  

What Are We Doing To Our Kids?

Difficult question: What is the balance between protecting our children from evil and preparing them to navigate the world we live in? In today's program Greg takes a hard look at this question and suggests that as parents we model God's love for our children. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0245.mp3  

Politicizing the Gospel – Part #2 by Greg Albrecht

In PART 1 of “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we considered the recent backdrop of warfare and violence.  In PART 2 we begin to narrow our focus as to the nefarious marriage of politics and religion.  Militant Evangelism and Nationalism: In terms of religion, we must not forget the attempts by Christendom to “evangelize” people all around the world whom it deemed to be pagans (and other pejorative terms).  The historical record is clear about the horrendous bloodletting of several “Christian” empires that attempted to violently colonize not-so-advanced areas of the world in the name of God—places like Africa, India, ...

CWR Video – Grace as a Gift

In this CWR Video, Greg discusses the topic of Grace and how Grace is a Gift. https://vimeo.com/999193809 If this post has helped you, please subscribe and share it freely. We also invite you to help us continue to help others with a donation. Click here if you're able to partner with us

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 19, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus articulated a way of life that for the past two thousand years has astounded and confused those who seek to follow him. The non-violent teaching of the Jesus Way makes little if any sense to a world dominated (as it was in Jesus’ day) by a lethal, oppressive combination of warfare and violence by governments and by the tyranny of fear-based religion. The non-violent teaching of Jesus, modeled in and through his own life and death, is part of the revolutionary manifesto of the kingdom of heaven – a truly different kind of kingdom.”  Chr...

What To Do When Life Happens

Many people find themselves in a spiritual traffic jam, lives out of control, trapped in their circumstances. Is life for you same-o, same-o every day? Have you lost your zest for living? What are you running after -- what is your life about?

Is My Church Legalistic? – by Greg Albrecht

Question: I have been a member of a "fundamental, Bible-believing" church for six years and recently, some things have come to light that concern me. First, our church is adamant about the clear gospel in that it is not of works and that you can't ever earn your way into heaven. I know it's a free gift and that is the core of our teaching. However, there are strict rules for the members—no going to movies, no listening to anything that resembles Christian rock music—men must wear suits and women must wear dresses or skirts in church. Our pastor calls these requirements "standards." My most disturbing concern is when people leave our ...