1782 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

Mary–Falling Into Favor

If you knew that a gift would bring you great joy but also some hardships, would you accept it? Greg talks about Mary’s response to the Angel Gabriel’s announcement that she would be the mother of God and that God has offered us an incredible gift.

Do Not Be Afraid – by Greg Albrecht

The time and culture of Jesus' birth was not unlike the world in which we live today. For that matter, it was just like any generation or era in history. The specific people, land and culture to which Jesus came was a world permeated with fear at almost every level. The Jews were an occupied people. They suffered under grinding poverty and heavy taxation. There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Life expectancy, particularly among the poor, is estimated to have been in the mid-30s to early-40s. Fear is a part of what it means to be human. It's a common and normal emotional reaction. • We have fears that we will live so long that our ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

December 7, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “God’s grace, exemplified by the birth of Jesus, is not simply a one-time spiritual bail-out. God’s grace is not a temporary loan to help us get back on our feet.  The birth of Jesus is not a one-time stimulus package. God’s grace is an eternal solution. Jesus didn’t come to bring us a “little bit” of hope, to jump start the human religious economies of this world. Jesus did not come so that he could start another religion or modify religion. Religion is the problem. He brought the answer. The answer is Jesus. Jesus brought an entirely different kind of spiritual economy – an ...

No Longer Home Alone

Do you feel empty, lonely, spiritually adrift in a vast wasteland of meaningless existence? The birth of Jesus Christ means we don't have to feel that way. Listen as Greg Albrecht talks about the implications of "God with Us." https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0089.mp3    

CWR Video – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – by Greg Albrecht

Albrecht - Most Wonderful Time of the Year from Plain Truth Ministries on Vimeo. We hope that our articles and resources bring comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to our readers. If you’re experiencing that, please subscribe freely, share freely, and, if you’re able, please consider donating freely toward paying it forward by clicking the blue giving at the top of your screen.

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

December 5, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “Isaiah says that Jesus was a root growing in dry ground (Isaiah 53:2). This reference to a root out of dry ground may indicate that the body of Jesus appeared somewhat stunted and unattractive compared with other humans. Jesus was a tender shoot, as opposed to one that was obviously robust and hearty. He was despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3) – a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. While Jesus’ appearance alone didn’t ‘turn heads,’ there is no biblical reference that would lead us to think that Jesus, when he walked this earth preaching and teaching, looked frail or anemic. ...

Joseph – Standing in the Shadows

How many Christmas cards have you ever seen with Joseph cradling Jesus in his arms? He always seems to be in the shadows of Christmas -- a man of few words but called to action. Listen to today's program to see what we can learn from Joseph. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0088.mp3    

No Room in the Inn

Have you ever been left out, missed the cut, failed to make the team or been laid off? Without power, money, talent or good looks our culture often has no room for us. You know the same thing happened to Jesus .. when he was born there was no room in the inn.

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

December 3, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “Today…we find the birth of Jesus sentimentalized and trivialized. The religious version of Christmas is packaged in a sentimental, fuzzy way designed to make us feel warm and nostalgic. You can buy that Christmas package in malls and stores and in many churches. Take a look at the baby Jesus you see displayed in many storefronts, church campuses and in many suburban front yards – a little hollow, plastic Jesus with a little light bulb. A little, hollow, plastic Jesus is exactly what our consumer driven Christ-less religion fabricates and constructs for consumption by its followers… But the ...

The Lamb of God — Part 2

Is God unfair? Why does He allow so much suffering, any suffering? The birth of Jesus, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, has so much to tell us about all of the suffering in today's world. His birth brings meaning to our own lives of hurt and pain.

The Lamb of God — Part 1

From the very beginning before the boundaries of our physical lives, time and space — before planet earth — before all that we know — Jesus' birth as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world was determined.

It All Comes From God – by Greg Albrecht

Here in the United States this is the time after Thanksgiving. It's a time of the year when it can be so easy to forget that what we are eating and enjoying is what God has given us, for every good and perfect gift is from above…(James 1:17). Here in the U.S. we just experienced Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving, a day when many people are off work and flood the shopping malls, trying to get a head start on Christmas shopping. Another year of Christmas hype is in full swing. It's a time when Christmas decorations, advertisements, and promotions urge us to buy and spend, and during such a time it's so easy to forget that anything and ...

One Week in December – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from December 2024: On Monday, a couple signed divorce papers. The end of 32 years together – now a fractured family, with three children, in-laws and many friends. What will happen now? Does this divorce matter to God? So this is Christmas? On Tuesday, a husband and father left work, got on a bus to go home to his family. Two young people appeared, demanding his money, cell phone and wedding ring. He resisted, was beaten and stabbed and left to die as the teens left the bus. Where was God? On Wednesday, a 60-year-old woman visited her doctor to receive news of her recent tests. She was not shocked to hear her ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

November 30, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “Another year of Christmas hype is in full swing. It’s a time when Christmas decorations, advertisements, and promotions urge us to buy and spend, and during such a time it’s so easy to forget that anything and everything we have – physically or spiritually – is from God.  In his book Jesus: The Man Who Lives, Malcom Muggeridge commented on the Christmas shopping season, saying that it is ‘a mighty exercise in salesmanship, a gala occasion in the great contemporary cult of consumerism, an act of worship directed toward our latest deity – the Gross National Product.’… Sadly, humans ...

The Golden Rule

A form of the golden rule is used by many parents to teach children how to think of the needs and concerns of others, but it's usually not the Golden Rule. It's a variation of it and a powerful illustration of how humans often turn the gospel of Jesus Christ into religion. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0287.mp3  

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

November 28, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “From a Christ-centered perspective Thanks-Giving is aptly named, for giving thanks is one of the most inevitable characteristics evident in those in whom the Master lives and works. Sadly, it seems giving thanks and being grateful is increasingly becoming extinct in our world. The plight of many today, particularly the younger generation, is that their spiritual senses have been overwhelmed by the ultimate goal of self-gratification. Many find themselves enslaved and captivated by passive distractions, with their attention glued to amusements, and in such a state they see no reason for thanksgiving ...

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving sneaks up on people and presents a unique dilemma: though united in celebrating Thanksgiving there is much disagreement about giving thanks and to whom to give it.

Christian Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a time for Christians in particular to pause and reflect. Greg talks about Christian gratitude -- a kind of gratitude that transcends normal human appreciation -- that reaches beyond materialistic and surface happiness into a deeper and more profound spiritual joy.

Generosity Without Expectations – Greg Albrecht

A youth group from a prosperous North American suburb volunteered to help a pastor serve meals in an inner-city soup kitchen. Before this experience, most of these young people had only seen homeless people through their car windows as they and their family happened to drive through a poor part of town. It was just before Thanksgiving, and the young people served a hot meal of beans, turkey, mashed potatoes and yams to a long line of people. As they filed past these young people filling empty plates with generous servings, few of the homeless people made any eye contact with the young people who were serving the free meal, and only a few ...

Women Pastors – Greg Albrecht

Question: Do you have a response to address the issue of women ordained as pastors or church leaders? Some denominations permit and others prohibit. Your take? Response: Thanks for your question. I believe there are several considerations of this question and they deserve an answer and an opinion: 1. Must any denomination ordain women as pastors and priests? According to the biblical record, no. There is no requirement to ordain women. 2. Asking from a different direction, there is no explicit biblical requirement that requires a denomination NOT to ordain women. That said, there are New Testament passages that are and ...