1743 results for tag: Greg Albrecht
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 ...
The Commands of God and the Traditions of Men
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions." —Mark 7:5-8
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, widely regarded as a 20th century martyr, put to death by the Nazis just before the end of World War 2 because of his faith in ...
February 2020
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Greg Albrecht: God Loves Everyone– pg. 3
Brad Jersak: Religiosity Is Adapting– pg. 7
Stephen Crosby: The Original Prodigal Sons – pg. 10
Debbie Hughes: Deconstruction - a Poem – pg. 12
Sean Davidson: Deconstruction Defined – pg. 13
Brad Jersak: The Mystery of the Trinity -pg. 14
A Message of Comfort, Care and Compassion by Greg Albrecht
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness
Every day for
the past few weeks we have all heard increasingly discouraging news
related to the coronavirus pandemic. Each news cycle informs and
cautions us about further restrictions. It seems that the “walls are
closing in on us” and our world is shrinking. We are also seeing and
experiencing what can happen when fear turns into panic and
every-person-for-themselves greed.
Can we picture Jesus pushing
and shoving his way to get a few items left on a grocery store shelf?
As Christ-followers, while we should and must take care of our
necessities, and be careful not to ...
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 ...
Timeless Treasures from the Psalms
It's just a little pocket Bible, small enough so my father could carry it with him as he served in the U.S. Navy during World War 2. My father was killed when I was only fifteen months old, and while I don't have memories of him, I do have mementos that have been given to me. I have some faded photographs, his old cigarette lighter, the flag that draped his casket when he was buried, some copies of the newspaper describing the tragedy of his death—and I have that little New Testament Bible, which also includes the Old Testament book of Psalms.
I don't know how much he read that little pocket Bible, but when I hold it I somehow feel ...
Q & R: Greg Albrecht – “Does Satan exist?”
Question
I just listened to one of your sermons broadcast and after being with Plain Truth ministries for a LONG time, I was quite surprised when you said you didn't know if Satan exists? The Bible says that God created the devil as the most perfect beautiful angel he could make, but because of his beauty he turned against God and persuaded 1/3 of the angels to go with him, he was thrown down to Earth.
I don't know why I'm writing this. You're more knowledgable than I am, or at least I thought you were. I've settled in my mind that Satan exists as an evil influence, and that as humans, we're capable of evil but Satan with his influence makes things ...
Q & R with Greg Albrecht – “Are Catholics Christians?”
QUESTION
Is there a difference between a Christian and a Catholic?
RESPONSE
No, there isn’t necessarily any difference between a Christian and a Catholic, or a Christian and a Lutheran, or a Christian and a Baptist. On the other hand, not all Catholics, Lutherans or Baptists are Christians simply because of their membership in a specific denomination. Christianity is a personal relationship between God and humans, and no human organization has the exclusive right to represent God on earth.
Some doubt that there are any Christians at all in certain churches, and some Protestants typically have this view toward Catholics. This issue goes back to the ...
October 2019
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Monte Wolverton: Making Change– pg. 3
Brad Jersak: The Truth About Condemnation– pg. 6
Brian Zahnd: Trying Hard Not to Be Ugly – pg. 8
Laura Urista: What Are We Really Singing? – pg. 10
Blair Baker: Music Ministry: Beyond Manipulation – pg. 12
Richard Rohr: God Is Good – pg. 14
Greg Albrecht: But What About Works -pg. 15
September 2019
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Articles:
Creating God in Our Own Image – pg. 1
Heart and Soul – pg. 2
Blessings and Curses? – pg. 5
My Cousin Valerie – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
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June 2019
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Brad Jersak: Only God Is Good– pg. 1
Steve Brown: Don't Miss Out on Your Real Father– pg. 6
Felicia Murrell: Magic Genie or Heavenly Father? – pg. 8
Stephen Crosby: Praying Into the Abyss of Despair – pg. 9
Brian Zahnd: God's Love in Granite – pg. 11
Greg Albrecht: Can I Do This Faith Journey... -pg. 14
May 2019
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Articles:
Religion: Where Is the Love? – pg. 1
Not That Kind of Christian – pg. 2
The Power of God's Love – pg. 5
Happy 100th Birthday – pg. 6
Crowned with Tender Mercies – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
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April 2019
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Brad Jersak: Bury the Hatchet– pg. 3
Greg Albrecht: The Blood Curse Lie– pg. 7
Brian Zahnd: The Sign that Saves – pg. 9
Wm. Paul Young: The Killing House – pg. 11
Felicia Murrell: No Shadow of Turning – pg. 14
Greg Albrecht: More than a Watchmaker -pg. 15
February 2019
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Brad Jersak: Trending: Deconstruction– pg. 3
Greg Albrecht: Aroma of Love, Stench of Greed– pg. 6
Rachel Ramer: Heirs to Religious Angst – pg. 8
Stephen Crosby: Confessions of a Christian Idiot – pg. 11
Peter Enns: No Contradictions in the Bible! You Heard Me! – pg. 13
Brad Jersak: “According to the Scriptures” -pg. 15
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