57 results for tag: Jesus

One in Christ Jesus

By Greg Albrecht— There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.—Galatians 3:28 What exactly is a mother? What is her job description? What does a mother do? There's a story about a man who came home from a long day at work—when he drove into his driveway he saw his three children, still in their pajamas, covered from head to toe in mud, fighting and screaming. He was just too exhausted to deal with it, so he walked right past his kids, through the front door, into a house that was in upheaval. Chaos reigned supreme. The TV was blaring, furniture had been knocked over, dishes ...

Jesus – More Than a Man

By Greg Albrecht— When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:13-15). More than two thousand years ago, Jesus asked his closest disciples the same question that he has asked humans ever since. Who do you say that I am? The answer his disciples gave then, and that you and I give today, radically determines the direction of our lives. Even those who have been skeptical of the claims that people ...

A Jesus Kind of Church

By Greg Albrecht— "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." —Luke 4: 18-19 Out in the endless, desolate desert of west Texas, a hunter looking for antelope stumbles on a crime scene. Abandoned cars and trucks are pock marked with bullet holes, and a half dozen or so dead bodies are scattered around. In that odd and somewhat glib euphemism used by the media, it's apparently a drug deal "gone wrong" (if indeed there was ever a ...

Bitterness and Resentment

By Greg Albrecht— Remember the older brother, the third major character of the parable of the prodigal son? As he witnessed the extravagant love and forgiveness of his father, lavished on his younger brother when he came home from wasting his inheritance, the older brother was eaten alive by jealously, envy and bitterness. The older, unforgiving brother refused to join in the festivities and celebration. The older, responsible, hard-working brother felt that he was a faithful and diligent son, always trying to earn his father's favor. But the celebration and festivities—the barbecue, the music and the dancing—were not in honor of all ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

April 2018

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Why Did Jesus Die? – pg. 3 Kenneth Tanner: Lazarus' Story is the World's Story – pg. 6 Greg Albrecht: The Church: It's the People, Not the Steeple – pg. 9 Stephen Crosby: The Cleansing of the Temple: Did Jesus Sanction Violence? – pg. 12 Greg Albrecht: “Who's Going to Heaven?” -pg. 15

When the Incarnation Gets Personal – Michael Frack

The thing about Christmas and the Incarnation that every now and then breaks through my stoic emotional defenses and leaves me blubbering like a child, is that God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who sits on the Throne above every Throne, loves not just the human race in general, but loves me, cares enough for me, that he took on my flesh and my frame and came to be like me – that he came to know my suffering, and my darkness, and my pain – and that he came to be rejected as I am rejected. That he came into my mess to make his home in my despair, to live his life in the places where I can only see pain and death. That he came to take the ...

August 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Moving On... Faith after Evangelicalism – pg. 1 Brian Zahnd: Vive la Revolution! – pg. 7 Zack Hunt: Do Only Christians Go to Heaven? – pg. 8 Danielle Schroyer: On Wisdom Amidst the Crowd – pg. 11 Brad Jersak: Teaching the Cross to Children – pg. 12 Richard Rohr: Trinitarian Revolution – pg. 14 Greg Albrecht: “Is the Bible 'the Word of God'?" -pg. 15

Does Paul Young’s “The Shack” Teach Universalism? – Stuart Hazeldine (director of the movie)

Paul Young is on record as saying he is a ‘hopeful Universalist’, for which there is much precedent amongst the early church fathers. And in a way, who isn’t? Does anyone not wish that ultimately everyone will see God for who He really is then lay down their sinful and selfish ways and embrace him? Does anyone actively want to see anyone else punished for all eternity? I certainly don’t.

The End of Religion – Zack Lacy

It’s been a rough start and it’s going to be a long journey, but Jesus is slowly leading me out of the destructive lies that religion has fed me. I started following Jesus about seven years ago, but before that and along the way I believe the most destructive thing that has happened has been the false lies I have been taught about who Jesus really was and what it really means to follow him. I speak from the disillusionment of my own life. And I’m learning that many others do too. Fil Anderson, author of Running on Empty and Breaking the Rules, is an author and spiritual director. Listen as he writes that, “an especially significant problem ...

January 2017

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Faith in Jesus or Faith in Sinai? – pg. 1 Religion - Where is the Love? – pg. 2 Cargo Cult Christianity - All about Appearances – pg. 5 Missed Opportunity – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Jul-Aug 16

Articles: Beatitudes--Part 4 - page 1 I Fought the Law - page 2 Obedience is Dangerous - page 5 Is Jesus a Protestant? - page 7

CWR video – “Fashionable Like Jesus” – Bruce Friesen