84 results for tag: Plain Truth Ministries
Why Did Jesus Die? – Greg Albrecht
"Why did Jesus die?" may seem like an easy question, because the answer seems obvious, doesn't it? Normally, most Christians immediately answer the question something like this: "He died to atone, that is pay for, our sins. As the Lamb of God, he took away the sins of the world, redeeming us from sin through his precious blood. He died that we might die to sin, so that he might live in us, producing his righteousness within us."
That answer is true—but it's not the whole story.
Much of the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, presents the cross of Christ as a forensic event. That is, God uses the language and word pictures of ...
Who Is It You Are Looking For? Greg Albrecht
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"—John 20:11-15
The religious lynch-mob convened an illegal trial, declared an innocent man guilty and condemned him to death. Of course, it wasn't the ...
Go to Him Outside the Camp – Greg Albrecht
On what we now call Palm Sunday, almost 2,000 years ago Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey. He was welcomed by people who had heard him preach—among whom were the poor, the diseased, the disenfranchised and outcasts, all of whom shouted "Hosanna!" to Jesus (Matthew 21:9, 15).
Many Christians think "Hosanna" has always been defined as a joyful worship word. It hasn't. Hosanna means "save us now"— it was a cry of desperation, shouted at Jesus by the crowds as he entered Jerusalem. Most who greeted Jesus with "Hosanna" wanted physical relief from their physical problems and afflictions—but, in addition, there may well have ...
A Covenant – Not a Contract! – by Greg Albrecht
There is probably no other human endeavor quite like marriage—sadly, many of these partnerships that begin with such hope and expectation regularly fail. One of the reasons marriages fail is because many see marriage and the entire relationship through the eyes of a contract rather than through the perspective of a covenant.
Marriage, an example of a human covenant, can help us to understand the divine relationship God offers to each of us. He offers us the new covenant in Christ, not the new contract in Christ. It's a covenant, NOT a contract!
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Being in Christ – Greg Albrecht
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.—John 15:12-17
When we consider our relationship with God ...
Merry Christmas from Plain Truth Ministries
Artwork by Monte Wolverton, PTM associate editor and board member.
He’s ‘Friended” Us!
By Greg Albrecht
What a friend we have in Jesus! So goes that great old hymn—and its message is the gospel truth.
In John 15:9-17 Jesus encourages us to remain in him and with him. In the Authorized King James Version the word used is "abide." Jesus is requesting that we stay with him.
He's saying, "Don't move away. Don't wander away. Stay with me. Remain with me."
Jesus is saying, "Keep your eyes and focus on me. Don't ever stop looking to me as the absolute center of your faith. Don't allow religious ceremonies and rituals to confuse you—so that you think our relationship (your friendship with me) depends on you."
This passage is a ...
Grace At Church
By Greg Albrecht—
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified ...
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 ...
May 2017
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Articles:
Blessings - Why You... and Not Someone Else? – pg. 1
The Stretch Marks of a Mother's Love – pg. 2
A Covenant... Not a Contract! – pg. 6
Dog's Grace – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
April 2017
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Brad Jersak: The Wounds that Heal – pg. 1
Cindy Brandt: Easter: The Game Changer – pg. 6
Paul Young: The Shack - Interview with Paul Young – pg. 7
Greg Albrecht: "Have I truly accepted Christ?" – pg. 10
Greg Albrecht: The Mother of Us All – pg. 11
Brad Jersak: The Great Descent – pg. 15
March 2017
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Articles:
Two Parades – pg. 1
A Son or a Hired Hand? – pg. 2
Grace Notes – pg. 5
No More Gatekeepers – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
February 2017
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Greg Albrecht: How Great is the Love? – pg. 1
Cindy Brandt: Outgrowing the Christian Bubble – pg. 5
Rob Grayson: Fear God... Or Fear Not? – pg. 7
Greg Albrecht: "I feel like I never do anything right!" – pg. 9
Jeff K. Clarke: This World IS My Home and I am NOT Just Passing Through! – pg. 10
Josh Valley: Being Cross-shaped in a World Bent out of Shape – pg. 13
Brad Jersak: Ghouls, Ghosts... and Gospel! – pg. 15
January 2017
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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
Winter 2016
Articles:
Dare to Hope...Can All Be Saved? - page 4
32 Scriptures that Dare Us to Hope - page 6
7 Myths about Christian Universalism - page 8
"If you want to see folk damned..." - page 12
Changing Diapers for God - page 15
Nones and Dones - page 16
One Road; Two Ditches - page 20
A Perfect Plan for Your Life? - page 23
Jesus, Son of Adam - page 24
"When the time had fully come..." - page 25
What Itching Ears Really Want to Hear - page 31
Fall 2016
Articles:
Remembering 9-11: 15 Years Later - page 4
When Towers Fall - page 11
Five Stages of Religious Violence - page 14
Religion That's Lost Its Way - page 16
What's so "Christian" about Christianity? - page 17
"Fear Not" - page 18
Raising Children with Fearless Faith - page 20
The Dogs of Legalism: Can Religion Help with Stress? - page 21
The Therapeutic Massage of Prayer - page 25
George MacDonald's Spiritual Journey (& mine too) - page 26
House of Cards - page 27
Times of Refreshing and Restoration - page 31
Nov-Dec 2016
Articles:
The Parables of Jesus--Part 2 - page 1
For Those Who are Banged Up a Little - page 2
"No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 2 -page 5
A Little at a Time -page 7
Sep-Oct 2016
Articles:
The Parables of Jesus--Part 1 - page 1
Living a Life of Love - page 2
"No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 1 - page 5
"That's more than I wanted to know..." - page 7
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
