CWR Blog
Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
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Reflections Along the Jesus Way
December 13, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“The Son of God was born into the world, not as a prince, but as a pauper. So, to deck up the legendary scene of his nativity with precious hangings, pictures, glittering lamps and other ornamentation, is to destroy whatever valid symbolism it might otherwise have had. Truly, we human beings have a wonderful facility for thus snatching fantasy from the jaws of truth. – Malcom Muggeridge Let us not think of Jesus as spiritual Prozac, designed to cure our depression by masking the symptoms but never ...
The Visitor
Christmas is a time when we became a "visited planet." God in the person of Jesus personally delivered a message for each one of us. The message? God is for you. He's your friend. He's on your side. God's favor rests on you.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR096.mp3
Great Exchanges – by Greg Albrecht
Your first thought at this time of the year might be those frenzied crowds in shopping malls and department stores on the days immediately following Christmas. People exchanging and returning gifts they received that were the wrong size, wrong color—or just plain wrong!
But there's another exchange we need to keep in mind. This great exchange is the reality of the cross of Christ. Jesus Christ took our sin and died for it, paying the debt that we could not pay. In exchange, God, because of his grace, gives us eternal life. Our sin for eternal life! The great spirit...
Let It Be
Mary's pregnancy was different from that of many other women in the Bible - Mary was not desperately hoping to become pregnant. The most momentous birth in all of history is a departure from other biblical birth stories.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR095.mp3
Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What are the limits to God’s mercy?”
Question:
A friend of mine insisted, "God is merciful, but even his mercy has limits."
And I remembered a talk that you gave.
You: and his Mercy lasts how long?
Crowd: forever
You: how long?
Crowd: FOREVER
You: How long?
YOU AND CROWD: FOREVER!!
No response necessary, but I wanted you to know that many of us have that voice of mercy in the back of our heads when we hear some "wonk." Thank you.
Response:
Thank you! And while you didn't require a response, I'll just add a few beautiful texts to that antiphonal chorus. Of course, I was leading the crowd to join me in ...
He Made Himself Nothing
The great American dream involves becoming someone and amounting to something. Parents hope their children will “make something” of themselves. But there was someone whose sole purpose was the precise opposite. Jesus was born so that he could become nothing.
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
December 10, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Christmas is about God who, in the person of Jesus, came to us willing to confront the very worst of what it means to be human, and love us anyway.”
Originally published in:
Letters to My Friends
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Help Us Help Others - Give Now
Tender Mercies: In the Wrong Place? – by Ruth A. Tucker
Home for the holidays. As we contemplate family gathered around a festive table with a turkey or ham for the centerpiece, we have warm feelings. Home is where we want to be on that special day. Yet, with traffic jams and airline delays and cancellations, our dreams are often deflated. And even when everyone arrives safely, the holidays can turn into tension-filled times.
This past Christmas, with extended and blended family gathered together, a gift-exchange faux pas—the failure of one to buy a gift for another—led to hard feelings. Advice columns are ...
Jesus — Our Servant
Why did God in the person of Jesus come into our world? To die for our sins, to set us free, to win the victory over sin and death. True -- those answers dominate our lists, but one of the most important reasons is that Jesus came to serve us.
Judgment Day for Christless Religion! -Greg Albrecht
Question:
Based on your teachings, how can I better understand what the Bible teaches about a judgment day in the future?
Response:
Excellent question. Several thoughts to keep in mind:
The popular religious doctrine of "Judgment Day" is of a future time when all who have ever lived will be in a long line stretching around the world, waiting to appear before God the Father. The idea advanced is that all who have ever lived will have their sins and merits placed on some sort of scale, and if their good deeds outweigh the negative, ...
CWR Video – Asking For God’s Blessing
Short 4 minute video by Greg Albrecht "Asking For God's Blessing"
https://vimeo.com/100963281
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.
The Season of Lights – by Ed Dunn
I remember Christmastime as a child. I remember riding together with my brothers and sisters in the backseat of our old family station-wagon. As the days were short on sunlight during the wintery months in our particular part of Western Pennsylvania, many of our rides together took place after dark. We thought of ourselves as “country bumpkins” who grew up “in the sticks,” and as such, we knew if we could catch a glimpse of the Christmas lights from “town” on one of our rides, it would make for a real seasonal treat.
As children, ...
God With Us
There are two realities about Jesus that are extremely difficult for us to grasp because they lay outside of our human experience, yet they are absolute bedrock elements of our Christian faith.
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
December 8, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“She had never been with a man – not even the man she was going to marry. As a bride-to-be, the teenage girl named Mary lived each day making plans, dreaming of the future and looking forward to her marriage. Everything was ‘normal’ and her future seemed promising until an angel of the Lord appeared to her saying, she was ‘highly favored.’ … Having a child before she was married was not high on the list of things to which Mary aspired – giving birth to a child before marriage whose ...
Breakfast with Brad – Ashamed of Jesus?
In which Brad tries his Jim Gaffigan's 'offended Christian' voice (see below--trigger warning), plans hard-boiled eggs embedded with garlic stuffed olives & ponders Jesus words in Luke 9:26.
Inheritances Are For the Living – Brad Jersak
To “Enter/Inherit the Kingdom”
The phrase “enter the kingdom” (of God or of heaven) appears in the New Testament 13 times, all but once in the gospel. And we find “inherit the kingdom” used another 5 times, all but once in Paul's writings).
Having just read each occurrence again, I was quite surprised at the negativity!
We are given lists of who (types of sinners) or what (flesh and blood) cannot enter.
We are given “unless” conditions (e.g., becoming childlike, giving away everything, exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees, being ...
Join Us For Our Sunday Sermon
"He is The Light"
Join us for our Sunday Sermon:
With Isaiah, we proclaim the wonderful news that “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/CWR616.mp3
Link to Christianity Without the Religion - Sunday
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 ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
December 6, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“… this season of the year reminds us that the future is not our enemy. For Christians, the future is not a time to fear, it is not the place of death and defeat. For as certainly as Jesus was born, he will come again. Christ the Lord has come. He has come to be one of us, born of the virgin Mary, born in humility and poverty. He died on his Cross. He rose from his tomb. He is coming again!”
Originally published in:
Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul, ...
The Sacred and the Secular
Christmas has always presented a challenge to humanity. Some take 12 days to celebrate it; on the other hand, the Puritans outlawed it and even today some cults say Christmas is wrong. The birth of Christ asks the question, “What do we do with this Christ who was born?”
Life Lived and Lessons Learned-3- Ken Williams
At Trader Joe's - Episode 3 – learning to honor freedom of choice before “giving”:
The holiday season brings the spirit of giving and receiving, and here in upstate New York, some flying snow. Our local Trader Joe’s store stocks up with all the popular seasonal products and prepares to give extra customer attention during what becomes the holiday rush. The holiday mood is created by a combination of falling snow, the cheerful sound of Salvation Army volunteer bell ringers at the entrance, colorful decorations, and traditional music inside. Giving to one ...
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