66 results for tag: blog

Let the Party Begin – Greg Albrecht

  WHEN JESUS WANTED PEOPLE TO  UNDERSTAND GOD'S KINGDOM PRESENCE,  HE USED PARTIES AS A PICTURE     Key Text: The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)   The very idea of any kind of party, any kind of laughter, feasting, light-heartedness and yes, even enjoyment of life itself, is suspect in some religious environments. Our keynote passage does more than just record history, it is inviting you and me to a party, a party that is already in progress! There's important teaching in this passage.    You may have heard one of the take-offs on our passage, which goes something like this: Jesus turned water into wine almost 2,000 years ago, and ever since ...

Prayer – The Steering Wheel or a Spare Tire? Greg Albrecht

Corrie Ten Boom once asked, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" When she compared prayer to a steering wheel, I'm relatively certain that Corrie Ten Boom didn't know anything about a modern GPS system—the navigational system many people have in their cars today. As you probably know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a radio navigation system that allows land, sea and airborne users to determine their exact position. It relies on 24 satellites in orbit above the earth—positioned in such a way that four of them will always be above the horizon, anywhere on the earth. A GPS receiver, like the ones many people ...

It’s All About Grace (Romans Series Part 3 of 3) – Greg Albrecht

Keynote Passages: Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. —Romans 3:31 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. —Romans 4:4-5 This is the third message in our three-part series discovering what the introductory chapters of this great book of Romans tell us about God’s amazing grace. The first sermon, In Need of Grace, discussed the fact that we are spiritually sunk without God’s grace. We reflected on Romans 1:16-17, as well as the ...

Grace Alone (Romans series part 2 of 3) – Greg Albrecht

Keynote Passage: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just ...

In Need of Grace (Romans series part 1 of 3) – Greg Albrecht

Keynote Passage: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”—Romans 1:16-17 This week we are beginning a three-part series on God’s amazing grace—based on the first few chapters of the book of Romans. This week our sermon is titled In Need of Grace, based on Romans 1:16-17, and on the larger passage that follows, Romans 2:1-3:20. Next week we will discuss Grace ...

But What About Rewards?

Q: Jesus spoke of God rewarding people for charitable giving, for prayer and for fasting: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4). "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your ...

Getting or Being Saved – Greg Albrecht

by Greg Albrecht Are you saved, brother?" the intense young man asked me. He continued, "If you're not saved, you need to get saved!" When the young evangelist cornered me, I surmised he was hoping to save another soul from the eternal torment of hell-fire. I responded, "Before I reply, may I ask you to tell me what it is you believe I need to be saved from?" The earnest young man didn't miss a beat (as I suspected, he rattled off the stock answer he'd learned in Saving Souls 101) "if you don't get saved, you're going to hell." I locked eyes with him and asked him another question: "So, let me get this straight—I need to 'get' saved so I won't ...

God Is After You – Greg Albrecht

by Greg Albrecht Moses was born into slavery. Freedom was a foreign concept to his people, the children of Israel who lived in bondage in Egypt. The Hebrews had no idea what it would be like to be free. Like many oppressed minorities throughout history, the Hebrews started to out-populate the majority power. The population explosion of the Israelite slaves was becoming such a problem that the Egyptian king, called the Pharaoh, decided that all male babies had to be killed at birth so that the Hebrews would not eventually out-number the Egyptians. In one of those unexpected turn of events in which God seems to delight, God used the very family of ...

The Walking Wounded – by Greg Albrecht

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.—Psalm 34:17-18 When we think of the term "walking wounded," we usually consider warriors who served their country, whose wounds are visible and known, as well as those whose wounds are not as apparent. Most recently, we are familiar with The Walking Wounded who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. While one of the tragic consequences of any war is The Walking Wounded left in its wake, one of the most publicized examples goes back a generation. You will remember The ...

Attend Church or Else! – Greg Albrecht

by Greg AlbrechtEditor's Note: Just what it means to "be" and "do" and "go to" church is a controversial topic within Christendom. Of course there are vested interests, so that the discussion is rarely objective. One of our readers/listeners introduced this conversation, as he reported his response to an article by a pastor (in italics) he felt to be manipulative and self-serving (our reader's response in regular type). We invite you to be the judge of that! My wife recently brought home a pastoral newsletter from the church she occasionally attends. I read the lead article and couldn't believe what I was reading. Have I just gone ...