441 results for tag: blog

Samson – Stuart Segall

As many of us could attest, my life, all the way into my 60’s, has been a struggle. In times of trouble and despair it is always comforting to find David in the Psalms. Somehow, when we read of his despair and struggles, many of us can relate to those kinds of feelings. How gracious of God to put illustrations of David and his story in the two books of Samuel, the Kings, and the substantial book and writings that David contributed in the Psalms. David, like me, showed a roller coaster of emotions­­--highs and lows. Yet, in the end his is a story of the depth of God’s grace toward us. There are people like me, who considered themselves ...

SALVATION – How Many are Saved? – Greg Albrecht

SALVATION – How Many are Saved – Who, Where, When and Why? Question: When you responded to a question I had, you included the following statement:  "I hope and believe in my faith that many more have and will accept God’s invitation, but because it’s ultimately our choice, some will reject him, even after he pursues us relentlessly." I would like your thoughts to my following questions: 1)  Can any human be eternally responsible for rejecting God's offer of eternal salvation while tainted with human nature? 2)  Why do you think any human, after being saturated in a world of sin and misery and then experiencing ...

Revolutionary Jesus – Brian Zahnd

You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, we all want to change the world —The Beatles The revolution of Christ is the radical alternative to the unimaginative politicism of the religious Right and Left. Jesus is not apolitical. Far from it. Jesus is intensely political! But Jesus has his own politics — and they cannot be made to serve the interests of some other political agenda. As Eugene Peterson says, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is more political than anyone imagines, but in a way that no one guesses.” The politics of Jesus are set forth in the Sermon on the Mount — and neither the Republican nor the Democratic party have any ...

The Trouble with Halloween – by Greg Albrecht

Q: In your opinion, is it wrong to dress up in costumes, have a party or give out candy to trick-or-treaters?   A:Some Christians see nothing wrong with Halloween as a time for families to take children, who love to dress up in costumes, into their immediate neighborhood, and, with careful supervision, receive goodies and treats as they go from house to house. Some of these parents avoid witch and ghost costumes for their children in favor of cowboys, action heroes, angels, clowns or Disney characters—because they don't want to glorify or encourage the grotesque or occult. Other Christians participate in Halloween by handing out not only candy ...

A Totem Tale by Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler Fires burn in each settlement across the land. The sound of tom-toms can be heard in the background. It is the time for the perennial carving of totem-poles. Congregating in our tee-pees, each group heatedly considers the essentials of their belief-system. After due consultation of these spirit-matters, consensus is achieved within each tribe as to how they will stack their totem-pole. The meticulous carving begins. Every detail is important, because each cut has implied meaning. Distinction must be achieved, even in the intensity of the painted colors. Extreme effort is made to make it appear life-like. Duly carved and erected for ...

Marriage Counseling by Greg Albrecht

Many years ago, over three decades in fact, in another life, professionally at least – another phase in my ministerial life – I spent many hours talking with young people about marriage.  Recently I was asked, by several people within a few weeks period of time, what I felt were some of my lessons learned from the thousands of hours spent with people, trying (that was my intent at least) to help prepare them for marriage.  Here are a few thoughts from those conversation, really more like interviews:  First of all, and I say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it seems ironically the more I have learned about marriage the ...

The Gospel According to Pooh-Bear! – by Laura Urista

I am a “Pooh” collector. Not quite a “Pooh-holic” or a “Crazy Pooh lady” – but close! Lots of friends have asked me what made me decide to collect all things “Winnie-the-Pooh” over the years.  It’s a long story, going back over 55 years. It was the summer of 1966 and my family had just moved from a tiny town in North Dakota to a slightly larger town in Texas. My Dad had just become a member of a strict, legalistic church and he was determined that his four school-age children should attend “God’s school” – a private school founded and run by the church he had recently joined. A few months after our move, I ...

Prayer – The Steering Wheel or a Spare Tire? – by 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 ...

Inspired, Infallible & Inerrant? by Greg Albrecht

If God intended to produce an infallible and inerrant literary document, surely he would not have used so many fallible humans in the writing, editing, preservation, translation, production and printing (not to mention interpretation) of the Bible! ----------------------------------------------------------- At some point in the past you may have fallen for some theological pied piper who lured you down a sawdust trail with selected biblical passages, lining them up as proof texts to say what the piper wanted them to mean. We are providing deeper insight for our readers and listeners to better understand and interpret the Bible—so as to ...

Not That Kind of Christian – Greg Albrecht

When I tell new friends or acquaintances that I am a Christian, a frequent response goes something like this: “Well, exactly what kind of Christian are you?” My answer includes specific distinctions about common assumptions. Here are a few: • I am a Christ-follower. I do not follow or believe or trust in religion. I follow, believe and trust in Jesus. I believe God loves us in spite of religion, not because of any efforts or deeds we perform to convince him to love us. • I do not believe that God is a God of wrath. I do not believe that God the Father was so upset with the sin of humanity that he could only be appeased through ...

Today Is a Gift – by Ed Dunn

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12, NIV Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present.’ – Eleanor Roosevelt We sat together in the cold doctor’s office at County Hospital in Los Angeles, California. It had been a long two-day stretch of testing and we were both tired. I was there as a friend, and yet, I was there as far more than just a friend. I was there in that doctor’s office to be her memory, and to try my best to also be her voice. Several years earlier, things had begun to change dramatically for my friend, my ex-wife and the ...

How Great is the Love – Greg Albrecht

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1 There’s a great story about a little boy who was trying to learn the Lord’s Prayer. One night he was kneeling down by his bed, and he prayed: “Our Father who are in heaven, how do you know my name?” St. Augustine, revered as one of the great theologians of the Christian faith, once said that Jesus loves each of us as if there was no one else to love. We can see that reality in the life and teachings of Jesus—time after time we read about people Jesus met who felt and experienced his radically personalized, individual ...

Strange Magic – Stuart Segall

I wanted to share with you some “strange magic” so very recently experienced.  To introduce the magic, I would first like to ask you a question. What are your feelings about the words in 2nd Corinthians 1 where Paul shares thoughts about God’s comfort and consolation? 2nd Corinthians 1:3,4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”  Do you see yourself in that statement? Today I am saying goodbye to some clients. I am moving on. These are clients that I have had for 10 years and have spent a fair amount of time with over this period. I have not ...

Focus on Christ – Not on Fear – by Greg Albrecht

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself— nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance" (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, first inaugural address, March 4, 1933). Weltschmerz—a German word meaning world-pain or world-weariness is used to describe mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state. Based on the anxiety and concern contained in reports and letters we receive from those we serve, as well as a general condition of weltschmerz in our society, there is no doubt that fear, worry, stress and tension are wreaking ...

What Is Prayer All About? – Greg Albrecht

Question: I know that praying is not really about us, but for the purpose of helping us draw closer to God.  But I have also heard that prayer for others, even when they have no idea we are praying for them, is important for and to them.  How is that possible?  I'm not clear how it necessarily helps the person we're praying for in cases where that person is never aware we are praying for them.  My (flawed?) premise is that God is Perfect Love and already knows the perfect solution or course of action and will not be persuaded to change His will by my prayer.  So again, I ask...how does my prayer specifically for ...

Let the Party Begin – by 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 ...

The Center of the Gospel – Greg Albrecht

Christianity WITHOUT the religion defines Christ-less religion as any systematic method used to either earn or gain favor with God initially, or to improve and maintain one’s ongoing standing with God on the basis of deeds, involvement, attendance, performances, rituals and ceremonies. One of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr, speaks of the “performance principle” as the absolute foundation of all religion.The “performance principle” is the myth that leads humans to live lives defined by achievement—it is a myth that is rooted in and driven by fear. Fear is the foundational building block of Christ-less religion. The “perfor...

It’s All About Grace – by 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 ...

Who is God and What is He Like? – Greg Albrecht

BREAKING NEWS: God is who he is, not who we think he is because of what we have been taught. If you have created God in your own image, or wittingly or unwittingly allowed someone to help you do that then God will probably be a member of your church and denomination. He will keep and observe all your religious ceremonies, holidays and holy days, all your rules and regulations and all your rituals. • God created in your image will hate the people you hate. • God created in your image will vote for the person you vote for. • God created in your image will be a member of your race, nationality and perhaps even your gender. When God ...

Under Reconstruction: Crazy Characters, Unreliable Narrators and the Divine Architect – Brad Jersak

    After Deconstruction The last years have seen a grand deconstruction of Scripture reading and interpretation—some would say of Scripture itself. Of course, this has been an ongoing centuries-long project, but two unique elements dominate the past decade: first, the ‘New Atheists’ are actually reading the Bible—carefully and, unlike liberal scholars, they have read it literally with a view to destroying faith. “The Bible says it; I reject it; and that settles it.” And second, their dance partners in this deconstruction have been evangelicals who are finally questioning the modernist lingo of ...