550 results for tag: Brad Jersak
Breakfast with Brad – Hot Chocolate and God’s Love
Breakfast with Brad - In which Eden has hot chocolate in Germany's winter wonderland, while Brad goes on a rant about God's supposedly wishy-washy Love.
https://vimeo.com/1000504847
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“He ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him.” – Brad Jersak
“He ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
“Fell on his neck” is such a strange idiom. My inner literalist chuckles if I picture it out of context. It sounds more like a professional wrestling move than an affectionate hug.
In the biblical context, the expression appears just four times—three times in Genesis and once in a Gospel parable. The phrase is always connected to family and always to a moment of reunion/reconciliation.
The exact verses are:
Between Jacob and Esau (twin brothers) – Genesis 33:4
But Esau ran to meet [Jacob], and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they ...
Friends Without Borders – Brad Jersak
Even if we feel powerless over big-news global events, we are not powerless to share the grace we've experienced.
Q&R: Codependent Christianity – Brad Jersak
"I thought I was going through a depression, but turns out, it was just my religion!"
The following is an email conversation about "codependent Christianity" that I'm sharing with the writer's permission.
READER
Hi Bradley, am so grateful for your teachings and guidance for those of us deconstructing. I thought I was going through a depression, but turns out, it was just Evangelicalism! If only that didn't mean that I now have to sort out the tangled mess that has intertwined in my best faith practice.
My biggest hurdle is repairing my relationship with scripture when it's neurologically sewn into my ...
CWR Video – Progressive Revelation in the Bible
In this CWR Video, Greg and Brad discuss the topic of Progressive Revelation in Scripture.
https://vimeo.com/1013235827
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When “God cares” doesn’t cut it – Brad Jersak
I remember the day when the assurance that “God cares” no longer cut it for me. Worse, it felt offensive. It particularly seems trite when we’re faced with the unmitigated affliction of children who suffer war, abuse, disability, disease, and painful death.
God cares? How so? The image that gnawed at my mind and heart and evoked anger was a divine king, seated on a throne, telling me, “I care,”… as in, “I have this caring feeling in my heart toward you,” while failing to provide protection, provision, consolation, or healing as families searched through the rubble of homes flattened by earthquakes or hellfire missiles. God cares? So ...
CWR Video – by Brad Jersak – “Spreading Hospitality”
Short video by Brad Jersak about spreading hospitality as Christians.
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 Unsolvable Problem of Evil – Brad Jersak
QUESTION: How do you solve "the problem of evil?"
RESPONSE: I don't. We can't.
To clarify for readers, the problem of evil refers to the question of how we can reconcile the reality of evil and suffering with belief in an all-powerful and all-loving God.
Unlike 'apologists' for faith (Christian or otherwise) who try to calculate their way to a solution and imagine they can harmonize divine goodness and human affliction, I don't believe there is a rational solution to the problem of evil. We call such attempts "theodicies." While God does respond to human suffering, I never see God offer a philosophical argument that solves the problem, ...
February 2025
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(PDF Format)
Greg Albrecht "You Don't Love Me!" – pg. 2
Richard Rohr God, the Lover of Life – pg. 5
Brad Jersak "God is Love, but..." Nothing! – pg. 7
Breakfast with Brad – Agents of Judgment or Messengers of Invitation?
In which judgment makes Brad defiant rather than repentant ... adding sour cream and salmon flakes to his Kraft Dinner. What if God understands that dynamic, too?
The Unforced Love of God – Brad Jersak
Intrinsic to the all-inclusive claims of passages such as Philippians 2:10-11 and John 12:32 is the companion truth that God honors human freedom and our voluntary faith response to Jesus’ work of reconciliation. To harmonize the twin biblical emphases on human freedom and ultimate redemption, we must acknowledge that our rejection of Christ is rooted in a dysfunction of the will, a blindness of our spiritual eyes. But through the gospel message, personal encounter, and an ultimate face-to-face with Christ, our eyes are healed and our wills are freed so that we are restored to our natural state: a joyful and willing “Yes!” to God’s ...
Abp Lazar Puhalo on the “More Christlike” Trilogy
"I am not at all sure I see the value in all of the 'high theology'. Much of it is really theological philosophy. It is of value for keeping false images, potentially idolatries, from developing, but Christians really need a simple faith.
That is why I think your 'More Christlike' series is of such great value. Much theological writing is really for an intellectual elite. It can discourage the faithful because of its complexities. Of far greater value to the faithful is the presentation of a simple faith - a presentation that is guarded by the boundaries set by the Fathers, but presented in a manner comprehensible and meaningful to everyone. ...
Breakfast with Brad – The Land of the Law & the Land of Mercy
"Breakfast with Brad" - farmer sausage, hash browns & onions wrapped in savory crepes ... OR pirogies for break! ... and a few words on "The Land of Mercy & the Land of the Law"
https://vimeo.com/1007815087
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.
Q & R with Brad Jersak: In whom and when does the Holy Spirit “enter” us?
Question:
Thanks, Brad for bringing so much needed clarity to the issues in your blog posts.
I would love to see more information in regards to the work of Holy Spirit. When does he enter, manifesting his presence as sons, etc.?
Response:
That’s an excellent question, the answer to which has filled volumes of books for two millennia. My brief response will cover just the two major features of your question:
First, “When does the Holy Spirit enter”? Some say we all “receive” the Spirit when we first come to faith in Christ, others say it happens at our baptism, while still others associate the ...
A Good God Who Doesn’t Always Heal? Brad Jersak
In A More Christlike God, I describe the self-revelation of God in Christ, who is self-giving, radically forgiving, and co-suffering Love. That image of God is cruciform, uncontrolling, but still deeply caring.
So how do we hang onto the image of God as a loving heavenly Parent when (1) Jesus told us to pray with boldness and faith, but (2) many of those prayers seem to go unanswered? What gives?
What follows is a dialogue with a friend about these complex and difficult issues:
AF: Hi Bradley:
I have a nagging subject that I found myself questioning a lot.
You wrote about it in this article:https://www.ptm.org/qr-if-go...
Confessing “Jesus is Lord” – Brad Jersak
Confessing “Jesus is Lord”
The Bible makes four profound claims about confessing “Jesus is Lord” that defy doctrinal certitude but function to invite faith.
Romans 10:9 — Those who confess “Jesus is Lord” will be saved.
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
1 Corinthians 12:3 — No one can confess “Jesus is Lord” except by the Spirit.
“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 7:21 — Some who confess “Jesus is Lord” will not enter the kingdom.
...
Advent Hope – Beyond Wishful Thinking – Brad Jersak
In modern culture, the word hope is normally used as a subjective, psychological state of feeling hopeful—and measured on a scale from hopelessness to confidence. It can be used as an adjective for optimism or, more negatively, wishful thinking. Today, “I hope so” can even be a euphemism for “I doubt it.”
To a great degree, that inner sense of hope that good things are coming is crucial to our mental and spiritual health. On the other hand, we know from hard experience that attaching ourselves to outcomes is also perilous. And since we fear disappointment, people of my disposition are wary of ...
“Turn the Other Cheek” – Brad Jersak
“To turn the other cheek is to turn our faces from past pain and toward the face of Christ.”
CWR Video – Agape Means Respect
In this CWR video, Brad and Laura explore how the Greek word for love, Agape, also means a keen value or worth of the other, or in a word, respect.
https://vimeo.com/1038672199
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