203 results for tag: grace
Q&R with Brad – “Why pray for forgiveness if we’re already forgiven?”
Question:
The sin issue is cropping up again. I lose my temper. I get stressed out. I am short with my family... but I have gotten to the point where I feel as though Christ once and forever dealt with sin (alienation, darkness) at the Cross and my constantly asking Christ directly for forgiveness (again and again) for the same sins seems hopelessly pointless.
Response:
The reason why I regularly pray, "forgive us our trespasses," is first of all, because Jesus taught us to do so. He quite literally says, "When you pray, pray this: Our Father,..." And while some folks dismiss this prayer as "pre-cross" and "old covenant" ...
Grace at Church – by Greg Albrecht
KEYNOTE SCRIPTURE:
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 ...
Grace = No More Score Keeping!
Keeping tabs on human performance in the family, at school and at work as well as in the world of athletic endeavors fascinates humans - but did you know that God's grace means no more score-keeping?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR325.mp3
November 2022
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Articles:
Generosity Without Expectations – pg. 1
The Peace of Thanksgiving – pg. 2
Count Your Blessings – pg. 5
Infernal Interruptions! – pg. 6
In Plane Site – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
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 ...
In Need of Grace – by 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 ...
A Transformation-Not a Transaction – Greg Albrecht
Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches us that we are saved BY grace FOR works—contrasted with the completely erroneous idea of the virus of legalism, alive and well within so much of Christendom. The performance-based legalisms of Christ-less religion propose and insist that we are saved BY works FOR grace. Paul teaches us in Ephesians 2:8-10 that we are saved BY grace FOR the works that God determines for us, so that we may become his workmanship. To underline this critical truth of the gospel—we are saved BY God’s grace, FOR HIS works—not by OUR works.
Our salvation is a transformation of grace, not a transaction of works. God’s grace and the ...
Law and The Gospel – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from September 2015
The distinction between law and gospel is the highest art in Christendom. – Martin Luther
Have you noticed that when you take God’s grace seriously, you start to hear advice, offered with a sweet, patronizing smile, that goes something like this: “Of course God loves you, but his love is not a one-way street – you have a contribution to make as well.”
If you are told you are in charge of activating, purchasing or producing God’s love, that’s law. If you understand that God’s in charge, that’s grace. If you are told that God’s love and grace are produced by ...
But What About Rewards? – by Greg Albrecht
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 ...
It’s All About Grace
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 article in a three-part series discovering what the introductory chapters of this great book of Romans tell us about God's amazing grace. The first, 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 longer passage of ...
Grace Alone
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 and the ...
In Need of Grace
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
Grace is one of those prodigious, stupendous words introduced to us in the New Testament. Grace is the manner in which God operates. He relates to us on the basis of grace, on the premise of his generosity. Humans relate to one another on the basis of performance—on the foundation of producing works and ...
God Is After You – by 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 genera...
Grace and Friendship – by Stuart Segall
Grace and friendship walk hand-in-hand most of the time. As you may know, I speak and write about friendship and so it is good to ponder this similarity when you realize that grace is like friendship. You only know you have either one when you really need it.
If you don’t get that, well I pledge to you that you don’t get grace. For some, grace will be their own definition of things like “unmerited pardon,” but for me the richness of grace is about what “amazing grace” is. It is about the father in the prodigal son story. My past experiences, which are rich and many, show and tell me that many don’t even get what that father did ...
Gracebut – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from July 2015
One of the most common objections to God’s grace goes something like: “Sure, we have been saved by grace, BUT…” That phrase is used so often within legalistic religion that it seems like it should be spelled as one word – gracebut with no comma. When used as a G-rated term for the hindquarters of an animal or human, the word is spelled b-u-t-t. It is wise to keep not only our BUTS (objections or opinions) out of God’s grace, but our BUTTS as well.
BUT, with all due respect and political correctness, we must admit that though BUTTS can become large, the BUT used to diminish, devalue ...
Grace on Trial
Greg Albrecht: I'm talking with a good friend, Steve McVey of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve is the president of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve, I've got to tell you that I wish there were more people in this world who are proclaiming radical grace.
Steve: When we talk about grace we're talking about Jesus, and I think folks need to have that firmly in their minds, that grace personified is Jesus Christ. So to those who say, well, that's great to talk about grace but there are other things too, I say, well, what else is there? The grace of Jesus Christ is the gospel. Radical grace—I like that. For those who may not know, let's remind them the ...
Fools, Foolishness and Grace – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter From June 2015:
The left side of his body appeared to be paralyzed, so that his thin left arm dangled, looking as if it had atrophied. The right side of his body, with the aid of a cane held firmly by his muscular right arm, dragged his inert left side after it. He didn’t walk – he shuffled. Karen and I had just entered our local grocery store, and as we started down one of the aisles the crippled, grizzled man was ahead of us, hobbling along, in the company of a bigger and stronger companion.
As we stopped to select items to place in our cart, we heard him bellowing at his much larger friend and at other ...
A Renewal of Compassion – by Ed Dunn
The times in which we live have been, in a word, tough. The last two years have seen radical changes in our health, both mentally and physically, our nation, politically, racially and economically, and our world, as we try to move around it. It’s been easy of late to take up a position on any number of topics, to stop listening altogether to different points of view, and to see large groups of people as “other.” I know I’ve felt a strong pull towards this polarization, and the harmful attitudes that come along with it.
I take public transportation to every destination I can’t get to on foot. Given my eyesight condition, I gave up my ...
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
