CWR Blog
Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
wait on God
Q & R with Brad Jersak – “What does ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” mean?
Question:
You talk about the importance of not collapsing the whole gospel narrative nor our entire soteriology (doctrine of salvation) into Good Friday. We mustn't forget the life and ministry and resurrection of Christ as part of his saving work. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The sending of God's son into the world is what makes our salvation possible--that is true indeed. You say, "the atonement precedes the cross," so we look not only to Good Friday but to the whole mission of Christ from his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
My question ...
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"By What Power or What Name?"
Join us for our Sunday Sermon:
Who or what is your ultimate authority – who pipes the tunes to which you dance and who plays the music to which you march?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/CWR643.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 ...
Experiencing His Peace – by Greg Albrecht
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
June 6, 2026 - Quote for the Day:
“God is not impressed with the lofty, ornate cathedrals humans build. God doesn’t assume that those religious monuments are more holy than little humble church buildings out on some windswept plain or desert. For that matter, God is not impressed with any building we can build and dedicate to him – as Acts 7:48 tell us: …the Most High does not live in houses made by men.
Worshipping God inside a building that calls itself a church does not exalt you before God. Your presence inside a building that calls itself a church ...
Christ Followers Cannot Not Forgive
C.S. Lewis insisted "If God forgives we must forgive. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than him." A Christ follower in whom Jesus lives cannot not forgive.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR447.mp3
Spiritual Forces
The basic religious forces of our world enslave us to false gods that intimidate and bully with their required observances of traditions, taboos and superstitions that supposedly make God happy. But these religious forces are paper tigers that are powerless to set us free and bankrupt because they provide no eternal inheritance.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR446.mp3
Between Religious Rocks and Life’s Hard Places – Greg Albrecht
Questions & Response:
In the “Introduction” to my book, BETWEEN RELIGIOUS ROCKS AND LIFE’S HARD PLACES I invited readers, in case they didn’t like my answers, to improvise their own Christ-centered solutions.
Let me reinforce that invitation. Life is, in many ways, an endless series of questions and dilemmas. In this 21st century, the questions have become more complex, perhaps because we are living on top of so many cultures that have gone before us.
Their contributions, as well as their unanswered questio...
He Lives IN Us!
Muslims do not speak of Muhammad living in them, nor do Buddhists speak of Buddha inhabiting them. Yet as Christ followers we believe that Christ IN us is the hope of glory.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR445.mp3
Sample One of Our Daily Radio Messages
"He Lives IN Us!"
Muslims do not speak of Muhammad living in them, nor do Buddhists speak of Buddha inhabiting them. Yet as Christ followers we believe that Christ IN us is the hope of glory.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR445.mp3
Links to Our Daily Radio
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 ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
June 3, 2026 - Quote for the Day:
“The chief opposition and objections to God’s grace do not come from those who do not claim to be Christians at all, like Buddhists or Muslims. The chief objections to God’s grace come from those who call themselves Christians but are trapped by legalism, and are in the swamps of Christ-less religion.
No one hates God’s grace so much as those who work hard to convince God that their efforts are holy and righteous. It was religion that hated Jesus. We must not compromise with God’s grace, my friends. We must not ...
All Things Beautiful #9 – Ken Williams
Ken Williams
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesian churches, he summarized God’s intent for creating marriage. Uniting a man and a woman in marriage as one flesh (Gen. 2:22-25) anticipated the end of the age when Jesus Christ returns to earth to marry his church, his body (Rev. 19:7).
Followers of Jesus Christ, single and married, are committed to loving and respecting all people, but those who marry, commit to a special relationship of giving and receiving God’s love to one another every day for life. Jesus alone cleanses us by washing us with his word ...
The Cross – Anger or Love?
When the love of God is stripped away from the significance of the cross of Christ, revenge and violence is all that is left - but that anger is not the wrath of God.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR444.mp3
Gritty Love or Syrupy Sentimentalism? – Brad Jersak
QUESTION:
Isn’t your emphasis on “love” really just syrupy sentimentalism? The whole “Love Wins” thing sounds great, but in the real world, I don’t see it working.
RESPONSE:
To reduce love to syrupy sentimentalism, as I suppose many do, drains love of its gritty power. "True grit" is not defined by gun-slinging cowboys or the actors who played them. "True grit" looks like cross-shaped love.
When I say that love is gritty, I’m talking about the type of resilience it takes to engage this hard world, so corrupted by injustice and cruelty.
...
Samson and …?
The life of Samson is filled with scandal and sleaze, yet perhaps one of its great lessons for us is seen in the context of Jesus Christ, so that we realize that no matter how far we may have run from God, God is always near.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR443.mp3
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
June 1, 2026 - Quote for the Day:
“Mention the Book of Revelation in a conversation, and even Christians will generally react in one of two extremes. Some think that Revelation has nothing of importance to offer. They see the book as archaic, grisly and grotesque first-century writing with no relevance for today. On the other hand, some Christians seem to think that Revelation (and any other part of the Bible that is related to it or used to interpret it) is the only part of the Bible worth reading and studying. Many are virtual prophecy junkies, addicted ...
My New Life With Bottom Feeders – by Sheila Graham
I was stunned. Set before me was a large pale, pink-tinged shrimp in a flute, decorated with a sprig of dill. I had told God before I came to my neighbor’s house that I would eat whatever was set before me. I didn’t want to embarrass my friend. Now, I wasn’t so sure I could make that happen. My stomach turned at the thought of eating that shrimp. I don’t think so, pal!
But I had promised God so I doused it in sauce and took a bite. Then my stomach rebelled. No more, you’re pushing me. But I took another couple of nibbles. That’s when my ...
To All You Fathers… By Ed Dunn
This Month at PTM - June 2026:
Watch a short video and the message on "To All You Fathers..." by Ed Dunn as he updates us on the latest from Christianity Without the Religion and Plain Truth Ministries.
Following Jesus in Desert Places – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from June 2026:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in a promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Issac and Jabob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to a city whose foundation, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:8-10).
Seventy-one percent of planet earth is covered by water—of the remaining twenty-nine ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 30, 2026 - Quote for the Day:
“The church is not a building. The church is not identified by a sign outside of a building or by a steeple that soars above a building. The church is not a legally incorporated entity. One may be a member of a church and not be a member of the universal body of Christ, which is the church that really counts. One may be a member of the universal body of Christ and thus free in Christ (Galatians 5:1) to affiliate with a church. But one’s membership in a church is not required or a necessary prerequisite for membership in the ...
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