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Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
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Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 17, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“God’s grace and legalistic religion are not two equally inadequate spiritual extremes. Grace is the answer for legalism. There are times and places when grace is abused, when it is misunderstood and when it becomes an excuse for ‘do-as-you-please-ism’ – but abuses of God’s grace do not define or nullify it. Misunderstandings of God’s grace do not mean it is permissive. God’s grace is anything but. Legalism, on the other hand, is a virus that can destroy hope, joy and new life in ...
Why Ask? Why pray for gifts God has already given? Brad Jersak
“Forgive us our trespasses…”
“Lord, have mercy.”
“Come, Holy Spirit.”
The prayers of God’s people are replete with requests for that which God has already graciously and abundantly provided. So why bother? Is praying for the gifts God has already given an act of unbelief, a confusion of theology or an offense to God? Some seem to think so and in a sense, may be right. But both the question and answer are important and far more nuanced than an either/or knee-jerk reaction. What are the perils and what is the point of asking for what we’ve ...
Be Content – Trust In God
Jesus tells us that the faith he imparts to us will help us overcome any and all obstacles we may encounter. Pastor Greg talks about some of the obstacles we can overcome with the faith God gives us, by his grace.
How Grace Works – by Greg Albrecht
Billy was just finishing some art work, so he was the last first-grader to leave the classroom for recess. Just as he stood up and got ready to run out to the playground, he looked down and was horrified to see a puddle between his feet.
He could not remember when it happened nor could he imagine how it could have happened. His mind was already racing on fast forward – he visualized his humiliation when the boys and the girls came in from recess and made fun of him for wetting his pants. This was going to be the worst day of his life!
Billy was petrified by ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 15, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“I do not believe eternal destiny is ‘locked in’ at death. Nothing in Scripture would lead us to assume this, but of course much dogma within Christendom depends upon it. Many believe that their attempts to proclaim the gospel and ‘save’ people are the primary if not the only way God uses to channel his grace and to illuminate the minds of those whose hearts and minds are darkened. I say to that – if eternal destiny depends on religion, then God is not God!”
Originally published in:
C...
Making All Things New
The focus of today’s sermon is that Christian life is always something new. Authentic Christianity often differs widely from the status quo of our culture. Authentic Christianity is also the precise opposite of religious traditions, prompting many in Christendom to protest, in a vain attempt to safeguard their traditions saying, "but, we’ve never done it that way before."
The True Riches
In today’s message, Pastor Greg shows how Isaiah is using money to draw attention to God’s amazing riches for us. Isaiah's message encourages us to buy into the heavenly economy of God's amazing grace.
CWR Video – Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines
In this CWR Video, Ed discusses these two terms and how they can be used in religious settings.
https://vimeo.com/1018069160
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Gratitude – by Ed Dunn
Special Partner Letter from May 2025:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)
We say Grace (give thanks) before meals, and I say Grace before the concert or play, before I open a book, before sketching, painting and swimming, before walking, dancing and playing. I say Grace before I dip the pen in ink. – G.K. Chesterton
Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, and the readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness. – Oxford Dictionary
When you arise in the morning, ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 13, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“A Pentecostal Christian was once invited by his friend to attend a staid Presbyterian church, where the services resembled a quiet library. The Pentecostal man was used to exuberant services of his church, which resembled an enthusiastic crowd at a basketball game. When the Presbyterian pastor made a particularly inspiring point in his sermon, the Pentecostal man yelled out ‘Praise the Lord.’
This passion troubled the solemn Presbyterian congregants. When the high-spirited visitor continued to voice his ...
You Belong To God
Many ask some form of the question, “Am I getting all I want, all I need, out of life?” Pastor Greg discusses that question in the light of Paul’s admonition that we “present our bodies as living sacrifices.”
K.I.S. Prayer
Pastor Greg talks about keeping prayer simple, sincere and heartfelt, and he discusses the relationship between life’s rough spots and prayer.
Breakfast with Brad – Mother’s Day, Little Granny & Christian Success
Brad recalls his little 'Tea Granny,' Elsie Ditchfield, who demonstrated what true Christian success looks like. It starts with toast and tea!
https://vimeo.com/1007831958
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We Don’t Need Perfect Mothers – by Rachel Ramer
When my sisters and I face relationship challenges, we occasionally say to each other, “What would Mom have done? Let’s not do that.” This may seem disrespectful, casting our mother as a horrible role model, but the truth is, we sympathize with the struggles she faced and how she dealt with them. She grew up in a world where females were openly taught to acquiesce to the will of the men in their lives. The church, the workplace and the home all reinforced this. Society taught her not to stand up for her own needs, and she passed this tendency on to her daughte...
Tender Mercies: “Mothers Day Cards” – by Ruth A. Tucker
Bless the Lord who crowns you with tender mercies (Psalm 103, NKJV).
One of my favorite short stories is “Mothers Day” by Octavus Roy Cohen. It was Saturday night, the eve of Mothers Day. Dan Clancy “neither knew nor cared.” He was a police detective, “square shouldered” who “thought only of himself.” But on this particular night his thoughts were on a “narrow-shouldered and furtive” drifter, “a sneak-thief” hiding under the freight cars. Of course, Dan could have picked him up willy-nilly as a vagrant and seen to it that the man received ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 10, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Religious zealots who populate Christ-less religion, to use the words of a man named Reinhold Niebuhr, spend much of their time focused on the ‘temperature of hell and the furniture of heaven.’ They can think of little else than the grand rewards God will lavish on them because of their hard work – and the eternal torture to which they presume he will subject others, who fail to meet their religious standards.”
Originally published in:
Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul, Volume 1
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Love and Suffering – Part 2
Discover an answer for your own pain and suffering, and that experienced by our loved ones, when it intersects with the love and suffering Jesus demonstrated and endured for us.
10 Percent Grace and 90 Percent Law? – by Greg Albrecht
Recently I was asked about a church pastor who preaches 10 percent grace and 90 percent law. Apparently this church has a clock counter on its website to show how fast people are getting to hell. This church believes that one of the methods of "saving" people is to expose their sins, and (by embarrassing them) guilt them into obeying God.
This church is but one of many which believes that the Ten Commandments (and at times other portions of the old covenant) must be preached to sinners to prepare them to accept Christ.
The idea is taught in several different ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
May 8, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Did you ever stop to think that Jesus did not start his ‘professional life’ ministering, teaching, comforting and healing – by posting a sign outside of a building announcing healing services and prophecy seminars? Jesus didn’t wait for people to find him. Instead, he found people in the midst of their daily problems, dilemmas, challenges and struggles. Much of the time Jesus arrived in people’s lives unannounced and unexpected. Jesus didn’t expect people to get in their cars or jump on their ...
Love and Suffering – Part 1
We celebrate Mother's Day by considering the contrast Paul provides between Hagar, the slave woman, and Sarah, the free woman. We study human love and suffering from a Christ-centered perspective.
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