98 results for tag: gospel

May 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Grace Is the Gospel of Christ – pg. 1 The Narrow Door – pg. 2 Want to Hear a Good Story? – pg. 5 Franny and Bonnie – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Eternal Torture – Divine or Human Vengence?

By Greg Albrecht— Hell is a subject many religious people get all hot and bothered about. It's one of the most disputed and controversial teachings within Christendom. The squabbling is not about the surety of judgment for depravity and wickedness. Most Christians agree that there is and will be divine judgment for evil. The battle for hell is all about specifications, temperature and longevity. The debate involves comprehending and communicating divine justice—and in the process humans export definitions of time and space into eternity. But the Bible does not suggest that God needs to import our flawed perspectives into the perfection ...

Take Away the Religious Rocks

By Greg Albrecht— Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. —John 11:38-39 Religious rocks create barriers in our relationship with God. Notice the "red letter" words in our passage in John 11:39, the four words in this verse that Jesus actually spoke. Take away the stone.... The background for our passage begins in the first verse of chapter 11 of the book of John. Lazarus was sick. As the chapter unfolds we discover that Lazarus eventually died. His sisters Mary and Martha were overcome with shock and grief. Our message begins at the house ...

I Am Making Everything New

By Greg Albrecht— This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King. This is what the LORD says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive ...

Jesus – More Than a Man

By Greg Albrecht— When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:13-15). More than two thousand years ago, Jesus asked his closest disciples the same question that he has asked humans ever since. Who do you say that I am? The answer his disciples gave then, and that you and I give today, radically determines the direction of our lives. Even those who have been skeptical of the claims that people ...

God Really Likes You

by Greg Albrecht Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."—Revelation 21:1-4 Does God love ...

What’s So Bad About Cults?

By Greg Albrecht If PTM wants to get lots of letters from readers, all we need to do is publish an article explaining and defending Christ-centered-Christianity against some wrong teaching or biblical misinterpretation. Defending and explaining biblical doctrines is called apologetics. An apologetic article in The Plain Truth usually results in a tidal wave of letters and emails, pro and con. The cons often go something like this: "Why are you so critical of other Christians? Why don't you just leave other people alone and let them believe what they want?" Most Christian denominations were originally formed because they disagreed with ...

Son of a Preacher Man

By Greg Albrecht— Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" —Matthew 16:24-26 The passage in Matthew that forms the basis of our message talks about losing your life so that you might gain it. At first it may seem to you that Jesus' assertion amounts to little more than theological double-talk. But this teaching begins to make ...

When Your Dreams Wind Up in the Pit

By Greg Albrecht— "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into ...

September 2019

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Creating God in Our Own Image – pg. 1 Heart and Soul – pg. 2 Blessings and Curses? – pg. 5 My Cousin Valerie – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8 CLICK on MAGAZINE COVER BELOW for Flipping Page Format [real3dflipbook id="190"]

August 2019

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Healthy Faith or Toxic Religion?– pg. 1 Keith Giles: The Gospel: Information or Transformation?– pg. 6 Brad Jersak: Is Christ in All People or Only in Christians? – pg. 10 Peter Enns: The Bible's True Purpose – pg. 12 Brad Jersak: Three Visions of Salvation -pg. 14

November 2018

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Enslaved by Religion...Or Free in Christ? – pg. 1 Success by Excess Is Not True Greatness – pg. 2 Thanksgiving Banquets and the Kingdom of Heaven – pg. 5 When Life Downsizes – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8 CLICK on MAGAZINE COVER BELOW for Flipping Page Format [real3dflipbook id="180"]

July 2018

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Ashes to Ashes – pg. 1 The Center of the Gospel – pg. 2 When Your Time Comes – pg. 5 Between Eeyore and Pollyanna – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8 CLICK on MAGAZINE COVER BELOW for Flipping Page Format [real3dflipbook id="176"]

“Breakfast with Brad” [Jersak] 1 & 2 with Bruxy Cavey

In our inaugural "Breakfast with Brad," Brad Jersak settles his stomach with ginger peach tea, autumn squash soup and some apple juice. His guest, Bruxy Cavey of the Meeting House in Toronto, describes the gospel in 1 word, 3 words and 30 words. PTM.org's "Breakfast with Brad" [Jersak] - no 1 - with Bruxy Cavey from Brad Jersak on Vimeo. In episode 2, Brad continues eating his autumn squash soup while Bruxy Cavey defines and shuts down 'religion' in 90 seconds.

A Season of Unfortunate Events? Superstition vs. the Gospel – Kenneth Tanner

Enduring a season of unfortunate events? Does God seem absent or aloof? Feel as though you have fallen out of favor with God? Many of us grew up with Christian pastors, teachers, friends, and spiritual guides who taught by osmosis that if things were going wrong in our lives or the lives of others—if life was not one moment of glory followed by another—there were two possible answers: either we were not doing all the right things or we were not believing all the right things. A lack of faith, a misstep here or there, results in hardships and divine disfavor. Most people call this superstition. What it is not is the gospel. It’s ironic ...