web01.fireside.fm Thu, 05 Mar 2026 08:01:46 -0600 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) https://www.pleadingthecase.org/tags/sacrifice Mon, 06 Aug 2018 15:00:00 -0400 If a tune-up can’t fix a car engine because what it really needs is for the entire engine to be rebuilt, then why would we, in the Christian faith, perform tune-ups on the form and function of our churches when what they may really need is to be completely overhauled? Join the host of Pleading The Case, Andy Mendonsa, where in each episode, he will peal back the culture and traditions that have come to define much of the Church in America today in order to accurately assess whether all that is needed is just a good tune-up, or as he has become convinced, a compete overhaul. en-us episodic "Stand Before The Mountains, Let The Hills Hear What You Have To Say" Andy Mendonsa If a tune-up can’t fix a car engine because what it really needs is for the entire engine to be rebuilt, then why would we, in the Christian faith, perform tune-ups on the form and function of our churches when what they may really need is to be completely overhauled? Join the host of Pleading The Case, Andy Mendonsa, where in each episode, he will peal back the culture and traditions that have come to define much of the Church in America today in order to accurately assess whether all that is needed is just a good tune-up, or as he has become convinced, a compete overhaul. no Andy Mendonsa andy@widows.org http://www.pleadingthecase.org/12 c7857aab-bc48-4107-8796-aa97a99d71f2 Mon, 06 Aug 2018 15:00:00 -0400 Andy Mendonsa full Andy Mendonsa In Matthew 5:13 Jesus says “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. The lines between the law and grace, not unlike 2000 years ago when Paul addressed this in his letter to the Galatians, may be equally as blurred, if not more so, for much of the church today, thus creating a hybrid Christian faith, if you will, that has become dangerously close to losing its saltiness. 1:39:01 no Is there any reason to pursue a deeper understanding of the law vs grace? There is if we truly believe that Jesus was the promised messiah, and that he came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Yes, we need to know what that means for us, now, in our daily lives in him. Otherwise, we will blend the law and grace creating a hybrid Christian faith that blurs the lines between the 2; Thus, blurring our understanding of Jesus and what it means to follow him as well as to look like him. Perhaps the confusion comes, on one level, because we claim salvation through Jesus, but at the same time we have lost sight of what it looks like to live out our lives based on his own life's example. And for Gentile followers of Jesus, this is particularly concerning since gentiles were never under the first covenant (under the law) to begin with. It was only after Jesus fulfilled the law, thus rendering the first covenant null and void, that the second covenant, under grace, was extended to include gentiles as well. In that the new covenant was established on better promises, though, why would anyone ever choose to be subject again to such a yoke of slavery (under the law)? Christian, Salvation, Works, Deeds, Sacrifices, Pharisee, Galatians, Romans, Matthew 5, Ephesians, Flesh, Grace, Law, Unequally Yoked, Israel, Judah, The Promise, Righteousness, Gentiles, Jerusalem, Old Covenant, New Covenant, Abraham, Enmity, Seed, Offspring, High Priest, Shadow and Copy, Superior Ministry, Sanctuary, Tabernacle, Holy of Holies, Sacrifice, Worship, Spiritual Israel, Jews, Middle East, End Times, Obsolete, Is there any reason to pursue a deeper understanding of the law vs grace? There is if we truly believe that Jesus was the promised messiah, and that he came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Yes, we need to know what that means for us, now, in our daily lives in him. Otherwise, we will blend the law and grace creating a hybrid Christian faith that blurs the lines between the 2; Thus, blurring our understanding of Jesus and what it means to follow him as well as to look like him. Perhaps the confusion comes, on one level, because we claim salvation through Jesus, but at the same time we have lost sight of what it looks like to live out our lives based on his own life's example. And for Gentile followers of Jesus, this is particularly concerning since gentiles were never under the first covenant (under the law) to begin with. It was only after Jesus fulfilled the law, thus rendering the first covenant null and void, that the second covenant, under grace, was extended to include gentiles as well. In that the new covenant was established on better promises, though, why would anyone ever choose to be subject again to such a yoke of slavery (under the law)?

]]> Is there any reason to pursue a deeper understanding of the law vs grace? There is if we truly believe that Jesus was the promised messiah, and that he came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Yes, we need to know what that means for us, now, in our daily lives in him. Otherwise, we will blend the law and grace creating a hybrid Christian faith that blurs the lines between the 2; Thus, blurring our understanding of Jesus and what it means to follow him as well as to look like him. Perhaps the confusion comes, on one level, because we claim salvation through Jesus, but at the same time we have lost sight of what it looks like to live out our lives based on his own life's example. And for Gentile followers of Jesus, this is particularly concerning since gentiles were never under the first covenant (under the law) to begin with. It was only after Jesus fulfilled the law, thus rendering the first covenant null and void, that the second covenant, under grace, was extended to include gentiles as well. In that the new covenant was established on better promises, though, why would anyone ever choose to be subject again to such a yoke of slavery (under the law)?

]]> http://www.pleadingthecase.org/8 db4776ed-3f11-42ef-97f8-3bd476fe44df Sun, 17 Jun 2018 10:00:00 -0400 Andy Mendonsa full Andy Mendonsa Based on James 1:27 the second part of this series begins by reviewing Part I in the context of worship, and then focusing on the words "undefiled, "visit" and "the fatherless." This episode concludes with an assessment made for the present condition of the church in America, and possibly around the world, and why James 1:27 is the most accurate litmus test for determining this. 1:26:29 no In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. The second par of this two part series begins with the second part of the first line of this passage, "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction," and concludes with "to keep oneself unspotted from the world." abomination that causes desolation, acts 5, acts 6, adam, church in america, deceived, deception, deliverance, denied the faith, desolation, devotional, devouring widow's houses, dr. amy sherman, eve, garden of eden, genesis 2:15, high priest, i timothy 5, ii corinthians 11:1-4, inheritance, james 1:27, jesus, marriage bed, offering, orphans, paul, redemption, restoration, sacrifice, sin, stephen, the bereaved, the church, the fatherless, to keep, to visit, unbeliever, works, worship In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. The second par of this two part series begins with the second part of the first line of this passage, "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction," and concludes with "to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

]]> In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. The second par of this two part series begins with the second part of the first line of this passage, "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction," and concludes with "to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

]]> http://www.pleadingthecase.org/7 d4b32868-701b-43dd-8834-0e31750ba547 Mon, 11 Jun 2018 17:00:00 -0400 Andy Mendonsa full Andy Mendonsa In Episode 7, Part I, using James 1:27 as the litmus test, reveals how deceived the church, especially in America, has become and why. 1:29:23 no In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. This two part series begins with the first part of the first line of this passage, "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:" abraham, adultery, deceived, deception, deeds, doers of the word, hearers of the word, hell, james 1:27, marriage, sacrifice, the devil, the fatherless, to dress, to keep, unpolluted by the world, widows, works, worship In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. This two part series begins with the first part of the first line of this passage, "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:"

]]> In II Corintians 11:2-3 Paul tells us "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (NIV). So, how do we know if we have been led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ? After studying James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (DBY) for more than 25 years I am more than convinced that this single passage is the key for being able to accurately determine the condition of the church at any time and place in history. And the key to unlocking this passage lies in our understanding of worship. This two part series begins with the first part of the first line of this passage, "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:"

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