Refuge Church

Too often we teat the presence of God as a place we visit instead of a home in which we dwell. If we would only stay, abide, seek Refuge in him permanently, then we would see the fears of this world begin to disappear.

Psalm 91

We like to imagine we are masters of our fate, that we have control over our future and our circumstances. And if not, that we can grin and bear it, pretending to be unaffected by whatever comes our way. But pretending is no way to face the trials and calamities of life. Instead, God invites us to give up this endless struggle and entrust our futures to Jesus, who is truly in control.

Psalm 110

We are all naturally glory thieves, taking for ourselves what belongs only to God. Desperately "needing" credit, people's applause, and for others to thank us for all we’ve done, we center ourselves, even while serving others. Psalm 98 helps to realign us with the intended purpose of all creation: to bring glory and praise to God!

Psalm 98

Depression can make us question God’s existence. We wonder if he’s abandoned us, or given up on us, if he's punishing us for something we've done. But there's hope in God’s Word for us this morning. Because into that very real existential confusion, Psalm 42 and 43 promise us that Depression and hope can coexist. In fact, they often do. And that God has not changed his character and his presence is still with us, even while we suffer.

Psalm 42-43

There is a sanctification in suffering. There is a way we get to experience God in times of suffering that we don’t get to experience in seasons of comfort. That’s what David is trying to teach us this morning in Psalm 34. As he sits in the discomfort of his own suffering he has learned that: God is not afraid to let you experience suffering in order to give you a transforming experience of His goodness!

Psalm 34:1-22

The gospel does not advance through comfort, image, or popularity but through joyful, costly, long-term faithfulness.

Join us this morning as we explore what true commitment to the kingdom of God costs.

Philippians 1:12-18

Wealth promises security it can’t guarantee. The riches of this world lie to us, and we buy into it. They feel so stable at times, but nothing is promised.

But if you want true riches, something that is a no-brainer investment, that can't be devalued by inflation, that can't be cut in half by a recession, that can't be stolen or cheated out from under you by hackers or thieves and can't be destroyed in a disaster, God's got you. And the answer doesn't even make sense at first because it requires a complete change in our value system. God says true riches are found in sharing our riches.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

We have way too much confidence in ourselves. We think we can make it through life on our own. But we will never become all we are meant to be on our own. In every area of life, we need others around us to make us better. And the same is true when it comes to following Jesus. The life of faith is inherently cooperative.

Hebrews 10:23-25

When faced with difficulty and hardship we usually resort to best practices, ingenuity, and inner strength to achieve success and prosperity. But what God shows us repeatedly in the Scriptures is that God’s work is fueled by devotion to God’s Word.

Joshua 1:1-9

We often resolve to be different because we feel dissatisfied with ourselves. But resolutions--and any change really--should be birthed from a profound sense of identity, not a feeling of dissatisfaction with our lives at the moment. We need to ask bigger questions, like, Who am I? Who has God designed me to be? What was I made to do? What’s my vision for my life?

Matthew 6:19-34