Refuge Church

Matthew 4:1-11: Integrating Work and Faith (Missional Disciplines)

Welcome to the 4th sermon in our series on the missional disciplines. (4 of 5)

The mission of Refuge is to “build our identity in Christ for the sake of the world.” One of the major ways we do that is to “practice” being like Jesus: following him, trusting him, becoming more of who we really are by practicing Gospel truths. This is not an effort to change who we are, it’s actually an effort to become MORE of who we now are, in Christ. What we do individually in growing our relationship with Jesus, what we do with fellow followers of Jesus in growing our relationship as the Church, and what we do as the Church in proclaiming and demonstrating this new Kingdom are all important. 

For the rest of August, we are going to look at 5 practices of mission or spiritual disciplines of mission. God has gifted each of us in different ways to see and be passionate about these areas, and when we work together in harmony, we carry out the mission of the church while gloriously and freely giving of our selves and leaving the results to the work of the Holy Spirit! 

The 5 practices we will be looking at are:

• Engaging in Public Faith
• Gathering for Public Worship
• Ministries of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice
• Integrating Work and Faith
• Hospitality

Each of these practices are incredibly important in the life of the New Testament Church, and we want to learn how to practice each of these better, together, as we continue to build our identity in Christ for the sake of the world!

Exodus 34:6-7: Ministries of Mercy, Compassion, and Justice (Missional Disciplines)

Welcome to the 3rd sermon in our series on the missional disciplines. (3 of 5)

The mission of Refuge is to “build our identity in Christ for the sake of the world.” One of the major ways we do that is to “practice” being like Jesus: following him, trusting him, becoming more of who we really are by practicing Gospel truths. This is not an effort to change who we are, it’s actually an effort to become MORE of who we now are, in Christ. What we do individually in growing our relationship with Jesus, what we do with fellow followers of Jesus in growing our relationship as the Church, and what we do as the Church in proclaiming and demonstrating this new Kingdom are all important. 

For the rest of August, we are going to look at 5 practices of mission or spiritual disciplines of mission. God has gifted each of us in different ways to see and be passionate about these areas, and when we work together in harmony, we carry out the mission of the church while gloriously and freely giving of our selves and leaving the results to the work of the Holy Spirit! 

The 5 practices we will be looking at are:

• Engaging in Public Faith
• Gathering for Public Worship
• Ministries of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice
• Integrating Work and Faith
• Hospitality

Each of these practices are incredibly important in the life of the New Testament Church, and we want to learn how to practice each of these better, together, as we continue to build our identity in Christ for the sake of the world!

John 2:1-11: Water into Wine

Welcome to this stand alone sermon on how Jesus transforms lives.

Luke 15:1-10: Why Plant a Church?

Welcome to this stand alone sermon on who God pursues for his church and the passion with which he pursues them.

Philippians 3:8-11: Is Christianity Homophobic? (Hard Questions for Christianity)

Welcome to the 4th sermon in our series on hard questions. (4 of 4)

It seems we live in a world of dichotomies: some people seem to be afraid to ask questions, while others seem to be afraid to give answers. There are so many opinions, so many “what about’s,” so much information that can render us almost paralyzed. What should we think? What should we believe? What should we do? In our context, many of those questions and doubts and critiques are directed at Christians and/or Christianity. Some seem pretty fair, some seem pretty far fetched.

We’re going to take the month of August and, with the help of some guest preachers, explore some of the hard questions about Christianity. How do we ask good questions? What about God and suffering? How can people claim an “exclusive” belief? Doesn’t religion lead to violence? Is Christianity homophobic? We are excited to welcome some wonderful, Christian thinkers in these areas to help us navigate Scripture and culture and belief and sort through some hard questions for Christianity.

John 14:1-6: How Can We Claim Jesus is the Only Way? (Hard Questions for Christianity)

Welcome to the 3rd sermon in our series on hard questions. (3 of 4)

It seems we live in a world of dichotomies: some people seem to be afraid to ask questions, while others seem to be afraid to give answers. There are so many opinions, so many “what about’s,” so much information that can render us almost paralyzed. What should we think? What should we believe? What should we do? In our context, many of those questions and doubts and critiques are directed at Christians and/or Christianity. Some seem pretty fair, some seem pretty far fetched.

We’re going to take the month of August and, with the help of some guest preachers, explore some of the hard questions about Christianity. How do we ask good questions? What about God and suffering? How can people claim an “exclusive” belief? Doesn’t religion lead to violence? Is Christianity homophobic? We are excited to welcome some wonderful, Christian thinkers in these areas to help us navigate Scripture and culture and belief and sort through some hard questions for Christianity.

Genesis 4:1-14: Doesn't Religion Lead to Violence? (Hard Questions for Christianity)

Welcome to the 2nd sermon in our series on hard questions. (2 of 4)

It seems we live in a world of dichotomies: some people seem to be afraid to ask questions, while others seem to be afraid to give answers. There are so many opinions, so many “what about’s,” so much information that can render us almost paralyzed. What should we think? What should we believe? What should we do? In our context, many of those questions and doubts and critiques are directed at Christians and/or Christianity. Some seem pretty fair, some seem pretty far fetched.

We’re going to take the month of August and, with the help of some guest preachers, explore some of the hard questions about Christianity. How do we ask good questions? What about God and suffering? How can people claim an “exclusive” belief? Doesn’t religion lead to violence? Is Christianity homophobic? We are excited to welcome some wonderful, Christian thinkers in these areas to help us navigate Scripture and culture and belief and sort through some hard questions for Christianity.

Luke 19:1-10: What is the Role of Questions? (Hard Questions for Christianity)

Welcome to the 1st sermon in our series on hard questions. (1 of 4)

It seems we live in a world of dichotomies: some people seem to be afraid to ask questions, while others seem to be afraid to give answers. There are so many opinions, so many “what about’s,” so much information that can render us almost paralyzed. What should we think? What should we believe? What should we do? In our context, many of those questions and doubts and critiques are directed at Christians and/or Christianity. Some seem pretty fair, some seem pretty far fetched.

We’re going to take the month of August and, with the help of some guest preachers, explore some of the hard questions about Christianity. How do we ask good questions? What about God and suffering? How can people claim an “exclusive” belief? Doesn’t religion lead to violence? Is Christianity homophobic? We are excited to welcome some wonderful, Christian thinkers in these areas to help us navigate Scripture and culture and belief and sort through some hard questions for Christianity.

Colossians 1:18b-20: The Fullness of God (The People of God)

Welcome to the 4th sermon in our series on the book of Colossians. (4 of 14)

Colossians is a wonderful letter written to a newer church in the city of Colossae. There are a number of different backgrounds that are represented in this young gathering of followers of Jesus that Paul is encouraging and equipping toward faithfulness! There are differing opinions on whether this was Paul's instruction to a very young and new church or if Paul was writing to them after a few years when their former ways of life had started to creep in. Either way, what Paul writes to this church is SO helpful and encouraging for any church to remember what Christ has delivered us from and what He is delivering us toward!

Exodus 6:2-7a: God's Story (Far as the Curse is Found)

Welcome to the 1st sermon in our series on the overall story of the Bible. (1 of 23)

The Bible is filled with a whole lot of characters and stories that ultimately tell one big story. We believe the Bible ultimately tells the story of God...and we’re all included! This grand story is the story we tell every week when we gather: God Created the world and it was good and we enjoyed perfect relationship with God. In Genesis 3, however, mankind Rebelled against God and from that, everything fell apart. God made a covenant, made many covenants that He, alone would be faithful to keep. And, through Jesus, He will Redeem His people! One day, God, through Christ, will Restore all things, he will make the world right again. God, one day, will make His glories known as far as the curse has reached. Starting this Sunday, we will look more in depth at this whole story.