Refuge Church

Hebrews 11:8-19: Abraham - Don’t Short Circuit the Process (Wait & Remember)

Welcome to the 1^st sermon in our series on the season of advent – the season of waiting, remembering, and expecting.

Two themes that are expressed over and over again in the Bible that we might often miss are the themes of “waiting” and “remembering.” Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God tells his people through visions, through names, through prophets and dreams to remember that He has provided and to wait on him to provide again. Over and over we are tempted to make our own world, construct our own reality. We are often tempted with impatience that is fueled by our forgetfulness of God’s provision yesterday and a single vision for something else we need tomorrow. When we wait and remember, we enter into a trusting relationship with the God of scripture who, "in the fullness of time sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal 4:4-5)

Colossians 3:12-13: Bear with One Another

Welcome to this sermon on the spiritual disciplines. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties in the recording, however you are welcome to listen to the beginning of some thoughts on bearing with one another through forgiveness.

Acts 1:6-8 & 2:1-4: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (I Believe)

Welcome to the 9th sermon in our series on The Apostles Creed. (9 of 13)

Every week, as a church, we recite the Apostle's Creed. Creeds have been a part of church history from the very beginning. Some even being recited within Scripture itself! However there have also been some hesitancy about the use of a creed that it is "not Scripture" or that we need "no creed by Christ."

Much of this might be chalked up to a misunderstanding of what a creed is and its very helpful functions. Michael Bird describes a creed like a suitcase that we can pack our essential beliefs into, but always designed to be unpacked and understood with greater depth.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to walk through this confession of beliefs known as the Apostles' Creed. This has unified followers of Jesus for nearly 2,000 years and across nearly every cultural line. What are we confessing when we proclaim "Christ is King," and what does it mean when we say "I believe..."

Matthew 6:5-15: And when you pray...

Welcome to this sermon on spiritual disciplines that discusses the practice of prayer using The Lord's Prayer.

Colossians 1:21-23: And You (The People of God)

For the 5th sermon in our series on the book of Colossians, we gathered at Laurel Park for a Baby Dedication. Due to technical difficulties there is no audio available for this service. (5 of 14)

Matthew 13:33-35: Bread Making (Eyes to See)

Welcome to the 3rd sermon in our sermon series about the parables of Jesus. (3 of 15)

Over the summer we are going to take a deep dive into the Parables of Jesus. Jesus’ parables, while they are certainly filled with moral guidance and helpful insight, they are also about some things that are quite a bit more than that. They will reveal a new authority, a new “sheriff in town,” so to speak. When we examine these short stories of Jesus in their context, we’ll start to see that they don’t just make everything easier to understand, they are actually telling the climax of the story. It’s the same story that Paul is proclaiming, and it’s the same story that upends all that we’ve known. We will hear whispered and then shouted... “The Kingdom is coming, and the King is here.” This changes everything!

Galatians 3:15-29: The Hope for Humanity (Sons & Daughters)

Welcome to the 8th sermon in our series on the book of Galatians. (8 of 16)

Perhaps Paul’s earliest letter to a group of churches, Galatians both confronts and comforts those who have trusted Jesus. All at once, Paul forces us to look in the mirror at our self-promotion and self-protection; while also comforting us with the hope and reality that those who are in Christ are, in fact, sons and daughters of the most high God. Join us as we continue to build our identity in Christ for the sake of the world through Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

Psalm 128: #Blessed (Songs of Ascent)

Welcome to the 10th sermon in our series on the Psalms of Ascent (10 of 16).

“The essential thing ‘in heaven and earth’ is...that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.”  - Friedrich Nietzsche

We are going to spend this summer in the “Songs of Ascent” (Psalms 120-134). Through these songs, we are going to remember and walk along the Way that leads to salvation. We will remember, walk together, and sing of the greatness of our God. He will guide us; He will commune with us; He will refine us; He will call us to repentance and trust...and we will follow...the long path of obedience. 

“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way...”

Proverbs 4: Shema - Hear & Do (Navigating the Gray)

Welcome to the 6th sermon in our series on Proverbs. (6 of 18)

The book of Proverbs is a collection of sayings on living with wisdom. It is a guide to how we should do things, how the world works.  These sermons are a series of ‘classes’ on how to apply Biblical wisdom to everyday areas of our lives. “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice” (Proverbs 1:20). Come and hear what she has to say!

Exodus 33:15-23 & 34:6-8: The Patience of God (Behold Your God/Elders Intro)

Welcome to the 7th sermon in our series on the attributes of God (7 of 10). - Jeremy Jacobs

We are going to spend this summer beholding who our God is and what he is like, looking at the attributes of God through the lens of Exodus 33 & 34. When we refer to the attributes of God, we are not talking in a cold or rigid or philosophical way, dissecting God into little parts so that we can understand him. God is SO big, SO beyond us that he doesn’t fit into human categories. Instead, we will be admiring the attributes of God through the hunger that he has put in us to seek him out and to know him. As the Westminster Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. Join us in exploring some aspects of God that make him more than worthy of all glory.