Refuge Church

1 Corinthians 9:24-27: To Know Him

Welcome to this sermon on spiritual disciplines that discusses the goal of studying the Bible.

Mark 6:7-13: Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles (Meeting Jesus)

Welcome to the 21st sermon in our series on the book of Mark. (21 of 60)

There are many people, not just Christians, who would put Jesus at the top of a list of most influential people in the world. If you were to also make a list of people who have claimed to be God, Jesus would be the only person on both lists. Everyone else who has claimed to be God has been dismissed by history as false. We are going to spend this sermon series looking at how Jesus was presented in the gospel of Mark. Mark is very to the point. He leaves very little doubt as to who Jesus is. Mark presents Jesus as King and then leaves us to deal with that truth.

John 16:4b-15: The Work of the Holy Spirit (The Good Teacher)

Welcome to the 6th sermon in our series on the teachings of Jesus. (6 of 8)

We have been spending time in the gospel of Mark. We have been looking at the events of Jesus’ life and how he interacted with people. This summer we are going to shift our focus to the teachings of Jesus. What do his parables mean? Why did he tell the stories he told? When people listened to the Good Teacher, what was it that he wanted them to hear?

John 10:1-21: The Good Shepherd (The Good Teacher)

Welcome to the 2nd sermon in our series on the teachings of Jesus. (2 of 8)

We have been spending time in the gospel of Mark. We have been looking at the events of Jesus’ life and how he interacted with people. This summer we are going to shift our focus to the teachings of Jesus. What do his parables mean? Why did he tell the stories he told? When people listened to the Good Teacher, what was it that he wanted them to hear?

Ash Wednesday Service

Welcome to this stand alone sermon on the significance of Lent.

Matthew 2:1-12: The Feast of Epiphany (Feasts of Remembrance)

Welcome to the 5th sermon in our series on the Feasts of Christmas. (5 of 5)

Up until a couple of centuries ago, there was no mass printing of books. Individuals had little opportunity to read the Bible themselves. So, the Church put together a calendar by which they would tell the whole story of Scripture throughout the year. Advent was the start of the year, a time to look at the Old Testament and anticipate the birth of the Messiah. Christmas then was the second season of the church year, the time that focuses on the coming of Jesus and the new life that we can have with his coming. In this series we are going to look at some feasts the early church began to celebrate that call attention to what actions our lives should have because Christ has come.

Psalm 51 (Psummer in the Psalms)

Welcome to the 6th sermon in our series on some of our favorite Psalms. (6 of 7)

The book of Psalms is a huge collection of poetry, of wisdom, of prayers, and of hymns written by a whole bunch of different people in the life of Israel. It’s people that are wrestling with the truths of God and wrestling with the brokenness that they find in the world. They are trying in to understand and come to grips with what is going on. Throughout the Psalms you see lots of different emotions being expressed: happiness, joy, sorrow, shame, guilt, despair, hope, excitement, wonder, longing, brokenness, and a slew of other emotions. It is the place in the Bible where feelings are more present that events. Singer/songwriter Sandra McCracken explains, “Psalms give us words when we have none. They prompt us to sing a new song when we cannot find our own voice.” Join us as we learn not only how to read the Psalms, but take time to soak them in.

The Bible: Can We Trust It?

Welcome to this stand alone sermon on many of the reasons we can trust the Bible.

Ruth 4:18-22: Now these are the generations (A Story of Love)

Welcome to the 12th sermon in our series on the book of Ruth. (12 of 12)

Many of us know the book of Ruth as a love story, but we forget that it took place during the time of the Judges when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 19:25). Ruth lived in a twisted world without much hope, much like our own world. We know what it is to carry the hurt and shame of things we have done and to carry the hurt and pain of things that have been done to us. We have all asked God: How could you let this happen? Where are you in our pain?

The book of Ruth shows God working in the least likely of ways with the least likely of people to disrupt a broken world with true love, hesed love. The Hebrew word hesed is a combination of commitment and sacrifice. It is one-way love. Love without an exit strategy, binding oneself to another person no matter how they respond. This is the love in the story of Ruth, the love that God shows to Israel, the love God show to us. The book of Ruth shows us that though we are in a situation far worse than we could ever imagine, at the very same time we are loved far more than we could ever dare hope.

1 Corinthians 15: The Resurrection of Christ

Welcome to this stand alone sermon on the historical validity of the resurrection of Christ and its implications for us today.