The Yoke
By The Refuge of Hilton Head Island, SC
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Podcast Description
Insights and Teachings for God-Lovers, God-Seekers, and God-Doubters
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Humility Is Calling | How does FaceTime help us make sense of our spiritual investments? We need to FaceTime with God because we need Him desperately in our lives. We are not self-sufficient or self-reliant people. We are an interdependent community that is ultimately solely dependent on our Creator for life, breath, and sustenance. Maybe the reason we don’t spend more time with Him, maybe the reason we don’t seek His face, is that we aren’t really convinced of our need for Him! But what if we cast aside the American dream of self-reliance and independence and traded it in for a life of full-reliance and full-dependence on God? What would happen if we truly humbled ourselves enough to fully invest in a relationship with God? Humility is Calling! | 2/5/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Master…and The Martyr... | Suicide bombers...kamikaze pilots...the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93...there are those who sacrifice their very lives for a cause, and then there are those who send them into battle, who enjoy the fruits of their labor and the results of their sacrifice. Yet by their very nature, the two never cross. Never do those who pay the ultimate price get to enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. And never do those who do enjoy them pay the price for those fruits. Never. Except once. He is a Two-Faced God; He is The Master...and The Martyr... | 1/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Holy…and The Human... | Is Jesus your homeboy? Ever been tempted to buy a Jesus bobblehead? And what's the deal with that Darwin fish? Everywhere you look, people are trying to belittle the holy! It seems as though we won't be happy until we've brought God down to our level! But inherent in our efforts is an unspoken assumption, an assumption that God ISN'T on our level now, that He IS above us, that He IS somehow holier than we are! And if that's the case, is there any way we could ever possibly relate to Him? He is a Two-Faced God; He is The Holy...and The Human... | 1/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Warrior…and The Peacemaker… | Jesus Christ is referred to as the “Prince of Peace.” Moses told the Egyptians, “The Lord Himself will fight for you.” Jesus said, “Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God.” Exodus tells us, “The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name!” In the book of Romans, Paul refers to “the God of peace.” The book of Isaiah says, “The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; He will come out like a warrior, full of fury.” Is anyone else confused? In one sense, God is a God of peace…in another, he is a warrior. How can He be a peacemaker and a warrior? How can I follow a God that seems to suffer from an identity crisis? Is God a two-faced hypocrite? What does it mean to me that God is known as The Warrior and The Peacemaker? | 1/15/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Behemoth...and The Bantam… | Job, Elijah, the disciples...all of them had seen tangible demonstrations of the power of God. Yet all of them found themselves overwhelmed, faced with extraordinary circumstances that shook their faith and rocked their worlds! It's as if each of them was asking, "God, I know you're big enough to handle every problem, but are you small enough to care?" He is a Two-Faced God; He is The Behemoth...and The Bantam... | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Beginning…and The End... | Jesus is the Creator of all things and the Rewarder of all things! He is both the source of David and the heir to his throne! He initiates our faith, continues working in our lives, and ultimately will perfect our faith when He returns! While we do have a responsibility on our faith journeys, namely stripping off every weight that slows us down (especially sin), following (even running) the path that God has set before us with endurance, and keeping our eyes on Him, it is ultimately Jesus that began the work of salvation, perpetuates the work of salvation, and fulfills the work of salvation in our lives! He is a Two-Faced God; He is The Beginning...and The End! | 1/1/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hope Wins | Have you ever felt hopeless, like things would never get better? Have you ever felt that God, if there even was a God, was a million miles away? Does it ever seem like you've just been dealt a bad hand, like you've never even had a chance in life? Three men in scripture could probably relate. Well, okay...scripture doesn't actually say that there were three of them, but you probably know them as the Magi, the wise men. These men grew up about as far from God as you could imagine. They were astrologists, trusting their souls to their ability to manipulate the fate they believed to be written in the stars. Yet somehow they managed to find a needle in a haystack, a child born in a manger, a king wrapped in burial rags. How is it possible that men who were so far from God could have been the ones to discover Him in the flesh while those who knew to expect His coming were oblivious? And what can we learn from their journey? | 12/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Peace Wins | Do you feel like your life is an endless cycle of battles? Are you tired of fighting? | 12/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Grace Wins | Have you ever found yourself in trouble? Have you ever needed someone, anyone, to offer you a hand, to step in and mend the mess that you found yourself in, the mess that you made of your life? Under Old Testament Law, there was just such a person, a person to help if you found yourself down on your luck, a person to pay your debts and purchase your freedom if you found yourself enslaved by the mistakes of your past. He was called the family redeemer. The family redeemer was a picture of the coming Christ, a foretaste of the glory of the Messiah. Yet he was only one piece of the puzzle, a mere glimpse into the full beauty and splendor of Jesus. Yet in the end, we learn from the family redeemer one simple truth about Jesus: Grace Wins! | 12/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Love Wins | The poem of the blind men describing an elephant pointed out that not one person had the entire picture. However, as we put the pieces together, we see a more complete picture of the elephant as a whole. As we explore the Old Testament for glimpses of Jesus, we begin to put the pieces together to form a more complete picture of Him. The story of Abraham and Isaac provides another piece to the puzzle. Years ago the popular Christian group "dc Talk" had a hit song called "Love is a Verb." Abraham demonstrated how true that saying was to his life when he proved that he was willing to sacrifice his own son for God. Other than the obvious, how else does this scenario draw a more complete picture of Jesus? And why does that matter to us today? One thing is certain; after all is said and done, "Love Wins." | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Life Wins | Life Wins...The word nativity has become synonymous with the birth of Jesus in our culture today, but the word itself has a much broader context. The dictionary defines nativity as “birth or origin, especially in relation to the circumstances surrounding it.” While few births in history have been accompanied by more extraordinary circumstances than the birth of Jesus, His origin is even more extraordinary because the narrative of Jesus began long ago, before even time itself had begun. We might be able to trace His birth to a stable in Bethlehem, but His origin remains untraceable, the greatest mystery this world has ever known! Long before the manger in which they laid Him or the angels who lauded Him, long before the wise men who sought Him or the parents who reared Him, Jesus was already here, filling the pages of history with foreshadowing of His arrival and auguries of His redemptive work! From pre-incarnate manifestations to overtly analogous glimpses of His future arrival, one constant fills the pages of scripture from Genesis to Revelation: Jesus is coming...and hope is coming with Him! | 11/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Negativism | Negative people…it doesn’t matter what the circumstance or situation; a negative person can always find something to complain about. He can always find the bad, even in the midst of good. She always points out the ugly, even in the midst of beauty. Give a negative person a free meal, and she’ll complain that it didn’t come with free dessert. Give him a raise, and he’ll lament that it’s too little, too late. There’s just no pleasing a negative person! If anyone ever had a reason to find the negative in His circumstances, it was Jesus. Yet no matter what He faced, even the death of one of HIs closest friends, He always maintained a positive outlook on His circumstances! He chose to find the good rather than the bad in this life! How about you? Are you jaded? Are you consumed with negativism? Do you not only BELIEVE the worst about your circumstances, but actually SEEK it out and find it? | 11/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Criticism | In one of their most popular songs, U2 sang, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." While it's true that we all have desires and longings in this world that remain unquenched, can it be said that we don't find what we look for? Quite the opposite seems to be true. With the exception of car keys or the occasional pen, if we start off with a predisposition in mind, we often find exactly what we are seeking. If we look for the bad in people, that is exactly what we will find. If we move beyond just BELIEVING the worst about people and actually start LOOKING for it, we will soon discover that this world is just as depraved as we initially believed. Maybe we should stop being so critical. Maybe it's time that we stopped all this criticism and decided to show a little kindness. | 11/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Pessimism | Is the glass half-empty...or half-full? | 11/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Cynicism | When we were younger, life used to be fun, like a carnival or a theme park. But now, for some of us...it’s just dark, lonely, and hopeless. Many of us have found ourselves disillusioned. We have been hurt repeatedly. We have been burned too often. Life hasn't gone our way. We've been divorced, betrayed, and/or fired. They've lied about us, spread rumors about us, and stabbed us in the back. We've seen corruption in the government, corruption on Wall Street, corruption in the church, and even corruption in ourselves?! And what's the result of it all? We've. Become. Jaded. We have begun to assume the worst about people and the worst about our circumstances. It takes more and more to impress us or move us or challenge our thinking. We tend to think that we’ve seen it all, we’ve heard it all, we already know the end of this story. We've become hard, calloused, unaffected by the things that used to affect us. We've formed a protective barrier around our hearts, like crime scene tape around the scene of an terrible crime...because we have been victimized one too many times, and we won’t let it happen again! So what's the point? Is there any hope left? Is there any way to rise above it all, to find the kind of faith in God that can chip away at our jaded hearts? If cynicism lacks courage, how can we ever muster the courage to believe God for something different?! | 10/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Benefits Package | So what IS God calling you to do in this global revolution called the church? Whatever it is...get out there and do it! As you offer your gifts freely and passionately, you also receive the benefit of the other members of the body doing the same thing, meaning that the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts and meaning that you get more out than you actually put in! When you invest all you have into the church, God promises that He’ll give you far more in return! The body will care for you! The body will support you! The body will love you! The body will be there for you when you need it! It’s beautiful, like a melodic chorus, our gifts and offerings echoed by those around us! The benefits are innumerable! | 10/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Job Descriptions | God has called us to engage in His one and only plan for changing the world...the church! We are not all the same. We have different gifts, different passions, different burdens...different skin colors, different nationalities, different heritages...yet despite all of our differences, each one of us is an integral part of the body! Without each person fulfilling his calling with reckless abandon, the whole body suffers...and consequently, so does the whole world! What is God calling you to do in His global revolution? Are you an eye? Do you provide vision and leadership for others? Are you an ear? Are you keenly in tune with the guidance and direction the Holy Spirit whispers to us? Are you a hand or foot? Has God called you to get busy doing the work of the church? Are you a spine? Does your support and strength enable the rest of the body to do their functions well? Whatever He’s called you to do...get out there and do it! | 10/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Vacation Policy | When interviewing for a new job, most people have the same question on their minds but are afraid to ask. “What is the vacation policy?” We would like to know how much time we get to take off, but we do not want to sound too eager to get paid to sleep in. If we are to look at the church through a parable of a corporation and if we are its employees…do we get time off? Some people only come to church on Christmas and Easter, and if we are more faithful than that, we’ve got to have some time coming our way, right? How often can we sleep in on Sunday mornings…once a month? Is once a quarter a little more fair? Surely, we can’t be expected to make all 52 Sunday morning services without missing a single one! And that doesn’t even count Community group or any other outreach events! So what is the Vacation Policy? | 10/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I Am A Contagious Refugee | What does it mean to be contagious? The dictionary defines contagious as “tending to spread from person to person.” One of the indelible marks of a mature disciple, a mature follower of Christ, is that he is actively engaged in making more disciples; he is actively engaged in spreading the gospel from person to person. If our community and our world are not better places three years from now, we have failed - we have missed out on what God has called us to do! We have got to get outside of ourselves, outside of our own little worlds, and develop a heart for the things that God cares about! Every time we walk out of these doors into the world, we should have one question on our minds: “What’s next, God? How can I take what I received today and use it to change my world this week?" We have got to learn to be contagious! I Am A Contagious Refugee...how 'bout you? | 9/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I Am An Engaged Refugee | The Refuge might meet in a theater, but it is certainly NOT a theater. We do not exist to entertain the masses on Sunday mornings or to satiate our own personal selfish ambitions. We are bigger than one person, one pastor, one team, or one ministry! We are a melting pot of races, ethnicities, backgrounds, gifts, and socio-economics! Why? Because God hasn’t called us to be a church that only reaches people like us; He has called us to be a safe place for all! An engaged refugee is a refugee that brings all of his gifts to the table, leaves his ego at the door, and says, “Here I am, Lord; use me!” God is calling all of us to get engaged in expanding our borders and our outreach to effect change in more and more lives! Ten of thousands of people (including our own children) are counting on it! I Am An Engaged Refuge...Are You? | 9/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I Am A Connected Refugee | 8:46am American Airlines flight 11 hit the North tower…9:02am United Airlines flight 175 hit the South tower…9:37am American Airlines flight 77 hit The Pentagon…9:59 the South Tower fell…10:03am United Airlines flight 93 was taken down by its hijackers and passengers in Somerset County, Pennsylvania…10:28am the North Tower collapsed…the country stood still. Where were you? Who did you call? Did you feel the sudden urge to contact the people you loved? As the feelings of anger, sadness, and fear filled your body, who did you talk to? Who did you connect with? Today at The Refuge, we will honor those who died, remember the sacrifice of those who came to help, and move forward step-by-step with those that we love. Whether tomorrow holds another tragedy, if I just have a bad day, or even if the day is wonderful, I can move forward because "I am a Connected Refugee.” | 9/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I Am A Worshiping Refugee | A genuine worship encounter with God is one of the most intimate experiences a person can share with Him, similar to intimacy between a husband and a wife. It can be breath-taking, exhilarating, moving, and life-changing. Do we have to see stars every time we worship? No. Do we have to burst into tears or take off our shoes? No. But you know what? If we’ve never had an worship encounter with God that shook us to our core, we’re probably doing it wrong! How can we stand in His presence and not be moved by Him?! How can we say we love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and yet trample the pearls of His presence, the pearls of worship?! God has called us to create soul-stirring worship celebrations every time we meet together at The Refuge! I Am Worshiping Refugee...Are You?! | 9/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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More Vision | We’ve got to get a healthy and godly perspective on our own spiritual journeys. Many times we view Christians the same way we view professional athletes or musicians, as though some are just more gifted and more qualified to be successful than others! But the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth! God has given each of us all the tools we need to be successful, to be close to Him, to unlock the potential for which He gave His life to help us unlock! Spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible reading, scripture memorization, fasting, etc. will work for you! Getting plugged in to a ministry at your church will work for you! Sharing your faith will work for you! Finding your song and worshiping Him will work for you! Growing closer to Him will work for you! There are no super-Christians; Christianity will work for you! What is the vision that God has given you? Where do you see yourself spiritually today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now, a lifetime from now? Whatever vision God has placed in your heart, go get it! Whatever calling He’s placed on your life, go do it! How? By asking, “What’s next?!” It’s not all going to happen right now! And guaranteed, it’ll be a lot of work! But in the end, if you will get up every day of your life believing that God will bring to fruition the vision for your life that He has placed in your heart, and if you will ask Him every day, “What’s next?!” you will be the “super-Christian” you always dreamed of being! What’s next?! More Vision! | 8/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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More Action | We have to remember that tomorrow never comes; spiritual progress requires action NOW, not later. Sometimes we can become so “future-minded” that we miss all the opportunities that are right in front of us every day! We can allow our dreams and visions of grandeur (both manmade and God-given) to overshadow the next step that God is calling us to take in order to achieve the potential He sees locked up inside of us! This is why spiritual disciplines like daily prayer, Bible study, scripture memorization, fasting, etc. are so essential to spiritual progress, because ten years from now we won’t act like a man or woman who has spent countless hours building a relationship with God if we don’t spend a few minutes building a relationship with Him TODAY! We have to learn to ask "What’s next TODAY?!" If we are going to move from God-Doubters to God-Seekers and from God-Seekers to God-Lovers, we can’t worry about what God might do with us five years from now, ten years from now, twenty years from now...until we know and do what He’s called us to do TODAY! What’s next?! More Action! | 8/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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More Humility | Isn’t it nice to sit back and remember the great things that have happened in our lives? Isn’t it refreshing to think back to the things God has done for us? I can vividly remember my wedding day and the incredible feeling of love and thankfulness that I felt. August 2, 2009 was a great day, as well; a brand new church started! There was electricity in the air, and we could just feel God moving in the house! Even just a few weeks ago, I sat and proudly listened to the testimonies of those who had gone to Africa and Alabama for mission’s work and heard about the lives from our own church that were forever changed by those experiences. Those were great memories. Those were wonderful times. The thoughts of those experiences warm my heart. Thinking back on those times makes me want to brag about how awesome those experiences were. But over time, memories fade. Our church is 2 years old now; it’s not the first day anymore. My wife and I were married over 5 years ago…the wedding is over. We can’t re-live and brag about past successes forever. What we need is More Humility. | 8/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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More Grace | Living in the moment. It seems like such a simple concept, yet it is anything but simple. For some, the moment always serves the will of the past. We are paralyzed by regret. We are tormented by shame. And we are enslaved by the fear of failure. The shortcomings of our past haven’t served to catapult us to greater victories and successes; they have shackled us, hamstrung us, cornered us in the dungeons of our own fears, ensuring that Today will always be subservient to Yesterday. We have to learn to put the past failures behind us! Our past failures should teach us about God’s grace and help us avoid future pitfalls, but we should never allow them paralyze us with guilt and shame! Why would we refuse to cancel our debt to God when He has already canceled it? How can we press on to finish the race and receive the prize when we’re consumed with the regrets of yesterday? We must learn to offer ourselves the same grace that He offers us! We must learn to forget the past...our past! After all, He already has! What’s Next? More Grace! | 8/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Reaching Out | We have been stretching ourselves, Reaching Up, and embracing a willingness to be used by God. We have been Reaching In and joining with others to fulfill His will. We have been Reaching Down, humbling ourselves, and looking for opportunities to help others in need! Now what? Who is it that we are supposed to help? Who are we supposed to look for? How will we know when it is our time to act? Are we all supposed to travel to foreign countries? Are we all supposed to quit our jobs and live with the impoverished? Are we all supposed to start an orphanage? What is expected of us? How exactly are we supposed to Reach Out? | 7/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Reaching Down | So you want to change the world, do you? You want to do something that's going to impact people for years, decades, centuries to come? But where do you start? How do you decide where to invest your time, your talent, your treasure? Who is most worthy of a helping hand...children, the aged, the sick, the impoverished?! How are you supposed to decide? What if I told you that God Himself needed your help? What if I told you that He was hungry, He was homeless, and He was abandoned? And what if I told you that you were the only one that could help? Would you? Could you? Are you ready for the revolution?! | 7/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Reaching In | Changing the world is a lofty goal, and yet, as goals go, it's extremely common! After all, we all want to make a difference, to leave our footprint on the world, to believe that our existence is part of a greater purpose! Still, we can't ALL change the world, can we? We can't all start orphanages overseas...or serve the poor in abject poverty...or abolish slavery through political influence, right?! So what about the rest of us? How are we supposed to leave our mark on this world? How do we create a revolution in our world while we're still here, in our little corner of it? Before we reach out to the world, we first must learn to reach in, to join forces with likeminded people, to love and support one another while embracing our role in God's master plan! Whether we serve as missionaries in China or mailmen in Chicago, teachers in Africa or tailors in Atlanta, relief workers in Haiti or retail workers on Hilton Head Island, God has given each of us a critical role to play in his global revolution! Are you ready for the Revolution?! | 7/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Reaching Up | What would happen if every one of us decided that we were committed, sold out, to letting God use us to create a revolution in this life?! What would happen if we weren’t intimidated by the size of the problems facing the world today?! Global hunger, dirty water, disease pandemics, human trafficking, false religions...what if every one of us believed that we could make a difference?! What would happen if we really believed the words of the Apostle John: “...the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” 1 John 4:4 NLT What would happen if every David defeated every Goliath?! Are you ready for the REVOLUTION?! | 7/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Yes Entrustment | Sharing our faith can be difficult not to personalize. Too many times we rely on our own strengths and abilities, our own powers of persuasion, to usher others into the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet the truth is that only the Holy Spirit has the power to change a heart and win a soul, and He is always working! He is a relentless force. He never tires! He never sleeps! And He is always moving in people’s hearts and lives to bring them to a place of understanding and repentance! We should never fall into the trap of believing that sharing our faith is about us; it’s not! It’s about lost souls, the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit! Never underestimate Him! No one is beyond His reach! So next time you feel like you're not making a difference in this world, like all you ever hear is "No," maybe it's time you tried...The YES Entrustment! | 6/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Yes Endurance | Sharing our faith can be difficult to rationalize, especially when we so rarely see immediate results. It can be so disheartening to share our hearts and souls with someone, only to have him refuse our offerings of life and grace! There is only so much “rejection” we can endure before it’s only natural to question our efficacy as His witnesses and consider bailing on the whole process. It's true...sharing your faith is not for the weak or the timid because you won’t always get a “Yes!” And that’s why endurance is so important! If you’ve ever felt insecure about sharing your faith, if you’ve ever felt spiritually impotent, if you struggle with self-confidence, you’ve got to learn to keep going, to never give up! You’ve got to learn...The Yes Endurance! | 6/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Yes Engagement | Have you ever been engaged in a conversation when a question or an idea about God is brought up? Has your next thought ever been, “Man, I wish (fill in person’s name here) was here. They’d be able to explain this much better than I could!”? The strange thing is, God didn’t put that person there; He put you there! Have you ever had the thought, “It’s not like my life is perfect. What gives me the right to tell someone else what they should do? I’m not a Bible-scholar. I’m not a pastor. I’m not even really that comfortable talking to people about God. With all the other qualified people in the world sharing the gospel, why should I get involved?" If you've ever felt like this before, this message is for you! Just wait until you hear about “The Yes Engagement.” | 6/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Yes Experience | Sharing our faith has never been more critical than it is right now. If we really believe in Life After Death, as we talked about in April, and if we really believe that the joy of the Lord is our strength, as we talked about in May during iSing, then it is paramount that we make a conscious decision not to hoard the hope of humanity in holy huddles! After all, God has called us to take the gospel to the world! But let’s be honest. Sometimes it gets old being told to share our faith over and over again, ad nauseam. Sometimes it seems more like a guilt trip than good news, both to us if we don’t share it and to the people with whom we’re supposed to be sharing. And why not? Despite what the vocal minority may tell us, sharing our faith can be difficult on a number of levels. First, it can be difficult to prioritize, especially with all of the distractions out there that pull us in other directions. In fact, the reality is that without a genuine encounter with the Holy Spirit, one in which we are tangibly endued with power and genuinely burdened for the lost, it is likely that we will never truly make disciples of others on any sort of consistent basis. So...what do you say? Are you ready for...The Yes Experience?! | 6/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Capturing Your Song | God has given each of us a new song to sing! Every once in a while we’ll stumble across it, almost by accident, and begin to hum a few bars. But it’s melody remains elusive; it just doesn’t come out naturally. And so we hang our harps on the poplar trees, and instead of singing, we just keep chanting the depressing drones of the Enemy as we find ourselves consumed with doubts, fears, and cynicism. We don’t sing songs of gratitude and faith and worship and joy; we moan about our disappointments! We complain about our circumstances! We’re cynical! We’re caustic! We’re sardonic! In fact, sometimes it seems like we're singing the same song that everyone else is singing! But today...it's time for a change! It’s time to take the harp out of the poplar tree! It’s time to sing a different song than everyone else! It’s time to rejoice! It’s time to fix our thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable! It’s time to pray about our needs and thank Him for all that He has done for us! It’s time to guard our hearts and minds with the peace that comes from knowing that He alone is God! It’s time to fight the good fight against the Enemy of our Souls by singing the melodies of our Savior! It’s time to capture the song that God has already placed in our hearts! And once we do...it’s time to sing! | 5/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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A Mom's Song | Mary’s song is probably the most famous song ever written by a female artist, and she wrote it at arguably the most uncertain and confusing time in her life (perhaps second only to the time of the crucifixion)! It is absolutely amazing how this young woman was able to find her song in the midst of less than ideal circumstances! An unplanned pregnancy, a social faux pas, an uncertain future (what would Joseph say and do?), and an angelic visitation (was she going crazy?) couldn’t keep her from singing the song that God placed in her heart, a song filled with joy, faith, gratitude, and praise, a song that we all should be singing! | 5/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Finding Your Song | Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Psalm 100:2 NLT Singing is more than just words coming out of our mouths at varying pitches; it's more than finding the right harmony or even knowing what harmony is. To truly worship God, to genuinely sing with joy, we have to learn to sing our song! But what does that even mean? What is my song? How do I find it? And once I find do, what do I do next? How is my life different once I’ve got it? Join us this morning as we explore ways to tap into the secret song of our souls; let's find our songs together! | 5/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Head of Death | For thirty-three years He walked among us, as One of us. His followers were convinced that this God-man had what it took to turn the tide of the whole war. They were convinced that He would conquer the world in power! Until...something horrible happened! Public sentiment turned! The more miracles He did, the more people He healed, the more life He gave, the more they wanted to kill Him, to stop Him, to defeat Him! And they did! They took our Hero, betrayed Him, arrested Him, slandered Him, humiliated Him, tortured Him, condemned Him, and then nailed His hands and His feet to a tree! It was the darkest day creation had ever known. The sun refused to shine. The Father refused to look. His mutilated body hung there, for hours, naked, alone...gasping for breath...until, with a shout to the Heavens, He left this world, and the mutilated carcass that had housed His majesty hung there as a witness. The war was over. The battle was lost. Evil had won. Or had it? | 4/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Hope of Death | Beepbeep...beepbeep...beepbeep...beeeeeeeeep. "I'm sorry. We did everything that we could, but we lost him...he's gone." What's next? For the family and friends left behind, there's grief and mourning. But what about the one who left? Lost and gone seem to point to a change of location. Where do we go? What's on the other side of the curtain? What, if anything, is "The Hope of Death?" | 4/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Hole of Death | There’s no other way to describe it...death stings, period! There is no lonelier feeling on earth than the feeling evoked by the death of a loved one, nothing more bitter, paralyzing, or emasculating! It leaves those in its wake reeling and powerless! To God, while death as an act of discipline was very valuable in securing our eternal salvation, it was also very costly to Him personally! It cost Him a daily, physical relationship with Adam and Eve. It cost Him a daily, physical relationship with billions of others through the centuries. And it cost Him the agony of having to witness the literal death of every one of His children since time began! Imagine that...experiencing death a billion times over! If God attends the funeral of every sparrow (Matthew 10:29), this must be agonizing! So if anyone understands the hole that death leaves in our lives, it's Him! | 4/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Heart of Death | What happens when we die? Is there some great light? Do we return to the earth in some other form? Are we rewarded for the good we’ve done or punished for the bad? Do we just start over from scratch? Is death eternal rest, or even just the end of existence altogether? These are the questions that have sparked debates, spawned religions, and spanned millennia! Every generation, every culture, every race...all have wrestled with questions like these because we all want to know: is there really Life After Death? | 4/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Scarlet Uniform | Israel’s history is a sorted one! The writings of the Old Testament reveal that they spent more time rebelling than surrendering, more time incurring God’s wrath than inciting His grace and favor! Time and time again, they would break His covenant, and time and time again they would turn back to Him once the consequences of their actions had caught up with them! A cycle of prosperity, complacency, rebellion, disaster, and repentance was repeated nearly as often as the word “begat” is in Genesis!Eventually Israel’s propensity for failure led to her exile by the Assyrians and Babylonians. God had long promised that her continual rebellion would forfeit His protection and favor, and soon she found herself in slavery once more, “back in Egypt” so to speak, just as her ancestors once were! But we’re not much different than Israel, are we?! We repeat the cycle of spiritual prosperity, spiritual complacency, spiritual rebellion, spiritual disaster, and spiritual repentance perhaps even more frequently than she did! And all of us eventually find that we have been enslaved by our actions, as well, don't we?! That's why I'm thankful for...The Scarlet Uniform! | 3/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Scarlet Rope | -- | 3/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Scarlet Wool | It’s not a very popular notion in our society today. In fact, it frankly seems a bit antiquated. While many of the teachings of Scripture seem to span the chasms of religion, culture, and time, perhaps the most important one of all comes across like a relic, a cornerstone laid when the foundation was poured and long since forgotten. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” For the vast majority of the nearly seven million people alive on this planet today, such a concept seems ignorant, if not barbaric. Gone are the days of animal and child sacrifices to appease the gods, by and large. Behind us are notions of virgins being sacrificed to fire-breathing dragons bent on terrorizing unsuspecting villages. Not since childhood have most of us equated changes in weather patterns with the mood of the celestial spirits. And so it follows, then, that the idea of amnesty being purchased through the savagery of death seems both inequitable and dangerously irreversible. Surely God is not that backward! Surely something so divine could never be so demanding! But just wait'll you hear about...The Scarlet Wool! | 3/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Scarlet String | The story of Judah’s family is a picture of the devastation and dysfunction that sin wreaks in our lives! And at the same time, the odd account of the birth of his twin boys, Perez and Zerah, is one of the first glimpses that we get into His master plan of redemption. From the outset, God never intended for us to experience the pervasive depths of dysfunction that grip most of our lives. Yet from the beginning, despite all of our sins, despite all of our dysfunction, despite all of our mistakes and regrets, God has been reaching out His hand to redeem us. In fact, Scripture tells us that before time began, He had already begun to weave a scarlet thread of redemption through the pages of history! | 3/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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They Like Us...Do We Like Them? | Bible Studies, Men’s Groups, Women’s Retreats, Youth Group, Community Group, Worship Team-Church is chock-full of group activities. This sets us apart from the rest of the world. The rest of the world does life alone, and church has the market cornered on community, right? Bars, clubs, Facebook, Twitter, support groups, movie theaters-you name the location and you will find people engaged in community in one form or another. Humans are meant to live in community. We were designed to share our experiences, our successes, and our failures. We, at The Refuge, believe that the best way to see real life change is in community. If we desire to see our unsaved friends come to know Christ, what is the best way to help them find this change in their lives…this life change? They are our friends. They like us-do we like them? | 2/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I Like You...Do You Like Me? | We were never designed to go through this life alone. In fact, God designed us in such a way that we are literally incapable of surviving without other people. Research has shown that infants who go extended periods of time without being touched have a MUCH higher mortality rate than those who receive ample physical stimulation! There’s no denying it...medical research, psychological research, and Scripture agree: we need other people in our lives! We need to be close to them. We need to open up to them. We need to share with them. We need to be touched by them. And we need what they have to offer us, as well! That’s why we’re so passionate about Community! Because we need each other to become the people God has called us to be! Because Community is absolutely essential in our lives! And because without it, we will die...socially, emotionally, sometimes even physically, and worst of all, spiritually! I love Community. I need you. I like you...do you like me? | 2/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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You Like Me…Do I Like You? | Community should be more than a fling, more than a good feeling, more than a one night stand. It should outlast the schoolyard and outlive our young spiritual crushes. It should stand the test of time and survive the advances of competing suitors like Distance, Distractions, and Disappointments! After all, it’s not about us...it’s about Community! And if we are going to allow Community to capture our hearts once more, if the Church is ever to pursue it the way it once did thousands of year ago, we’re going to have to realize the critical roles that we play in that pursuit! Growing up doesn’t have to mean growing apart. We can still maintain a passionate love affair with Community. We don’t have to allow time and distance and boredom to rob us of one of the most beautiful things on earth! But if we do, we won’t just be cheating ourselves; we’ll be cheating the people God has called us to help and hang with in Community! | 2/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Staying Out of a Rut | We are, by nature, habitual people. Once out of a rut, how do we counteract this habit and STAY out of the rut? How do we ensure that we don’t just spin our wheels aimlessly? If brokenness is the key to getting out of the rut, how do we stay broken? How do we avoid going back into the well-worn tracks of lethargy and ignorance on our road of life? What if we simply cannot escape the ruts? What if the ruts involve a job or an obligation that we just simply cannot leave? How can we keep our spirit fresh when we feel trapped? | 2/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Breaking Out of a Rut | Ruts, by definition, aren’t usually very deep; yet once you’re in one, it can be nearly impossible to get out of! Momentum, convenience, comfort, fear...all of these are good reasons to remain in the realm of the familiar and avoid anything that might upset the increasingly boring applecart! Yet every day in a rut can feel like an eternity, a real-life Groundhog Day, a predictable, never-ending saga that offers nothing but more of the same. And the harsh, sometimes scary reality is this: if you’re going to have something you’ve never had, you’re going to have to do something you’ve never done! Maintaining the status quo never once ushered in a new era in medicine, industry, or technology! Doing things “the way they’ve always been done” never started a revolution or changed a political landscape! And following Christ with an immature, uninspired, pedestrian, cookie-cutter kind of faith and passion never once killed a giant, parted a sea, healed the blind, or raised the dead! It's time for a change! It's time for something different! It's time to break out of that rut! | 1/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Don't Give Up…Worship One More Time | Sometimes in life we face walls that are just too big to scale, challenges that are just too great to be overcome! We plan. We scheme. We manipulate and maneuver. Yet nothing we do changes our circumstances. If anything, it only makes them more challenging! The walls still stand before us, mocking us, and we feel so small and helpless to affect change! Yet God calls us to worship Him anyway, to trust and obey! Even when we know that the walls are still out there somewhere, even when we come face-to-face with them and are reminded of our own frailty, faith compels us to believe that He is faithful and able. Faith compels us to worship Him despite our circumstance, to express our trust by practicing obedience! When you've reached the end of your rope, when the walls seem like they're never going fall...Don't Give Up...Worship One More Time | 1/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Don't Give Up…Believe One More Time | When approaching a green light in the distance you see it turn yellow and you instinctively let off the accelerator. Why? You know from your past experiences that this pattern will end in a red light. This is a certainty. You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will need to stop soon. Someone that has hurt you multiple times in the past shows up again. They are sorry; they want to fix the relationship. But just like the pattern of green-yellow-red, you’ve seen this before. You learn from past hurts, past mistakes, past letdowns and use these experiences to predict the future. We’ve all heard the saying “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” But what if we’re wrong? What if we don’t see the whole picture? What will we miss if we aren’t willing to “Believe One More Time?” | 1/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Don't Give Up…Give One More Time | Many times we face monumental financial crises, despite an unyielding commitment to hard work and fiscal responsibility! The economy tanks, sales leads dry up, new customers stop coming, existing customers cut back, and businesses begin laying off workers that they never imagined they would have to lay off! All of our efforts and longterm planning seem pointless! We are in over our heads, and every effort at staying afloat is an exercise in futility! Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve toiled all night. Maybe you have no hope of ever getting over the financial hump and being free from the worries or concerns of this life! But Jesus says, “Keep throwing your nets out...one more time. Keep practicing good stewardship...one more time! Keep working hard...one more time! Keep investing wisely...one more time! Keep being faithful in the little things, and stop trying to keep your religion separate from your finances! Your livelihood and your calling can remain separated no longer! Don’t quit! A blessing awaits...one more time!” | 1/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Don't Give Up…Surrender One More Time | Sometimes life can seem so pointless, so futile, so empty! We face walls that just won’t fall, sicknesses that just can’t be cured, shortages that just can’t be supplied. And despite all of our best efforts, nothing we do seems to change our situation or circumstances! But what if we took a page from Nigel Tufnel’s theory from the movie This Is SpinalTap? What if we "turned it up to 11"? What if 2011 was the year of one more? What if this was the year that we refused to accept the status quo or life as we know it?! What if we held on to the promises of God and refused to let go no matter how hopeless the situation became? What if we surrendered to obedience and worshiped when facing unscalable walls?! What if we worshiped...one more time? Surrendered...one more time? Gave...one more time? Trusted...one more time? Forgave...one more time? Hoped...one more time? What if 2011 was the Year...of One More Time? | 1/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Home Is Where The Praise Is | Two thousand years ago, that first Christmas marked the birth of peace on earth, the presence of God among men, and the heart of God raw and exposed for the first time in the form of His Son! The day had finally arrived...God had made His home among us! All month long we've been talking about getting back to the roots of Christmas...experiencing the presenCE of God rather than the presenTS of the season! It's time for us to take our lead from Jesus; it's time that we came home for Christmas! When an angel appeared to a virgin girl named Mary to announce that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God, Mary's response was one of humility and praise! No wonder the Father chose her; no wonder He felt so comfortable entrusting His Son with her! After all…"Home Is Where The Praise Is" | 12/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Home Is Where The Heart Is | Why did God choose Joseph and Mary? Of all the people on the planet, what was it about this couple that made them uniquely qualified to raise the Son of God on earth? Long ago Isaiah had described what Jesus’ mother would be like, a description that defied logic and reason. "All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)." Isaiah 7:14 NLT The virgin will conceive? How is that even possible? How could a virgin get pregnant? As a matter of fact, Mary asked exactly the same question. And yet it happened. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin. At first, Joseph didn’t believe it, either. But when an angel appeared explaining everything that was happening, Joseph not only accepted his role as the caretaker of God’s Son, he embraced it! He married his fiance while continuing to live as though they were merely engaged, refraining from sexual intimacy with her until his newborn Son arrived in the world! No wonder the Father chose them; His sinless, spotless, perfect Son was coming into an ugly, dirty, perverted world! He wasn’t looking for palatial accommodations and luxurious amenities; He was looking for a diamond in the rough, some place, any place, that had not been infected by the disease of sin! Tangible demonstrations of genuine purity were just as rare two thousand years ago as they are today! The Father wasn’t looking for an incubator for His Son to be born in; He was looking for a suitable home for His only child, His life, His heartbeat, His very heart! After all..."Home Is Where The Heart Is..." | 12/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Home Is Where The Presence Is | You sit down for lunch with some friends when...BZZZZ BEEP...your leg pocket buzzes as a text comes in. A few minutes go by and...BZZZZ BEEP...another. Then a facebook status update comes in followed by the notification that you were tagged in a photo, another photo, another photo. You've had enough, so you silence your phone...just in time to pay the bill and go back to work. In these days of instant communication, we seem to be communicating less and less. We yearn for contact; we yearn to be understood, to have our voice heard, and to hear the voices of others. But too often, we hide behind a cell phone or a computer monitor. What would happen if we gave the gift of our attention? After all..."Home Is Where The Presence Is." | 12/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Home Is Where The Peace Is | For many people, Christmas isn’t about giving; it’s about measuring up, keeping up with the Joneses, satisfying the expectations with which society has burdened us. We love the holidays, but we dread them, too. We race from party to party, heap burden upon burden, and obliterate our budgets! And many times we overspend not out of the goodness of our hearts, but rather because we worship at the idol of other people’s expectation. We think that we have to buy the things we buy because we lack the humility (or is it humiliation?) to do what we know is right regardless of what others think of us. We can’t experience the depth of God’s presence this Christmas (or any other time of the year) if pride is in our hearts. Pride cost Adam and Eve an eternity in paradise. It cost Lucifer an eternity in Heaven. And it will cost us more than we can afford to pay, too! If Jesus didn't care about the expectations that others placed on Him, why should we? If He was at peace in His own skin, why aren't we? We'll never figure out how "to be home for Christmas" until we can master that! After all...Home Is Where The Peace Is | 12/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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When People Surround You | We build walls in an attempt to keep others from getting too close...too close to hurt us. The problem is that hurt and pain still get in - the negatives of life always seem to find their way through the cracks. No matter how hard we try to protect ourselves, the suffering we try so hard to avoid still finds us. When will we learn that despite our best efforts, we cannot build walls that are totally free of holes, cracks, and drafts? What we can build are relationships that are far more protective than our walls. When hurt gets in, we need others! When pain rears its ugly head, we need to know how to accept love and care! When life happens, we need to know what it's like When People Surround Us! | 11/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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When People Surprise You | Sometimes people surprise us with amazingly generous acts of kindness and loyalty, and yet too often we are too conceited, too insecure, or too myopic to respond appropriately. Maybe we feel that we are entitled to the blessings they offer. Maybe we feel patronized by them or indebted to them. Or maybe we just simply don’t notice at all because we are so consumed with our own self-interests! So what should we do with that? How should we react when people come through for us in ways we never imagined? Do we arrogantly assume ourselves to be worthy of whatever blessings they send our way? Do we pervert their generosity by treating their gifts as loans that have to repaid? Do we remain so self-absorbed that we don’t even notice? Or do we respond with gratitude, encouragement, and loyalty? Do we allow the humility and blessings of others to humble us and expand our worldview beyond the scope of our own myopic tendencies? Sooner or later, people will surprise you with amazing acts of selflessness and generosity. And what you do next could be the difference between a life of t[w]ogetherness and a life of broken community. What will you do...When People Surprise You?! | 11/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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When People Surpass You | Jesus’ disciples were constantly jockeying for position as they squabbled about who was the greatest, who had the most influence, and who would be given the greatest rewards in Heaven! Jesus was consistently having to reign them in, to reframe greatness in the context of the Kingdom of Heaven. “The first shall be last,” He would say. “Whoever is the least among you is the greatest,” He would challenge them. Most of us can relate. We spend the bulk of our youth trying to figure out who we are, what we’re good out, where we excel, and how to leave our footprints on this world. Yet it seems that about the time we begin to figure it out, about the time we begin to get a handle on who we are and who God created us to be, another generation comes along pushing us, challenging us, stretching us, and competing with us for the hard-earned psychological real estate that we’ve acquired through the journeys of self-awareness and self-discovery! So what do we do with that? Do we mimic the immaturity of the early disciples and, in turn, mimic the power struggles of the Kingdom of Earth? Do we arrogantly declare it to be a dog-eat-dog world and dismiss our pride and selfishness as self-preservation? Or do we mimic John the Baptist, who said of Jesus, “He must increase; I must decrease.”? Do we model our lives after the life of Christ, who said without a hint of insecurity that we would do even greater works than He did because He was returning to God the Father? | 11/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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When People Sadden You | Few things in life are harder to deal with than the emotions evoked when someone we love, trust, and/or are counting on lets us down! It makes us feel unloved. It makes us feel unimportant. It makes us feel disgraced and discredited. It makes us feel alone! Yet every one of us knows what it means to be both on the giving and on the receiving end of such a monumental relationship crisis! So what should we do with that? How should we react when we’re left holding the broken pieces of a shattered heart? Should we lash out in revenge? Should we use the hurt as an excuse to assume an authoritative, patronizing role in their lives, like a power-hungry teacher? Should we cut them off to ensure they’ll never hurt us again? The answers, though not always cut-and-dry, can be found in the way that Jesus dealt with those that disappointed Him. When people sadden us…we can let it destroy community in our lives…or we can use it to better learn how to live t[w]ogether. Which will you choose? | 11/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Where You Gonna Take It? | LOVE. GO. If all of Jesus’ teachings could be summed up in two words, they would be LOVE and GO. Love begs the question, “Who?” And the answer is easy enough: “All.” Go begs the question, “Where?” He said to go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. I’m not sure I even know where they are! So if we want to Go, and take the gospel “Outside Our Own Little World”…we must answer the question, “Where You Gonna Take It?” | 10/31/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Who You Gonna Take? | Despite the high praise that today's church tends to heap on the early church, the similarities between the two entities are striking. The first church council, recorded in Acts 15, was mandated because of the strong divisions in the early church, particularly between the Jewish and Gentile believers. In fact, as early as Acts 6, when the first deacons (including Stephen) were elected, there were differences of opinions strong enough to cause the believers to fight and squabble amongst themselves. And even after the council’s ruling in Acts 15, Paul continued to teach his “yoke,” his interpretation of the Scriptures in person and in his writings, even though some of those views (like eating food offered to idols) defied the consensus of the council! No wonder the church failed, right?! Except that it hasn’t! It has boomed! It has grown! And every major division in church history since then has also aided the proliferation of the gospel, from the rise of Eastern Orthodoxy to the Protestant Reformation to Emerging Churches of the 21st Century! God has taken our differences, our unique wiring, and our life experiences to evolve the church through the centuries to reach more and more people! Maybe it's time we stopped majoring on our differences! Maybe it's time we stopped viewing denominations and variant interpretations of Scripture as harmful and started realizing that God is still using our diversity today to saturate the globe with the gospel! Maybe it's time we partnered with others who are committed to getting outside their own little worlds and focused on sharing the simple message of the gospel with everything we have! The world is waiting...Who You Gonna Take? | 10/24/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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What's It Gonna Take? | Despite Jesus’ instructions to take the gospel beyond Jerusalem into the rest of Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, despite all that God had done and continued to do in Jerusalem, the vast majority of Jesus’ followers were still huddled in the safety and security of home, where they seemed content to stay and hoard the hope of the world. So what changed? What had to happen to motivate these believers to get out of their comfort zones and take Jesus to world? Was it another pep talk? A gentle reminder? Another mighty move of the Holy Spirit like on the day of Pentecost? No! It was ugly! It was painful! And it didn’t seem to have anything to do with God or the message of Jesus at all! What was it? It was persecution! It was difficulty! It was a tearing of the very fabric of the status quo! The believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, not to spread the gospel, but simply to escape the wrath of the Sanhedrin! And if these “awful” things hadn’t happened, the gospel likely would have never spread beyond the cozy confines of Jerusalem! What did it take to get the gospel outside their own little world? It took all hell breaking loose! What’s it gonna take for you?! | 10/17/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Faithful | In life we tend to judge others based on their actions while judging ourselves based on our motives, which generally means that we judge others too harshly and ourselves too leniently. Likewise, we tend to judge most people based on the worst 10% of their lives while judging ourselves based on the best 10% of our own lives. Besides being patently unfair, this is also blatantly unscriptural. God doesn’t just look at the best or worst moments of our lives and pass judgment on us accordingly. Rather, God looks at the totality of our lives, the sum of the years that we’ve spent on earth to gauge our faithfulness. While we can never be good enough to make it to Heaven on our own, even Christians will be judged for their actions. Jesus said to follow Him. So...do we? Do we faithfully and consistently follow Him every day of our lives? If you were to take out the best and worst moments of our lives and simply weigh the middle 80%, the every day minutia when no one is looking, would there be enough evidence to label us Christ-followers? Will there be enough evidence to convict us of being faithful when we stand before His judgment seat? He's looking...for The Faithful! | 10/10/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Finish | You’re at the starting line, tucked into a crouch. You are in the race. You’ve trained for this; you are ready! BANG goes the starting pistol! You lurch forward! The race has begun! You’ve trained for this moment. Your feet are moving quickly and in the pace you’ve selected. Uh oh…through the beating footsteps, you can hear your heart pounding. Your side starts hurting; your stomach feels queasy. Your legs are on fire! Everything inside of you screams for you to stop. So-do you? Because entering the race is not enough; it’s all about The Finish. | 10/3/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Fight | In his 2008 book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a particular skill or field. The Beatles, he writes, performed live over 1,200 times in Hamburg, Germany between 1960 and 1964. By the time they returned to England, having already achieved 10,000 hours of live performing, they sounded like no one else. Bill Gates’ access to a high school computer in 1968 at the age of 13 at a time when computers weren’t commonplace gave him a unique opportunity. He would go on to spend over 10,000 hours programming that computer. Without that access, it is likely that Gates would not be worth $50 billion today. Being Christ-followers is the hardest single endeavor we will ever undertake because it literally violates every natural inclination that we have as sinful people. And one of the keys to success is self-denial! Before we can take up our cross or follow Him, before we can win the race and remain faithful, we have to turn from our selfish ways; we have to discipline ourselves like an athlete! Are you ready for The Fight?! | 9/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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What We Do | How many Christmases have you celebrated so far in your lifetime? Or better yet, how many more will you celebrate before your time on earth draws to a close. Jesus' half-brother, the Apostle James, wrote, "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone." Every passing moment is another moment lost forever. So what are you doing with the time you have left? The Apostle Paul wrote, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." According to Paul, we're like power tools; the power of infinite greatness resides deep within us, but only when we're firmly in the Master's hands! So what's it going to be? With the remaining Christmases you have left, do you want to unlock the power that is hidden inside you, the power to move mountains and change history? Do you want to spend the next year of your life doing what most people only dream of doing? Because WE are the called; WE are the chosen...and THAT is what we do! This is your life...are you who you want to be? | 9/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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What We Are | We, The Refugees, as a part of the Body of Christ, are called to reach the world. If The Refuge is a safe place, how do we let others know? When Jesus came to earth, He didn’t do ministry alone; He called disciples. After He called them, He didn’t just send them off into the world alone; He partnered with them. Together, they made a massive impact on this planet, but what about us? What can we do? What if we are asked a question we don’t know the answer to? What if we aren’t good enough? Let’s not go into the world alone; let’s partner together. This is your life, and you are in and partnered with a safe place to reach the world! | 9/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Who We Are | At the start of another school year, it’s time for us to get back in our routines, to set our schedules for the next few months and prioritize our time and our commitments. This presents us with a unique opportunity. What will the next year of our lives look like? Will it be fruitful? Will we be satisfied when we look back on it? Will we have anything to show for the energy we expend? Or will we be disappointed and filled with regrets? God has presented us with a unique opportunity at The Refuge. We have the chance to lead lives of tremendous significance over the next year! We have the opportunity to serve our community and impact our planet! And by fulfilling the vision that He has given us, we have the power and the authority to shake the very foundation of Hell! So what do you say? This is your life...are you who you want to be? | 9/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Look Who He's Making Me | During the 7th inning of a baseball game, fans are invited to stand up and stretch. After 6 1/2 innings of sitting and watching, “The 7th Inning Stretch” helps get the blood flowing, improving circulation and forcing motion where there has been stillness. In many ways, following Christ is very much like watching a baseball game. The first pitch begins at salvation, but the journey to victory, though sure, is long and arduous, often leading to stagnancy and complacency. The longer we sit and watch, it seems, the stiffer we become! But God, through His infinite grace and understanding, routinely provides opportunities for us to stretch! He doesn’t condemn our propensity toward spiritual complacency, nor does He just sit back and allow rigor mortis to render us obsolete and useless. Instead, He stretches us, inviting us to experience the rush of His Son’s blood racing through our veins afresh and anew, renewing our spirits by the breath of His Spirit and propelling us forward on our journey of faith. He calls us to grow closer to Him. He calls us to worship Him more genuinely and passionately. He calls us to greater conformity to the image of His Son. And all of that...is quite a stretch! | 8/29/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Look What He's Going To Do | I PROMISE! How many times have we said that? More importantly, how many times have we said it but not come through? And how many times have others not come through with their promises? In a world of broken promises and jaded expectations, it's no wonder that it's so hard to take God at His Word or believe that He'll come through when He says He will. Today, we'll explore what God has promised us (and what He has not promised us) as we learn to trust Him more. You might be surprised...just Look What He's Going To Do! | 8/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Look Who He Is | There are certain offices and positions in life that command respect, regardless of the individual who actually holds them. Pharaoh, Caesar, Queen, Prime Minister, President...these are positions whose holders have been revered through the centuries simply because of the title that preceded their names. Some were fantastic leaders who lived up to or even surpassed the greatness of their titles. Others fell far short of the expectations that accompanied their prestige, bringing dishonor to themselves and to their predecessors. But there’s one office that has only been filled by one Person, one office which demands such grandeur that there’s only been one Person worthy to fill it...God. Others have tried to usurp His authority and assume control of His throne. Billions have offered Him unsolicited advice and have been critical of the decisions He’s made. One person even attempted a coup d’etat. But alas, no one else has ever been worthy or capable of succeeded Him! After all, there is only one God...and He's the same yesterday, today, and forever! | 8/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Look What He's Done | From time to time, all of us need to revisit the miracles of God, to be reminded of all that God has done in, through, and around our lives. First, it’s helpful to remember what He’s done in us. The difference that Christ has made in our hearts, minds, and spirits is staggering. The changes in character are unexplainable. The about-face is undeniable. Next, it’s helpful to examine what Christ has done through us. God has done things through our lives that we never could have fathomed before we met Him! He’s transformed us from train wrecks to train switches, using us to literally alter the destinies of others. Finally, God has done great things around us! After all, it’s not about us! Not only does he transform our hearts and use us to transform others, but He also surrounds us with greatness, recruiting us to be a part of the most revolutionary movement mankind has ever known...the church! It’s like a little-leaguer being drafted by the Yankees or a pop-warner quarterback being recruited by the Cowboys. He does great things around us every day...and we are witnesses of His strength, power, compassion, and genius! | 8/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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To God Be The Glory | What would it be like to attend a church where people were loved no matter how much baggage they had, no matter how badly they had blown it, no matter where they were on their faith journey? What would it be like to build tradition instead of just adhering to it? What would it be like to learn how to love God and love people more authentically rather than learning how to follow a religion? What would it be like if church was the safest place on earth? Could such a place exist? And if so, could it be sustained? On August 2, 2009, that idea became a reality...and we've only just begun! | 8/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Stewarding Your Fullness | God has given us SO MUCH. And now, MUCH is required in return. And how we take care of His gift to us in part determines if we'll be ready when He returns. Whether you like it or not, Jesus is coming...and looking busy simply won't cut it. | 7/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Stewarding Your Knowledge | God has given us the gift of knowledge. It's not ours; it's His. But how we take care of His gift in part determines if we'll be ready when He returns. Whether you like it or not, Jesus is coming...and looking busy simply won't cut it. | 7/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Stewarding Your Food | God has given us the gift of food, the ability to feed people...emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It's not ours; it's His. But how we take care of His gift in part determines if we'll be ready when He returns. Whether you like it or not, Jesus is coming...and looking busy simply won't cut it. | 7/11/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Stewarding Your Freedom | God has given us the gift of freedom. It's not ours; it's His. But how we take care of His gift in part determines if we'll be ready when He returns. Whether you like it or not, Jesus is coming…and looking busy simply won't cut it. | 7/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Pits | Sometimes the most destructive weapons are the ones that don't seem to be weapons at all. | 6/20/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Conflict | Sometimes the most destructive weapons are the ones that don't seem to be weapons at all. | 6/13/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Tongue | Sometimes the most destructive weapons are the ones that don't seem to be weapons at all. | 6/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Bought With A Price | Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you...Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, and the other for your freedom. | 5/30/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hydrogen Bonds | At the core of who we are, all of us just want to belong! After all...it is not good for man to be alone! | 5/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Covalent Bonds | At the core of who we are, all of us just want to belong! All of us want to be able to take off the mask and stop performing every once in a while. But can we? Are we safe to do that in the personal spaces in our lives? Are others safe to do that with us?! | 5/16/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Polar Bonds | At the core of who we are, all of us just want to belong! But is it possible to experience significant belonging in social spaces? Is it okay for socializing and church to mix? | 5/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Ionic Bonds | At the core of who we are, all of us just want to belong! But is it possible to experience significant belonging in public spaces? Can we feel at home when we're surrounded by large groups of people? | 5/2/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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He Calls Us | God has plans for our lives, visions that He has breathed into our spirits. And when enough of us begin fulfilling those visions, He brings us together...and He calls us the church! It's time to own that vision! | 4/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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He Needs Us | The mark of a Christ-follower is love; it's a tattoo that we are supposed to proudly display everywhere we go. After all, God needs us to! | 4/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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He Wants Us | Not only does God love us, but He also wants us...and He wants us to want Him, too! | 4/11/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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He Loves Us | God loves us...because we are His children...and He proved it, once and for all! | 4/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Holy | As Christ-followers, our job is to bring clarity, not salvation, to those that don't know Christ. Our job is to be holy...to demonstrate that it is Christ and Christ alone that makes our 'goodness' 'godliness.' | 3/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Humble | The hardest thing you'll ever have to do is love the unlovable, reconcile with the irreconcilable, and forgive the unforgivable...because all of these things require tremendous humility! | 3/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Human | As Christ-followers, our job is to bring a little healing, a little wholeness, into the lives of the desperate, hurting, and broken. Our job is just to be human...because no one can relate to us if we're not! | 3/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Witness | As Christ-followers, our job is to bring a little guidance, a little direction, into the lives of the curious and the seeking. Our job is just to be a witness...to share what we know (and not worry about what we don't)! | 3/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Furnishings | What makes a house a home? How do we conform to the image of Christ while discovering who God uniquely created us to be? Is it possible that those are the same things? | 2/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Roof | Have you ever been relentlessly pounded by a storm day after day, week after week, month after month, or even year after year, until at last all hope was gone? You didn't have any answers. You didn't have any fight left. What did you do? What could you have done? | 2/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Walls | postmodernism: you may have two degrees, but I read an article once on Wikipedia! | 2/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Foundation | It's not enough for God to just love us. We've got to KNOW that He loves us! If we don't know it, it doesn't do us any good! | 2/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Gift of Prayer | If there IS a God, and if He really DID create the stars, the moon, and everything on the earth, is it really that hard to believe that He can speak, too? And if He can, is it possible that He's speaking every day, to you and me and anyone who will listen? | 12/13/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 101 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Great Stuff!
These are all great messages! I had the oppertunity to see this church in person a few times, UNBELIEVABLE! (Not to mention they've got this awesome acoustic guitar player in the band). The Refuge, Hilton Head, Northridge, 10 AM, be there!
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- Category: Christianity
- Language: English
- ℗ & © 2011, The Refuge of Hilton Head Island, SC
