Refuge Church Atlanta

Psalm 31:19 70% of Americans say they are good people. Almost 50% go further in saying they're the nicest person they know! But are we legitimately good? Who defines what good is? If we look in God's Word for what he has to say about it,...

When there are needs around us, we assume someone else will meet them. Maybe we assume that it is not really our responsibility. Maybe we feel like we don't have anything to offer or that someone can step up do it better than us anyway. We doubt...

We tend to intellectualize our faith. We're prone to engage God and his Word with our minds to the neglect of our hearts. We settle for knowledge of God without truly knowing him. But what our verses show us this morning is that an encounter with...

Apart from God we believe foolishness is wisdom and wisdom is foolishness. The wisdom of God and the “wisdom” of this world are complete opposites! As we'll see this morning, that's because the wisdom of God is revealed through the Spirit in...

Isaiah 40:1-11 “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer If you have been called by Christ, then you have been called to die. Entrusted with the message of the gospel, we must answer the call to give our...

We are so often afraid to share our faith because we won't know what to say, we won't be prepared for objections, or we won't have the answers to the questions that are asked. We feel like we are the primary part of the process and we talk...

Often times pride fuels our desire for greatness. Jealousy of others' abilities and envy grows in our hearts. Comparing ourselves to others constantly or thinking we are better than someone else. Our pride causes us to be jealous and value...

We like to live on the mountaintop. Excited. Happy. To move from one epic experience to the next. Especially in our spiritual lives. But to follow Jesus is to behold his glory on the mountaintop and embrace suffering in the valley, and everything in...

Do you want to save your life? Lose it. Do you want to truly live? Die to yourself!

Luke 9:1-17 It's hard to believe we'll have what we need. Whether starting a new business, going through financial trouble, finding good community and making deep friendships, or even just having our basic needs met. But what Jesus' sending out...

We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.” - C.S. Lewis So much of our lives are spent living as though we can save ourselves. But when the emergency hits, we are...

We are most comfortable when life is predictable. We are “creatures of habit,” we “live by our calendars,” we plan our days and work our plans. But following Jesus is rarely comfortable or predictable. Jesus' rule upends life as we know...

Everyone is either going into a storm, is in the middle of one, or is coming out of one. This is the human experience. And it is in these storms that followers of Jesus are invited to trust his words more than the winds and the waves. Every storm is...

This life will steal your soul, choke you out, and tear you apart. Only Jesus can save your soul, give you life, and make you whole.

What story am I believing to be true about my identity, and who's telling it? What could happen in me, and what could happen around me if my interior story changed? “We are not what we do, we are not what we have, we are not what others think...

Oftentimes, we reject God's purpose for our lives when it doesn't meet our expectations. The same was true in Jesus' day. But God rarely acts in ways that we might prefer him to. And the truth Jesus shares with his followers in our text this...

Our world tells us position and power determines our worth, that our status–social, economic, political, occupational, religious–makes us more deserving of God's blessing. But Jesus doesn't play these games. In these stories of healing, we see...

Christians are some of the biggest hypocrites you'll ever meet. Often judgmental or condemning, blind to our own problems, yet think we can see others' problems so clearly. Our actions often don't line up with our words. As Jesus closes out...

If life were fair, we'd all be in hell. If we all got what we deserve, God would have to separate us from himself forever because of our sin. But, God shows mercy. God is kind to evil people, and we should be too. With God, Mercy is greater than...

God's reign disrupts and reverses the status quo. He ushers in an upside-down kingdom...though it's really that things are upside-down already from the way he intended. So really, he ushers in a “Rightside-Up Kingdom.”

We all fear death. Whether it's fear of non-existence, fear of what our loved ones will do when we're gone, fear that our lives won't have meant something, or fear of loss of control, we all fear death to one degree or another. But the promise...

Our hope and our heart are not naturally tied to humility. We exalt ourselves, and what we don't realize is that it kills our peace. But by hoping in God, the humble can regain that peace.

Where do you take your shame, guilt, and fears for the things you've done? When you're in “the depths,” where do you turn? When you sin, where do you go? Do you try to make up for it by doing more good than bad? Do you try to forget about it,...

Oftentimes persecution feels more present than God's promises. All you can see is trouble. And it seems like it will never end, like the season will not pass. But there is good news this morning: trouble don't last always! God will deliver the...

If we're not careful, we become idle or make work an idol. God gave us both work and rest as gifts. But, it's just like our sinful flesh and the devil to take a good thing and twist it to evil purposes. Rest, that deep assurance that God is in...

If we're not careful, we become idle or make work an idol. God gave us both work and rest as gifts. But, it's just like our sinful flesh and the devil to take a good thing and twist it to evil purposes. Rest, that deep assurance that God is in...

"I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know the One who holds tomorrow." Where does your hope of security lie? In whom do you trust? In a world so full of chaos, it's hard to know where to turn. But when you don't know what tomorrow holds,...

"I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know the One who holds tomorrow." Where does your hope of security lie? In whom do you trust? In a world so full of chaos, it's hard to know where to turn. But when you don't know what tomorrow holds,...

Every one of us has struggled with going through the motions on Sunday mornings. We are so easily robbed of the the joy of worshiping together. But the truth we need to hear this morning is that worshiping together creates supernatural joy,...

Every one of us has struggled with going through the motions on Sunday mornings. We are so easily robbed of the the joy of worshiping together. But the truth we need to hear this morning is that worshiping together creates supernatural joy,...

Psalm 120 Martin Luther famously said, "All of life is repentance." What does that mean, and is it as devastating as it sounds?

Psalm 120 Martin Luther famously said, "All of life is repentance." What does that mean, and is it as devastating as it sounds?

Luke 19:1-10 We often forget the needs of the person in front of us as we are consumed with today's priorities. We forget that each person around us has questions and needs, many are hurting, and most of all that God has created us to meet them...

Luke 19:1-10 We often forget the needs of the person in front of us as we are consumed with today's priorities. We forget that each person around us has questions and needs, many are hurting, and most of all that God has created us to meet them...

2 Corinthians 8:1-9 What if, when we imagined a future with more, we imagined more for others instead of ourselves? What if our first thought when we got more was not to say “What can I get with this,” but instead, “Who can I bless with...

2 Corinthians 8:1-9 What if, when we imagined a future with more, we imagined more for others instead of ourselves? What if our first thought when we got more was not to say “What can I get with this,” but instead, “Who can I bless with...

Galatians 5:13 Our culture makes an idol of individual freedom. It says that true freedom is deciding what is true and right for yourself, and anyone who tries to limit that is stifling your freedom. But is that really freedom? Paul doesn't...

Galatians 5:13 Our culture makes an idol of individual freedom. It says that true freedom is deciding what is true and right for yourself, and anyone who tries to limit that is stifling your freedom. But is that really freedom? Paul doesn't...

Mark 3:31-35 We have a nearsighted view of the word “family.” We limit it to our biological relatives without giving much thought to what Jesus means when he calls his followers family. But Jesus' words challenge our understanding of family,...

Mark 3:31-35 We have a nearsighted view of the word “family.” We limit it to our biological relatives without giving much thought to what Jesus means when he calls his followers family. But Jesus' words challenge our understanding of family,...

Hebrews 10:34-39 It's easier to retreat to the comforts of our past than it is to embrace the uncertainty of the future. But with great risk comes great reward. How do we follow Jesus and leave it all behind? The truth we'll see is when Jesus...

Hebrews 10:34-39 It's easier to retreat to the comforts of our past than it is to embrace the uncertainty of the future. But with great risk comes great reward. How do we follow Jesus and leave it all behind? The truth we'll see is when Jesus...

2 Peter 1:3-8 We all want to feel like we're making progress. Whether it's our health, finances, at our job, or in our spiritual lives, no one wants to be ineffective and unfruitful. The problem is, we want immediate success, a defining moment...

2 Peter 1:3-8 We all want to feel like we're making progress. Whether it's our health, finances, at our job, or in our spiritual lives, no one wants to be ineffective and unfruitful. The problem is, we want immediate success, a defining moment...

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To be human is to suffer. But why do we suffer? Is it our own fault? Is the Devil behind the bad circumstances in our lives? Is God punishing us?

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To be human is to suffer. But why do we suffer? Is it our own fault? Is the Devil behind the bad circumstances in our lives? Is God punishing us?

Matthew 1:22-23 It's hard to hold out hope when it feels like God's not there. Sometimes it feels like it got too hard for him and he's just vanished, or that our sin has finally made him abandon us. Our prayers seem to go unanswered, like...

Matthew 1:22-23 It's hard to hold out hope when it feels like God's not there. Sometimes it feels like it got too hard for him and he's just vanished, or that our sin has finally made him abandon us. Our prayers seem to go unanswered, like...

The world sits in darkness, unsure of what's true and what's right and what's good. Sources of truth have multiplied exponentially since the recent proliferation of information sharing technologies. This only serves to complicate things. Wrong...

The world sits in darkness, unsure of what's true and what's right and what's good. Sources of truth have multiplied exponentially since the recent proliferation of information sharing technologies. This only serves to complicate things. Wrong...

Isaiah 2:1-5 Humanity is trapped in an endless cycle of internal conflict and external chaos. Humanity has always failed to achieve world peace, so we begin to believe that war is inevitable and peace is impossible. At Advent we celebrate...