​Herod saw Jesus as a threat—not just to his throne and authority, but also to his sovereignty. More concerned with his own life than the value of human life, Herod attempted to eliminate the threat by murdering all the baby boys under two years old in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.

Herod did not believe in the sanctity of human life. But as followers of Jesus, we do. We believe that all men, all women, all children—all humans—were made in the image of God and therefore have value. The value does not come from our positions, or possessions, or any reason other than the fact that we are made in the image of God. More than that, every human life is sanctified, set apart for a good purpose to bring glory to God. 

Unfortunately, sin entered in to humanity and hindered us from fulfilling our God-given purpose. And so, Jesus was sent on a rescue mission to redeem all sinful humanity so that all who turn to Him and receive forgiveness from Him could return to their God-given purpose of glorifying Him with their human life. 

In order to do this, Jesus—the only innocent life—would need to lay down His life for us. There is no stain too deep that Jesus cannot completely cleanse. There is no sin so severe that Jesus cannot fully forgive. This is the good news of the gospel—that no matter what you have done, you can be fully forgiven! The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was fully sufficient to accomplish this. 

This great salvation is available to you right now! Simply confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. The Bible says that if you do this, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Repent (turn away from) you sin and ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus died for your sin and that God raised Him to life. Trust Him as your Savior and follow Him as the Lord of your life.

We’re told that when Herod heard that there was a baby who was born King of the Jews, “…he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.“ (Matthew 2:3) All of Jerusalem would have been troubled because they were aware of what Herod was capable of when he felt that his authority was threatened. 

But it didn’t have to be this way. Herod didn’t have to be threatened by the King of kings and Lord of lords. As wicked as Herod was, he could be fully forgiven and completely cleansed of sin if he would have turned from his sin and believed on Jesus. But if Herod rejected Jesus or simply stalled on making his decision, then his decision was made—he will have to stand before God and answer for his sin and pay the penalty for eternity.

Watch our study of Matthew 2:12-18 as we consider the tragic consequences of rejecting Jesus and the hope we have when we turn to Him.

On the first Sunday of every year, we review the history, vision, purpose, and practice of Refuge so that we can confidently answer these questions:

What are we doing? Why are we doing it? What does it look like?

Year after year, this study hasn’t really changed—but we sure have! As we behold the glory of God in the face of Christ, the Spirit of God transforms us from the inside out. That’s a promise God makes and fulfills through His Word.

And so we turn again to His Word to find the answers to those important questions—what are we doing? Why are we doing it? And what does it look like?

Watch our study from Sunday as we reviewed God’s vision for God’s church.

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
–Matthew 2:11

It was entirely appropriate and culturally expected that when you entered the presence of royalty, you brought gifts equal to their authority and majesty. 

And although no gift could ever equal the authority and majesty of God Almighty, the gifts the Magi presented accurately represented the ministry of Jesus. Gold speaks of His royalty. Frankincense speaks of His divinity. And myrrh speaks to His death.

This was the ministry of Jesus: As the royal heavenly authority, He came as humanity to die for humanity in order to save humanity from their sin.

Jesus was born not only King of the Jews, but King of everybody and everything. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Immanuel—God with us. He is Jesus—God our salvation. 

The Inductive Bible Study system is a very thorough, methodical study of the Scriptures and can be used to teach anyone how to study God’s Word more effectively. This method teaches accurate observation of biblical passages, clarifies scriptures, and helps God's Word come alive. With a good translation of the Scriptures, you can be taught how to carefully observe, interpret, and apply God’s Word.

This is a two-day event—Friday, January 26 (6-8:30pm) and Saturday, January 27 (9am-3pm) with guest presenter Pastor Dan Finfrock. Learn more about Pastor Dan and his ministry at www.icmbible.com.

Cost is $35 and includes course materials and lunch on Saturday (on-site). Registration deadline is January 14th.

A new year. A new venture of faith. A new episode every Sunday evening. Worship through God's Word with us, as we pause and consider each and every chapter in The Book of Psalms. Please pray for this new project. I am incredibly excited to be released by the Lord to do this!

​More to come…