In the opening of his letter to the Romans, Paul expresses his desire to go to Rome. He is eager to build up Roman believers and tell everyone in that city that they are not only loved by God, but that they are the beloved of God, and this same God is calling them out of the darkness into the light to be set apart for a good good work.

That’s and intense desire, especially when you consider who was in Rome at this time. People like Caesar Nero, a madman who found a twisted enjoyment in persecuting Christians. Paul understood that Nero needed the Gospel—just like him. Remember that Paul (who used to be Saul) was so much worse, yet God loved him and called him and used him to preach the gospel.

Paul would arrive in Rome. He would come in chains, but did not see himself as a prisoner of Rome. Paul always referred to himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ, knowing that he had put his life in the hands of Jesus.

Watch our study from Romans 1:8-15 as we continued to work our way though the opening of this amazing letter.

You may have never heard of a man named Mephibosheth. It’s not the most common name for a man. However, there are lessons to be learned through this man that are common to us all.

Mephibosheth was tragically crippled because of a fall when he was young. This accident resulted from a misunderstanding of the heart of King David. Convinced that the king didn’t have his best interest at heart, Mephibosheth lived a life far from the king in isolation and fear.

But then, the king called him into his courtroom—not to kill him, but to show him kindness because of a covenant the king made with Mephibosheth’s father, Jonathan.

Not only did the king show Mephibosheth kindness, but also invited him to sit at the kings table continually as one of the king’s own son’s with full rights and privileges.

Do you see the metaphor in the life of Mephibosheth? Have you been spiritually crippled by a fall—a personal sin or perhaps because of someone else’s? We are all crippled by THE fall of original sin—leaving us isolated, broken, and ashamed, thinking that the King doesn’t have our best interest in mind. And yet, because of a covenant He made, He wants to show your kindness, and mercy, and goodness!

What is keeping you from answering His call? Oh, how He wants to bless you and show you His kindness and invite you to sit at His table continually with full rights and privileges as His own adopted son or daughter! Come to Him, today!

There was once a man named Mephibosheth. He became crippled because of a fall and lived a life of isolation because he misunderstood the character of the king. One day, this king sent for him—not to kill him, but to show him kindness because of a covenant. On the surface, this is a beautiful story, but when we consider the context, there is even more in the life of this man named Mephibosheth.

Join us Sundays at 10am (central) as we worship the Lord. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

This past Sunday, we began our study in the letter of Paul to the Romans. The letter begins with the author, Paul, who used to be Saul—a former Pharisee set out to completely eradicate Christianity. That is, until Christ met him, and called him to build up the church rather than tear it down.

Paul describes himself as a bondservant of Christ—a servant of Jesus under his own choice rather than compulsion—and called to be an apostle, set apart for a specific purpose.

It’s Paul’s calling we considered in our study—along with our own calling. For we too have been called. Now, what do you think that we have been called to be wholly set apart for?

Watch our study of Romans 1:1-7 as we discovered the nature and purpose of our calling from God.

Join us at 10am (central) as we worship the Lord. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area)

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? We turn to the Bible to find the answers to those important questions so we can understand God’s vision for His church.

​Join us Sunday at 10am (central) as we worship the Lord. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

In the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we encounter some unlikely heroes who accomplished bold and courageous acts of obedience.

Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent council member and secret disciple of Jesus. He asked Pilate for Jesus’ body to bury in a tomb and fulfilled prophecy.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased spices and waited until daybreak to rush to the tomb of Jesus to anoint Him. They didn’t give thought about the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb until they were on the way, but simply faithfully desired to minister to Jesus in His death.

These people took courage and did what they could do. That’s what gloriously ordinary people of God do when they serve a God who is anything but ordinary. They take courage, and they do the next right thing. They take courage, and they do what they can.

Maybe you feel gloriously ordinary. Take heart—you are in good company! Keep taking those steps of courageous faithfulness. You may never know on this side of eternity just how much of a difference those simple acts of faithful obedience have made.

Scripture is full of unlikely heroes. People you might not otherwise take notice of. People who simply offer up what they have to the Lord’s service rather than using what they don’t have as an excuse for inaction.

At the end of the Gospel of Mark, we meet some unlikely ones, whose hearts were reached by Jesus, whose lives were changed by His ministry, and whose examples show us what courageous faithfulness looks like.

Watch our final study in The Gospel of Mark series as we observe these faithful few who offer up what little they have to serve the Lord, trusting that God will do with it only what God can do.

Join us for a special family Christmas Eve worship service as we gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus—Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace! We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN and online at https://live.refuge.mn

Jesus was accused and abused, afflicted and oppressed. And yet, He was innocent of all the charges brought before Him. He could have defended Himself, but chose not to. At any moment, He could have ended it all with just a word…and yet He didn’t.

Why?

It wasn’t just to fulfill prophecies recorded centuries before in Isaiah 53, Psalm 22:16-18, and Zechariah 12:10 (among many others).

​He didn’t put a stop to the suffering He experienced because of you. You are the joy that was set before Him. You are the reason that He endured. You are the joy—His joy—for which He endured the cross. It was for you that He endured so that He might have fellowship with you forever.

In Hebrews 12:3, we are invited to “consider Him”. Jesus—the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

As we encounter the cross in Mark 15, we consider Him—we wonder together what (or maybe who) was that joy that empowered Jesus to endure the cross.

Watch our study from this past Sunday as we worked our way through Mark 15 and considered Jesus—what He suffered and what He endured.

​Join us Sunday at 10am as we worship the Lord and continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

An unreasonable, irrational, and unhealthy assessment of our own ability to be independently awesome is such a difficult thing to let die, isn’t it?

We all secretly want to be the hero of our own story—able to muster up through sheer force of will, all the right answers, and all the right choices. 

And yet…more often than not, we are anything but awesome independently. All of our bluster ends in failure, which we tend to gloss over so that we can give it another go next time. But in our own strength, it really doesn’t go any better next time.

Hopefully, the failure Peter experienced in Mark 14 can be our teacher so we can learn to be dependent rather than independent, wise rather than foolish. We can choose to learn these two complementary truths: apart from Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5), and we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).

“If I have to die with you, I will not deny you!”

In our previous study in the Gospel of Mark, Peter and the other apostles made this bold declaration to Jesus after He revealed to them that they would all soon fall away (Mark 14:27-31). And this past Sunday, we see that none of them lived up to their promise.

No one felt this failure more than Peter. His failure taught him some important lessons. Through them, he changed from Simon (which means ‘shifting sand’) to Peter (which means ‘a rock’)—living up to the name Jesus gave him as a prophecy of who he would become.

How many times have we made a similar expression of pride or self-confidence in a vain attempt to impress or earn favor? Unfortunately, this bluster doesn’t bless or impress anyone—not even God.

Peter’s failure can be our teacher too so that we don’t have to repeat his mistakes. Watch our study in Mark 14:37-72 as we learn the lessons that transformed Simon to Peter.

​Join us Sunday at 10am as we worship the Lord and continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online; and on the radio – 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

Imagine what it would be like to have been in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. Then to see and hear Him teach and preach as a man on the Judea hillsides. Picture what it would have been like to witness His crucifixion and death just outside of Jerusalem—and wonder what it all meant.

On Sunday, we were blessed to welcome Pastor Bill Welsh as the Shepherd of Bethlehem. In his portrayal of an onlooking shepherd from the outskirts of Bethlehem, Pastor Bill tells the story of the life of Jesus in an incredible presentation of the Gospel.

Watch or listen to Sunday’s message: The Shepherd of Bethlehem

Join us this coming Sunday (December 5th) at 6:15pm for an evening of worship with special guest Pastor Bill Welsh. Pastor Bill is a great personal friend of mine and our fellowship. He is also an incredibly talented musician and has a heart for leading others into a deeper intimacy with Jesus. He'll be leading us in a time of worship and sharing some original songs that will prepare our hearts as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.

Please join us this Sunday at 6:15pm in the Regency Venue for this very special event.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was pressed—not like the olives grown there. He was crushed by the weight of what was to come. In fact, the scripture tells us that He was troubled and deeply distressed. His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death (Mark 14:33-34).

This reminds us that Jesus is fully human—just as He is fully God. It was part of His human experience to feel sorrow and sadness—so much so that He felt He might die. And yet, Jesus was sinless. He was perfect.

This also shows us that it isn’t a sin to be sad, troubled, or sorrowful—it’s part of the human experience. Jesus was facing something so awful—to be a sin offering to receive the full wrath of God—that He was deeply distressed by it.

He understood what was about to happen and asked His Father if there was another way His will could be accomplished. “Nevertheless,” Jesus prays, “not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)

​This is part of the human experience too—for a human whose heart has been gripped by the goodness and holiness of God. For God has promised that the trouble, distress, and sorrow of this life is not the end of the story.

Our journey though the Gospel of Mark has finally brought us to Passover in the upper room—the final hours before Jesus would be captured, beaten, mocked, flogged, and crucified.

For the disciples, no amount of denial could take away the underlaying fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that they would face without Jesus being by their side. For Jesus, the crushing emotional weight of what was about to happen caused His soul to be exceedingly sorrowful.

Nevertheless…Jesus was obedient to the will of God. He looked beyond the shame and suffering of the cross to a greater joy that allowed Him to endure it all (Hebrews 12:2).

Watch or listen to our study from Mark 14:12-36 as we paused and considered the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.

In Mark 14, we read how the religious rulers sought to manipulate people and events to achieve their desired outcome—which was to get rid of Jesus. 

And yet—even though their cunning was in direct opposition of Jesus, there is no doubt that God was in control of what was going on.

In the midst of all of this, we read of a beautiful moment of personal worship of Jesus. It was a moment that shocked many who saw it, and yet blessed Jesus immensely.

Watch or listen to our study from Sunday as guest speaker Pastor David Guzik led our time considering this moment we discover in Mark 14:1-11.

In Mark 13, there are things Jesus says that speak to what the apostles would go through. There are things Jesus says that speak to what tribulation saints will go through. And there are things Jesus says that speak to what we are going through right now.

To each, Jesus gives the same instruction—take heed. Pay attention! Read the Bible. Talk to God—ask Him how He wants you to function in your daily responsibilities, in your workplace, and in your relationships. Talk to Him about everything. 

If you have made Him the Lord of your life, you are a part of His kingdom. He loves you and wants to use you. He has radical things for you in the smallest bits of faithfulness that will ripple on into eternity that you might never know about until you are with Him for all eternity. 

Trust Him. Love Him. Serve Him. And actively wait for Jesus in the meantime, for He is returning soon!

Join us Sunday at 10am as we worship the Lord and continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

​God wants your heart.

He doesn’t desire automaton obedience, or a willingness to go to the penalty box when you mess up. You can do that without having a relationship with God. 

He wants YOU. 

He wants to walk in fellowship with You. He wants to walk in love with you where obedience and sacrifice aren’t even on the forefront of your mind. He desires a fellowship of love, because love fulfills the law. Loving God and loving your neighbor—on these two hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40).

Jesus wants genuine worshippers with no agenda other than simply loving the Lord and loving neighbors out of the overflow of fellowship with Him.

Are you trying to earn His favor? Are you making vain attempts to garner His affection? Stop—there is nothing you can to do that could make Jesus love you any more than He does right now.  Come to Him. Walk with Him. Abide in Him.  Love Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then enjoy fellowship with Him now and for all eternity.

Join us Sunday at 10am as we worship the Lord and continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

God wants to enjoy the fruit of our fellowship with Him. It angers Him when people pretend to be His people, but have no fruit or heart for Him, His representatives, or His Son Jesus.

We see this truth in the context of Jesus’ words and actions in Mark 11:12-12:12. We witness a series of actions and hear words of Jesus that show and tell us that God is angered when fruitless sinners pretend to be His people and yet have no heart for Him. In their pretension, they even end up treating those who truly are His people and His own Son Jesus poorly.

If you find yourself pretending to follow Jesus, but without the fruit of His fellowship, don’t make the same mistake the religious leaders of Jesus’ day made. They heard His warning, but did not heed His call to come to Him. Their mistake was walking away from Jesus when they didn’t like what He had to say. But Jesus won’t turn anyone away who comes to Him. He wants fruitful fellowship with you. Come to Him today!

Scripture quoted out of context can become a pretext for whatever you’d like it to say. That’s why context is so important. Reading what is before and after can really help us understand scripture better.

Context was especially helpful in our study this past Sunday as we encountered several scenes that may have left us scratching our heads if considered one-by-one. But when read and studied together, we have a clearer understanding of what is going on and what God is saying.

Watch or listen to our study of Mark 11:12-12:12 as we consider the context of the words and actions of Jesus to bring clarity, meaning, application, and most importantly fellowship with our Father.

Join us Sunday at 10am as we worship the Lord and continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. We gather in-person at 912 W. St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN; online at https://live.refuge.mn; and on the radio at http://refuge.fm or 96.1 FM (in the St. Cloud area).

This is the day that the Lord had made—we will rejoice and be glad in it!

God is just as concerned about today as He was the day His Son rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey as the Suffering Servant. We have no idea how many holy crossroads we pass through over the course of a day.

He has prepared good works for us to walk in from before the very foundations of the world. And these good works could be just as consequential as Jesus riding in on that young donkey. For God saw this day and He knew this day was coming.

He longs to show himself strong on your behalf—this day and every day that He graciously gives you! So let us walk through our day with eyes open and a soul excited for what God has prepared, planned, and prophesied for us, and our families, and our fellowship.

This is the day that the Lord had made—we will rejoice and be glad in it!