What’s Sunday Like?
Whether you're new to church or just new to our church, you're probably wondering what our gatherings look like each Sunday. From your first visit to your 100th time with us, here's what you can expect from us every single week at Refuge:
We gather to sing
We gather to sing songs worth singing. Old songs, often; songs that are rich in doctrine and dripping with grace. We aim to sing the kind of songs that you would want to come to mind as you sit next to your child in a hospital bed or across the dinner table from your dad as he walks through the final stage of terminal cancer.
We want songs that would feel fitting on your wedding day or your dying day. We want songs that the gathered church will still be singing in 200 years if the Lord tarries, not shallow puddles but deep wells. Expect to hear the voices of the congregation as one of the primary instruments. Expect to sing whole Psalms and great hymns, mainly from the Cantus Christi 2020 hymnal.
We gather to revel in the Scriptures.
One thing you should know about us: We aren't original. We're not creative geniuses or religious gurus. We're not eminent philosophers or insightful life coaches. We really don't have anything all that interesting to say.
But God does. Rather than rely on human speculation, we aim to stand on the concrete cornerstone of divine revelation. So if you join us, we'll open the Bible, pick a book, and with all our might aim to unfold the meaning of the Scriptures to you. Come open the Bible with us!
We gather as family.
On Sundays at Refuge, you won't find a separate Jr. High, Sr. High, women's, men's, or otherwise affinity-organized service—and that's on purpose! When we gather for worship, we do so as family. Every Sunday we fight the urge to silo everyone off by age, gender, and favorite color, instead gathering together in one room—geriatric grandpas and tiny toddlers together.
So what about kids? They're noisy, I've heard. Yes, and the Lord Jesus seems to like it when they are allowed to come to him—so we’re ok with a little noise in the service. Bring your kids right into the corporate gathering with you. They are most welcome, and will be in good company. We also have a cozy Nursing Mother's Room for mamas to take care of fussy or hungry little ones, where they can see a live video feed of the service in privacy.
We gather to behold Jesus.
We believe that all things were made by Jesus and exist for the glory of Jesus—including ourselves (Colossians 1:15–20). Not only that, but we believe that the whole Bible is about Jesus (John 5:39). So we don't just gather to preach through whole books of the Bible, but to preach Jesus in whole books of the Bible. We preach the good news of profligate grace—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—from every page and paragraph of the book.
It might help you to know what this doesn't look like. It means we won't preach moralism to you. We won't preach self-help to you. We won't preach just-try-harder, five-tips-to-succeed, or twenty-minutes-to-a-better-marriage sermons at you. We will preach Christ and him crucified, God coming to rescue—not merely improve—humanity.