Refuge Church Ojai Valley

Is Hope Just a Myth (Easter Sunday)

It’s not hard to meet someone who believes that faith is a good thing, but when you dig deep, it's not actually real or true. For a Christian, Easter is THE thing that makes our faith real and true. Every human wants to know that hope is possible, Easter is God’s response to that desire.

Trust Him With Your Despair

We all have things that we just can’t seem to get distance from. We worry and fret or hurt and suffer from things that we just can’t seem to leave in the past. What does Jesus say to that? Is there any hope? 

"Trust Him With Our Shame"

We like to hide our shame. Even when it’s obvious we will try and direct attention elsewhere. But what if the things that make us most uncomfortable about ourselves are the things that, once we give them to Jesus, can be a witness to us actually having hope in our lives?

W.W.Y.E.J.T.D.

If Jesus showed up in the flesh in your life right now, what would you expect Him to do? Is there a miracle you would ask him for? Is there a problem you would ask Him to solve? In the Bible it seems that whenever He showed up, He made things happen, but often they weren’t what people were expecting him to do. Is there something we are missing about what we need and what God wants to actually give us? #RCOV #ojai #god #healing #healingjourney #faith #truth #Jesus #faith

Who is Your One?

What does faith in Jesus look like? In the book of Luke, we see faith embodied when a group of friends stop at nothing to get their friend to Jesus. Once they get to him, he surprises them and everyone by not only healing their friend, but pointing to a much deeper issue that he is also healing him from. Their willingness to get their friend to Jesus changes everything, not only for their friend, but them too. Do we live like that? Do we do whatever we can to get our friends to Jesus? Do we do whatever we can to get ourselves to Jesus?

Hope for the Faithful

It doesn’t seem like we talk about Sabbath much in our world today. Even churches rarely speak on the topic. But in Jesus day talking about Sabbath in the wrong way could get you killed. In fact, it's after he heals a man on the sabbath and proclaims himself the Lord of the Sabbath that the religious leaders of his day start plotting to put him to death. Why? What was Jesus claiming? What was he trying to get the people then and us today to see? #RCOV #ojai #god #healing #healingjourney #faith #truth #Jesus #faith

Ain't No Grave: "Hope for the Filthy"

Have you ever been rejected or felt isolated or abandoned by people you cared for? Have you ever felt unwanted or unable to earn your way into a relationship that seemed like it would give you life? How have those experiences marked you? At the heart of the gospel is a message for people who have felt “less than.” At the heart of Jesus teachings is an invitation to not forget about your wounds but be healed of them.

Eternal Roots

It can be really easy to get obsessed with how we think things should go. Our plan or our agenda can dominate how we see ourselves, others, and especially God. If our plan is working out then God must be on our side. If it's not, then he must have something against us. But the book of Ruth doesn’t see it that way. In the book of Ruth, God shows us that even when we are obsessed with our plans and completely ignore, or even forget about him, he still clings to us. He makes a bold and loud statement that our self obsession is empty and our only hope is found in Him. #faith #faithjourney

Healthy Roots

When Ruth and Naomi show up in Israel together they have two very different approaches. One is bitter and wallowing, while the other is eager to trust her new God. One is living letting their suffering be their greatest identity, while the other is embracing their brand new life in God. Where do you find yourself? #RCOV #ojai #god #healing #healingjourney #faith #truth #ruth #faith

A Tale of Two Roots

Life can hit pretty hard and the Bible never pretends it doesn’t. In the story of Ruth we see what it looks like to be rooted in God when life hits hard. We see that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or if you have strayed, but that Yahweh is always calling you back to be rooted in Him.