Refuge Church Ojai Valley

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.

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

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

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.

Obedience is never a word we like to hear. In our world obedience is seen as less than or something to escape, but in God’s Kingdom, it’s at the heart of knowing Jesus. It’s so easy to want to skip this part of following Jesus and it’s so tempting to want to ignore it when it comes to our life as a church. But Jesus is serious about obedience so we must be.

Maybe the hardest thing, as a follower of Jesus, is knowing what to do with our anger. People can do harmful and painful things to us and the world can dish out a whole lot of struggle, so what do we do with our anger? Thankfully, God gives us a clear and focused way to stir one another up when anger comes our way.

When Jesus teaches us how to pray, he is not giving us some religious words to sound holy or spiritual. He is stirring us up! When he teaches us to pray, he is teaching us how to see ourselves, inviting us to see God differently and telling us a new way of living is coming.

Our Guest Speaker, Zack Totten, breaks down with us what it looks like to spend time with Jesus and have a relationship with him. This is a super practical message where he lays out how to walk through a time of study and prayer in a way that actually helps us hear from God. 

Community centered around Jesus is radical because it's a community that's not centered around you. Most of us say we want community, but often we want an echo chamber or a group that exists to serve our own wants. Jesus community is different; it says we really find what we need and we really serve ourselves and others when we are 100% focused on him.

For way too long, the church has been understood as a boring, sterile place. The reality is, the bible describes the church as something far different. The book of Hebrews says we are even supposed to gather so that we can stir one another up! That's right - we are supposed to meet together to encourage, cheer, applaud, and ignite one another to live a life sold out to Jesus. So what does that look like? This week we kick off our series "Stir it up" and find our starting point.