The Refuge Attleboro

06/01/2026

Yesterday we concluded our Kingdom Parables series with “The Scribe.”

After teaching the parables, Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?”

That question still matters.

Understanding what Jesus teaches is never just about knowing more. It’s about being shaped by what we’ve received, then becoming faithful stewards of it.

God gives us treasure so we can share it with others.

May we be people who bring out what is needed with wisdom, love, and grace.

05/25/2026

Sunday at The Refuge we explored Jesus’ Parable of The Net from Matthew 13:47–50.

The Kingdom of God is like a net cast into the sea…gathering fish of every kind.

That’s a beautiful thought…until we realize that “every kind” really means every kind.

Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom gathers all sorts of people:

Different stories.
Different struggles.
Different backgrounds.
Different wounds.
Different sins.

And while judgment is real, Jesus makes something else clear: We weren’t called to be gatekeepers, we’re called to be fishermen.

The Kingdom is still moving through the world…still gathering…still drawing people toward the mercy of God. And as long as someone has breath in their body, grace is still reaching toward them.

05/18/2026

Most people read the Parable of the Merchant as another story about how valuable the Kingdom of God is.

But what if Jesus was showing us something else?

What if the merchant isn’t simply a picture of us seeking the Kingdom…but a picture of Christ seeking us?

A merchant traveled dangerous roads, spent enormous resources, and finally sold everything he had for one pearl of immense value.

Not because he needed it, but because he wanted it. Because something about that pearl had captivated his heart.

And maybe that’s part of what the Cross reveals: the value heaven places on humanity.

Christ…gave…all. For you.

05/11/2026

Sometimes the Kingdom of God arrives unexpectedly.

A song on a street corner.
A church you’ve passed a hundred times.
A moment in prayer.
A sudden awareness that God is real and calling you into another kind of life.

Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. A man finds it, and in his joy sells everything he has to obtain it.

That’s the difference the Kingdom makes.

Until the Kingdom seems like treasure, surrender will feel like loss. But once you truly see its value, everything changes.

05/04/2026

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven…”

That’s not what anyone expected. They expected power you could see. Structure you could point to. Change that happened from the outside in.

But Jesus describes something very different.

Something hidden.
Something placed within.
Something that works quietly over time…until everything is changed.

That’s how the Kingdom of God works.

Not imposed…but alive. Not external…but internal. Not instant…but steady and complete.

And if that’s true, then the question isn’t just whether the Kingdom is part of your life.

The question is:

What is the Kingdom changing in you right now?

04/29/2026

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04/27/2026

We tend to think of the Kingdom of God as something small…something we can fit into our lives.

Jesus says otherwise.

He compares it to a mustard seed: tiny at the beginning, but once it’s planted, it doesn’t stay small. It grows…spreads…and becomes something far greater than expected.

The Kingdom isn’t ornamental. It isn’t something we add to our lives.

It’s something that takes over.

So the question isn’t, “What does this mean?”

The question is, “What am I going to do with it?”

Because the Kingdom of God isn’t something you manage.

It’s something you surrender to.

04/20/2026

"There’s a part of Jesus’ teaching that can be hard to sit with.

In the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds, the servants want to fix the field. They want to pull up what doesn’t belong. They want to make things right…right now.

But the Master says: “Let both grow together until the harvest.”

That’s not easy for us.

We want clarity. We want resolution. We want to take action.

But this parable reminds us of something important: God does the sorting. We do the growing.

Our role isn’t to judge who belongs and who doesn’t. Our role isn’t to purify the field or take control of the outcome. Our role is to receive the Word…to grow…and to bear fruit.

And somehow, in the middle of ordinary life…
a conversation, a small act of kindness, showing up where God has placed you…
that growth is part of something far bigger than we can see.

The Kingdom is here. God is at work. And the harvest will come in His time.

So for now…Just grow…and be fruitful. Develop the character of the Kingdom."

04/13/2026

Jesus told a story about a farmer scattering seed, and the results were all over the place. Some seed never took root, some sprang up and faded, some was choked out… and some bore real fruit.

What’s striking is this: the seed was never the problem. And Jesus never critiques the farmer.

The difference was always the soil.

And instead of giving us steps to fix it, Jesus simply leaves us with a question that’s hard to ignore:

How am I responding to the Word of God? What kind of soil am I?

04/06/2026

One of the things Jesus does in the parables is challenge an assumption we don’t even realize we’re making:

That access equals understanding.

If we can hear Him…
if we’re familiar with His words…
if we’ve been around church long enough…

we assume we understand Him.

But that’s not necessarily true.

In Matthew 13, the crowds hear the same stories the disciples do. Same words. Same moment. But not the same understanding.

Because understanding isn’t automatic.
It’s something received.

It has less to do with how much we’ve heard…
and more to do with whether we’re open.

—

As we begin this series, that’s the question we’re sitting with:

Am I actually open to Him?

Or just familiar with Him?