My name is Michael & I serve as the planting pastor here at Refuge Church
I hope you had a Merry Christmas
And if nothing else, you were able to spend some time reflecting on what God has done for us in the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ
A demonstration of steadfast love for us
God gave His Son
And His Son, Jesus Christ
Came on mission to rescue & redeem a people
A people full of sin and darkness
Christ came and burst into history like a sunrise
And lived the life we couldn’t live
Died the death we deserved
And rose victorious from the grave 3 days later
Proving that He paid the bill in full
For all who believe in the person and work of Jesus.
What an amazing gift Jesus is.
It’s way more than just that baby in a manger.
And I hope you got to think about that some this week, and think about it some more today.
Today we are going to put a bow on 2025
Think about where we’ve been and where we’re going.
It’s been an amazing year.
It’s been an amazing race.
Today we are going to spend some time reflecting on the race that was 2025 and look forward to running faithfully in 2026.
I watched a documentary once called Breaking 2. In this documentary the people making it were following a group of scientists and marathon runners that were working hard to get a marathon time below 2 hours.
This involved a lot of work.
They looked at historical improvements in running times. They looked at shoe construction. They looked at pacing. They looked at the rhythm of running. They looked at sharing the load.
And by the end of the time together, scientists, doctors, engineers, runners, coaches, & more – they failed…
But learned a lot.
And worked hard again by responding to the failure and in another race, told in another documentary, Eliud Kipchoge successfully finished a marathon in 1 hour 59 minutes & 40.2 seconds
they accomplished the goal
So today, we look back at 2025
And see the amazing things God has done, so we can lean and grow
And run better in 2026.
Please now, open your Bibles to
‘1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Page ___’
Paul is writing this letter to the church in Corinth
And in providing some correction and training for the church
In chapter 8 Paul discusses how he responds to potentially controversial views and makes an effort to not do something that is going to keep someone from hearing the Gospel
He then goes on to introduce how he labors hard for the church & expansion of Christ’s Kingdom
And puts aside, not only his freedom for the sake of the Gospel
But also things, he has a right to.
And he finishes this section of his letter to the Corinthian church with this paragraph.
‘24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives sthe prize? So trun that you may obtain it. 25 Every uathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we van imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I wdo not box as one xbeating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and ykeep it under control,2 lest after preaching to others zI myself should be adisqualified.’
Run hard
Run well
Run to get the prize, that only the 1st place finisher gets.
Run with purpose
Fight hard
Have self control – in all aspects of life – to protect your running and service for the Kingdom of God
Pastor & Theologian John MacArthur said “Paul knocked out the bodily impulses to keep them from preventing him from his mission of winning souls to Christ… Paul limits his freedom to win others to the gospel. Paul disciplines his body to win others to the gospel.” -John MacArthur
All of these athletic phrases
To give us a picture in how we should labor and train to work hard for the glory of God.
As Paul continued on he eventually neared the end of his life.
And wrote some letters to his disciple, his intern, his apprentice, Timothy
Paul in the twilight moments of His life reflects on how he ran
Turn to
‘2 Timothy 4:6-8 Page ____’
And let’s see Paul reflect on where he has been.
‘6 For uI am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my vdeparture has come. 7 wI have fought the good fight, xI have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ylaid up for me zthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, athe righteous judge, will award to me on bthat day, and not only to me but also to all cwho have loved his appearing.’
Paul says – I’ve sacrificed a lot for the Kingdom
And it was worth it
But my time is coming to an end
I’ve fought well
I’ve finished strong
And God will give me a reward for my labors
But not just him, everyone who lived Christ’s appearing, everyone has loved Jesus and shown Jesus to others
Told others about Jesus
Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones said “The most urgent need of the Christian Church today is a true understanding of the nature of the Christian life… It is a race, it is a struggle, it is a fight. We are to be constantly at it, and we must never give up.” -Martyn Lloyd-Jones
My hope
Is as a pastor here
Is to help you get to the end
The end of the race
And when you look back
You can say, I ran well
It was a struggle
It was a fight at times
But I never gave up
And wow, look what God did in me, & through me!
Today, we look back
Learn, & look forward
To running well in 2026
Let’s pray – as we put a bow on 2025 and look forward to 2026.
Pray.
Refuge name
When the journey to plant or start a church in Northwest Marshall County started
We did what we could to learn what life was like in the area
And that influenced our naming.
We decided, we want the new church to be seen as a safe place
A good place
A comforting place.
Verses like this drove us to the name Refuge Church Byhalia
Psalm 5:11 Page ___ 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.’
**Psalm 34:8 Page ___ 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!’
And let me tell you
I know for me and my family
This has been a refuge
A safe place
A source of joy
A source of peace
A place to rejoice
When everything around us would push us to the opposite
We found a refuge here with you all.
And my hope, my prayer, my desire
Is that it is also true for you guys.
And for every visitor who comes here
And every family that joins our church family.
And it happens all the time.
I hear it from guests, ‘you all are so kind and welcoming.’
‘You all seem to care about me.’
Oh let’s keep doing that.
Let’s keep running that way.
And the journey continued
And eventually I would hear more, about what it would take to plant a church.
I heard from other church planters across the country about it.
And then all of us, we have been living it.
What church planting would take
Well first, it starts with an important conviction that we have here that is rooted in the very words of Jesus Christ.
We are convinced that since the resurrection of Jesus, Christ has and always will be building His church.
Refuge is where it is, because of Jesus only.
And Refuge will only get where God gets her, because of the grace of God.
We labor hard, we labor well, but God is in control of what happens.
Specifically at Refuge, locally at other healthy biblical churches, & globally across all time til Christ comes back
Christ is the one building His church.
What does that mean?
Church planting & church growth takes worshipful sacrifice of time, talent, & treasure.
And if we actually sit and think about that
If we actually sit and chew on that
It gets tougher
It gets harder
It selfishly, if I sit on that idea
Personally – it sounds kind of not fun
Saying yes or no to things that I want to do
That my kids want to do
That my extended family wants to do
for the good of the church.
Isn’t easy. But it is good and right and it is running the race well.
A.W. Pink said “The Christian life is a ‘race’ which is set before us… It calls for self-denial; it demands the laying aside of every weight. It is a strenuous progress, not a comfortable stroll.” -A.W. Pink
Self-denial
Putting the Kingdom of God over things
Not putting ‘Michael’ over things
Not putting ‘the pastor said’ over things
But seeing everything we do, as eternally significant, for every person we interact with
Every fellow image bearer of the God of the universe, should be tended to
With great attention
With great zeal
And great effort
So some questions
What are you willing to do to see your 1 come to faith in Christ?
What are you willing to say no to for their soul?
What are you willing to say yes to for their soul?
What are you willing to give up or sacrifice?
What are you willing to do to see someone else’s 1 come to faith in Christ?
Friends, on the tired days,
When we are feeling burned out
This is the perspective we keep
Eternity is in the balance
So let’s run well
Let’s run hard
Let’s discipline our bodies
Our impulses
Let us have self control
And let us labor hard – to see heaven filled from Byhalia, Barton & beyond.
Never waste a moment friends.
Let us have new years resolutions like 18th century Pastor & Theologian Jonathan Edwards had
“Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” -Jonathan Edwards
Refuge by the numbers in 2025.
Where 2025 started (show picture)
Reflect on moments
Reno work
Grand opening
Crawfish
Baseball
Back to school
Fall fest
4 baptisms
Amazing!
Attendance chart (show chart on screen)
Started around 65 on average and Trending positive towards 80 every week
Worshipful giving
In 2025 – our church, for the glory of God & Expansion of His Kingdom has already given over $100,000.
Praise the Lord for that!!!
We track these things to gauge where we are on things. They are helpful.
What’s the plan for 2026?
Getting better
At everything we do
But keeping it the same.
To be a church that
Share the hope of Jesus
Love Neighbors
Grow Together
Some of this means we have seek the Lord and aim to get better, at everything we do, by the grace of God.
Stumbling toward glory means we are still moving toward something.
Run the race.
I don’t know what type of race God has for you, me, or Refuge Church Byhalia in 2026, but regardless we are to run it well!
We may have unexpected twists or turns
Unexpected joys
Unexpected lows
New faces to our church family
We may have to say Bye to some faces – which is never easy
But it’s what we are to do.
And we will keep doing this, til Christ returns or calls us home!
So let’s run hard
Run well
Run disciplined
Run to win a prize
And see the eternal value & weight
Of every interaction with every image bearer as we run.
Because we want to see heaven filled from Byhalia, Barton, & Beyond.
Friends
2025 Was Amazing, but God Is Just Getting Started!