Harbor Church Honolulu

People who only come to church on Easter might think, “Why are they always talking about the same thing? This whole resurrection thing?” It’s because the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. If the tomb is empty, everything changes for the world. And if the tomb is empty, anything’s possible for your life.

There’s a brand new public health crisis physicians have identified in the last few years. They’re calling it the loneliness epidemic and it affects more than half of us, especially in younger generations. Fortunately, Jesus gave us the cure to this ailment when he invited us into the community of the Trinity, and gave us the church as its physical embodiment.

Some people think God the Father is the strict one, God the Son is the nice one, and God the Spirit is the weird one. Other people think the Spirit is the only one who matters. We’ll see in John that it’s better to have the Spirit in us than Jesus beside us, because the Spirit brings the Father and Son to us.

Most people assume there are many ways to reach God. Just live a good life, believe something spiritual, and hope it works out. But Jesus makes a bold claim: He alone is the way to the Father. We’ll look at why Jesus is uniquely qualified to say that and how His love changes everything.

There’s one message every motivational speaker and social media influencer wants to give you: You Are Enough. Life is hard, but you’ve got this. Only problem is, we know that’s not true. We feel our inadequacy every day in our work, parenting, and DIY home repairs. Thankfully, Jesus came to meet us in our inadequacy and make us more than enough.

In life, we all experience unmet expectations, natural suffering, and even human evil. When it happens, we all ask the same question: Why? Why did you let this happen, God? Why should I trust you, God? The disciples were asking the same questions when they faced the death of their hero and the end of their movement. Jesus answered their questions with the Farewell Discourse in John, starting with a deep and rich theology of the nature of God.

In Honolulu, life can feel easygoing, so it’s tempting to just cruise. The weather rarely goes below 65, violent crimes are lower than most major cities, and unless you paddle out to Kewalos at dusk there’s no animals that want to kill you. But Peter reminds us that real growth and change require spiritual vigilance.

We all have expectations about how life should go, but when reality doesn’t match, frustration hits hard. When we turn our expectations toward Jesus and His return, he brings peace and purpose in a world that constantly disappoints. If you're feeling the weight of unmet expectations, tune into this message.

We like to think we’re strong and independent, but the Bible says we all serve someone. The masters we often allow to rule us (like our possessions, pleasures, and pride) will slowly destroy us. The greatest change in life comes when we allow Jesus to be our master so he can bring freedom in life.

Everybody wants to change something about themselves. So why do you want to change? Is it to prove yourself to others? To God? To yourself? Those motivations can spark a short-term re-shuffling in life, but not lasting change in life. If you want to level-up your life, you need to be motivated by God’s gracious character.