In our Summer 2025 sermon series, Human & Holy: Influencers of Our Faith, we explored people from our sacred scriptures whose faith rewrote history. They’re more than characters from a book — they were human, flawed, uncertain just like us. Their stories are not so different from ours and can inspire our own journeys of faith, courage, and transformation.

If you missed it or just wanna continue to reflect, click below to view more! A recording of the sermon (and worship service) is available along with quote highlights and prompts for reflection.

Abraham and Sarah (June 22, 2025)
“Blessed to be a Blessing” based on Genesis 12:1-4

  • What does it mean to you to be ‘blessed to be a blessing’? How have you seen this play out in your life?

  • Abraham trusted God without a map or itinerary—he just went. What’s one step of faith you feel called to take, even if the path isn’t clear?”

  • Blessings aren’t meant to be banked—they’re meant to be shared. What’s one way you can share your blessings with someone this week?

  • Sometimes blessings come disguised—in setbacks, sorrow, or struggle. Have you ever experienced a blessing in disguise? Share your story either here or with someone else!

  • We are not reservoirs. We are rivers. How can you let God’s blessings flow through you to others this week?

  • Abraham and Sarah weren’t chosen because of greatness but for greatness. How might God be calling you to step into God’s purpose for your life?

Jacob (June 29, 2025)
“Wrestling with Questions” based on Genesis 32:24-32

  • Where in your life do you sense God calling you out of self-reliance and into surrender? Like Jacob at the river, where are you out of strategies—and open to transformation?

  •  What is your “limp”? Has there been a wound, failure, or loss that changed your walk? How might God be using that to reshape your identity?

  • Are you clinging to God or just clinging to control?  In what ways have you been grasping at blessings instead of gripping the Blesser?

  • What might God be confronting in you—not to punish, but to lovingly wrestle you into grace? Are there hidden struggles, past deceits, or buried anxieties whispering in the dark?

  • Where are you showing up with a polished exterior while covering up a restless interior? How can you bring your full, unfiltered self to the table of community and faith?

  • What name—or identity—is God trying to speak over you in this season? If Jacob became Israel after a long night of struggle, what might your new name be?

Joseph (July 6, 2025)
“Dreaming Despite Dysfunction” based on Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

  • Joseph‘s story begins with a family dynamic that many of us can relate to—favoritism and friction. How have favoritism and friction within your family or community impacted your relationships and personal growth?

  • Joseph’s journey begins not in power, but in pain. Not in triumph, but in tension. What lessons can you draw from Joseph‘s ability to rise above betrayal and adversity, and how can these lessons apply to your own life?

  • In Joseph’s world, dreams were divine messages. They carried purpose, not preference. How can you discern between arrogance and divine purpose in your own dreams and aspirations?
  • Joseph doesn’t retaliate. He reconciles. And that’s holy. How can Joseph‘s act of reconciliation inspire you to heal and bless others despite past betrayals?
  • Rise again because you are both human and holy. God’s dream—for your life, for this church, for this community, for this nation—is still unfolding. In what ways can you rise again, dream again, and trust again in God’s unfolding plan for your life, for our church, for our community and for our nation?

Moses (July 13, 2025)
“From Palace to Purpose” based on Exodus 3:1-12
Guest preacher: Melissa Thach, Youth Director

  • “The best of our humanity is found in those moments. When we see suffering and refuse to excuse it, ignore it, or numb ourselves to it. When we are stirred to act — that’s where God meets us.” -Melissa Thach

  • “You can’t anesthetize yourself to the suffering of others and still expect to be close to God. The flipside is also true, God draws very near to us when we are aware of the suffering around us – when we are stirred to compassion and empathy.” -Melissa Thach

  • “This story of Moses reminds us: It is good when we are awakened to the suffering of others. It is holy when we refuse to turn away. And God will meet us there — in that compassion, in that courage, in that moment of saying ‘enough.'”

  • “Like Moses, we are invited to move from palace to purpose. From comfort to calling. From privilege to participation in God’s healing work.” -Melissa Thach

    Reflect: Consider your privileges and positions, what is your unique purpose in God’s healing work?

  • “Our call isn’t to fix everything — it’s to pay attention. To care. To refuse to turn away. We may not solve all the world’s problems, but when we are aware, when we care, and when we act? Those moments are invitations from God – and those moments are where our purpose begins.” –Melissa Thach

The Wise Men – Christmas in July (July 20, 2025)
“Dream Warnings and Generous Giving” based on Matthew 2:1-12
Guest preacher: Melissa Thach, Youth Director

  • “Sometimes, obedience to God means disobedience to empire. Sometimes, following God means putting ourselves between the unjust law of the land and actual real live humans who are being threatened by cruel political leaders.”
    Is God giving you a dream right now? Is the Spirit nudging you to take another road? What does your holy resistance look like?
  • “Be courageous and resist evil, even when it wears a crown.”
  • “In a world obsessed with getting, the Magi teach us that generosity can be a form of spiritual defiance.”
  • “How will you give generously? Not just your money to the church (though it’s appreciated) —but how will you give generously of your voice, your energy, your time, your care?”
  • “Sometimes, the most faithful thing we can do is to pay attention to the dream that says: Don’t go back the same way. Take another road. A better one. A braver one. A more faithful one.”

Ruth (July 27, 2025)
“Courage to Cross the Line of Love” based on Ruth 1:1-18

  • “When the moment comes… to decide between retreating into what’s safe and predictable or stepping into what’s sacred and faithful…”
    When have you been tempted to retreat into comfort rather than step forward in covenant?  What relationships or responsibilities ask for courage instead of convenience?
  • “(Ruth) reminds us that community isn’t claimed—it’s cultivated.”
    How are you cultivating community like Ruth did—not through bloodlines, but through bonds of love? Who is your Naomi? Who or what is your chosen ‘ohana?
  • “Today’s Moabs aren’t measured in miles, but in mindsets… these invisible lines form very real walls.”
    Where do invisible lines—labels, assumptions, habits, experiences—limit your capacity to love wider and deeper?  What boundaries might God be asking you to cross?
  • “Ruth lives out kuleana—a sacred responsibility. To care… To walk… To stay.”
    What does “kuleana” look like in your life right now? Is there someone or something God is calling you to stay present with, even when it’s difficult?

  • “Love always writes a longer story than fear.”
    Do your choices reflect fear or faith? What choices and decisions are you making in your life and in the life of our church that come from a place of fear?

  • “The gospel is not about narrowing the gate. It’s about extending the table.”
    In a world that shrinks hearts and circles, how are you expanding the table? What decision can you make this week that stretches your love toward someone unexpected?

Samuel (August 3, 2025)
“The Still Small Voice that Shook the Silence” based on 1 Samuel 3:1-10

  • “Samuel’s story starts not in power, but in pleading.”
    Where in your life is God inviting you to begin again—not with strength, but with surrender?
  • “God speaks more often than we respond.”
    What might you be missing because you haven’t paused to listen?
  • “In Hawaiʻi, we know that silence is not absence—it’s invitation.”
    How can you create space this week to hear God’s whisper in the quiet?
  • “God doesn’t need status to speak. God just needs someone still enough to listen.”
    Are you making room in your life to be still enough to hear God’s voice?
  • “Sometimes the most holy act is the hardest one—To speak the truth in love.”
    Is there a truth you’ve been called to speak with courage and compassion?
  • “The world doesn’t just need louder voices. It needs listening hearts.”
    How can you be a listening heart in a noisy world?

David (August 10, 2025)
“Faith That Triumphs Over Giants” based on 1 Samuel 17

  • “David wasn’t supposed to be there… But sometimes, God sends you into ordinary moments to ignite extraordinary purpose.”
    Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed insignificant, but later revealed a deeper purpose? How might God be using your current “ordinary” moment?
  • “David didn’t trust in his sling. He trusted in his God.”
    What are you relying on right now—your own tools, talents, or God’s presence? How can you shift your trust more fully toward God?
  • “The field is where giants are first defeated—long before they ever appear.”
    What “field” are you in right now—an unseen place of preparation? How is God shaping your character and courage in this season?
  • “So let your heart rise. Let your trust rise. Let your sling be readied. Because the giant is not the end—it’s the beginning of your becoming.”
    What part of your life feels like a giant right now—and how might God be using it not to stop you, but to shape you into who you’re becoming?
  • “David was not perfect—but he was present. Not flawless—but faithful.”
    Are you waiting to be perfect before stepping into what God has called you to? How can you show up faithfully, even in your imperfections?
  • “This is not just a story about a boy and a giant. It’s a story about trust that triumphs.”
    Where in your life do you need to let trust triumph over fear, doubt, or hesitation? What step of faith can you take today?

Esther (August 17, 2025)
“Courage in Chaos” based on Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

  • “Silence is not absence. Stillness is not stagnation. Hiddenness is not hopelessness.”
    Where in your life have you mistaken God’s silence for God’s absence—and what might be quietly unfolding beneath the surface?
  • “Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s the presence of purpose.”
    What is the deeper purpose anchoring you right now, and how could leaning into it transform your fear into holy action?
  • “Faith can flourish in foreign lands. Courage can rise in compromised courts. Hope can hold on when heaven seems quiet.”
    How have you experienced faith, courage, or hope growing in a place or season you didn’t choose — and what did it teach you about God’s resilience in you?
  • “God is in the shadows. God is in the setup. God is in the survival.”
    Can you name a moment when survival itself felt sacred? How did you sense divine presence in what others might have called mere endurance?
  • “What was meant to mark their end becomes a memorial of their endurance.”
    What in your story began as a wound or loss, but has become a marker of strength, healing, or testimony for others?

Jonah (August 24, 2025)
“The Reluctant Prophet” based on Jonah 3:10–4:11

  • “Some people find their calling in a burning bush. Jonah found his in a belching fish.”
    How has God spoken to you in unexpected or uncomfortable ways? What might you be resisting?
  • “Jonah ran from God like a toddler from bath time—arms flailing, logic failing, and absolutely convinced he knew better.”
    When have you felt like running from something you knew was right? What held you back—and what brought you back?
  • “God pursues us—not with fury, but with faithfulness. Not with wrath, but with relentless love.”
    In what ways have you experienced God’s relentless love in your life, especially when you felt undeserving?
  • “Jonah wanted fire. He got forgiveness. He wanted wrath. He got mercy.”
    Are there situations or people where you’ve hoped for justice but been challenged to offer mercy instead?
  • “Go with mercy that makes you uncomfortable. Go with the holy ache of love that refuses to let go.”
    What kind of mercy feels uncomfortable for you right now? How might leaning into that discomfort lead to growth?