First Prez Honolulu Sermon Podcast

Today's message from lay pastor Rosella Shishido is an exploration of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem. Through encounters with the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha, and disciples seeking guidance on prayer, we discover what it means to live with courageous faith. Rosella challenges us to "become a neighbor" by showing mercy, to prioritize sitting at Jesus’ feet over life’s busyness, and to pray with "shameless audacity". Learn how to choose the better way by moving toward those in need and resting in the presence of a good Father.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

In today's message, First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan explores what it truly means to be a covenant partner joining Jesus on His mission. It's the start of a new sermon series called "Journey to Jerusalem." We pick it up in Luke 9 and 10. We follow Christ as He resolutely sets His face toward Jerusalem, beginning a journey defined by urgency and sacrifice. Pastor Chris draws inspiration for our journey from the WWII 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Their motto challenges us to go "all in" for the Kingdom of God. Learn how to prioritize mission, community, and worship while answering the call to pray for more workers for the harvest.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

Today's message from First Prez Associate Pastor Tim Shaw continues our "Who Do You Say I Am" series, focusing on the Gospel of Luke. Today, we learn about different ways God's Kingdom affects the world. We also see the church as a diverse, worldwide community where true greatness is found in humility and service to others.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

In this Father’s Day sermon, First Prez Associate Pastor Tim Shaw examines the tension between fear and faith by recounting four miraculous stories from the Gospel of Luke. He highlights how Jesus demonstrated divine authority by calming a violent storm, liberating a possessed man, healing a chronically ill woman, and raising a young girl from the dead. He illustrates how we often retreat to safety rather than embracing the spiritual adventure of following Christ. The message emphasizes that while life's challenges are inevitable and often terrifying, believers can find peace knowing Jesus holds onto them through every trial. Ultimately, we can move beyond our anxieties by anchoring our trust in Jesus.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

In this sermon, First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan emphasizes the necessity and importance of spiritual hearing God. He illustrates that loving God is defined by paying attention to Him and receiving His grace. Spiritual growth is determined by how our hearts receive and cling to God's word. Today's message ultimately challenges us to see every person as a beloved child of God.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

We start a new sermon series today called "Who Do You Say I Am?" First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan explores the nature of faith and emotional responsiveness. By examining the healing of the centurion's servant and the raising of the widow's son, we find that Jesus operates with both supreme authority and deep compassion. We also see that the religious leaders remained unmoved by either joy or sorrow. The message challenges us to avoid becoming "too cool to dance," urging us to reject spiritual numbness in favor of a heart that is open to God’s plan. Pastor Chris describes being fully human as the ability to respond authentically to life’s beauty and pain as Jesus did.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

In this sermon, First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan continues the Upside-Down Kingdom sermon series. We're in Luke 6:12-49. Jesus’s teachings are more than a checklist of rules to follow. They're a window into a new reality powered by divine grace and internal transformation. Pastor Chris also talks about the nature of Jesus's first disciples. He gathered a diverse group of very ordinary individuals. And Pastor Chris finishes with one of the pillars at FPC: prayer.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

This sermon from First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan examines the transformative power and joyful nature of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Luke. Pastor Chris highlights the contrast between Jesus’s inclusive, grace-filled community and the rigid, judgmental legalism of the Pharisees. By performing miracles and socializing with societal outcasts, Jesus demonstrates an "arms open" posture that prioritizes healing and celebration over strict religious rules. We are encouraged to approach our faith with wonder and expectation rather than fear or suspicion. Ultimately, the message serves as an invitation to experience the spiritual energy of the Holy Spirit and to live a life of active compassion.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

Today's sermon explores the dual nature of Jesus. He's both extraordinarily powerful and intimately close. First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan draws from multiple healing stories in the Gospel of Luke. He highlights how Jesus demonstrates authority over spiritual, physical, and natural realms by casting out demons, curing fevers, and commanding a miraculous catch of fish. Beyond his raw power, we see the deliberate choice He made when healing the man with leprosy. Pastor Chris also encourages us to move beyond simply knowing facts about Jesus to experiencing a personal relationship with Him in our daily lives. Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

This sermon explores the commencement of Jesus’s ministry through the lens of the Gospel of Luke, highlighting his triumph over temptation in the wilderness. First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan emphasizes that Jesus rejected shortcuts, popularity, and spectacle, choosing instead a mission defined by service and sacrifice. Central to the message is the "upside-down kingdom," where divine power is utilized for practical purposes. We also see how Jesus’s words provoked hostility. Pastor Chris ends the message with a challenge for us all.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

It's Youth Sunday. And we begin a new Sermon series called "The Upside Down Kingdom." Today's message centers on Luke 3:23–38 and the genealogy of Jesus. The passage reveals how God works through generations. How faith is passed from one life to another. The sermon highlights biblical examples like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, and David, showing how each shaped the next generation. The youth then share powerful testimonies of the mentors who invested in their spiritual growth and how God met them in seasons of hardship, healing, and transformation. Reflect on who shaped your faith. Who is God calling you to invest in next?Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

In week three of The Way with Jesus, Lay Pastor Rosella Shishido reflects on Luke 3:21–22 and the baptism of Jesus. She explores why Jesus chose baptism, what baptism signifies for believers, and how it reveals God’s declaration of Jesus as His beloved Son. Rosella then shifts to the heart of the message: our identity in Christ. Through Scripture, practical examples, and personal stories, she reminds us that in Christ we are God’s beloved children, not because of what we achieve but because of His grace. This sermon invites you to receive and live from that identity every day.

In this message, First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan explores John the Baptist’s call to repentance and the surprising truth that God often does His deepest work in our “wilderness” seasons. Rather than a place of exile, the wilderness becomes the very ground where we prepare the way for the Lord. Through vivid imagery—including the damaged road to the Koʻolau campus—Pastor Chris invites us to examine our own “rough places” and ask the recurring question from the passage: What should we do? The answer is lived out through generosity, integrity, justice, and turning back toward God’s open arms.Luke 3:1-20Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

It's the beginning of a new sermon series called "On the Way with Jesus." The series is a study in the Gospel of Luke. First Prez Director of Ohana Ministry, Karen Makishima, takes us into the story of 12-year-old Jesus. Left behind in Jerusalem, found three days later in the temple, completely at home in his Father's house. Karen asks the challenging question: do you know who you are and whose you are? With honesty about her own lifelong struggle with identity and worth, Karen points us toward the same foundation Jesus stood on. Not performance, not approval, not achievement, but a confident, settled relationship with a Father who delights in us.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

Happy Easter! Today's message starts with a deeply personal, ongoing testimony from FPC Covenant Partner and Commissioned Lay Pastor candidate Carolyn Grossnickel. You'll also hear from FPC Senior Pastor Chris Pan in his first Easter sermon. He touches on four aspects of the Easter story: Looking, grammar, nonsense, and wondering.First Prez website

We enter the final week of Lent, Holy Week. It's Palm Sunday. When Jesus made his entrance into Jerusalem. Today's message from First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan takes a lesson from the crowd that lavishes Jesus on this day, only to turn on Him just a few days later. It's a sermon about unmet expectations and how we react. Today's message also draws on the wisdom and practices of one of the early Desert Brothers, St. Arsenius.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

We continue with our Lenten series, The Way of the Desert. Today, FPC Elder Leona Larkin focuses on humility. She teaches us what humility is, how Jesus humbled himself, nd what we need to do to practice humility. We also learn about St. Anthony, the originator of the monastic lifestyle. Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

Rain, wind, flooding, power outages, downed trees, potholes, missed work, and property damage. They're all a part of a raging storm. This week, that's what Hawaii has been through. For some, these types of days knock us down and bring us to our core, and hopefully to our knees in prayer. These times are also an opportunity to ask of ourselves if we have a "Jenga life." That's a life made up of easily shaken, temporary things that ultimately fade or disappear. Or do we have lives that are built on firmer foundations?FPC Assistant Pastor Jenny Sung continues The Way of the Desert sermon series with this message on wisdom.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

The Way of the Desert sermon series continues. It's our Lenten series as we anticipate Easter. Today's message, like many of God's principles, runs counter to our cultural beliefs and practices. We value money, wealth, material things, and lots of it. There's nothing inherently wrong with the things of this world. But our focus, attention, and idolatry of these things can interfere with our relationship with Jesus. FPC Associate Pastor Tim Shaw preaches on the dangers of materialism, the concept of mammon, and what we treasure. Plus, we'll hear an excerpt from Tim's mentor Earl Palmer. It's a story worth hearing.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

You have to admit, sometimes you want to shut out the noise and busyness of the day. Knowing how helps us stay connected to Jesus. In this message from Senior Pastor Chris Pan, you'll hear about the value of quiet time. Pastor Chris will also give us practical tips for creating a quieter life for ourselves. This is a continuation of the sermon series called "The Way of the Desert."Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

It's still a new year with (relatively) new Senior Pastor Chris Pan. And today we begin a new sermon series for the season of Lent. Pastor Chris challenges us to make more out of our fast. It's not just giving up something for a season. It's more about stripping away our old selves and getting closer to Jesus. Today's sermon series comes with a new booklet.Download the series booklet here.First Prez websiteBeloved is Where We Begin poem

It's been just over two years since we first met Pastor Tim Fearer. He was charged with guiding First Prez through the season of finding a new senior pastor after Dan Chun retired from FPC. Tim's work and guidance culminated in Chris Pan being chosen as the new Senior Pastor, or as Chris likes to say, "Under Shepherd." Now that Chris's tenure is in full swing, it's time for Tim to say goodbye. This sermon is his charge to FPC going forward. And it's a full-circle moment based on 1 Corinthians 2:2. Aloha & mahalo, Pastor Timmy!First Prez website

With this sermon, we've reached the end of our "Walk This Way" series in the book of Ephesians. Just because a person isn't mentioned much in the Bible doesn't mean we can't gain any wisdom from that person. Such is the case with Tychicus. As we'll find out, he was a trusted, loyal, and faithful ministry colleague of Paul. Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

The battle out there is real. Slings, arrows, and bullets in all forms. Lying, cheating, slander, and more. Maybe you're a victim. Maybe you know someone who is. How do we defend and protect ourselves in this spiritual battle? The FPC "Walk This Way" sermon series points you in the right direction. And today, First Prez Director of Prayer Ministry Gary Toh examines Ephesians 6:10-17. The Bible tells us what we're dealing with and what to do.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan continues our "Walk This Way" sermon series as we do our best to imitate God and become more like Jesus. We're in the book of Ephesians 6:5-9. The verse starts with an address to slaves. But the overall idea is humility.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

Our new sermon series, "Walk This Way," continues. Put another way, it's a series on how to live with Jesus in our lives. One of the constants in life is relationships. First Prez Assistant Pastor Jenny Sung tells us we have relationships all around, with others, ourselves, and the world we live in. Download the series booklet here.First Prez website

It's a new year so it's time to walk. Walking is good exercise, but in this case, we mean walking of a different kind. Walking as in living and moving through life. First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan has 5 aspects of walking through life with Christ.Download the sermon series booklet here.First Prez website

Happy New Year! New year, same God, new you. That's the idea behind today's sermon from FPC Senior Pastor Chris Pan. It's not about resolutions. Today is about reconnecting with God and remembering His holy promise to us. Not only is it a new year, but it's also the start of a new sermon series called "Walk This Way." Aerosmith fans, calm down. It's not that.Download the sermon series booklet here.First Prez website

It's Christmas 2025. Christmas can be explained in one word. First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan's Christmas message revolves around this one word and its translation. He explains what it all means. First Prez website

This will be a fun and inspiring message to listen to. You'll get a snapshot of how God is working in the lives of several of our fellow First Prezzers. The people and the stories run the gamut. From deliverance from substance abuse to an outpouring of charitable giving and everything in between. Hear what God has done for us in 2025. As you listen, take the time to reflect on your own 2025.See you in 2026!First Prez website

It's the 4th Sunday of Advent. During the Christmas season, we hear a lot about God's love, as well we should. Today, FPC Associate Pastor Tim Shaw reminds us that Trust is central to the Christian faith. And as is our tradition, today's message includes an Advent testimony. You'll hear Charity Watkins's story of heartbreak, perseverance, breakthrough, and love.Download the sermon series booklet hereFirst Prez website

What is joy? And how do you acquire it? That's the topic in this Advent message. Today, we turn to a woman who seems to be everywhere you look. She serves as an Elder, she's on committees, she works at FPC, and she's studying to be a commissioned lay pastor. And as you'll hear, she has an infectious laugh. You'll also hear from another Elder and part-time worship leader, Joy Yoshida, who will offer an excellent definition of joy in the Christian context. Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

We continue our "Imitate God" sermon series during this season of Advent. Today you'll hear an Advent testimony and an explanation of what God's peace really is. First Prez Senior Pastor Chris Pan leads us on the second Sunday of Advent.Download the series booklet hereFirst Prez website

It's the first Sunday of Advent. And with it, a new sermon series called "Imitate God." Today's sermon focuses on waiting. You'll hear about the waiting Simeon and Anna endured and how we can apply the same principles in our lives. And because it's Advent, you'll hear the first of four testimonies. Today's comes from Ed Hope.Download the new sermon series booklet here.First Prez website

It's us against the world when it comes to living a Christian life. The world can be a strong magnet, luring us into the traps and trappings. But Paul is very clear in his letter to the Ephesians. He lays it out bluntly. Do this, don't do that. It's all a part of our transformation from followers of the world to followers of Christ.Download the sermon series booklet here.First Prez website

Last week, Pastor Chris started part 1 of a two-part sermon on maturing as a Christian. Today it's part 2, covering unity and gifts. This is part of the larger sermon series called "What God Has Done." Everyone has a God-given gift. A set of talents and abilities that, when put to use in the name of Jesus, helps build up the Christian world and minister to the world at large. Download the series booklet here.First Prez website

By the time you listen to this sermon, Chris Pan will have been installed as the new Senior Pastor of First Prez. The installation service occurred just after this sermon. Congrats, Pastor Chris!This sermon is a continuation of our What God Has Done series. It's a study in the book of Ephesians. We move ahead to chapter 4, which represents a transition. Today we learn that it's not ok to cruise through life as idle believers. We need to constantly grow and deepen our faith in Christ. God has placed a calling on our lives. We need to live up to and lean into that calling.Download the series booklet here.First Prez website

There's nothing like the love of God. It's enveloping, all-encompassing, endless, and unconditional. First Prez Ohana Ministries Director Karen Makishima delves further into God's love as she continues our sermon series, What God Has Done.Download your series booklet here.First Prez website

What happens to the person who gets adopted into a family? We tend to use the terms "adoptive parents" or "birth parents." And we continue to distinguish them from one another. As in many cases, God's way of looking at adoption is different. Vine Pastor Jenny Sung continues the "What God Has Done" sermon series with this sermon called Heirs Together.Download the series booklet here.First Prez website

First Prez Transitional Pastor Tim Fearer continues with our "What God Has Done" sermon series. Today we take a deep dive on being saved. Saved from what? Saved into what? Saved for what? He also draws attention to the difference between Grace and Mercy. Download the series booklet here.First Prez websiteSupport the Mission of FPC

We're trying something new in the service today. Part of our vision is to bring everyone in the church together in order to walk with Jesus together. So we're all in with children, youth, and adults all worshipping God together. First Prez Youth Director Luke Shin continues our sermon series called What God Has Done. Today, it's all about thankfulness and prayers.Download the What God Has Done sermon booklet here.First Prez website

It's a special Sunday. The First Prez Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) has made its choice for our next senior pastor. An edited version of this announcement starts today's message. Then, FPC Executive Pastor Chris Pan continues our current sermon series, What God Has Done. He goes deep into what God's plan is and what it entails for us and the world. Find the sermon series booklet here.Read the PNC announcement here.First Prez Church website.

Open your Bible to the book of Ephesians. That's where we're going to spend the next few months as we start a new sermon series called "What God Has Done." First Prez Transitional Pastor Tim Fearer starts with a breakdown of the salutation and the first few lines. If you come away with anything, it'll be summed up in the word "Blessed." Download the series booklet here.For more, click on the FPC website.

First Prez is in between sermon series. But that doesn't mean this sermon is insignificant. On the contrary. Pastor Tim Fearer takes a long, hard look at First Prez and its many facets. You'll hear about the mission and the ministries, and how our church is moving forward. But you'll also hear about challenges we face. Buckle up for The 2025 State of the Church address.Give to the mission of FPC.

Today, FPC Transitional Pastor Tim Fearer tells us about how he made a decision to take on a position in Turkey all those years ago. It's a personal story, but the truths revealed apply to us all.

We've reached the end of the "Ending Well" sermon series. Paul is once again at the center of the story. Pastor Jenny Sung leans on a horticultural metaphor that works quite well for this life lesson. Download the Ending Well booklet here. First Prez Honolulu

The Apostle Paul's journey took him to many areas. He got to many of these places by walking. He also used a boat to traverse the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, on one of those maritime treks, the boat was shipwrecked. Lessons abound in this story. Our "Ending Well" sermon series continues with this message from FPC Lay Pastor Rosella Shishido.Download the Ending Well booklet here.First Prez website

Sometimes when we think about being an agent of the Lord, we might feel like we need a theology degree or we need to be great orators. Nothing could be further from the truth. All we need to do is tell our own story in our own words. It's as simple as that. Pastor Tim Shaw gives us a good example today as we continue our "Ending Well" sermon series.Download the Ending Well booklet here.Learn more about First Prez here.

Paul is in prison. He remains steadfast in the face of persecution and physical abuse. He knows where his heart is, where his loyalty lies, and who he places his trust in. It's knowing the end of a scary movie. Paul knows what to focus on and that Jesus is ultimately victorious despite any temporary trials Paul might have to endure. First Prez Transitional Pastor preaches from Acts ch 23-24. This is the latest installment from the Ending Well sermon series.Download the Ending Well booklet here.Visit the website here.

Our new sermon series called "Ending Well" continues. The story from Acts 22 proves that cancel culture has been around longer than we realize. But the story here also includes the antidote to the hate and disrespect we see today. First Prez Executive Pastor Chris Pan explains.Download your Ending Well booklet here.First Prez Honolulu