As we approach August (can you believe it?! August 2025 already!), my heart is stirring with expectation and eagerness for us to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God—through His Word! We will begin a mini-series titled “YOUR WORD IS…!” I will be teaching from Psalm 119. This power-packed Psalm of 176 verses speaks...
Many of you know we have a Prayer Team receiving prayer requests via text messages. We have a total of 27 Prayer Warriors, loving, caring, and praying for friends, family members, and others connected to our NHM ‘Ohana. “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call...
As a nation, America is still young—just 249 years old. Out of those years, I’ve been blessed to live 63 of them. How many years has God given you so far? When we step back and consider America’s brief place in world history, we realize we’re just a small part of God’s much bigger story....
As we look forward to celebrating Independence Day, let’s remember to be “in dependence on God, not independent of God!” We are certainly an independent kind of culture and country. Our self-reliance continues to affect our country’s character. We live in a culture and country that values independence; self-reliance is almost second nature to us. But...
Today’s the Big Day for our son Koa, his fiancé Sarah, and our families! They will be married at 5 PM! Somebody say AMEN! I’m reminded every wedding I attend, officiate, or am a part of, that God loves covenant unity. What joy it must bring His heart when man and woman unite in love for each...
To those of you on our Mānoa Weekly email list, my apologies for not getting that out to you! No, I’m not “getting old!” LOL! I just had a busy week and forgot! No excuses 🙂 Speaking of excuses, have you ever caught yourself making an excuse for a decision or situation just to cover...
This week, I was in the presence of a man who lost his wife a few months ago. They would’ve been married 65 years (June 5). Having just celebrated our 40th anniversary this past week (June 2), I sat with amazement as he told me stories of their friendship. It was so heartwarming to be...
“She didn’t die peacefully.” Those words still echo in my mind and disturb me. Her daughter called to ask if I would do the funeral for her 105-year-old mom. The circumstances surrounding this woman’s death are so sad and heart-breaking. She seemed to serve her family with sacrificial grit and love. She worked hard and...
The Lord really spoke to me through Pastor Doug’s message last Sunday on “Overcoming Anxiety” in Philippians 4:6-7. I read through the context of Philippians 4, perusing through all of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi. I received so many thoughts and truths to continue overcoming the anxious thoughts and stress I was (and...
Wowzah! My thoughts this week (on occasion) have been spiraling into criticism and judging. Ouch! The conviction of the Holy Spirit is pressing against my fleshy, dark thoughts. The Message version of this passage hits hard: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical...
Pastor Rod has been in ministry for more than 38 years. He has shepherded and overseen a variety of ministries, including children’s, youth, college, community/missions, discipleships/small groups, worship and the arts, as well as assisting and consulting with several church planters. Since moving back to Honolulu from Kansas City in 2000, Rod has served on Pastor Wayne Cordeiro’s executive team at New Hope O‘ahu. He has pastored the New Hope Mānoa ‘ohana since January 2015.
