When We Wrestle with God…

ALOHA! As we enter August, we also enter the final month of our Summer Sermon Road Trip: Following God in Real Life. What a journey it has been already! We began with Abraham and Sarah, traveled through the complicated family stories of Jacob, and now we move toward the final stretch of the road. This month we’ll hear stories about Jacob, Joseph, and Moses—people whose lives remind us that following God rarely happens in a straight line. There are detours, struggles, surprises, wounds, reconciliations, and new beginnings to navigate… just as there are in our own life!

THIS SUNDAY, we remain with Jacob in one of the most powerful and mysterious scenes in Genesis. In Genesis 32:22–31, Jacob spends the night wrestling with a strange figure by the river Jabbok. By morning, he is wounded, blessed, and given a new name. The sermon, “When You Wrestle with God,” invites us to consider those seasons when faith feels less like peaceful certainty and more like holding on through the night. Sometimes the struggle itself becomes the place where God meets us, blesses us, and changes us. Please join us this Sunday at 9 a.m. in the Chapel, or on Facebook Live as we continue this journey of faith together!

LAST SUNDAY, Genesis 29:15–28, brought us to one of the more surprising and complicated moments in Jacob’s journey. After years of scheming and striving, Jacob finally thought he knows exactly how his life was supposed to unfold. He loved Rachel, he worked seven years to marry her, and the plan seemed clear. But life doesn’t follow his plan. Jacob the deceiver found himself deceived. We reflected on what happens when the life we imagined and the life we actually receive are not the same. Have you considered where God is when our life expectations fall apart? Have you experienced God’s grace at work this past week in the life you are actually living?

THIS SUNDAY, the Confirming Faith Adult Sunday School class will conclude. Our topic will be Life After Death. Join us in the Vicar’s Office after worship. And be watching for an announcement about what’s ahead for our adult education opportunities!

DEAR SIBLINGS IN CHRIST, I am grateful for the many ways you share in the life and ministry of St. Timothy’s. Please continue to pray for our leaders and ministers, for me as your vicar, and for every member of our St. Timothy’s ʻohana. May God grant us faith for the journey, hope for the road ahead, and the assurance that God’s presence is always with us.

Aloha Ke Akua!
Rev. Pete+