Harbor Church Honolulu Harbor Church

We think we'll gain happiness by gaining things. Money and possessions. Epic experiences and vacations. Status and respect. A perfect family. Then we come to the book of Philippians and we meet a guy named Paul who found true happiness when he lost all those things, and gained something else in exchange. What’s that one thing that made him so ridiculously happy?

All of us follow the examples of other people. But what kind of examples are we following? Paul will help us identify the kind of people who will help us thrive in life, when we model our lives after them.

We can see darkness creeping in. Problems like drug abuse, violent crime, and involuntary homelessness are on the rise in Hawai’i. But Philippians 2 says God has a plan to address the darkness: “YOU shine like stars in the world.” So how can we shine at our brightest?

All of us who follow Christ want to be seen as servants. The problem is that none of us want to be treated like servants. But there’s deep happiness we can find when we consider others more important than ourselves.

Put on your imagination cap and answer this: if you were living your best life now, what would it look like? We all have our own dream life, but Paul found a way to be happy whether life is a dream or a living nightmare: by finding life in Christ. If you're feeling burned out by life, check out this message and be encouraged!

God commands us to be happy (Phil. 4:4), but how are you supposed to obey that command when life is terrible? We’ll see a path to joy by looking for how God might be working in trying and stressful situations. If you're enduring suffering right now, we invite you to tune in to this message and be encouraged by God's word!