Remembering What God Has Done

A reflective, hope-filled look back at 2025 calls the church to remember God’s faithfulness with specificity and gratitude. Through stories from multiple campuses, the thread is unmistakable: God met people through simple invitations, ordinary obedience, and desperate prayers. A coworker’s invite led to first steps, a global outreach trip, and baptism. Online engagement became a bridge to in-person community, life groups forged deep friendships, and serving unlocked God-given gifts. A traveler at rock bottom found welcome, heard the call to “take off grave clothes,” surrendered to Jesus, and walked out with a new life. Others returned to faith after wandering, discovered the joy and stretch of Kingdom Builders generosity, and experienced God’s provision where fear once dominated.

The invitation is practical and pastoral: remember. Name one thing God did in 2025 and write it down. Like Israel’s 12 stones, create a “stone of remembrance” that future you can point to when the river rises again. Gratitude is not denial; it’s a disciplined gaze that searches for God’s fingerprints in both celebration and hardship. The teaching reframes the hard year: don’t avoid what almost broke you—press in until you can name how God met you there, what He taught you, and whom He sent to stand with you. From there, sharing your story—digitally or with a friend—becomes ministry, multiplying courage in others who need the hope you’ve just recovered.

This is an editorial call to action: recall, record, and rehearse God’s work so trust can grow for what’s ahead. Whether 2025 brought marriage and moves, a first invitation, a life group, a baptism, a breakthrough, or a long-awaited return, the throughline is the same—God didn’t waste a single day. He pursued, rescued, formed, and sent. The year closes with a clear next step for anyone ready to surrender to Jesus, and with a posture for everyone else: stand, sing, and thank the Lord for what He has already done—and will do again.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Remember God’s faithfulness with markers. Memory is a spiritual discipline, not just nostalgia. Writing down one concrete work of God trains the heart to see His patterns of provision. Like Israel’s memorial stones, tangible reminders build trust for tomorrow’s trials. Intentional remembrance becomes protection against future forgetfulness. [53:59]
• 2. Invitation opens doors to transformation. A simple “come with me” can reshape a life—first steps lead to serving, mission, and baptism. God often uses relational proximity to awaken spiritual hunger. Don’t underestimate the spiritual power of small obedience that creates space for someone else to encounter Jesus. [29:07]
• 3. Community roots faith and shapes calling. Life groups provide more than friendship; they create a context for sustained growth and the discovery of gifts. Serving isn’t a task list—it’s a training ground where God refines skill, character, and courage. Over time, belonging and purpose reinforce one another. [33:05]
• 4. God meets us at rock bottom. Despair may feel final, but it isn’t sovereign. When a heart surrenders, Jesus doesn’t just stabilize; He resurrects, exchanging grave clothes for new life. The darkest moment can become the clearest altar of grace. [36:07]
• 5. Gratitude reframes trials into testimony. Avoiding pain stalls growth; naming it reveals God’s hidden work. Ask how God showed up and who He sent in the struggle—answers will surface slowly but surely. The very place of weakness can become the most credible witness to His power. [43:53]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [07:18] - New here and free gift
• [08:05] - Ministry impact highlight
• [10:28] - Generosity and giving
• [11:00] - Review Sunday: looking back at 2025
• [22:44] - Setting the goal: remember 2025
• [27:18] - Holdridge story: invitation and baptism
• [30:35] - Ogallala story: community and serving
• [34:10] - Online story setup: Tyler’s turning point
• [40:54] - North Platte: returning and Kingdom Builders
• [42:42] - Core question: thank God for one thing
• [43:53] - Lean into what almost broke you
• [53:59] - Stones of remembrance and reflection cards
• [1:00:33] - Prayer of surrender and next steps
• [1:05:17] - January series: The Generous Life

Bible reading

- Joshua 4:1-9

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Observation questions

1. In Joshua 4, where did the twelve stones come from, who carried them, and what were they meant to help Israel remember?
2. Trace the sequence in Hannah’s story: how did a coworker’s simple invite open the door to new steps like bringing her husband, going on a GoTrip, and baptism? [27:18]
3. What first step did McKenna take toward faith community, and how did that lead to life-giving friendships and serving? [33:05]
4. What key phrase did Tyler hear that marked his turning point, and what decision did he make that day? [35:38]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might God want His people to build a physical memorial (Joshua 4) instead of relying only on memory? What does that say about how trust grows between crises?
2. How does a simple “come with me” invitation act as a means of grace? What chain reaction of growth is visible in Hannah’s journey? [29:07]
3. In what ways do belonging (life group) and purpose (serving) reinforce each other over time? What does that reveal about how God shapes calling? [33:05]
4. How can leaning into “what almost broke you” reveal God’s hidden work and turn pain into testimony? [43:53]

Application questions

1. Stone of remembrance: What is one concrete thing God did in your life in 2025 that you will write down as a marker? Where will you keep it so future-you can see it when the river rises again? [53:59]
2. Invitation: Who is one person you can invite with a simple “come with me” this month? What’s your plan—text, coffee, sit with them, ride together? Name the day and make it specific. [29:07]
3. Community: If you’re not in a life group, what single step will you take this week to get connected? If you are, what’s one way you will go deeper (show up consistently, share honestly, pray specifically for someone)? [33:05]
4. Serving: What gift or skill might God be asking you to offer? What one “trial run” will you try in the next 30 days to serve and see what God does? [33:49]
5. Grave clothes: Name one habit, lie, or shame you’re ready to leave behind. What surrender step will you take this week (confess to a trusted friend, ask for prayer, join a recovery space, delete an app)? [36:07]
6. Gratitude in hardship: What almost broke you in 2025? Name how God showed up, what He taught you, and whom He sent to stand with you. Write a two-sentence testimony you could share. [43:53]
7. Share your story: Will you post or send your “stone” image this week to encourage someone else? Who will you tag or text, and when will you do it? [55:30]