Years ago, someone stood at the edge of Lake Michigan with the weight of life pressing down. His job was gone, his marriage was under strain, and his future felt uncertain. In that moment of prayer and struggle, he reached down, picked up a smooth stone, and slid it into his pocket.
“This,” he said, “is to remind me that God got me through before — and He’ll do it again.”
That image has stayed with me. A simple stone, carried not as decoration but as declaration: God helps.
This Sunday, we’ll close out our Stones of Remembrance sermon series with that same declaration. From 1 Samuel 7:3–13, we’ll look at Israel’s story of repentance, attack, deliverance, and hope. Their enemies didn’t disappear when they returned to God. In fact, the assault came quickly and powerfully. But so did the help.
God thundered from heaven and routed their enemies. In response, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer — “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
That stone wasn’t just a way of looking back; it was a way of facing forward.
As a church, as families, as individuals, we also live between memory and mission. We remember what God has done — His faithfulness, His forgiveness, His power — and we also press forward, trusting Him to help us again.
But let’s be honest: the way forward isn’t easy. We don’t get to avoid the battle. We live in a spiritual war zone. We face attacks in our relationships, distractions in our minds, burdens in our hearts, and fears for our future.
So how do we move forward?
This week, we’ll ask a hard question together: What’s wrong among us? But we’ll also look to God’s Word for the better question: How do we move forward with hope?
We’ll come together to remember and recommit. To bring our brokenness and burdens. To seek the God who helps.
So come this Sunday — not just to finish a series, but to begin again in faith.
Come with:
Repentance for what needs to change
Remembrance of how far God has brought us
Hope for what lies ahead
Faith in the God who never fails
And a renewed commitment to walk forward together in trust and perseverance
The stone still stands. The help still comes. The future still belongs to the Lord.
In his grip,
Pastor Nate