You’re Not Forgotten

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Download this week's AMAZING Study Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rhrKYLenBeg_ssWsfBG8HQbjT5Q-I5YxnipiNQSETq0/edit?usp=sharing

Service Intro:

In our new series, Not Finished Yet, we’ll discover how God sees us even in our struggles, how He calls us to trust Him with our brokenness, and how we can live with purpose and hope — all the way to the finish line. You’re not forgotten. You’re not alone. And you’re not finished yet.

Announcements

App

Study Guide

Prayer requests

Opening Prayer

Opening Song

Kids Time

Oliver, Charlotte, and Elliot.

Hey kids!

Have you ever hand made something yourself? Like a craft and you made it just how you wanted it?

Douglas is going to share with us today a story about something he made and how it relates with God making us.

Have a great day!

Sermon

Illustration

Katherine and Jay married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams - she as a model and he as a lawyer - they planted their lives in the city and in their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family.

On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into micro-brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was completely uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through 40 days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that spark of hope was fanned into flame.

Defying every prognosis with grit and grace, Katherine and Jay, side by side, struggled to regain a life for Katherine as she relearned to talk and eat and walk. Returning home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, they committed to celebrate this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. In the midst of continuing hardships and struggles, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find...hope, hope that heals the most broken place, our souls.

An excruciating yet beautiful road to recovery has led the Wolf family to their new normal, in which almost every moment of life is marked with the scars of that fateful April day in 2008.

For a long time, Katherine admits she felt forgotten... useless... like the best parts of her life were over. But here’s the thing — God wasn't finished with her.

In her brokenness, He began to build something new.

Today, Katherine leads a ministry called Hope Heals, reaching thousands who are walking through suffering — showing them that brokenness is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a new one.

She once said, "The greatest good suffering can do for me is to increase my capacity for God."

Katherine is living proof that even when life changes everything — even when your body or mind feels like it’s failing you — God still has purpose.

Her story reminds us — even when we feel invisible, we are never out of God's sight or His purpose.

You’re not forgotten. You’re not finished yet.

And that's the heartbeat of Easter, isn't it?

We just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus — the ultimate victory over death and despair. But the truth is, some of us are still living as if it’s Friday... stuck in sorrow... or Saturday... stuck in silence — wondering if real life will only begin once the pain is over.

But the good news is this: because Christ is risen, resurrection life isn't just our future — it’s our reality right now.

God still has purpose for you.

There is still land to take, still work to be done for His Kingdom, still joy to experience even through the struggle.

You are Not Finished Yet.

1. The Struggle to Feel Seen

Suffering often makes us feel invisible, abandoned, or useless.

In my little bout of sickness and having to be absent from work as well as cancel our Bible study, I felt as though I’d let people down. Maybe you live with the idea you’ve let others down, or even God. You feel as though you’re a burden.

Depression, chronic illness, aging — these things whisper lies that our lives no longer matter.

Maybe you feel like nobody notices your tears anymore...”

Maybe you feel as though you’re just existing, not living.

The truth is, God never looks away. He never stops caring. You’re not unseen by Him.

He cannot forget you!

2. The God Who Can't Forget You

Isaiah 49:15–16 ESV

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

God compares His love to a mother’s for her child — yet says His love is even greater and unshakable.

His love didn’t end on the Cross. It rose from the grave and it flows from His seat at the Father’s side into His Spirit who lives in you.

Those nail-scarred hands of His...

You are engraved on them — not written lightly, but carved permanently — on His hands.

Those nail-scarred hands of Christ are eternal proof: He doesn’t just remember you — He chose to suffer for you.

No matter where you go or where you can’t go, God is always near.

3. The God Who Is Always Near

Psalm 139:7–12 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

You can’t outrun His presence, He is always with you.

Even the darkness of depression or loneliness is not dark to Him.

He is present in the hospital room.

He is present in the lonely nights.

He is present in the silent tears when you think no one see you.

He is there!

Your feelings may lie to you, but God's Word tells the truth — He is nearer than your next breath.

4. The Value You Still Carry

You are of value to Him not because of what you can do, but because of Whose you are.

Psalm 139:13–18 ESV

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

You were knit together on purpose… with purpose!

Your life is precious — not because of your productivity, health, or circumstances — but because God Himself calls you precious.

Isaiah 43:4 “... you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you...”

He adores you!

You are not a burden to God. You are a beloved child. Your worth is anchored in Him — not in what you can do, but in who you are.

Isaiah 43:1–3, 5 “Thus says the Lord, who created you, he who formed you, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. ...Fear not, for I am with you;”

5. A New Hope

Fear not...

This is a large part of the message of Easter, the Resurrection. No matter what we face or what our situation, Easter brings us hope… but again, not just for eternity but for now, today.

The disciples had thought all hope was lost. The Messiah had been killed and buried.

But Jesus arose!

Katherine Wolf, was on the way to what she believed was an amazing life and then that life was killed, taken from her in a flash. And while she no doubt had her moments of despair, she also found new hope in the Resurrected Savior, in the midst of her own suffering and darkness.

“Suffering is not the end of my story. Pain and joy can coexist. New life always begins with the end of an old life. My hope is not in any good gift but in the Giver of every good gift. God made me to do the hard things in the good story He is writing for my life. “

“Trust Me. (He says) I am working out EVERYTHING for your good. Don’t doubt this truth just because you are in darkness now. What’s true in the light is true in the dark.” ― Katherine Wolf, Hope Heals

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God has not forgotten you in your suffering, or in your trial. He is with you. He has good plans for you.

Maybe life hasn’t turned out the way you planned it, but will you trust Him and the way He has planned it for you? “Perhaps some detours aren’t detours at all. Perhaps they are actually the path.” ― Katherine Wolf, Hope Heals

Closing Challenge:

Will you trust that even your suffering is not wasted — that God is weaving it into a greater story?

Will you choose today to believe the truth about yourself — that you are loved, seen, and still part of God's good plan?

Even if you feel unseen by the world, you are engraved on the hands of your Savior.

Closing Prayer

"Lord, help us believe You when You say we matter. Help us live today knowing we are not forgotten."

Download this week's AMAZING Study Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rhrKYLenBeg_ssWsfBG8HQbjT5Q-I5YxnipiNQSETq0/edit?usp=sharing

Post-Service Discussion

Which part of today’s message encouraged you the most?

Deeper Reflection Questions:

Have you ever gone through a season where you felt forgotten or invisible?

If so, what helped you hold on or come through it?

When life feels broken or disappointing, what makes it hardest to believe that God still has purpose for you?

We talked about being engraved on the hands of God (Isaiah 49:16). How does that image make you feel about your worth and your place in God’s heart?

Katherine said, "The greatest good suffering can do for me is to increase my capacity for God." What do you think it means for suffering to "increase our capacity" for God? Have you seen that happen in your life?

What small step could you take this week to live like you believe: "I'm not finished yet"?

(Examples could be: sending a note of encouragement, praying for someone, taking a small step of faith, speaking hope to someone else.)

What are some Scriptures you can recall that give you hope in the midst of your darkness?

📖 Parallel/Topic Scriptures for Further Discussion or Sharing

1. 2 Corinthians 4:7–10 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

(Our weakness shows His strength — fits the theme of brokenness and hope.)

2. Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

(Helps lift eyes beyond present pain.)

3. Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

(Ties beautifully with "You're not forgotten.")

4. John 11:25–26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?””

(Great if someone wants to reflect more on the "resurrection life now" theme.)

5. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

(Could really resonate for those still feeling in the middle of their struggle.)