Resource Detail

2025 Year-End Message

THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US

Psalm 126:1-6

Key Verse: 126:4

1. Psalm 126 is part of the Songs of Ascents. How might this psalm function as a song for pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem? What does it mean that “the Lord restored the fortune of Zion” (1a)? Why do you think the psalmist compares this experience to a dream (1b)? How can remembering God’s past work strengthen faith today?
2. What emotions or actions are described in these verses (2-3)? What does it mean that the nations recognize what the Lord has done for Israel (2)? Why is it significant that Israel repeats what the nations say and makes it their own confession (3)? When you think about your own life, what ‘great things’ has the Lord done for you?
3. What does the phrase “restore our fortunes” suggest about the situation of Israel (4a)? What are “streams in the Negev,” and why would this image be powerful (4b)? How does this verse show the tension between remembering past restoration and longing for present renewal?
4. What does it mean “to sow with tears” and “to go out weeping” (5a, 6a)? What promises are given to them (5b, 6b)? How do these verses reflect faith in God’s timing rather than immediate results? What does “sowing with tears” look like in our lives today?

2025 Year-End Message Juan Seo (Dec 28, 2025)

THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US

Psalm 126:1-6

Key verse 126:3 “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”

Today is the last Sunday of the year 2025. As we come to the end of the year, we naturally pause and look back. We think about what this year has been like. At the same time, we also begin to look ahead, wondering what the next year will bring. This morning, Psalm 126 invites us to remember the great things God has already done among us, and at the same time, to pray with hope and faith for the restoration God will bring in the year ahead.

Psalm 126 begins with these words: A song of ascents. If you read the Book of Psalms carefully, you’ll notice that Psalms 120 through 134—15 psalms in a row—carry the same subtitle: A song of ascents. So what are these songs? They were pilgrim songs. These were psalms sung by God’s people as they ascended to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. The journey to Jerusalem was not easy. It took several days. The roads were often dangerous. Thus, people moved in groups: families, relatives, sometimes entire villages walking together. While they were walking during the day, and when they stopped to rest, they sang these psalms and encouraged one another. These fifteen psalms are often connected to the fifteen steps inside the temple, leading from the Court of the Women up to the Court of Israel. As the Levites ascended each step, they would sing one psalm, step by step, song by song, ascending physically and spiritually into the presence of God.

Psalm 126 comes to us from a post-exilic setting. It reflects the experience of God’s people who had returned from exile. God had brought them back, and the memory of that return was filled with laughter, singing, and amazement at what the Lord had done. At the same time, the present reality was still hard. Life had not fully been restored. The land was weak, resources were limited, and some of their people were still in Babylon. So joy and hardship existed side by side. This tension shapes the structure of the psalm. In verses 1 and 2, the psalm looks back to the past, remembering the joy of restoration and the moment when God brought them back from Babylon. Verse 3 brings that memory into the present. The community confesses that the Lord has done great things for them, and they rejoice in that memory. Verse 4 becomes a prayer. Remembering past restoration leads them to ask God to act again, to complete what He has begun. Finally, verses 5 and 6 look forward with hope. They speak to people who are still sowing in tears, encouraging them to trust that God will bring a harvest of joy. Psalm 126 is, therefore, a song for people living between memory and hope—remembering what God has done in the past, struggling in the present, and praying for renewal in the future.

Please look at verses 1-2a. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” What do you think the phrase “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion” means? A Hebrew word used in this phrase is “בְּשׁ֣וּב bə-šūḇ,” which literally means “when (the Lord) brought back.” So, the New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates it this way: “When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion.” This verse is talking about the return of the captives from Babylon back to Jerusalem. For about seventy years, God’s people lived in exile. They didn’t know if they would ever go home. They waited. They prayed. They hoped. And then, one day, what they had been longing for finally happened. That’s why the psalm says, “we were like those who dreamed.” They had imagined this day so many times that when it actually came, it felt like a dream. Thus, “their mouths were filled with laughter, their tongues with songs of joy.” This is overflowing joy. Songs that come naturally because the heart is full.

Let me ask you something. Have you ever had a moment like that in your life?
Maybe this past year? Was there something you waited for so long that, when it finally happened, it felt like a dream? I remember when I was in the military. I waited desperately for the day of my discharge. I counted the days. I even dreamed about being discharged. Then I woke up and realized I was still in the army. I was deeply disappointed. But then the actual day came. The dream became reality. And honestly, my mouth was filled with laughter, and my tongue with songs of joy. Think about a wedding day. Joshua and Ana got married this past August after preparing for ten months. How long they waited! And when that day finally came, their joy must have felt like a dream. David and Becky are now counting down to their wedding at the end of February next year. When that day finally arrives, it will feel like a dream come true. Think about these moments. The day you got accepted into the college you had been praying for. The day you finally graduated. The day you got a job offer after months of waiting. The day you retired and said, “Now I’m free.” These are the kinds of moments Psalm 126 is talking about. When God finally moves, when He restores what we have long waited for, we look back and say, “That felt like a dream.” That’s where verse 1 invites us to start—by remembering those moments when God turned our story around, and our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” (2b) This is a powerful moment. The phrase “great things” refers to God’s extraordinary acts of salvation and restoration. What God did for Israel was so remarkable that even other nations noticed. These are outsiders. What happened to Israel was objectively undeniable. Humanly speaking, this should not have been possible. A defeated people. A destroyed city. A powerless nation in exile. And yet they returned. They were restored. So the nations said, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Let’s read together verse 3. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Verses 1 and 2 are about the past—what God had done. Verse 3 brings that memory into the present. The people are now confessing it themselves. They remember how even the nations acknowledged God’s work. And they say, “Yes. That’s true. God really has done great things for us.” And notice the result: we are filled with joy. Remembering God’s work empowers our present life. That’s why remembering God’s work is so important. What has God done among us this past year? We can confess: “God has done great things for us.”

As I look back on this year, I believe we have experienced God’s great work as well. We have been praying with three clear visions: first, to become a Spirit-filled Community; second, to become a Campus-Mission Centered Church; and third, to become a Multicultural and Multigenerational Congregation. We give thanks to God because God has been faithfully moving us toward these visions, step by step. Do you remember our key verse for this past year? You can see it written on the wall next to you. Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. This year, God has done great things for us not by our might, not by our power, but by God’s Spirit. At the beginning of the year, we studied the Book of Nehemiah. We prayed that the walls of our personal faith, our families, and our church would be rebuilt. And we thank God that many of us have grown spiritually this year. Take a moment and look at yourself. Can you see that your faith has become more solid? Look at your family. This past year, hasn’t God been making your family more Christ-centered—deepening His love between husbands and wives, between parents and children, and among brothers and sisters?

What about our church? Do you believe that God has done great things among us this past year? We believe God has been filling our community more deeply with His Spirit. Many of us have been serving God with great devotion—through BBF, CBF, HBF, college ministry, young adult ministry, fellowships, praise team, orchestra team, tech team, finance team, and many other ministries. God has blessed our Sunday worship, Thanksgiving service, Christmas service, spring retreat, summer retreat, and many other gatherings and events in wonderful ways. God has also given us clear progress in campus ministry. At QCC, we were officially registered as a club. The gospel has been shared with many students, and many students have been attending weekly group Bible study. We thank God for raising Jonathan and Sayuri as student leaders, and for the many coworkers who are serving faithfully for QCC ministry. Students from QCC have also begun attending our Sunday worship. Some members are preparing to study nursing at QCC. Grace Nam has become a professor at QCC. It feels like the season of Christ is coming to QCC. At St. John’s University, group Bible study has continued steadily through many coworkers joining the ministry. The Queens College team has continued to invite students faithfully and hold group Bible study. Joseph and Maria Kim have started a group Bible study at Stony Brook University. In addition, we started Sunday worship for Columbia students and those living around Manhattan. God opened the door for us to use a meeting room at the Riverside Church, and for the past four months, we have worshiped God there with great joy. Holding worship services in two different locations every Sunday—morning and evening—was not an easy challenge. But God showed us mercy and blessed us. We are deeply thankful to everyone who participated and served.

God has also greatly blessed our young adult ministry. Many young adults joined this year, and their fellowship is growing. They are sharing life and faith deeply through the word of God. I am very thankful for the young adult leaders—Joseph and Rebecca Han, Sam and Sarah Bae Choi, and Andrew Forbes. Through HBF, CBF, and BBF, God is also blessing our children. There have been challenges, but step by step, God is helping us overcome them. We are deeply grateful to all our teachers.

These are things only God could do. The Lord has done these great things for us, and we are filled with joy. We are not sharing these testimonies to boast or become proud; we are remembering the grace God has given us. And on the foundation of what God has already done, we ask Him to do even greater things among us. Verse 4 says, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.” The NASB translates it this way: “Restore our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South.” This is a prayer that says, “Lord, do it again,” “Lord, restore our lives again,” “Lord, restore our community, our hope, and our joy.”

Verse 4 shows us that even after experiencing great work from God, the work was not finished. There were still people who had not returned from Babylon. This verse is a prayer for those left behind, a plea for complete deliverance. At the same time, this is a prayer for their lives. The post-exilic community faced constant frustration. They were rebuilding the temple and the walls. The land was not producing well. Enemies surrounded them. So this prayer is a cry for full restoration: “Lord, what you started, please finish it. Restore us completely.”

Then comes the powerful image: like streams in the Negev. The Negev was a dry region in the southern part of the land. For most of the year, it was cracked, dusty, and lifeless. But when sudden rains came, everything changed. Those empty riverbeds would fill. Water would rush through the desert. And land that looked dead would come alive. That’s the kind of restoration they are praying for. It is a God-initiated renewal. Remembering God’s past work leads us to pray boldly for the present.

On the foundation of the great things God has done for us this past year, we now pray boldly for the restoration God will bring in the year ahead. “Lord, please complete your restoration among us.” This past year, we have prayed consistently for our coworkers who have been suffering from illness—Becky Song Lee, Ruth Lim, Joseph Han, Andrew Choi, James S. Kim, and others. And to be honest, there were moments when we felt discouraged, because our prayers did not seem to be answered the way we hoped. We prayed earnestly for Becky’s healing. But God, in His good will, brought Becky into eternal rest in heaven. We have been grieving together with her family—Ryan, Peter and Mary Song, and all who loved her. Today, Ryan and his two children, Iris and Luke, are here to worship God with us. Thank you for being with us today. As a church, we continue to pray that God will bring His complete restoration to this family—His comfort, His peace, and His grace. We will continue to pray for those who are still fighting illness, that God may grant them full restoration.

We will continue to pray that our faith in Jesus may grow deeper and stronger. We will continue to pray that our families may experience healing and renewal. And we will continue to pray that our church may become more Spirit-filled, more faithful in God’s mission, and more united as one body. We will continue to pray for our church to be a community that deeply loves God and loves our neighbors. We pray that through us, the love of Jesus will reach our neighbors, college students, coworkers, and those in our society who are suffering. We pray that our children will grow up with a healthy and living faith. We pray that college students and young adults will grow in God’s word and participate in God’s mission together. “Lord, just as you have done great things among us, please complete your work of restoration among us.”

Verses 5-6 say, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Sowing speaks of faithfulness. Reaping speaks of God’s future outcome. Going out weeping is an intentional action in the middle of pain. They do not give up. They are carrying seeds to sow. Even while crying, they still carry hope. They still believe in God’s work. These verses emphasize ongoing action. They go, and go, and go—again and again. This is not one emotional moment. It is steady faithfulness. God’s people never avoid tears. God’s people hold sorrow, loss, and struggle. But God’s people continue to pray even when answers seem delayed. God’s people continue to obey God’s words even in the midst of suffering. God’s people continue to trust in God even when circumstances are painful. This is active faith in the middle of hardship.

And the word of God promises something powerful. They will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. God transforms sorrow into joy. God blesses those who keep praying and actively serving Him. Where nothing is sown, nothing will be harvested. Galatians 6:9 confirms this truth, saying, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

What are you longing for? As we look toward the next year, we long for revival. We long for the great work of salvation from God. We long for God’s forgiveness and healing among us. We long for God’s answers to our prayers. We long for being a loving community where we love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength, we love each other as faithful disciples of Jesus, and we love our neighbor as ourselves. Because God has done great things for us this past year, we believe that God will bring his work to completion. Let us enter the new year remembering God’s grace, praying with hope, and believing that the Lord who has done great things for us will surely complete what He has begun. Amen.