Cornerstone Chapel – Thanksgiving Eve Service 2025
Podcast: Cornerstone Chapel – Audio Podcast
Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Pastor Gary Hamrick
Theme: A night of testimonies, gratitude, and worship focusing on God’s faithfulness, healing, and transformative power.
Episode Overview
This special Thanksgiving Eve service centers on sharing stories of thanks, testimonies of God’s working in people’s lives, and communal encouragement through the reading of Scripture, prayer, and heartfelt contemporary worship. Congregants and staff recount personal journeys through hardship and healing, reinforcing gratitude for God’s grace in the midst of suffering, struggle, and everyday blessings.
Key Segments & Highlights
Opening Remarks & Scripture
(00:00–06:34)
- Host (Pastor Gary Hamrick): Welcomes congregation, sets the tone as an evening of thankfulness and shared testimonies.
- Scripture Reading: Pastor Gary reads Psalm 100 and shares President Trump’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 2025, emphasizing historical and current calls to national gratitude to God.
- Opening Prayer: A prayer acknowledging God’s mercy and goodness, asking for His presence and glory to be revealed through the testimonies.
“On this Thanksgiving eve, we just pause to humble ourselves and to show our gratitude towards you and to show you, Lord, and to declare with our mouths how thankful we are for your many blessings.” – Pastor Gary (05:50)
Testimony: Steve Ruff’s Journey through Cancer
(06:34–16:10)
- Steve Ruff shares his ongoing battle with a rare and aggressive cancer (Ewing sarcoma).
- Details a year marked by diagnosis, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, infections, and unexpected healing moments.
- Describes profound spiritual experiences: a comforting vision of angel wings (Dec 2024), a reassuring inner voice before surgery, and sudden unexplained healing of bleeding.
- Emphasizes growing trust in God’s presence amid uncertainty.
- Encourages listeners to invite Jesus into their hearts and find hope in Him.
“I’ve had a much stronger, clearer understanding of just how real God is and how he is with us all the time. He’s right next to us. He’s right next to you, and he doesn’t let you go. He watches over everything.” – Steve Ruff (14:00)
Notable Quote:
“Like Pastor Gary said, I’m in the middle of this battle right now, and I don’t know what the future holds, but I know he holds it for me.” – Steve Ruff (14:30)
- Community Prayer: Pastor Gary leads prayer over Steve, affirming God’s power and healing.
Testimony: Eliana Joy Briceno & Mission in Asheville
(16:46–25:18)
- Eliana Joy recounts her mission trip to Asheville, NC, offering relief after Hurricane Helene.
- Faces initial self-doubt due to lack of construction skills but obeys the Holy Spirit’s prompt.
- Bonds with a homeowner’s daughter struggling with mental health, demonic influences, and gender identity.
- Through conversation, prayer, and practical help (cleaning, installing lights), witnesses visible transformation and restoration of hope in the family.
- Makes a sacrificial gift of her cherished guitar as an act of obedience and encouragement.
- Returns to find the family reconciled, twins more open, and the light restored in their lives.
Memorable Moment:
“The weaker I am, the harder I must lean into God’s grace. The harder I lean into his grace, the stronger I discover him to be and the bolder my testimony.” – Eliana, quoting Joni Eareckson Tada (20:56)
Video Testimony: Josh Marzano & his Mother
(25:54–28:18)
- Josh’s mother shares her journey from nominal faith to a personal relationship with Jesus after seeing her friend’s faith amid pain.
- Her and Josh’s faith journeys coincide, culminating in shared baptism.
- Expresses overflowing thanks for newfound joy and relationship with God.
“It’s once in a lifetime when you have Jesus right beside you. My life has changed so much since I’ve been saved. I just thank the Lord Almighty. He’s blessed me beyond blessings.” – Josh’s mother (27:35)
Testimony: Conlon Rupp – Cancer and the Love of Christ
(28:24–33:40)
- Conlon was diagnosed with stage 3 Burkitt’s lymphoma during his second semester of college.
- Undergoes aggressive treatment and emerges in remission two weeks prior to the service.
- Emphasizes the importance of community support—meals, prayers, nurses praying at his bedside—and God’s “visible and real” love.
- Shares from 1 John 4:16–19; focuses on perfect love casting out fear.
Notable Quote:
“The reason why I was able to get through my battle with cancer is because of the perfect love of Christ. It casts out fear and brings that peace that we all know of, that surpasses understanding.” – Conlon (30:45)
- Prayer: Pastor Gary prays for Conlon, asking God not just for remission, but removal of the disease.
Online & Written Testimonies
(34:47–37:56)
Selected by Austin (staff)
- Praise for support from Cornerstone’s staff, especially for K Group leaders.
- Testimonies of salvation, reconciliation of family relationships, answered prayers for conception and childbirth after infertility or miscarriage, restoration of marriages, and miraculous health recoveries (e.g., a lung mass disappearing).
- Emphasis on shared gratitude and celebration of God’s work in lives both near and far.
Notable Story:
“My brother Spencer has Down syndrome... a large mass on his lung... just yesterday, a chest X ray revealed the mass has miraculously disappeared. And tonight, Praise the Lord, Spencer is upstairs... worshiping the Lord.” – Austin, reading a text (36:40)
Video Testimony: Delnica Cox – Redemption and Provision
(37:56–39:54)
- Delnica shares her transformation from patterns of destructive relationships and addiction to salvation.
- Experiences an immediate spiritual awakening reading Romans 10:9.
- Cornerstone Outreach team provides practical support during homelessness.
- Credits Cornerstone with helping her family thrive in faith, describing total deliverance from addiction, anxiety, and depression.
“He was making so much love to me. That was the man I was looking for this whole time.” – Delnica (39:30)
- Pastor Gary compares her testimony to the woman at the well, highlighting Jesus’ satisfaction of deep needs.
Testimony: Chris Garcia and Family – From Addiction to Renewal
(41:26–49:49)
- Chris Garcia, accompanied by wife Ashlyn, relates his journey from atheism, drug addiction (including fentanyl), and dealing to salvation.
- Multiple near-death experiences and ongoing drug use even after becoming a father.
- Wife’s persistent prayers and online church attendance plant seeds.
- A moment of crisis leads to an honest prayer: “God, if you’re real, show me that you’re real... and I’ll follow you.” (44:45)
- Hours spent watching testimonies and sermons lead to surrender, a dramatic experience of peace, and the darkness lifting.
- Feels conviction to end drug sales; a failed bank deposit with illicit funds felt like a divine intervention.
- Obeys Holy Spirit’s call, gives the undeposited money to church, and soon secures a better job.
- Now, the whole family is engaged in faith, children are learning about Christ, and blessings include healing of his mother’s cancer and his sister’s salvation.
“Don’t ever be afraid to share the gospel with anyone as you never know what God will do... Like the great Frank Turek says, we want to make heaven crowded.” – Chris Garcia (49:10)
Closing Worship & Prayer
(51:16–End)
- A final worship song led by the music team, celebrating God’s deliverance, faithfulness, and goodness.
- Pastor Ben closes in prayer, encouraging gratitude in every season—mountaintops and valleys.
- Pastor Gary extends Thanksgiving wishes and appreciation to the congregation.
Final Benediction:
“For when the sun is shining down on us and the world as all as it should be, we praise your holy name. But when there’s pain in the offering, we bless your holy name.” – Worship leader (song lyrics, 52:30)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Steve Ruff (14:00): “He’s right next to us. He’s right next to you, and he doesn’t let you go. He watches over everything.”
- Eliana Joy (20:56): “The weaker I am, the harder I must lean into God’s grace. The harder I lean into his grace, the stronger I discover him to be and the bolder my testimony.”
- Conlon Rupp (30:45): “The perfect love of Christ... casts out fear and brings that peace that we all know of, that surpasses understanding.”
- Chris Garcia (44:45): “God, if you’re real, show me that you’re real... and I’ll follow you.”
- Chris Garcia (49:10): “We want to make heaven crowded.”
- Worship Song (52:30): “For when the sun is shining down on us and the world as all as it should be, we praise your holy name. But when there’s pain in the offering, we bless your holy name.”
Timestamps for Main Segments
- 00:00 – Opening greetings, Psalm 100, President’s Proclamation
- 06:34 – Steve Ruff’s cancer testimony
- 16:46 – Eliana Joy, Asheville mission trip
- 25:54 – Josh Marzano & mom (video)
- 28:24 – Conlon Rupp, cancer and love of Christ
- 34:47 – Online praise reports
- 37:56 – Delnica Cox, salvation and provision
- 41:26 – Chris & Ashlyn Garcia, transformation from addiction
- 51:16 – Closing worship and prayer
Conclusion
This Thanksgiving Eve special is a tapestry of real-life stories testifying to God’s presence in suffering, healing, reconciliation, and redemption. It models the spirit of Psalm 100: entering God’s gates with thanksgiving and praise because “His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”
For anyone seeking hope or reassurance, this episode overflows with encouragement, honest struggles, and the assurance that God is faithful through every valley and on every mountaintop.