[00:00] Speaker 1: (organ music plays)

[04:55] Speaker 1: (singing) In the bleak midwinter a stable place provided. For there the Lord God incarnate was foundling. Without and without sin. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins.

[06:00] Speaker 1: Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior.

[06:00] Speaker 1: He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins. Born that man would die and then rise again. Jesus Christ our Savior. He came to us in flesh and blood to save us from our sins.

[06:00] Speaker 2: (instrumental music plays)

[06:09] Speaker 3: (Instrumental Music)

[11:23] Speaker 3: (bell rings)

[11:23] Speaker 4: The call to worship this evening is based on Psalm 90- 98:1-6. Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. His right hand-

[11:36] Speaker 5: His right hand-

[11:36] Speaker 4: ... and his holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The Lord has made salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

[11:47] Speaker 5: He has remembered His love and faithfulness to Israel.

[11:54] Speaker 4: Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

[11:58] Speaker 5: Sing songs to the Lord with the harp, with the sound of music.

[12:04] Speaker 4: With trumpets and the sound of the horn. Praise the King, the Lord. (instrumental music)

[12:19] Speaker 6: God himself is with us; let us now adore him, and with all of healing for him. God is in his temple, all within these highest, prostrate life in deepest reverence. May the Lord whom we born, as our God and Savior, praise his name forever. God himself is with us; hear the harps resounding; see the crowds of hosts surrounding. Holy, holy, holy, hear the hymn ascending; angels, saints their voices blending. Bow your ear to us here; hear, O Christ, the praises that your church now raises. (instrumental music plays) Rose of every blessing, born that I might speak it, trust me only from heaven.

[15:03] Speaker 6: Like the holy angels, through him adore me, made by sinners we adore you. And in all, great and small, sing to him all singing, but to us so dear, amen.

[15:59] Speaker 7: (instrumental music plays) The God who promises Himself to be with us in our highest of highs, in our lowest of lows, who has promised never to leave or forsake us, that God has gathered us into this place and He greets us, saying to you, "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty and present work of God's Holy Spirit."

[16:42] Speaker 6: Amen.

[16:47] Speaker 7: Welcome students, families, graduates, regular evening worship service participants to this special evening service at La Grave Church. You already know that this is special because you're here half an hour ahead of time and throughout the service you'll notice some differences in the service format, um, still m- much to recognize in a typical evening service here at La Grave Church, but some different faces upfront tonight. We're really thankful and blessed to have our worship, our service led, um, by Pastor Rachel Thorn, our Minister of Youth, who will be bringing Go- uh, God's message to us from the Book of Jeremiah. Following this service, everyone is welcome for a continuing time of celebration and fellowship in honor of our graduates, um, down the hall in the multipurpose room off to the right, there will be Qdoba dinner after church tonight. Um, and tonight is a time of reflection with our families.

[17:44] Speaker 7: Uh, if you're winding up a school year as a graduate or as a family, grandparents, um, or a sibling, parents, you know that this time of year is a time of reflection, and you're doing that a lot in other spaces, and tonight we do that, uh, with our church family. One of the most comforting things we can teach our kids, um, is that God's plans for their lives are bigger than our plans for their lives, that they are held by a God who knew them before they were born and who will go with them, um, out into the next chapter.As we reflect on that tonight, our first reading from the Scriptures, um, helps us contextualize all of our plans and all of our hopes in light of God's big plans and big direction for the future of His kingdom. So I'd like to invite Bethany to come forward at this point and, um, read with us about that future vision from the Book of Revelation.

[18:56] Speaker 8: Revelation 21, verses 1 through 5. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

[19:42] Speaker 8: There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new.' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'" (paper rustling) (footsteps sounding) (instrumental music playing)

[21:26] Speaker 6: (singing) Come, weary one, leave thy labors. Come, lift thy head, see thy Savior and friend. His arms are open wide. O soul, be satisfied. Come find his grace. Take his yoke upon thee. For he is gentle and lowly in heart. So learn from Christ, the Lord, thy portion and reward. Come find his grace. Come, Jesus saves. Come, weary one, leave thy labors. Come, lift thy head, see thy Savior and friend. His arms are open wide. O soul, be satisfied. Come find his grace. Take his yoke upon thee. For he is gentle and lowly in heart. So learn from Christ, the Lord, thy portion and reward. Come find his grace. (instrumental music plays) (singing) Come, weary one, leave thy labors. Lift your head. I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest.

[24:15] Speaker 6: Lay down, O heavy laden, adore me.Come unto Jesus, child of earth, draw near with awe and fear. Find comfort in God's still face; Gladly and meekly bow. Take His yoke upon thee, for He is gentle and lowly in heart. So learn from Christ, our Lord, thy portion and reward. Come, find His grace. Come, find His grace. There are words of wisdom given to us in His time; come, learn from Christ, His grace. Come, learn from Christ, His grace. There are words of wisdom given to us in His time; come, come, come.

[27:10] Speaker 9: Our hope for a new creation is not tied to what humans can do, for we believe that one day every challenge to God's rule will be crushed.

[27:21] Speaker 6: His kingdom will fully come. Then the Lord will rule. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

[27:29] Speaker 9: On that day, we will see our Savior face-to-face, sacrificed lamb and triumphant king, just and gracious.

[27:39] Speaker 6: He will set all things right, judge the evil, and condemn the wicked.

[27:54] Speaker 9: We face that day without fear, for the Judge is our Savior, whose shed blood declares us righteous.

[28:02] Speaker 6: We live confidently and anticipate His coming, offering Him our daily lives, our acts of kindness, our loyalty, our love, knowing that He will meet even our sins and sorrows into His sovereign purpose. Come, Lord Jesus, come. (instrumental music plays) If you but trust Him enough to guide you and place your confidence in Him, you'll find Him always there beside you to give you hope and strength within. For those who trust God's changeless love will not walk wild and fear not move. Only be still and wait His pleasure, be cheerful with heart content. He fills your needs to fullest measure with what His serving love has sent. Now that our inmost wants are known to Him Who loves Us, so Let us offer our needs before Him in faith, for he will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[30:38] Speaker 10: (choir sings) Let us pray. Father, we come to you with countless reasons to give thanks and praise. Lord, You are so faithful. You are so merciful. You are steadfast, reliable, trustworthy, ever true, and Your loving-kindness never ceases. Today we thank You for what You have done in the lives of each of these graduates. We also wanna thank You for those who have supported these graduates along their journeys. We praise the Lord for the blessing of family and friends. We thank You for their encouragement, the sacrifices they have made for these graduates. We thank You for the many events that were planned, activities attended, and hours spent driving their kids to places that they needed to go. We pray that the Lord will sustain these family connections and all of these friendships, even if they are separated. We pray that these ties will remain strong.

[32:50] Speaker 10: Lord, we thank You for the teachers, the Sunday school teachers, the Gems, the Scouts, the crew leaders who gave their hearts and minds to teaching and mentoring these graduates. Thank You for giving them a spirit of grace, understanding, and compassion. Lord, we praise You for the spiritual and life lessons these graduates have learned in their homes, school, and through church. Father, today we are thankful for the way You created each one of these graduates. We praise You for the talents, aptitudes, and the minds that You've given each of them. We pray that each will use their gifts to be a light in this present world. May they use their talents to serve You, and may they be Your hands and feet in this world. As they become more independent, we pray that these graduates will discipline themselves in good and godly ways.

[33:58] Speaker 10: We pray they will meet new friends who will share their faith and commitment with Christ, friends who will encourage them, support them in their spiritual walk, friends who will lift them up. We pray for their health and safety. Many of these graduates will now be responsible for the food they consume, the amount of sleep they get, the activities in which they participate, and when to seek medical attention. We pray that they make smart choices that help them stay healthy and safe. We pray for their finances. We pray that You will provide for their needs, and that they will spend wisely. While we celebrate their many accomplishments, we realize that moving away from home and taking the next step in their lives brings a lot of uncertainty and even some anxiety. We pray that each of these graduates will claim the promise of Psalm 46, that You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in these challenging times.

[35:11] Speaker 10: Give each of these graduates the courage to step into the unfamiliar, knowing that You are with them every step. We pray that these young people will know that You are the source of all truth and all understanding. Grant them hearts that love learning and minds that seek wisdom. When temptation comes to take shortcuts, including the use of KAI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, remind these students that intellectual growth is found in the journey, not in getting to the destination. We pray that Your protection will be with them as they face many temptations. We acknowledge that over the next decade, many of these graduates will make lifelong decisions and choices. We pray that they will seek to know You, Your will, and to follow Christ fully. We pray for Your wisdom and Your guidance. We pray these graduates will identify and establish sustainable connections with the local Church and other Christian communities.

[36:35] Speaker 10: Go before them and prepare a place where they can get involved and they can serve Christ.We pray our graduates will be witnesses for Christ in word and deed. May they be an example in faith, purity, and devotion to God. These graduates will no doubt have opportunities to be leaders and missionaries on campuses and workplaces. We pray that they are bold, confident, and eager to share their faith wherever they go. Lord, we know it will take time for these graduates to know Your will and Your plans for them. We pray that these graduates will have patience to wait and see what You have in store for them. Help them to know that when things fall through, then You have something better planned for them ahead. We pray that these graduates will never forget their salvation, and may they continue to grow in grace and faith. We pray that they will place their hope and trust in You, Lord, and that they will not depend solely on their own wisdom, their own knowledge, and their own understanding.

[38:01] Speaker 10: In the name of the anchor of our faith, Your precious Son, we pray. Amen.

[38:17] Speaker 11: Our sermon passage tonight comes from Jeremiah 29, which, which is found on page 1,223 in your Pew Bibles. And while you turn there, I am gonna call it out and say, yes, I am preaching on Jeremiah 29:11 in graduation season, and some of you might hear a commencement speech soon about that as well. Uh, but my hope tonight is that by looking at the greater context in which verse 11 is embedded in, uh, we can understand a little more deeply and holistically, uh, what that common memory work that we're all familiar with, uh, means to us. Let's begin reading at verse one. This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

[39:18] Speaker 11: This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem. He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said, "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 'Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there. Do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.

[40:32] Speaker 11: Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.' Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says, 'Do not let the prophets and demi- diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,' declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says, 'When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.

[41:46] Speaker 11: I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.'" This is the word of the Lord.

[42:02] Speaker 6: Thanks be to God.

[42:07] Speaker 11: There's a quote on a wall at my house. It's a Lord of the Rings quote, and if you'd asked me 10 years ago if I would have had a Lord of the Rings quote on my wall, I would have said no. But marriage is a funny thing, and when your husband, uh, suggests we should watch the extended edition of all three movies at least once a year, you end up with a Lord of the Rings quote on your wall. And so the quote on our wall comes from the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring. It's a scene in the Mines of Moria where Frodo and Gandalf are talking. Frodo has been tasked with taking the ring to Mount Doom. He finds himself displaced from his home, the Shire.He finds himself disoriented and confused because he's seen more violence and destruction in the last little bit than he has in his whole life. And he's really scared, and so he turns to Gandalf and says, "I wish the ring had never come to me.

[43:11] Speaker 11: I wish none of this had happened." And Gandalf replies, and this is the quote on our wall, "So do all, who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." This conversation between Frodo and Gandalf is like the letter between God and the Jews in Babylon. The Jews are like Frodo, they've been displaced from their home, more specifically, they've been exiled. And exile literally means to be forcibly removed from your home as a form of punishment. And so in 597 BCE, the Babylonians invade Jerusalem, they destroy homes, kill people, and King Nebuchadnezzar, who's the leader at the time, takes a group of the Jews to Babylon. They've been exiled. They're like Frodo, displaced, disoriented, and scared. While many of us, if not most of us, have never been exiled from our homes, I bet we can all resonate with the feeling of being out of place.

[44:31] Speaker 11: Maybe you've felt out of place in a room full of people because no one's talking to you, maybe you have senioritis and you feel out of place at school and you are ready to move on to the next stage, or maybe you've felt out of place because you've been forced into a season of your life that you never intended to be in. A medical diagnosis has changed your future, a car accident has left you with payments you didn't expect, you might have to move someone into a care facility sooner than you thought, or a family member suddenly dies and you're looking at what to do next. Sudden and unexpected events leave us feeling displaced. And while the Jews are like Frodo, feeling out of place, God's response is kind of like Gandalf. God tells the people exactly what to do with the time that they've been given. God tells the Jews beginning in verse 5 that they should build homes, plant gardens, settle down, and get married.

[45:47] Speaker 11: In other words, God is inviting th- the Jews to build a life here in Babylon, and He's indicating to them that they're gonna be there for a while. And this would have come as a shock to the Jews because just a chapter earlier, in Jeremiah 28, there's a prophet there named Hananiah, and he's prophesying that King Nebuchadnezzar's rule is gonna end in two years time. Well, if that's true, you don't buy a home for two years, you'll rent. You don't plant a garden 'cause you aren't gonna see the fruit it will produce. No sense in getting married to the person you're only gonna know for about two years. Might as well just wait till you get home and find someone. But this is why in verses 8 through 10, God reminds the Jews to not listen to false prophets. Hananiah was not speaking on God's behalf.

[46:45] Speaker 11: God reminds the people, "They are prophesying lies to you." So along with telling the Jews to settle down and reminding them that His word is true, God tells the Jews to spend their time seeking the peace and prosperity of the city. The word prosperity there is shalom in Hebrew, which means the way God intended society to be. God intended the world to be peaceful, just, whole. So God's not asking the Jews just to pick up some trash as they go along and help with the littering problem. He's not asking them just to wave to their neighbor across the street, but never learn their name. No, God's asking them to seek shalom, to seek justice, to find a place here in the place they feel displaced. He's asking them to seek justice for the people that just treated them unjustly. Hmm. And he's asking them to care for their enemies. It doesn't seem like it makes sense. How do you feel when you're in a season of feeling displaced?

[48:12] Speaker 11: I bet most of us have a lot of questions when we get displaced, and I imagine that the Jews had a lot of questions too. Questions like, "Doesn't God love me enough to bring me home now? Isn't God powerful enough to change my circumstances now? He saved the Israelites, why not me? Why is God abandoning me?" These questions are full of tension, and they lack good answers. Christianity is full of tensions where we have two things that are impossible to hold togetherThink about Jesus. He's fully human and he's fully divine. That ... How? That doesn't seem to be possible, but in Jesus it is. Or think about how we proclaim that as humans we have free will, and so we have some choices. But we also declare that God is sovereign, meaning He's in control of everything. So He's in control, but I still have some choice? Th- it seems impossible to make sense. As Christians, we often live in the tension of two things. My seminary professor, Scott Cormode, calls this the tension of the middle.

[49:37] Speaker 11: The exiles in Babylon, the Jews there, they were living in the tension between God loving them and God asking them to settle down and seek the shalom of the city. What holds these two things together? How can we live in the tension of the middle? What motivates us to care about the place that we're in and invest in these seasons when we feel so displaced? Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School, and she writes about her journey with stage four cancer and her own wrestling with that tension of the middle. In her book, Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved, she writes about a letter she received from someone when she was battling cancer. She writes, "A man writes to me about being taken hostage with his family, and watching helplessly as they were threatened. But God was there, and he can't explain it. He can't explain who loosened the ropes and let him escape with his family unharmed.

[50:57] Speaker 11: And he'll never understand why he survived while his neighbor was killed. He doesn't rationalize why some people are rescued and others are not. But he knows God was there, because he felt peace. Indescribable peace, and it changed him forever. He ends the letter with a shrug. 'I have no idea how this works, but I wish this for you as you move forward.'" In his letter, this man didn't try to rationalize or give answers to Bowler's situation. He just said that God was there, and that he wished she would find peace. And in God's letter to the exiles, He's not trying to explain to them either why these things are happening to them. Instead, He's writing them a love letter that contains three important truths. Three things that will sustain them in their exile. Three things that will help them live in the tension of the middle. Three things that can strengthen us as we live in seasons of displacement. Those three things are first, God gives His people a roadmap to flourishing.

[52:22] Speaker 11: In the second half of verse 7, after God tells them to seek the shalom of the city, He says, "Pray for it, because if it, the city, prospers, you too will prosper." God is telling the people that when they care for the city, they will be blessed too. This reminds me of Serve Week here at La Grave, when our own youth group and other youth groups from around North America come and live here at our church and serve in our community for a week. It's always really easy to see how we give back to the city. We see the gardens are weeded, we see that the fence got built, we make the food and feed it to the hungry, and we meet new people and help them, uh, with their different situations. But it's harder sometimes to see how those acts impact us. But sometimes we get a sneak peek into it.

[53:23] Speaker 11: Last year, one leader wrote in their feedback form, "Jesus showed me throughout the week ways I can be a leader that I couldn't previously see in myself, and He gave me a path to grow in." Just like God made a path for this leader to experience something good about themselves through their own good acts toward others, God is inviting the Jews and us to invest in the places we find ourselves in, because in our investment, we too will prosper. Second, in the letter, God reminds His people that He's with them. In verses 12 and 13, God writes about how if the people call on Him and pray to Him, He will listen. And if they seek Him with all their heart, they will find Him. God has never abandoned His people before. And so even though they do feel abandoned, they're not, and God is reminding them of that. And there will be times in our own lives where we feel lost, like God's not with us. But when we pray to Him, He will listen, and when we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him.

[54:45] Speaker 11: Finally, God assures the people that there's a future they can put their hope in. In verse 11, God says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.'"Plans to give you a hope and a future. God declares that He will bring the Jews back from captivity. He says it'll happen in 70 years, though, so for a lot of those people hearing that letter, it wasn't going to be a future for them, it wasn't going to be a future for their children. It was most likely going to be a future for their grandchildren. So why would the Jews put their trust in this hope? It's because God is faithful yesterday, today, and forever. And God is a God who keeps His promises. If God promises that He has a plan, that He has a future, and He has a hope in store for them, well then, He sure does, because He is trustworthy and His word is true. And since God is trustworthy and keeps His promises, we too can put our hope in Him.

[56:05] Speaker 11: And just like He had a hope in store for the Jews, God has a hope in store for us. Our future and hope are found in Christ. In Christ, God has conquered death. In Christ, God is already present and beginning to make all things new. And in Christ, one day, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and there will be no more death, no more crying, and no more pain. This hope, this hope for this future, this is what sustains us as we live in this tension of the middle. This hope gives us courage to invest in places where we feel displaced. This hope gives us the strength to seek the shalom of the city, and it's the hope that gives us a place amidst our displacement. Tonight is graduate night, and some of you seniors might already be feeling displaced, like your school isn't where you belong anymore, you're ready to move on.

[57:22] Speaker 11: And maybe for others of you, you're not yet experiencing that feeling, but you might next fall, when you have a new city, when you're in a new dorm, when you're trying to make new friends, or you're starting a new job for the first time. We all experience seasons of displacement in our life. It's part of being human. But just like the exiled Jews, we can build homes, we can settle down, we can seek the shalom of the city we've been placed in, because God has laid a path before us. He is always present with us, and He has given us a hope that can be our place when we feel displaced. Let's go to God in prayer. Dear God, thank You for Jesus Christ, for His death, resurrection, and the hope of new life that we find in Him. May this hope continue to strengthen and sustain us as we journey through this life. And in the days and weeks ahead, Lord, draw near to us as we seek the peace and prosperity of the places we are in.

[58:43] Speaker 11: We love You, Lord, and we are so grateful that You are trustworthy and that You keep Your promises. In Your name we pray, amen.

[58:55] Speaker 12: (worship band playing)

[58:57] Speaker 6: (congregation singing) Jesus, draw me ever nearer as I labor through the storm. You have called me to this passage, and I'll follow more and more. May this journey bring a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith, and at the end of my journey's sea, if your likeness may I see. Jesus-... still assured. When the midnight east doth lour me, let the unmoved feel it more. May this journey bring me blessing. May I rise on wings of faith.

[01:01:43] Speaker 6: And, at the end of life's testing, may your likeness, Lord, be made. That the treasures of this life are but dimly as you're, and, at the end of this passage, let me be led by your hand. May this journey bring me blessing. May I rise on wings of faith. And, at the end of life's testing, may your likeness, Lord, be made.

[01:03:06] Speaker 11: All right. This is what you all came for. So at this time, I'd like to invite our 12th graders, our seniors, up to the front. Um, for your, uh, we will recognize you, present you with a cool gift bag with a devotional book and some other stuff. So if you're a senior, come on up. I see you guys. Ike, Ruby, Lily, there we go, all right. And you guys can stand up on the steps so everyone can see you. Awesome, welcome. Awesome. Great. All right. At this time, uh, Christie is gonna read your names, and if you hear your name, you can kinda raise your hand and I'll bring you your bag. And there might be some names that are read and they're not here. And that's okay. We're still honoring them tonight, too. Um, so Christie's, if you wanna follow along, the list of graduates is in your bulletin, so you can do that. Um, after the recognition, we're gonna sing My Friends, May You Grow in Grace. I'm gonna say that again to prompt Larry, 'cause I told him I would.

[01:04:15] Speaker 11: Um, and at that time, we'll sing a bless- that blessing upon our seniors, so you guys are gonna stay right here. Uh, and then after, we'll do the blessing, and then you guys will walk out to Pomp and Circumstance, which will be awesome. So that's our plan. Uh, so Christie, if you'd like to-

[01:04:31] Speaker 7: Okay.

[01:04:31] Speaker 11: ... start reading some names.

[01:04:32] Speaker 7: Our hearty congratulations and blessings to all of you. We're gonna send you out in just a few minutes. Um, first we wanna acknowledge Olivia Ackerman, Calvin Christian School, Lily Batts, Grand Rapids Christian, Victoria Blackport, East Grand Rapids, Nathaniel Bulkama, Calvin Christian, Katelyn Brown, East Grand Rapids, Lillian Dewall-Malafite, Unity Christian, Mason Elliott, Calvin Christian, Madison Landheer, Grand Rapids Christian, Ari Knol, Grand Rapids Christian, Ike Ondersma, Grand Rapids Christian, Isabella Rutter, Grand Rapids Christian, Ethan Snapper, Caledonia, Moey Vandenheuvel, South Christian, and Ruby Vanhaitsma, South Christian.

[01:05:36] Speaker 11: Awesome. Let's give 'em a hand. (applause) Yay. All right. At this time, we are gonna sing a song of blessings, uh, over our seniors.

[01:06:48] Speaker 6: My friends, may you grow in grace, and knowledge, our Lord and Savior.In the name of Jesus Christ. To God be the glory, now and forever. Now and forever, amen. To God be the glory, now and forever. Now and forever, amen.

[01:08:03] Speaker 7: Congregation. Congregation and seniors, I hope that what you just felt in our sort of, um, traditional context was the equivalent of a hug, okay? So these people out here (laughs) are your church family. And it feels awkward to stand up here and look out at them. It feels awkward for them to sta- st- out there and raise their hands over you, but really, what we want you to have the experience of tonight is knowing that there is a church family that is behind you, that is cheering for you, that has prayed for you, that will continue to pray for you. So we send you out tonight with God's blessing. I'm gonna raise my hands and those of you out there, if you wish to, you can extend a hand in blessing to them as well. And this blessing is for you too, so one hand this way and another hand this way. Friends, may the Lord bless you and may he keep you. May he make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

[01:09:11] Speaker 7: May he lift up the light of his face upon you and give you his deep, deep peace today in every step you take. Amen.

[01:09:21] Speaker 6: Amen.

[01:09:21] Speaker 7: Go in peace. (organ music)

[01:10:20] Speaker 6: (bells chiming)

[01:10:32] Speaker 6: (instrumental music) (crowd clapping)

[01:13:41] Speaker 13: (band plays Pomp and Circumstance) (crowd applauds)

[01:15:26] Speaker 14: (background chatter)