Words to Graduates From Bethlehem Staff and Elders.pdf

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.—Proverbs 12:15

Graduation can be one of those timely life junctures at which to ponder important values and trajectories, especially those offered by wise and trusted counselors. So we asked several of the elders and members of the ministerial staff to offer brief but meaty advice to graduates:

Be free like a dolphin cutting through the waves of culture, not captive to contemporary currents like a jellyfish. Which means (moving from the sea to the sailors): Lock on to the lodestar of God’s written Word, and test every tide by that. In other words (moving from the sailors to the surveyors): Know the terrain of God’s word better than you know the back of your hand.
—Pastor John

May God give you daily grace to lock yourself up in a room with sweet Jesus (in prayer and the Word) until you come out drunk with heavenly joy and empowered by the Holy Spirit to turn the world upside down through the glorious gospel! (And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.—Acts 4:31)
—Pastor Kempton Turner

May God give you grace to abide in him, rejoicing in such intimacy with him that you become the vehicle through which his fruit blesses the world! (Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.—John 15:4–5)
—Jon Nowlin, Pastoral Resident for Young Adult (Sr High) Discipleship, North Campus

“Christ is better than anything life can give or death can take away.” (Origin Unknown)
—Bryan Pickering, Elder

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight [or, he will direct your paths].—Proverbs 3:5–6.
God’s Word is true and utterly reliable. He will do as he promises! What an unlimited debit card! Congratulations!
—Joyce Heinrich, Minister for Early Childhood

Worshiping the great triune God is to be our primary pastime in this life because it will be our primary pastime in the life to come. “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1) and “The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations” (Revelation 21:23–26).
—Pastor Dan Holst

Above all else, guard your heart.
—Tim Johnson, Elder Chairman

May you take to heart the promise and warning expressed by Moses to the people of Israel: “See I set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 30:15–18).
—Sally Michael, Minister for Resources & Program Development

Graduates, you are among a very few in the history of our world to have achieved what you have. I offer you hearty congratulations and a firm reminder—don’t waste what God has given you. Use every moment from today forward to help others make Christ their treasure.
—Mike Tong, Pastoral Resident for Neighborhood Outreach, Downtown

Congratulations! My prayer for you, my plea to you, is that whatever you choose in this next phase of your life, that you especially find your place in a local church—one that will watch over your soul, that will teach, encourage, and admonish you in the Truth, and one that you can bring to bear all the gifts God has given you.
—Bill Zwicky, Elder

My favorite and most-often used verse in encouraging graduates is 2 Chronicles 16:9—“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” It is an encouragement to both keep a pure heart before God and to rest in the strong support that he promises to those who do!
—Mary Delk, Minister for Women

Do you have a life’s motto yet? It’s okay to borrow from others … here is William Carey’s: “Expect great things … attempt great things!” And Cameron Townsend’s: Adilente! Siempre Adilente! (“Forward … always forward!”).
—Pastor David Livingston

May the conferring of your diploma be exceeded by the conferring of wisdom to you as you heed God-given biblical wisdom.

Pursuing wisdom with you,

Pastor Sam