Graduation Sunday 2026

God, we come to you this morning and we come to praise the name of Jesus.

We come to lift up your name, to bless your name.

But God, we also know that so often we come into your presence, into your midst.

We are blessed as well.

God, that we receive a blessing.

And God, I pray that over everyone in the congregation this morning.

God, that we will all truly know that you are for us.

God, that you desire to bless us.

God, we can walk in your favor each and every day.

God, we pray that for these graduating seniors,

that you will be for them for a thousand generations,

for them and their families and their children.

We pray that for the youngest person in this room.

We pray this for the oldest person in the room.

Then all things, God, that we will just truly experience a blessing from you.

And God, because of that, we will seek to share that blessing with others.

God, I pray that we will never be a people that just wants to be blessed,

just to be blessed.

But God, that we will always seek to be blessed by you,

so we can point other people to you.

So, so Holy Spirit, just move in a powerful way this morning.

God, especially as we do something different,

we pray that you will speak clearly, not just to the seniors,

but to each person who is here.

Each person who's not here as well, God, the shut-ins we have in that church,

people who are not well, people who are in the hospital,

people who are at home or on vacation, watching right now.

God, we pray that you will bless them as well.

God, help them to know how near you are, how close you are,

and how full of love and compassion you are

for each and every person here listening this morning.

And so, God, we give you the service,

and we ask that we can just build up the name of Jesus

through all that we do.

In your name, amen.

You may be seated.

Good morning.

So, this year is always one of my favorite Sundays throughout the year

as we get to really encourage, pray over, and send off graduating seniors,

which there's a lot of them.

There's a lot of them this year.

I think about, I'm going to try to make it through this whole service without crying.

I practiced my notes this morning for the last time.

I almost made it without crying just in my notes.

So, looking you all in the eyes, it's going to be a little tricky and hard,

but I'm going to try to do it.

There's a lot of them, and even if there weren't a lot of them,

even if they were a small group, they would still be a mighty group.

This is a group that I've been with, I've known for years and years

since some of them were in fifth grade,

and it's just been a joy to see who they are

and the young people that they've become.

And so, I'm super grateful for that.

I just remember, I was just thinking right there,

as we were singing this song probably five years ago at camp,

we had probably about half of you were at camp that year,

and our team was a little smaller that year,

and the camp director called me.

It's like, your team's going to be a little small.

Is that okay?

It's like, they might be small, but they're mighty,

and I still feel that today.

And we won because that's what we do.

And so, what we're going to do this morning is,

I'm going to bring them up one at a time.

I'm going to tell them, sorry, I need to grab this microphone,

ask them their name.

Well, I know their names, but they can tell you their names,

tell you where they're graduating from,

and what's going on next in life.

And then after that, I'll say nice things about all of them.

Some of you, it's very easy to think of nice things to say.

Sometimes I really had to rack my brain about.

Just kidding.

It was easy for all of you.

And then I'm going to give them a gift,

a card, and a verse that I think goes along with you.

So, sound good?

And so, for you all, you all get to listen in,

and think about, everyone here is going to have a verse.

The verse will be on the screen.

This is a way that I feel like the Lord has put on my heart

for them going forward, who they are,

slash who they're becoming.

And so, you can pray these verses along with me in the future

as they go off to college, military, work, whatever it is.

And so, we can, and at the end, after we have everyone,

I'm going to bring all 13 of them back up,

and then we're going to pray over them.

Because I see this and view this as an opportunity

to launch them out into the next stages of their life,

as the young men and young women

that God called them to be.

Because the truth of the matter is,

there probably won't be another time on this earth

that all 13 of you all will be in the same place

at the same time.

And so, we want to make sure we pray over you

for this special occasion.

All right, everyone good?

You all good?

All right, we're going to start it off with Molly.

So, come on up.

If you could tell us your name,

where you're graduating from, and what's next in life.

My name is Molly.

I just graduated from Sparberg High School.

This fall, I'll be going to Sparberg Community College

to begin my journey in veterinary medicine.

All right, Molly.

So, Molly, you are one of the longstanding Graham Chapel youth.

Again, you've been here from, I mean,

since you were a child.

And you're one of the ones, one of the, I think,

four people who are here that I saw as fifth graders

come into the youth group for the first time.

So, your grade is unique in that,

that your entire youth group experience,

you've only known me as youth pastor.

Sorry, it's what you're stuck with.

And so, you're one of the ones,

the few people that knew me before I hit my 30s.

And increasingly, you'll be part of the group,

one of the few people that knew me before I was bald.

But it's been so cool to see you grow

from that fifth grader to high school graduate.

And what's cool about you, Molly,

is that even when you entered into the youth group,

like, you were already responsible.

Like, you were already wise beyond your years.

And it's been cool to see that you've gone from that.

And you didn't like plateau and peak in sixth grade,

but you continue to grow and become

the amazing, wonderful young woman

that the Lord has made you into.

And so, it's been odd for me that for you

and some of these other ones I've known the most,

so it's actually hardest to get a gift for you.

But I got something for you.

And so, for you, well, here's a card for you.

And for you, I went back to just one of your

long-standing gifts and abilities and talents

of what I got for you.

So, if you didn't know, Molly is a very talented artist.

I have a box of stuff, because normally,

I have a bag, but there's too many of them.

And so, for you, Molly, I got a bunch of paint pens.

The reason why, one, you're a very talented artist.

And two, when I was in college,

as someone who has no, I have some athletic abilities,

no artistic abilities, I needed paint pens all the time.

And so, I'm just trying to bless you,

get you ahead of that, and so you can do that.

And again, one of the reasons I got that

is because you are someone who adds

to the beauty of the world.

Like, you look to seek to add to that

through your artistic abilities,

through caring for animals, and all kinds of ways.

And so, hopefully, you can use those paint pens

to continue to add beauty to the world that God put us in.

The verse I have for you is Daniel chapter 12, verse 3.

Daniel 12:3

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness

of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness,

like the stars, forever and ever.

And I feel your wisdom beyond your years,

your righteousness that you have,

that God uses that in you to be this bright light

that we see from heaven or like the stars,

and that we live in a dark world,

but we get glimpses of God's goodness through people.

And you're one of those people who lives that out,

and I think people are going to get to see

God's light and love through you in so many ways.

So, thank you.

Here, I'm going to give it for Molly.

All right, next up, we've got Ava.

So, Ava, if you could tell us your name,

where you're graduating from,

and what's next in life.

Hello, my name's Ava Hill.

I'm graduating from Chesney High School,

and next year I'm going to Spartanburg Community College

to study education.

All right.

Thank you, Ava.

I know it's hard to share in front of people.

Ava, I'm grateful for the young lady

that God has made you into,

and God's used you in some great ways,

ways that maybe you know,

and maybe ways that you don't know.

I think about from a church perspective,

Pastor James and I and Pastor Haley

get to see more of the inner works of the church

more than anyone else,

and we notice things more than other people.

A handful of years ago,

I don't remember how many years at this point,

but you expressed an interest in getting baptized.

And so, we baptized you here,

and that was in the post-COVID world

where God was doing some good things,

but the church wasn't growing,

it wasn't shrinking.

But after that point,

when you first expressed that interest

in getting baptized,

as a church, we've probably baptized 40 to 50 people.

And so, just something happened

once you had your willingness to say yes to God

and to make that profession of faith through baptism.

And so, I say thank you from a church perspective

on how God used that in other people's lives

to inspire them to take those steps of get baptized

and to grow in their faith.

And so, thank you.

So, I have a gift and verse and a card.

So, for you, I'll share your verse first.

It's Matthew 5, 14 to 16.

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on a stand

and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.

God's made you a beautiful part of his creation

and I think he wants to use you

to bring love and light into this world.

And so, I think just that's a verse that comes to mind

that I think of you and what you do.

So, for you, your gift.

Some of these gifts are serious.

Some of them are a little bit gag gifts.

You get a gag gift, Ava.

I got you some light bulbs.

So, I don't know if you even remember,

but a handful of years ago,

light bulbs were a little bit of an inside joke

between you and me, Christine and Lindsay.

Also, but they represent the verse

that we're talking about.

Because in the Bible, Jesus says,

in the Gospel of John,

Jesus says he is the light of the world

and here in Matthew,

he says you are the light of the world.

Jesus is the true light.

Those light bulbs are not shining in that box right now.

What does it take for them to light up?

We have to plug them in, right?

And so, the same thing is true with us

in our walk with Christ,

that we are going to shine.

The only way we're truly going to shine

is when we're connected to the source,

when we're connected to Jesus.

And so, Jesus wants to shine through you.

Jesus has the ability to shine through you.

All you have to do is stay connected to him

and you're going to be a light

that other people can see and need in our world today.

So, everyone give it for Ava.

All right, next up, we've got Brian.

Come on up, Brian.

So, Brian, tell us your name,

where you're graduating from,

and what's next in life?

My name is Brian Preller.

I'm a graduate from Chesney High School

and next I'm going to go to Asheville Tech

to pursue fly school.

That's cool.

So, Brian, I, as a youth pastor,

love all of these.

I appreciate you because,

at least from my perspective,

you're not a dramatic drama person.

Like, any time you come on a Sunday or a Wednesday,

I know I can go talk to Brian

and it's not going to like drain my battery

to be around you, right?

I don't have to like put on my work mind.

It's like I can just hang out and talk to Brian.

It's going to be fun.

It's going to be chill,

especially if we get to make fun of Kevin's golf shots.

Then it's like really good.

But I always enjoy that.

So, I have a goal for you, actually,

and as you're becoming a pilot.

So, I was talking to my three-year-old Daniel

the other day

and I was talking about trains

and he was like,

can we go ride a train?

I was like, sure, let's go ride a train.

And then he was like,

can we go on a plane?

And I was like,

that's a little more of a steep task

to go on a plane than a train.

But I was like,

you know what,

maybe Brian can continue

to become this pilot to fly

and get to the point

where you are good enough.

Not, I would trust my life with you right now.

You've flown plane times before,

but it's a different thing to trust

my three-year-old and two-year-old in your life.

So, go, become a pilot,

and then maybe one day,

me and Daniel and Asher

can come ride with you

and you can be the first pilot

that they'll override.

I'll trust you with that, right?

And that's high praise,

especially with my wife sitting there,

agreeing to take a three-year-old

and two-year-old in a plane.

So, because I believe in you

as a person and as a pilot,

I actually bought you a plane.

The problem is it's a Lego plane.

So, I asked Pastor James

and he said the church

couldn't quite afford to give you

like hundreds of thousand dollars

in a plane.

So, for now,

we're going to trust you

with that Lego plane

until we can get you

something different.

The verse that I have for you,

Brian, is Isaiah 40-30-31.

Even youth grow tired and weary

and young men stumble and fall,

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagle.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not be faint.

And so, the older you get,

the more tired you get,

but the truth is

God wants to renew your strength,

both in the physical,

but also in the spiritual.

That there are days

when you're going to be spiritually weary,

spiritually tired,

spiritually want to throw in the towel,

whatever it is,

but seek the Lord

and He will renew your strength,

not just so you can make it by,

but so you can soar.

And so, you've been made to soar

as a career,

and God wants you to soar

spiritually as well.

So, everyone give it up for Brian.

Next up is Carson.

Gotta look through my bag.

So, Carson,

it's been great getting to know you

a little bit over this past year,

especially through the baseball team,

and God's been doing a lot

of really cool things

on the Chesney baseball team this year.

And I think you're a part of that.

Like, some of the decisions you're making

towards the beginning of the year

to seek Christ

and to put Christ first,

obviously made a difference in your life,

but I think has made a difference

in other people's lives.

And so, it's been cool to see.

I also appreciate the grit that you have.

So, towards the beginning of the season,

you sprained your ankle,

and I thought you would,

I assumed you kind of missed some games

because of that.

And then I remember talking to you

and saying,

ah, we just taped it up

and played through it.

And that's my kind of person.

Like, too many times in life

we're trying to,

oh well, let me just get healthy.

Let me do this.

But sometimes we just got to tough it out.

And so, I appreciate you being a person

who's just going to tough it out

for yourself,

but also for your team.

A verse that I have for you

is Deuteronomy 10-20.

Fear the Lord your God

and serve him.

Hold fast to him

and take your oaths in his name.

And really hold fast to him

is that part that I want to remember.

Because you're going to go

through difficult times in your life.

You've already been through difficult times.

You'll go through more as you get older.

Hold tight to the Lord

in the midst of that.

Hold fast to him.

Cling to him in the midst

of all the difficulties you go through

because he is for you.

He wants to bless you.

And so, for you,

you get another gag gift as well.

So, I'm going to have to explain this.

That's how bad of a gift it is.

If you have to explain a gift,

it's not a very good gift, right?

But I have a gift

I'm going to explain to you.

I got you a bunch

of giant paper clips.

But there's a meaning behind paper clips.

It actually started

with a friend of mine,

a really good friend of mine,

that to him,

the Lord ended up using paper clips

as an illustration to him.

That every time he saw a paper clip,

it was a reminder of who God was,

who God is.

And the reason it became that is,

my friend was going through

a really difficult time in life

where he was trying to turn out,

do I want to stay committed to my faith?

Do I not?

Just life was not good.

And in the midst of all of that,

he looked down

and I don't remember

where he was in this story,

but it was a really random place

and there was just a paper clip

on the floor.

And to him,

it was a visualization

that God is going to hold things together

because that's what paper clips do.

And to me,

that stuck with me.

That's probably 15 years ago

that he told me that.

And so now paper clips

have become a symbol

of the fact that

God's going to hold it together.

Even when the world

seems to be crumbling,

everything's falling apart.

God's still going to

hold it together for you.

So be on the lookout

for not just giant paper clips,

but all paper clips.

Because again,

even a couple months ago,

there was something difficult

going on in life

and I looked down

in what was at the floor

in a really random place.

A paper clip,

as a reminder,

that even though everything else

is falling apart,

God's still going to hold it together.

So here we go for Carson.

Alright, up next we got Eli.

Come on up, Eli.

My name is Elijah.

I'm graduating from Chesney

and I'm going to attend

Commerce to play basketball.

So if you know Eli,

you know he's pretty good at basketball.

It's been such a joy

to get to know you

over these past couple years.

And you know,

when you get older,

I'm still a very competitive person,

but like I get much more joy

and other people being really good,

especially young people like you.

Because I mean,

the truth of the matter is,

even though I'm old and bald,

like still in the basketball court,

I could still humble

all the other youth.

And then you show up

in the pecking order totally changed.

I could no longer hold my own against you.

I think I think about last year,

the most embarrassed I ever

got in a basketball court

was at camp last summer.

You're just like not even trying

and I'm giving my all.

And again, I'm 30 something years old

and like washed

and I was never as good as you anyway,

but I was giving everything

and you hit seven straight three pointers.

Like I wasn't even there.

Like I seven three pointers in a row

regardless is impressive.

But then with me like

hand in your face did not matter.

But it was still like

you're such a likable person

that there was never a moment

in that that I was angry.

Like you're one of the few people

that I feel like you're really chill

and got this great personality,

but it's also super competitive.

And I really appreciate that about you

because I'm competitive

and I would like to think

that I'm fairly relaxed chill person.

So for you, your verse

and your gift go hand in hand.

Let me read your verse first actually

because it'll make more sense.

Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10

Ephesians 2:10

for we are God's handiwork

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So Eli, when God looks at you,

he sees you as his handiwork.

Like you are another translation

calls it masterpiece.

You are a masterpiece of his creation

and not just your athletic ability,

but you as a person

who you are on the inside

is a masterpiece by God's creation.

He loves you deeply

and he made you very well.

He also has good work for you to do.

Like there are good things

that he wants you to do

yes on the basketball court,

but even more so in life

and how you treat people,

how you love people,

your family, your friends,

and ultimately how you can point them

to the good God that you know.

And so for you,

because you're God's handiwork

and because God has good things

for you to do,

I got you some tools to work with.

Got you a hammer

and I want one of these myself.

It's a little like handheld socket wrench set

and so it's a physical thing.

Go work on stuff.

Go fix stuff.

But the spiritual meaning behind it

is there's going to be difficulties

not just in your life,

but in other people's lives

and you get to come in

and you get to help

do some of the work to repair people

to help them know that they are loved,

that they are valuable,

and that God has good things for them.

And so God's got lots

of really good plans for you

on and off the basketball court

and I look forward to seeing

all those things.

Alright, next up we've got Kai.

Alright Kai,

tell everyone your name,

where you're graduating from

and what's next?

My name is Kai Copeland.

I'm graduating from Chesapeake High School

and I'll also be attending

Converse for track.

So Kai, the first time you showed up

on a Tuesday night

to play basketball here,

I don't know, four years ago,

something like that.

I knew I was going to like you right away.

I wish I remembered

what shoes you wore that day,

but it was a bold shoe choice

and I really liked your shoes.

I also noticed you're a good shooter,

but people seem to think

you weren't a good shooter

and you played with a chip

on your shoulder.

So as someone who likes to play basketball,

someone who likes to be

a point guard in basketball,

like I'm going to look for people

who have a chip on their shoulder

and can shoot and that's you.

And so I like playing a lot

when you're on my team.

Now, I didn't know then

why you had so much

of a chip on your shoulder.

And if you know anything

about Kai's testimony,

there's a lot that's gone on

in his life.

And so I wish I knew then

how I could have been there

more for you

and encourage you in those early days

instead of just enjoying

playing basketball with you.

But in your life,

it's been so wonderful

to see the transformation

that God has worked in your life,

who he brought you from then

to who you are today.

It's just a wonderful thing

to see and witness

and to be a part of

and so I'm so grateful for that.

And so verse I have for you

is Romans 8 35 to 37,

which I think Tony

also has a card from you

and he also has a verse from Romans.

So something about Romans 8 for you.

Go home and read the whole chapter.

I think God's trying to speak to you

through Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

but the verse for you

that I want to share with you.

Who shall separate us

from the love of God

shall trouble or hardship

or persecution or famine

or nakedness or danger or sword

as it is written for your sake.

We face death all day long.

We are considered as sheep

to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things,

we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us.

And so I think the beginning

of the end of those verses

really stands out to me.

Who shall separate us

from the love of God?

You've been through

some really hard things

where people have

tried to divide you from people,

from God, from everything.

But nothing can separate you

from the love of God.

Jesus loves you so deeply

and so fully,

no matter what people have done,

no matter what people are going to do.

God loves you so much

and gave himself for you.

And through all of the things

that you've been through,

no, in all of these things,

you are more than a conqueror

through him who loved you.

You've already overcome

more adversity than most people

will ever face in their life.

And I hope that you don't have

quite as many of those battles

to fight going forward,

but you're still going to have

challenges to face

and God's going to allow you

to be a conqueror

and overcome all of those

challenges as well.

So for you Kai,

I got you this nice

transformer toy, right?

So to represent who you were

and who you are,

and I was going to get you Bumblebee

because Bumblebee is cooler

than Optimus Prime,

but ultimately I felt like

giving you Optimus Prime

because Optimus Prime is the leader.

And I think you show

a lot of leadership qualities.

I've seen you look out

for people on football team,

track team who are either

left to their own

or didn't know

what they were doing.

And so you've taken people

under your wing to encourage them,

build them up and point them

in the right direction.

And God's going to continue

to use that in your life

to build people up,

not to tear people down.

You're going to conquer

tons of situations in life,

but you're not going to be

someone who conquers people.

You're going to be

a builder up of people.

And so super excited for all

that God's done in your life

and can't wait to see

what he does next.

All right, up next is Kevin.

Tell us your name.

Where are you graduating from?

And what's next?

I'm Kevin.

I'm graduating

from Chesney High School

and my plans are to attend

an SMC to play baseball.

So it's been great

getting to know you

in the past, I don't know,

year and a half,

probably not even two years yet.

But I feel like I've known

you a long time.

I don't know why you seem like

if we had a time machine

and either I went for in time

or you went back in time,

you would have fit in

with me and my group of friends.

You're pretty smart.

You're pretty athletic.

Sometimes you do some dumb stuff

and it's great.

It's a lot of fun.

Say a lot of fun to be around.

So you've always felt

like a brother to me

in a lot of ways.

And again, talking about

the cool things

that God has done

in the baseball team,

you've been a huge part

of that this year

and you've been a huge part

of what's been going on

in our church, truthfully.

You went from not ever

having come here

like a year and a half ago

to now you were more invested

in having more of an impact

in this church than most people.

And that's a good thing.

And so it's cool

God can use you

in such a short amount of time

to be a part of the church

and to impact the church.

So thank you for doing that.

For you, I'll read your verse first.

Ephesians chapter 4, 22 to 24.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

You were taught with regard

to your former way of life

to put off your old self,

which is being corrupted

by its deceitful desires

to be made new

in the attitude of your minds

and to put on the new self

created to be like God

in true righteousness and holiness.

So that verse talks about

putting off the former way of life

and putting on the new self

that God has created you to be.

The new person that God

has formed you into

and is making you

is this amazing great person.

And the last part of that verse

says to put on the new self

created to be like God

in righteousness and holiness.

I truly think that God

wants to do a great thing in you

not just to be one of like

we should all strive

to be righteous and holy.

But I think God's going to do

do that in your life

in a way that some people

it gets off putting

when like, oh, I don't do that.

I don't say that.

But in a way that people

see the goodness

that God has for us,

like the good things

that God is doing for you

and in you that other people

are not going to look at

like, oh, I don't want

to be like that,

but instead be like

he's got something I'm missing.

How can I have that too?

And God wants to do that

in your life

to strip away the old

and to bring in the new.

So for you, I have

a bunch of golf balls.

So these are actually

recycled golf balls.

They've already been used.

So they have a purpose.

There's a reason I got you those.

Again, in life,

people have all those golf balls

at one point in time

were lost, forgotten,

considered not important

or valuable.

But for golfers like you and I,

we need every golf ball

we can get the more of the merrier.

And so you, though,

the spiritual lesson behind it

is God doesn't cast anyone off,

right?

No one is not valuable.

No one is too far gone.

God's going to find everyone

and bring them back.

And I think he can use you

to do that,

that you can help

communicate to people.

It's like, hey,

you're not too far gone.

Like you are still valuable.

You are still important.

And you can help them

understood that they are

truly loved by God

and not people might cast them

to the side.

People might forget them,

but God never has

and he never will.

And so you can just like

those golf balls

have been come back

for new purpose.

You can help people

find and experience

that truth too.

All right, up next is Peyton.

Come on up.

Your name.

Where you're graduating from

and what's next in life?

I'm Peyton.

I'm graduating

from Chesney High School

and I'm enlisted

in the Army National Guard

and I'm going to USC upstate.

So Peyton,

there's actually a bunch of you

this year that are graduating.

My fellow Northerners

come South.

I at least now consider

my a Southerner

in South Carolinian.

But I appreciate

that you've walked

that similar

because it's not easy

moving in high school

two, three states away

to have a totally different life.

And I don't know.

I consider myself a Southerner.

I love the South hardcore Southerner

at this point in life.

But it's a little odd

moving from the North here.

It takes a while to get used

to Southern culture

and things like that.

But I love that.

I hope you do too.

Found home here in South Carolina.

But even more so,

I hope that the impact

that the church made

in my life

when I moved to South Carolina

made a huge difference.

I think about

going to youth camp

things like that

that changed my life forever.

Hopefully things like youth group

and going to youth camp

have changed your life as well.

And that you always have

a place here at home

and all the wonderful things

that God has for you in the future.

So verse for you

Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 6.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid

or terrified because of them.

For the Lord your God

goes with you.

He will never leave you

nor forsake you.

Entering into the National Guard.

You've got a lot in your future

that's going to be hard,

difficult, challenging,

but rewarding.

And so the reason

that verse comes to mind

is just not to be afraid

in the midst of all

that's going to come your way.

Like it's natural to have fear

but we can face it courageously

through God's strength, right?

Be strong, be courageous

as you continue to get ready for it.

It's going to take probably moments

to continue to get ready

for going to the National Guard

to be strong and courageous

to get ready for that.

And then when you go

it's definitely going to need that.

And then the part

that I really want to remind you with is

for the Lord your God goes with you.

You're going to have to leave

basically everyone you know

to go do a lot of this stuff.

But you're not leaving the Lord behind.

He is going with you, right?

And so in all the difficulties,

all the challenges,

all the moments

you're probably going to want to give up.

Know that the Lord is with you.

He is there for you,

providing for you

and taking care of you

in the midst of all that.

So your gift.

I always really struggle to know

it to get to people

going into the military

because like you got to leave

like everything behind.

So as I'm sure you're starting running,

working out,

doing things like that to get ready.

Make sure you take care of yourself, right?

Roll out your back

because you're getting old now.

You're about to graduate.

Roll out your muscles.

You got to take care of yourself

because if you really want to grow

in any realm of life,

you have to stretch yourself

and then you need to recover, right?

And so things like that

can help you recover.

So the same thing is going to be true

in all challenges you face.

Make sure you're not just go,

go, go, go, go,

and never stop to heal

and to recover

and what's going on

to strengthen yourself even more.

And so spiritually the same is

pursue God.

Make sure you're good

in the right place and that

and then you can continue

to grow and do all the things

that God has for you.

So everyone give it up for Peyton.

All right, next up is Reuben.

Come on up.

Name where you're graduating from

and what's next in life.

Hello, my name is Reuben Brooks.

I'm graduating from Broome High School

and I'm going to USC Upstate

for Industrial Engineering.

All right, Reuben.

Congrats on finishing third

in your class at Broome.

That's quite the achievement.

I won't tell anyone

that you secretly bombed a test

so you'd finish third

instead of first or second

so you wouldn't have to give

a speech at graduation.

Your secret is safe with me.

I will tell no one at all.

No one will ever hear that.

I don't know

if that's actually true.

But so you're another one

like Brian that it's like

you make my job

as a youth pastor very easy.

I never there's never

going to be a stressful scenario

going to have a conversation with you.

I always appreciate Sunday.

When I see you walking up to me

it's always like,

oh, this is going to be

a refreshing conversation

because I know

if all the youth

that I've ever taught in front of

spoken in front of whatever

do I know that they have listened?

I don't know, but you

I do know you've listened.

And so you've been very good

for my mental health

and reminder that, you know,

God does good things through me

and things like that

because you know, I love

when you come ask me questions

about apologetics

or you've been talking about

the Bible reading plane

that you've been doing

where you're at.

It's always really encouraging

for me to have youth come up

and just without me like prying

to know that God is doing

good things in their life.

And so just know that you've

encouraged me

and built me up in my faith.

Hopefully I've done the same to you,

but you've at least made

that difference in my life.

So the verse that I have

for you is Proverbs 25 to

it is the glory of God

to conceal a matter

to search out a matter

is the glory of King.

And so there's a lot of things

in this world that we don't

always know and understand

that there are a lot of things

of God that have been hidden,

but it's a great thing

for us to go

and search them out

and understand God's beautiful world.

And you've got the mind

of a deep thinker.

You're really smart.

You can go and understand

some of these things

that God has hidden.

And I encourage you to do that

because there's a lot

of the intellectual world.

There's a lot of atheists,

new atheist movement,

things like that,

that you can,

I think not just your brain,

but also the heart

that you have for people.

You can make a huge impact

in helping people know,

hey, it actually

is a rational thing

to believe in God.

There's actually

the most logical thing

is that there is a higher power

that exists

that created everything we see.

And I think you can help people

understand that

in a really good way.

The only problem

with this verse is

it's the glory of God

to conceal a matter,

to search out a matter

is a glory of kings.

You're not a king.

So I guess that doesn't

apply to you,

but we're going to fix that.

All right.

So for you, I have a crown.

We're going to crown you

King of Mayo.

So now you can

you can go

and search out

the deep matters of the world

fulfilling this verse

from Proverbs.

So we give it up for Reuben.

All right.

Up next is Summer.

Come on up.

All right.

Summer, tell us your name,

where you're graduating from

and what's next in life.

Hi, I'm Summer Sanders.

I'm graduating

from Gaffney High School

and I'm attending Clemson

in the fall

to study political science.

So Summer, it's been really cool

to have you be part

of the church

for the last handful of months.

And a lot of people

might not know you,

not know that much about you.

You're going to Gaffney

and that's a lot

in and of itself

going to Gaffney.

That's Chesney people.

That's a big city there.

And so I think it's cool

that you've gone to Gaffney.

You're a scholar-athlete.

You've been part of JROTC,

tennis, all while working.

And so you've managed to balance

a lot of different realms of life,

all while making church

a priority in your life.

And so I really appreciate that

and that priority

of keeping God at the center

in the midst of all

the other good things

that you're doing.

It's going to serve you

very well in the future

going forward.

And you did all those things

very well.

Like you're in the Hall of Fame

at Gaffney for JROTC

and for tennis.

I don't think I've ever talked

to Hall of Fame tennis

player before.

So thanks for helping that

be the first time.

And so the fact that you have

all these talents and abilities

while making Christ a priority

that speaks well of you

and you're going to Clemson.

So go Tigers.

Verse for you.

Ephesians five is two

of my favorite verses

in the whole Bible.

Ephesians five one to two.

Follow God's example therefore

as dearly loved children

and walk in the way of love

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us

as a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to God.

And so most of that verse

those two verses talks about

who we are in Christ

that you are a dearly

loved daughter of God

that he loves you so much.

He's so proud of you.

So excited for all the things

that you've done.

And so he's really excited for that

and that he loves you so much

that he gave himself up for you.

And so most of it talks about that.

But then there's also the first part

of the verse that really

has our simple calling

because sometimes in Christianity

we overcomplicate things

at the end of the day.

Christ has called us to follow him.

Right, follow his example.

If you want to know

what it looks like to be

a passionate Christian

look at the life of Jesus

and go do the same.

And so because Jesus loves you

he wants the best for you

and he set the example.

So just follow in his steps

and all the things that you've got

going forward

in the rest of your life.

Just follow the example of Jesus

and he's going to use you

in a lot of really good ways.

So for you I have a gift for you.

Oh there it is.

I got nervous for a second.

As a Hall of Fame tennis player

one day now that you're graduating

you might get a little old

and you're going to have to trade

in your tennis racket

for a pickleball racket.

And so we're just trying

to equip you for the future

that in 10, 15, 20, 50 years

when your knees start hurting a little bit

your back starts hurting more.

We've got you ready to turn

in the tennis racket

for the pickleball racket.

Do you play pickleball?

You have.

Because it's not as good as tennis,

right?

It's the same thing but worse.

But when you get older

you're going to need that

just giving you a warning.

And so I want to make sure

that you have a way

to continue to have fun

and use your abilities

going forward and all that.

So, all right.

All right, up next is Zaden.

Name.

You got it.

You've heard it.

My name is Zaden Hammond.

I will graduate

from Chesney High School

and my plan is to attend SMC.

So Zaden, I think it's pretty cool

that you've started coming

to Graham here recently

because a long time ago

you got baptized in here, didn't you?

But sixth grade, I think,

release time school ministries

that we do.

We had a baptism service

seven years ago,

probably now,

six or seven years ago.

And so you got baptized

at that service

and it's been cool to see you

just get reconnected here recently.

So it's been cool to see.

And a lot has changed since then.

The sanctuary has been remodeled,

new carpet, new chairs.

You've been remodeled too.

The first time I saw you

after years of not seeing you

went from like a little sixth grade boy

to like the stud of a young man

that you are now.

And I've been remodeled

in a negative way.

I used to have some hair

now I'm bald.

And so a lot has changed

since those years

you got baptized here.

But it's cool to see how you've grown

in the Lord and how you've grown

up as a young man.

So verse for you.

Then I got a gift for you.

Ephesians 6, 10 to 12.

Finally, be strong in the Lord

and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God

so that you can take your stand

against the devil's schemes.

For our struggle

is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers,

against authorities,

against the powers

of this dark world

and against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly realms.

So as a catcher for baseball,

you probably understand

better than anyone else

about the importance

of having the right equipment on.

It would not be smart

for you to go out

and just catch with no gear.

And so the same thing

is true spiritually.

You can read the rest

of Ephesians chapter 6,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

which I put all the verses

in your cards by the way

if you didn't remember what I said

if you want to look it up later.

But God tells us to put on

the full armor

so that we're ready for all the evil

that the world is going

to throw out you

because this is not

a perfect world.

It's a world full of destruction

and hatred.

Unfortunately, God calls us

to bring love and light

into that and you're going

to be able to do that

in such a powerful way.

When you put on the armor of God,

when you equip yourself

day after day to be ready

for everything the world

is going to throw out you

so you can instead reflect

the light of God

and the power of God

instead of the power of the devil.

So for you as a baseball player

and thankfully your playing days

are not over.

You're going to play in college,

right?

And then hopefully you have

five more wins, right?

Five more wins.

Hopefully five more wins

in high school as well.

But you seem like someone

who just truly loves

the sport of baseball.

So one day you're going

to be a coach, right?

So I'm getting you

your coach equipment ready

to get a whistle, get a hat.

Maybe one day when Daniel Nash

or my kids are older,

you could be their baseball coach

and teach them to play

the beautiful game of baseball.

So thank you.

All right, up next is Hayden.

You know the spiel.

My name is Hayden Roberts.

I'm graduating from Chesney

and I'm attending Clemson University

to study engineering.

So what do I say

and give to the girl

who has everything?

You've got gadgets

and gizmos aplenty.

We can keep going down that road,

but we won't.

You're incredibly smart.

You've competed and won

in Chesney pageants

over the years.

You're all state in volleyball.

You won the school talent show.

And most importantly,

you've been a part

of the winning team at Youth Camp.

Basically every year you've gone.

Obviously, that's the highest

ranking accomplishment you have.

It's truly been an honor

to be a youth pastor

all these years.

And sometimes I think

I'm a pretty good

youth pastor.

I'm not totally incompetent.

And then the rest of the days

I remember that

there's the hatans

of the youth group

that really is what leads

and spurs us on to

winning at camp

and things like that.

And so I can't say enough

good things about your Hayden.

I have a verse for you.

Colossians 3 23 to 24.

Whatever you do,

work at it with all your heart

as working for the Lord,

not for human masters.

Since you know that

you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward,

it is the Lord Christ

that you are serving.

You're going to succeed in life.

There's no doubt about that, right?

No one doubts that

you're going to do very well.

And so what I want to say

to you, Hayden,

is there's no pressure

for you to succeed, right?

You have high standards

for yourself as you should.

You're going to work hard,

thrive like you should,

but it's easy

for someone like you

to have the world's weight

in your own weight

of pressure to do well

at everything.

And part of it

is because you are good

at everything.

But you are valuable

and important

not because you have

numerous state championship rings

and trophies.

You're valuable and important

because you are Hayden Roberts, right?

The Lord loves you deeply.

If you never played another sport,

you never sang another song,

like you would still be

unbelievably loved by the Father.

And I want you to always remember that,

that your value doesn't come

from your accomplishments.

As great as they are,

your value comes from who you are, right?

To the Lord and to me.

And so whatever you do,

do it for the Lord.

Whether it's you decide

you want to work at Walgreens

the rest of your life,

that would be okay.

I know you don't want to do it,

but it's okay.

If you go on to graduate

top of your class at college,

own a business,

make seven digits,

or maybe you get married,

have kids,

and stay home with them.

Whatever you do,

do it for the Lord

and that will be

a good successful thing

that you do, right?

So don't put the world's

weight on your shoulders,

but instead,

just serve the Lord.

Love Him.

So for you,

again, it's really hard

to figure out

what to get for you.

So what do I get?

Someone who's got everything?

A children's book.

I don't know if you've ever

read this book,

but it was really

placed on my heart for you.

It's You Are Special

by Max Licato.

Take it, read it,

and take the message

that it has to heart,

because I think it really

can be impactful

for you going forward.

I don't know why we give up

on kids' books

sometimes when we get older,

because there are some

great messages in kids' books.

So that's specifically

for you, Hayden.

So go read it.

And last, but certainly not

least, Jared.

My name is Jared Bishop.

Graduating from Chestnut High

School, and I'm listed

in the United States name.

Jared, you've probably made

being a youth pastor here.

I'm going to look at my notes,

because it's been a long time

and it might get hard here.

Trying to keep the tears dry,

or no tears,

whatever I was trying to say.

But you've made

being a youth pastor here

more fun

than just about anyone else,

from youth camp

for so many years,

youth conventions,

Jerusalem Project,

playing all kinds of games

and sports,

watching you play games

and sports,

making YouTube videos.

It's been so fun

over the years.

I've enjoyed being

your youth pastor so much.

And truthfully,

I don't know

if there's ever going to be

another one,

especially at my stage of life

with having kids.

Like, I don't know

if there's going to be

another time

that someone's going to bring

more fun

to this youth group

than you have over the years.

And I mean that.

During the YouTube video,

like five years ago,

it was the one

when I was walking 39 miles

at the battlefield

in one day.

I had some of the youth

join me.

You were one of those people,

and during one of those videos,

I don't remember the context

of it, but you're like,

well, you know

I'm your favorite youth, right?

And I didn't say anything

in that moment,

because

I'm not supposed to admit

my favorites,

and I'm also not supposed to lie.

And so I didn't know

what to do,

and so I didn't say anything then,

and I'm also going

to not say anything now.

You can interpret

what you want from silence.

So for you, Jared,

verse for you, Mark 9 35.

Sitting down,

Jesus called the 12 and said,

anyone who wants to be first

must be the very last

and the servant of all.

And I share that with you

because I think

that can be a verse

that can help define

you going forward,

to be a servant

that God has called you to be

also because I have seen

that in you

so many times over the years.

People love to give you

a hard time about stuff

for whatever reason,

but I've seen you

multiple times

clean up other people's messes

that you did not make.

I've seen you take time

with people who feel left out

or are left out

and you take time with them.

I've seen you be the person

who's willing to help

an older lady

in the parking lot escort

her up the ramp at church

and help her to get her to see.

I've seen you numerous times

over the years,

be quick to be a servant.

And so I want you to take

that servant's heart,

the heart of Christ,

as you entered

in the world of the Navy,

because the military is going

to want to break you down

and build you back up

how they want you to be, right?

But your challenge

is to maintain

the image of Christ first, right?

Be the man that God

has called you to be,

be the servant

who is ready to put others first.

Don't go ready

to tear others down,

but go ready

to build others up,

go ready to serve.

Because when you serve,

yes, you're putting yourself last,

but one day

Jesus will put you first

and that'll make it all

worth it in the end.

So like I said earlier,

I always struggle to know

what to get people

going to the military

so I actually got you

a really selfish gift.

The golf club.

You actually can't have this.

It's just representative

of the gift

because I don't know

whose golf club it is.

I found it in the gym.

If anyone's missing a three iron,

it's been in the gym for a while.

This is probably yours.

But my gift for you Jared

is to go play golf together.

Like I'll take you out.

I'll play for your golf

because about a year ago,

you embarrassed me

like I've never been embarrassed.

I didn't know how bad it was

at golf plus one golf club.

And so give me as an old man

one last fun time, right?

Hopefully you have fun too,

but I want to have that

one more time

before you go off to the military

to go enjoy playing together,

laughing together

and competing together.

So that's my gift to you.

Sometime whenever

your schedule is free

with work and all stuff

you've got going on,

we'll go play some golf together.

All right.

I'm going to ask

all the seniors now to come up

and we're going to have a moment

where if you want to,

I encourage you here

just kind of like line up

on the floor actually.

And so what we can do is

I encourage you if you know them,

if you don't know them,

come up and let's pray over them.

If you want to lay hands

on them and pray with them,

if you just want to hold

your hand and pray with them,

but I encourage you stand up

and have some people come forward

and let's pray for these seniors

because I want to treat this

not just as a I mean,

hopefully we see a lot of them still.

Not all of them are going super far,

but I want to treat this

as a time where we're praying over them

and launching them out

into all the things

that God has for them,

whether that's college,

whether that's work,

whether that's the military,

whatever it is,

we want to make sure

that we are sending them out on mission

because God has great things

for each and every one of them.

So let's come forward.

Keep coming forward.

I'm going to pray

and then we'll go from there.

God, we just say

thank you for today

and God, I thank you

for each and every one of these youth.

I'm so thankful for them.

I'm so thankful

for the impact they've made on my life.

I'm so thankful

for the impact they've made on this church.

I'm so thankful

the impact they've made in the community.

I'm so thankful

the impact they've made

at places like youth camp.

God, they have done

so many wonderful things.

They've accomplished

so many great things,

but God, more than anything,

they are your children

that you love deeply

and God, as they go

into this next stage of life,

all of them is entering

into wonderful, beautiful plans

that you have for them.

God, I pray

that they will thrive,

that they will

succeed beyond their wildest dreams,

but God, also on top of that,

that you will help them to know

their purpose and their calling

of how you can fulfill their futures

to make an eternal impact

on other people's lives.

God, I pray that you will use

each and every one of them

as someone who sees

other people be saved,

sees other people

take steps of baptism,

see other people

start reading the Bible on their own.

God, I pray that each person

will have a ministry specifically

that will make

an eternal impact, God.

God, in this church

and around the world,

God, I pray some of them

one day might have a call

to missions in addition to military

and God, that they will be willing

to go to the ends of the earth

to tell people

how much you love

and care about them.

So we pray for that.

And God, I pray that we

as a church can pray that

not just in this moment,

but we can pray that

in the coming days,

weeks, months, years.

God, each one of them

will know that they are

deeply loved by God

and that they are deeply

loved by Graham Chapel.

Help us to know

how to encourage them

when classes are hard,

when they're going

through difficulties at boot camp,

when they're going

through challenges at work.

God, help us to know

how to encourage them

in those moments,

how to build them up

and how to help strengthen them

in their faith in you.

And so God,

we just simply give them to you

that there's yours

in the first place

and we just simply return them

to you and say,

God, do a great

and mighty thing for your glory

in each and every one of their lives.

And God, may you just tell

great stories through them

and may generations

and generations and generations

be impacted by the blessings

that you pour out

into each and every one of them.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

All right, let's give them

one more round of applause.

Yeah, I'm going to do that.

Is Eli here?

Is Eli here too?

All right, in just a second,

I'm going to dismiss you all

to the battlefield.

With all these high school graduates,

the most of our focus

is on the high school graduates,

but they're also a handful

of college graduates as well.

Eli Garrett's not here today,

but he just graduated

from Clemson University.

Abigail Godfrey,

I think is helping with kids today.

She's also a college graduate

and we've got

the wonderful Haley Edmonds as well,

who is a graduate

of Southern West Lane University.

And so we focus a lot

on the high schoolers

who are graduating,

but we also, as a church,

want to remember

the college graduates

is to encourage them

and say good job.

You've done well.

Look forward to see things

that God does in your life.

So I'm going to pray

for the meal here

and then we're going to dismiss you.

Again, we encourage you

to go to the cow pens battlefield,

put it in your GPS,

follow someone else there.

We've already bought

all the food.

They've already made it.

And so go enjoy it.

We're going to play lots of games.

You can high five

some of these seniors

and we can continue

to have a good time

this afternoon.

But let me pray

and bless the food.

God, thank you for this day.

Thank you for a beautiful day outside.

Thank you for the opportunity

to fellowship together

as a church at the battleground.

God, help us to get there safely.

Help us have a great time together.

And God, I pray that

you will bless the food

as we eat it there

and help it to nourish our bodies.

We pray in Jesus name.

Amen.