Remembering the Torch Ceremony
Alumnus Rev. Daniel Cole took the podium holding the lit, torch, high and said, “I represent hundreds of graduates who have carried the light of the gospel to the world. We are serving across the United States and in many nations around the world. As you receive this flame you have a charge to keep: A God to glorify… A never-dying soul to save. I hand this torch to you with confidence that you will join the alumni of this great institution in the challenging task of fulfilling the great commission.”
The torch was then passed, one by one, to the forty-three of the eighty-eight graduates attending the Commencement ceremony, each giving a short testimony of their time as a student at Nazarene Bible College. Here is a selection of some of the testimonies given. Graduates often share a verse that has especially been meaningful to them in their time of study.
Graduate: Jennifer Bond
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9). At NBC I have learned how to do this more fully. And my love for the Lord Jesus has only grown. May we continue to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Graduate: Anetone Moimoi
Dreams. Dreams are real. Thank you to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for fulfilling my dreams. I thank my family, my church family, my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, my faculty members and staff. A special thanks to my beautiful wife. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I did it!
Graduate: Cora Bergstrom
Where God guides, He provides. God has guided me to help others. He has provided knowledge to do so through my journey here at Bible College. Perhaps even more valuable than book knowledge are the people that God places in our lives. The times I wanted to “throw in the towel,” I was encouraged by my loving family and friends, classmates, and professors. I am exceedingly grateful for all their encouragement, and I pray that I would be a blessing to them as we continue in our journey. My prayer is that my life would praise God for the challenge, His provision, His people, and the strength to continue on wherever He will guide me.
Graduate: Luisa Mendoza
My life verse is Psalm 118:15: “Gritos de júbilo y victoria resuenan en las casas de los justos: ¡La diestra del Señor realiza proezas!” “Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
Graduate: Jeremy Baker
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). I stand before you here today with a temporary victor’s crown upon my head but with the knowledge and the love of God to carry me on to the eternal crown for which He has called me heavenward, and I press on to that today.
President Harold Graves’ response to the graduate testimonies was:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV). In every age, God has called out men and women to be His faithful servants. You have been called to join that great company who seek to follow in the steps of those who have fulfilled the Great Commission of our Lord. I pray that you will today, and always, keep a clear vision of your call, and that God will grant you the strength to fulfill the ministry assigned to you. Go forth now as God’s servant. Remember God’s presence often, and draw strength from the knowledge that the One who calls and sends also sustains. Amen.
Bette Robertson Asuega sung a beautiful rendering of the song "We Will Carry the Torch." The inspiring, chorus lyrics are: "We will carry the torch. We will lift up the flame. We will march through the darkness with the light of His name. Until the glory of God is seen by the world, we will carry the torch of the Lord."
EDITOR
Published: 06/17/2019
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