Good Morning, my name is Brent Hinckley. Today I get to give my senior sermon. This is a moment I have been looking forward to for a while. My fondest memories from church sermons as a kid were the senior sermons. Some were funny, some were emotional, and every single one was fascinating to a young me. All of the seniors looked so old and confident. In my recollection, they all knew exactly what they were doing with the rest of their lives. So, when I was 12 and imagining my senior sermon I thought I would be about 6’ 2, and committed to being the next great point guard at Duke. I imagined that I would have the most eloquent sermon. I thought that life would be amazing.

Now that I’ve arrived at the day I had imagined. I’ve had time to contrast dreams with reality. As you can see I’m not 6’ 2. I stopped playing basketball in 7th grade, so Duke is going to have to win without me. My sermon might be decent but I wouldn’t describe it as eloquent.

My life is amazing though. I’m 17 and have my whole life in front of me. I couldn’t ask for more. Life is amazing for different reasons, however, then I had imagined at 12. At 12 I thought everything would be planned down to the minute detail. At 17 I don’t have a clue what I’ll be doing in 10 years, 5 years, or even tomorrow isn’t planned. That is what is amazing about my life.

Nothing is certain, nothing is impossible, every day is wide open, and the future is in my hands.

Now you all might be thinking. “Gee that’s great Brent”, but what does it have to do with God? So this is my theory on what God has to do with my unplanned life. The 2 main parts of my theory are; we are on a journey and people come with us on a journey. Let us start with the journey. We are all on a journey. The journey of life. I find it important to remember the journey of life is long, but also short, it is sweet and sour, full of joy and sorrow. And the ups and downs are important. We are meant to be up but also meant to be down. An old adage among elite athletes is the third rule. ⅓ of training should feel great. ⅓ should feel ok, but not special, and the remaining ⅓ should feel crappy. That's kind of how life is. We have good days, meh days, and bad days. And God has a reason for good days, bad days, and ok days. However, God does not appear to me when I wake up and say, “Brent today you’re

gonna have a fantastic swim practice, but you are gonna get confused at school. So it’s gonna be an ok day.” God and I don’t hash my day out when I wake up. In fact, I don’t believe God has ever spoken to me. So how does God give us the ups and downs on our journey?

This leads me to the next part of my theory on God’s plan. God surrounds us with

people. He surrounded us with our family, our church, our friends, coworkers, and even the bad driver you got mad at on the way to church. God put’s people in our lives to carry out His will for us. And God puts us in others' lives so we can continue His plan for them. I wouldn’t be here today without God’s people in my life. I see God’s actions in people more than I ever see his actions in the bible. The primary example of God’s actions through people is my family. They have been there for me every step of the way. They’ve shown me how to be caring and loving.

They show me, unconditional love. My church family is another place I see the actions of God.

You have all taught me how important community is. Every Sunday when we all sing together, I feel as if I am part of something special. God has put specific church members in my life as well. Mr. Knox has taught me incredible things in Sunday school. His willingness to share his knowledge of the Bible has been amazing and I’m grateful for that... The youth group leaders I’ve had, Madison, Ms. Cathy, Ms. Janet, Marianna, and many more have helped me grow up to be a responsible young adult. Many thanks to them. God has put all of these people in my life for a reason. They have all given me good days. You all as the church have given me good days.

And the love I have felt from all of you will give me many good days to follow.

People are so important in our lives and sometimes we can take them for granted. Every time we interact with somebody we should feel special about it. Every person we talk to has a different experience, and we should be able to learn from them.

As I move forward on my journey I might not know what is in store for me. But I do

know that God is going to put people in my life for good days. I know in the end everything will work out how It was meant to be. My life is going to be amazing, I just don’t know what’s going to happen.

You often want to know God is near when you are taking a leap of faith, moving forward in courage, or showing up amidst discomfort. This is huge!!! Take heart—His faithfulness is what gave you the ability to make this step. When something big is on the horizon, a transition is happening, or you’re navigating a struggle, it is human nature to feel the anxiety and tension of the unknown. But take heart—when you feel your heart yearning to know God is near, there is something being prepared for you. Hide in Jesus and let Him transform your fear into faith—this is

good + holy ground.

Stepping into my next chapter of life, college, is one I am both excited for and nervous to enter. A new environment, unfamiliar faces, and learning to live independently. However, the faith I have in God and the courage and perseverance he has blessed me with my whole life remain my source of reassurance. My life is changing, but God has not. John 4:10 states, Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Jesus, the one who always points the way, steps into the role of a teacher, and the one to recognize our own needs and the needs of others, had a purpose for choosing the words, “I thirst.”

I believe that Jesus was giving one final reminder, for us to recognize what his mission was all about. I believe Jesus was giving us one last way to recognize that we are all truly thirsty.

Not only do we need help to recognize our own thirst, but we also need help to see those around us who are thirsty. Christ tells us that we have the opportunity to serve him that drink every day, yet we walk by those every day who are hungry, sick, helpless, and hopeless. Have we forgotten that what we do unto the least of these, we do to him?

John 4:13-14 states….. Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In Christ, our hunger and thirst will be satisfied, not only on Earth but also in the life to come.

From the mouth of the man who spent his life and his ministry as a servant, comes one final plea for us to love and serve others.

When I was born, a 13 cm hemangioma covered the right side of my head. People assume that birthmarks are just superficial features of our bodies, but the excess of vessels on my head pulled blood from my heart, and it affected my hearing, eyes, and speech. I could not say a full sentence until I was four years old. However, with a lot of specialist input, laser treatments, and numerous trips to the children’s hospital in Arkansas, I entered Kindergarten with a full head of hair and clear skin. The next challenge was dealing with my birthmark’s effects on my development. From a young age, I was determined to catch up to my peers (and my older sister),

and the work ethic that developed during that time still guides me today.

While I will never pretend I am sorry to have lost the mark that defined my childhood, I should take more care with its memory. One of my favorite books, Sadie Robertson’s Live on Purpose, says, “Living original means being confident that God made you in a really cool, unique way.”

My early struggles shaped who I am and where I am headed, and even though the physical mark is gone, its fruits will linger forever.

Because of God, I am:

Found

Blessed

Inspired

Stronger

Saved

Hopeful

Forgiven

And Loved

Amen.