Latest / WPGM On Demand / Moody Presents - 2026-10-24 The Inauguration of Dr. Rick Melson part 1

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Moody Presents - 2026-10-24 The Inauguration of Dr. Rick Melson part 1 · WPGM On Demand

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  S1: Since 1886. It's only happened ten times on the Moody campus,
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  S1: but today you're about to experience the 11th. Welcome to
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  S1: a special edition of Moody Presents with highlights from the
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  S1: inauguration of our new president, Doctor Rick Nelson. You'll hear music,
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  S1: prayers and a message from Doctor Joe stole.
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  S2: Colossians chapter one says that Jesus is preeminent in all things.
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  S2: So let me encourage you to keep Jesus preeminent on
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  S2: this campus.
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  S1: Welcome to Moody Presents. I'm John Gager, and today on
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  S1: Moody Presents, we have left our studio and joined the
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  S1: capacity crowd in Moody Bible Institute. Tori Gray Auditorium. The
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  S1: room really is jammed with students, faculty, staff, and many
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  S1: special guests, all here for one reason to celebrate what
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  S1: God has done in appointing the new president of Moody.
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  S1: Doctor Rick Nelson in this Moody radio's 100th year on
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  S1: the air, now gathered on the stage at Torrey Gray Auditorium.
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  S1: Many of our former presidents at Moody there, their wives
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  S1: in the audience and of course, the entire body of faculty, staff,
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  S1: all here. We're going to begin with the singing of
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  S1: a wonderful old hymn, Crown him with many crowns.
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  S3: The Lamb upon his throne. Our color. Every emblem. All
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  S3: you see is all the way, my soul. And see
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  S3: of him who died for thee. And LSRSTURENC. R all
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  S3: of us who sign up for Pray and pray for
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  S3: us sinners and for those he came to save. His
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  S3: glory shall be seen. Who died? And Wilson, who died
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  S3: for all lives to bring endless and ending up. Now
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  S3: in the glory of love. Behold his hands and side
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  S3: which wounds death is all above in beauty, glory and power.
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  S3: No angels in the sky and holy men The side
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  S3: of town is Prairie. Not that it would be so proud.
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  S3: Of all of. Us have exercised great influence on our interest.
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  S3: Is above all, in. The power of. As part of their. Work. They.
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  S1: Were led in prayer now by Doctor Brian Tucker, associate
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  S1: provost of the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Theological Seminary.
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  S4: Almighty God, our father, you are the King of heaven
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  S4: and earth. You've crowned your son Jesus Christ with many
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  S4: crowns and have given him a name that is above
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  S4: every name. We have just lifted our voices to him,
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  S4: and now we bow our hearts before you. Unless the
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  S4: Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
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  S4: So we confess at the start of this day that
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  S4: Moody Bible Institute is your work, not ours. We thank
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  S4: you for the faithfulness. In every generation since you've stirred
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  S4: the heart of D.L. Moody to train men and women
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  S4: in your word for the work of the church. You've
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  S4: kept this school through changing times. You've sent its graduates
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  S4: into cities and nations around the world, and you've carried
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  S4: the gospel through its classrooms, its publishing, and its broadcasts
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  S4: to people who will never meet this side of glory.
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  S4: And we give you praise. Today we come to inaugurate
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  S4: a new chapter, and we ask for your presence. Be
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  S4: honored in every word that is spoken, every song sung,
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  S4: and every promise made. We lift up your servant, Doctor
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  S4: Rick Nelson, as he takes up the office of president
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  S4: of Moody Bible Institute. Give him wisdom from above, a
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  S4: shepherd's heart and a steady love for your word. Strengthen
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  S4: him when the work is heavy, surround Him and His
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  S4: family with your peace and joy. Bless our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff,
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  S4: students and alumni. Unite us in the truth and make
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  S4: us faithful to the mission that you've entrusted to us.
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  S4: And as we gather in this place, may all who
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  S4: are here this morning see that you are good and
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  S4: that you are worthy. We ask this in the name
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  S4: of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King. Amen. You may
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  S4: be seated.
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  S1: A special welcome now from Doctor Tim Sisk, provost of
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  S1: the Moody Bible Institute.
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  S5: Good morning and welcome to the inauguration of Doctor Rick
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  S5: Nelson as the 11th president of the Moody Bible Institute.
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  S5: Today marks a significant moment in the life of Moody
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  S5: as we give thanks to God for his faithfulness throughout
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  S5: this institution's 140 year history, and we look ahead with
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  S5: hope and expectation to the years to come. on behalf
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  S5: of the Moody Bible Institute, our faculty, staff and students.
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  S5: It is my privilege to welcome Doctor Nelson's wife, Tammy,
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  S5: and their daughter, Hannah. Members of the Board of Trustees.
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  S5: All the living former presidents of MBI are here today.
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  S5: Our many ministry partners, civic leaders from Chicago, including Alderman
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  S5: Brian Hopkins. Presidents and delegates from other sister higher education institutions,
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  S5: our alumni and all who are joining us live stream.
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  S5: We are grateful that each of you have chosen to
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  S5: be here with us this morning on this important occasion.
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  S5: And as we begin, let us turn our attention to
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  S5: God's Word and listen as Scripture is read.
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  S1: A scripture reading now from Maggie Martinson, chief financial officer
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  S1: and treasurer for the Moody Bible Institute.
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  S6: As we celebrate God's faithfulness to Moody across generations and
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  S6: ask his blessing on Doctor Nelson and the work ahead.
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  S6: Hear these words from Psalm 90 and Lamentations three, Psalm 90,
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  S6: beginning at verse one. Lord, you have been our dwelling
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  S6: place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born, or
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  S6: you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting,
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  S6: you are God. And verses 16 and 17. May your
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  S6: deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.
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  S6: May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us.
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  S6: Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish
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  S6: the work of our hands. And from Lamentations chapter three,
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  S6: because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed,
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  S6: for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
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  S6: Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, the Lord
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  S6: is my portion, therefore I will wait for him. The
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  S6: Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
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  S6: to those who seek him. It is good to wait
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  S6: quietly for the salvation of the Lord. This is the
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  S6: word of the Lord.
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  S1: We're going to step away just for a moment, from
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  S1: our coverage of the inauguration of Doctor Rick Nelson. By
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  S1: the way, just ahead, a charge from Doctor Joe stole
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  S1: seventh president of Moody. But we just had to give
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  S1: you an opportunity to get your copy of Experiencing the
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  S1: Land of the book. You know, to read it is
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  S1: to feel like you are in the Holy Land. And
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  S1: that's no accident. Because the book contains nearly 250 color
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  S1: photos and maps. Doctor Charlie Dyer shares story after story,
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  S1: insight after insight, and a fair amount of humor as well. Again,
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  S1: it's called Experiencing the Land of the book. And we'll
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  S1: send you a copy for a gift of any amount
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  S1: in support of Moody Presents, you can give your gift
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  S1: online at Moody presents.org. That's Moody presents.org or phone in
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  S1: that gift to (800) 400-7022. That's (800) 400-7022. And we'll send you
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  S1: a copy of Experiencing the Land of the book. If
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  S1: you're just joining us on this special edition of Moody Presents,
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  S1: we're covering the installation of the 11th president of Moody
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  S1: Bible Institute, Doctor Rick Nelson, a full House and the
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  S1: Treasury Auditorium, all kinds of special guests, including all of
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  S1: the living former presidents of Moody Bible Institute, are on hand.
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  S1: Randall Lightner is vice president of Moody Publishers. He shares
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  S1: his thoughts now at this inauguration service for Doctor Rick Nelson.
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  S7: 137 years ago or so. D.L. Moody knelt and asked
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  S7: God for a small plot of land on which to
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  S7: build a Bible school in the heart of Chicago. You're
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  S7: on that plot of land right now, and the plaque
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  S7: is about 400ft over that way. We are a school
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  S7: and we love being a school. We're also a fantastically
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  S7: intertwined group of Bible centered ministries working to make the
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  S7: gospel accessible for everyone. A few years after he and
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  S7: Emma Dreyer founded the school, Mr. Moody was in a
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  S7: Wisconsin bookstore and asked something like, what have you in
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  S7: the way of books to show and share the gospel
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  S7: with young people? It turns out they didn't have very much.
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  S7: And Moody, ever. The entrepreneur then started the Bible Institute
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  S7: Colportage Association. Cole Porter's being people who traveled by wagon
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  S7: and horseback or even by foot to get books into
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  S7: the hands of everyday readers. Now, after all these years
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  S7: of business and ministry, Moody Publishers mission remains the same.
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  S7: Even if our delivery systems have changed just a little bit.
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  S7: But several decades later, in the spirit of Moody's entrepreneurship
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  S7: and gumption, leaders at the institute jumped in with a
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  S7: brand new technology called radio amidst government difficulty and bolstered
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  S7: by opportunity. A hundred years ago this year, Moody Radio
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  S7: was launched with the intended purpose and the executed expertise
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  S7: of helping regular people know Jesus Christ. Even the Non-believing
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  S7: world showed admiration for the quality broadcasting that Moody put
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  S7: into people's homes from the very first hour on the air.
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  S7: Fast forward through the decades, we've seen change, and we've
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  S7: concurrently experienced the steadfastness of God through it all. From
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  S7: horses to overnight Amazon deliveries to on demand audiobooks, and
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  S7: from single tube tabletop radio sets to state of the
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  S7: art satellite feed delivery to video streaming live gospel centered
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  S7: content at Moody Global Media. The great news, of course,
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  S7: as the writer of Hebrews tells us, is that Jesus
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  S7: Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Under His Lordship,
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  S7: we all have big time jobs to do, and these
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  S7: roles require adaptability, discernment, a learning posture, and most importantly,
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  S7: a praying posture. We are here at Moody, after all,
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  S7: on the shoulders of praying giants. And that brings us
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  S7: to this very special morning. From all of us accountants
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  S7: and maintenance specialists, editors and engineers, event planners and public
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  S7: safety officers, developers and food service professionals, graphic designers and
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  S7: marketing managers. On behalf of the employees and staff, I'd
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  S7: like to welcome our 11th president, Doctor Rick Nelson and
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  S7: his wife, Tammy to the Moody Bible Institute. He's already
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  S7: jumping in with vigor and care, expertly taking the wheel
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  S7: of this very special place with humility and vision. We're
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  S7: so glad you're here. These days ahead are full of
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  S7: potential and surely some uncharted waters. But a grand adventure awaits.
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  S7: This is just how we like it all. To the
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  S7: glory of God. Thank you.
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  S1: Doctor Joe stole served as the seventh president of Moody
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  S1: Bible Institute and was heard for many years here on
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  S1: Moody Presents. Here's his charge to the president.
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  S2: I feel highly honored to be asked to give you
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  S2: a charge, but I have to admit, Doctor Melson, it
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  S2: seems rather strange that you would need a charge. You've
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  S2: come here with great credentials and phenomenal experience. You've led
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  S2: an academic institution with wisdom and success. And you're 55
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  S2: years old, which means that you have made most of
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  S2: your mistakes and you come here with wisdom and confidence.
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  S2: So I'm not sure what maybe I should do. What
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  S2: one president did with his successor not having time to
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  S2: break his successor in and said, by the way, I
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  S2: don't have time to help you, but I put three
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  S2: envelopes here in the top file drawer. And when you
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  S2: get into a problem, just go to the envelopes. And
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  S2: sure enough, he ran into a problem, went to the
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  S2: first envelope and said, blame it on the faculty. And
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  S2: he did, and it went away. Which now tells you
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  S2: this is not a joke. And pretty soon there was
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  S2: another problem. Went to the second envelope. Blame it on
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  S2: the board. And he did. And the problem went away.
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  S2: But as life goes, pretty soon he was into the
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  S2: third one. It said, prepare three envelopes. But maybe I
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  S2: ought to do a little more than that to maybe
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  S2: just Doctor Milson to remind you of some things that
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  S2: are really important, especially in the moody context. First of all,
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  S2: I want to remind you to lead from your strengths
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  S2: and the gifts that God has given you. You'll have
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  S2: lots of stuff laying on your desk, some of the
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  S2: things that only presidents can do. You're going to have
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  S2: to do, but a lot of it can be passed
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  S2: on to others who will do it very well. Lead
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  S2: in the things that you love to do. Lead the
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  S2: things that you're gifted to do. And if you do that,
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  S2: you'll find great joy and energy and fruitfulness, and it
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  S2: may even lengthen your tenure here at the Moody Bible Institute.
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  S2: Remember that people count in a place like Moody. The
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  S2: complexities of the bureaucracy are sometimes overwhelming, and we end
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  S2: up getting lost in the policies and the procedures and
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  S2: forget that it's really people that count lead to enable
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  S2: the faculty to flourish, lead, to be able to give
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  S2: the staff the The excitement of being joined into the
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  S2: mission of a place like the Moody Bible Institute, and
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  S2: especially pay attention to the people that are down on
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  S2: the lower end of the administrative structure, the guy at
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  S2: the top of a ladder. Just stop by and say
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  S2: hi to him. Boy, you are so important to what
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  S2: happens here. If you get those people to love you,
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  S2: you'll have one of the best support groups on this campus.
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  S2: And then there's the students. They're the best. Totally the best.
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  S2: I have to admit that when I was here, it
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  S2: wasn't the paperwork that fired up my passions. Well, I
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  S2: did the paperwork to keep the job I loved. But
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  S2: when the paperwork kind of got demanding and, you know,
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  S2: the stacks were heavy. I used to like to sneak
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  S2: by my executive assistant so she didn't see me and
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  S2: go hang out with students. They were refreshing. Much to
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  S2: the faculty's dislike. I'd bust into classrooms. Hey, how are
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  S2: you guys doing today? You're so blessed to have a
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  S2: faculty member like this when you go to the dining commons.
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  S2: It's interesting. Everybody thinks you came to eat lunch with
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  S2: them and that's good. Go to the sporting events. Be
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  S2: the lead cheerleader for The Archers, and the students will
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  S2: believe that you're on their team. In addition to that,
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  S2: I would remind you to know what must change at
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  S2: Moody and what must not change at Moody. And one
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  S2: of the things that must not change is the theological
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  S2: and doctrinal integrity of the Moody Bible Institute. 140 years
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  S2: still right on target with God's Word and his authority
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  S2: in his place and the kingship of Jesus Christ. That's
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  S2: a great record. And the baton is now in your hand.
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  S2: I might remind you as well that humility is a
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  S2: virtue of leadership. Admit when you're wrong and when great
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  S2: things happen at Moody, give other people the credit and
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  S2: then make up your mind that not everyone's going to
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  S2: like you. This is hard to believe, but every place
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  S2: I've served, there's always been a group of people that
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  S2: didn't like me. Can you imagine that? Nor did they
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  S2: like the decisions that I made. But remember that you
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  S2: have come here to serve the Lord and to do
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  S2: what is best for Moody. If you know you have
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  S2: what you have decided has been vetted by wise counsel,
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  S2: and it's the best thing to do for Moody, then
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  S2: do it. It's not a popularity contest, and if you
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  S2: do that, you'll sleep a lot better at night. I
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  S2: have a friend who wrote a book called turtle on
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  S2: a Fence Post. Think about that. How do turtles get
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  S2: on fence posts? Somebody puts them there. And I might
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  S2: remind you, Doctor Nelson, that God has put you here
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  S2: and that you should place your confidence in the fact
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  S2: that he is the Lord that has brought you here
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  S2: for a purpose and for his glory, and that it
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  S2: is to him that you're ultimately accountable. So glad for
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  S2: God bringing you here. All of us are rejoicing in it.
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  S2: And I should mention as well that I think self
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  S2: care is important. Eat right, exercise, sleep regular hours. Don't
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  S2: let the busyness of moody crowd out your spiritual disciplines
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  S2: and your time alone with the Lord, because you're going
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  S2: to need to cry out, I need you, oh, I
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  S2: need you. every hour I need you. Stay close to him.
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  S2: And you need to know too, as well, that you
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  S2: need to take a break once in a while. Getting
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  S2: into the refreshment of something that you love. That's not moody.
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  S2: I find it interesting that Jesus, even with more messages
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  S2: to preach and more people to heal, went apart and
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  S2: rested a while. Jesus knew that your tanks can't always
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  S2: run on weary and still be effective for the work
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  S2: that God has called you to. It's kind of like
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  S2: that old hymn. What was it? Hymn number three. You
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  S2: got to know when to hold em. Know when to
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  S2: fold em. So build yourself a sandbox and find enjoyment
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  S2: in something you love to do. That's not moody. And
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  S2: go there. It's your retreat. You'll find it will give
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  S2: you strength for the work that you have to continue
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  S2: that I might say, just encourage you to guard your priorities.
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  S2: I remember a few years ago, I woke up at
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  S2: 3:00 in the morning and my mind just by the way,
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  S2: what is it with 3:00 in the morning? And my
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  S2: mind just starts going. And I started to think back
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  S2: on my life, the seasons of my life. And this
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  S2: metaphor came up. Like my life's been like a train ride.
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  S2: And I got on the train when I was born.
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  S2: And every once in a while I got off at
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  S2: another station. I got off at high school station with
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  S2: my friends and everybody got back on a train, waved goodbye,
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  S2: never to see them again. I went to seminary, got
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  S2: off at seminary station, and with my profs and my
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  S2: friends when it was over, waved goodbye and never to
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  S2: see them again. My pastorates, those stations temporary wave goodbye.
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  S2: Never to see them again. The Moody station, which is
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  S2: a very seductive station in consuming all that you are
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  S2: and all that you have. All of the time. And
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  S2: then something crossed my mind. There's only two people going
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  S2: all the way with me, Marty and Jesus, and I
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  S2: better pour my life into them. Because the stations are important.
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  S2: But in the end, those two things are really important. So, Rick,
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  S2: remember Tammy. Remember Jesus. Guard the priorities. And then I
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  S2: remember lastly, but certainly not least, the Colossians chapter one
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  S2: says that Jesus is preeminent in all things. And so
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  S2: let me encourage you to keep Jesus preeminent on this campus,
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  S2: to have the faculty walk in his steps and his
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  S2: will to lead students to the glory of his plan
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  S2: and purpose to make sure that he is the lead
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  S2: attraction on the campus of the Moody Bible Institute. For
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  S2: in all things our King is preeminent, and he rules
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  S2: and he reigns, and may he rule and reign with
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  S2: power in your presidency. That will be our prayer for you. So,
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  S2: Doctor Nelson, God bless you as you launch this presidency.
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  S2: You will be in our prayers and will be your cheerleaders.
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  S2: God bless you.
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  S1: What a meaningful time it has been sharing part of
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  S1: the installation service of Doctor Rick Nelson, 11th president of
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  S1: the Moody Bible Institute. A reminder that next week when
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  S1: we get together, we'll hear a message from Doctor Rick Nelson.
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  S1: That's all ahead on Moody presents a reminder that you
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  S1: can get your copy of Experiencing the Land of the book,
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  S1: a beautiful, colorful resource that will take you to the
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  S1: Holy Land as you give a gift of any amount.
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  S1: Chris Sieghart, I'm John Gager thanking you for joining us
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  S3: Great is thy faith. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is
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  S3: thy faith.