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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,

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Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to

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Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening

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Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants

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Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after this short word from

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Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's Prayer of Praise for

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Speaker 1: the new Born King. A Prayer of Praise for the

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Speaker 1: Newborn King written by Kyle Norman, read by Leah Gerard.

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Speaker 1: The sun is the radiance of God's glory, the exact

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Speaker 1: representation of His being sustaining all things by his powerful

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Speaker 1: word Hebrews one three. A few years ago, I found

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Speaker 1: myself wandering through our local mall. It was late November,

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Speaker 1: Christmas decorations were displayed, and the crowds had begun to swell.

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Speaker 1: It was late afternoon, which meant the mall wasn't overly packed.

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Speaker 1: I could move from shop to shop with ease. At

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Speaker 1: one point, my mind tuned into the instrumental background music

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Speaker 1: playing overhead. Music was being blared throughout the mall, and

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Speaker 1: like most people had simply faded into the background, I

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Speaker 1: paid it no attention. Yet there was something about the

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Speaker 1: tune above me. That sounded familiar. I stood still, eyes closed,

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the crowded food court, listening intently.

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Speaker 1: Then in a rush, I recognized the tune. The lyrics

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Speaker 1: rose within me. Joy to the world. The Lord is come.

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Speaker 1: Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room,

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Speaker 1: and let heaven and nature sing. I opened my eyes

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Speaker 1: and watch the people move around me. People rushed this

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Speaker 1: way and that, weaving in and out of shops. Some

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Speaker 1: stood in line waiting for their turn at the cashier's desk.

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Speaker 1: People carried bags filled with trinkets they purchased. Then, as

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Speaker 1: if spoken from somewhere above me, I heard a whisper

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Speaker 1: in my heart. Is anyone listening amid all the hustle

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Speaker 1: and bustle of the holiday season, Is anyone preparing space

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Speaker 1: to receive the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

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Speaker 1: It's easy to talk about Jesus as God's greatest gift

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Speaker 1: to us. Jesus is the gift of the Father's love

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Speaker 1: and forgiveness. With Jesus, we receive the gift of knowing that,

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Speaker 1: no matter what, His presence surrounds us. This is undoubtedly true.

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Speaker 1: But there's one problem with this. If we understand Jesus

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Speaker 1: only through the language of gift. Then receiving the gift

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Speaker 1: marks the end of a transaction. While in the moment

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Speaker 1: we may ooh and ah over such an extravagant offering,

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Speaker 1: like any gift, we eventually put it down and move

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Speaker 1: on with our lives. In our consumer oriented society, gifts

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Speaker 1: are eventually replaced. Perhaps, then, Jesus isn't a gift to

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Speaker 1: be received. He is a presence to be responded to.

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Speaker 1: The message of the angels. Wasn't just that the shepherds

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Speaker 1: received a heavenly present. Jesus wasn't the divine version of

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Speaker 1: Elf on the shelf. Rather, the angels announced that God

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Speaker 1: had become incarnate, that the Messiah had come to be

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Speaker 1: welcomed into human life. Jesus comes not as a gift

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Speaker 1: to be handled, but as someone to enter our life.

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Speaker 1: And because he comes to meet us, should we not

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Speaker 1: prepare him room born into this world is the radiance

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Speaker 1: of God's glory. The Christ Child is the exact imprint,

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Speaker 1: the manifestation, the illumination of the Creator's magnificent brilliance, all

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Speaker 1: of heaven crammed into baby flesh. What's more, scripture reveals

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Speaker 1: that this tiny babe is not a passive presence in

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Speaker 1: this world. Jesus, even in fragile flesh, sustains us. His

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Speaker 1: words are powerful and transformative, and so our response isn't

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Speaker 1: simply to be a nod of assent. We are called

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Speaker 1: to bow down in humble worship, placing our lives in

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Speaker 1: his hands. In this world of bits and babbles, and

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Speaker 1: gifts and gadgets and human leaders of every ilk and type,

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Speaker 1: this tiny babe is our king. We are called to

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Speaker 1: open our lives to him. Let's pray Jesus. In this moment,

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Speaker 1: I step away from the rushing of the world around me.

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Speaker 1: The noise of life can be distracting, drowning out the

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Speaker 1: call to come to you in humility and praise. And

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Speaker 1: so in this moment, Lord, I offer you my deepest

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Speaker 1: worship and my unyielding devotion. I open a place for

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Speaker 1: you in my life. Come and fill my life. Mighty King, Lord,

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Speaker 1: you are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Nothing compares

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Speaker 1: to your majesty. Heaven and Earth are silent before you.

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Speaker 1: Yet in an act of astounding grace, you come and

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Speaker 1: make your home in me. You offer me love and forgiveness,

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Speaker 1: your presence fills my life with joy and peace. You

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Speaker 1: come not because I've earned your presence, but because I

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Speaker 1: need you, and I do need you. Thank you, Radiant Jesus,

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Speaker 1: for the love that surrounds me each day. Thank you

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Speaker 1: that even when I forget to turn to you, you

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Speaker 1: remain with me, You continue to hold me, call me,

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Speaker 1: sustain me. All the praises I can bring you are

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Speaker 1: but humble offerings, and yet it's my delight to render

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Speaker 1: to you all the worship I can bring. May each

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Speaker 1: day of my life be a day lived in your

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Speaker 1: mighty presence. This I pray in your holy and precious name. Amen.

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