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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture, a calming,

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Speaker 2: scripture centered devotional podcast designed to help you end each

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Speaker 2: day with God's Word in your mind and on your heart.

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Speaker 2: Right after this short word from our sponsors, will reflect

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Speaker 2: on tonight's scripture, First Corinthians, chapter fifteen. Tonight's scripture reflection

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Speaker 2: is written by Amberginter and read by Carrie Eigberer, First Corinthians,

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Speaker 2: chapter fifteen. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind

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Speaker 2: you of the gospel I preach to you, which you

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Speaker 2: received and on which you have taken your stand. By

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Speaker 2: this gospel. You are saved if you hold firmly to

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Speaker 2: the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed

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Speaker 2: in vain. For what I received. I passed on to

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Speaker 2: you as of first importance, that Christ died for our

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Speaker 2: sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that

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Speaker 2: he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,

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Speaker 2: and that he appeared to Cephis and then to the twelve.

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Speaker 2: After that he appeared to more than five hundred of

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Speaker 2: the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of

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Speaker 2: whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then

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Speaker 2: he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and

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Speaker 2: last of all, he appeared to me also as to

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Speaker 2: one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles,

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Speaker 2: and do not even deserve to be called an apostle,

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Speaker 2: because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the

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Speaker 2: grace of God, I am what I am, And His

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Speaker 2: grace to me was not without effect. No I worked

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Speaker 2: harder than all of them, yet not I, but the

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Speaker 2: grace of God that was with me. Whether then it

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Speaker 2: is I or they. This is what we preach, and

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Speaker 2: this is what you believed. But if it is preached

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Speaker 2: that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can

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Speaker 2: some of you say that there is no resurrection of

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Speaker 2: the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead,

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Speaker 2: then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ

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Speaker 2: has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so

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Speaker 2: is your faith. More than that, we are then found

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Speaker 2: to be false witnesses about God. For we have testified

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Speaker 2: about God that he raised Christ from the dead, but

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Speaker 2: he did not raise him if in fact, the dead

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Speaker 2: are not raised. For if the dead are not raised,

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Speaker 2: then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ

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Speaker 2: has not been raised your faith is futile. You are

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Speaker 2: still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen

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Speaker 2: asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life

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Speaker 2: we have hope in Christ. We are of all people

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Speaker 2: most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised

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Speaker 2: from the dead. The first fruits of those who have

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Speaker 2: fallen asleep, for Sin's death came through a man. The

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Speaker 2: resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For

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Speaker 2: as an atom all die, so in Christ all will

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Speaker 2: be made alive, but each in turn Christ the first fruits. Then,

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Speaker 2: when he comes those who belong to him. Then the

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Speaker 2: end will come when he hands over the kingdom to

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Speaker 2: God the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority,

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Speaker 2: and power. For he must reign until he has put

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Speaker 2: all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to

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Speaker 2: be destroyed is death, for he has put everything under

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Speaker 2: his feet. Now, when it says that everything has been

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Speaker 2: put under him, it is clear that this does not

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Speaker 2: include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he

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Speaker 2: has done this, then the sun himself will be made

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Speaker 2: subject to Him who put everything under him, so that

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Speaker 2: God may be all in all. Now, if there is

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Speaker 2: no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for

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Speaker 2: the dead. If the dead are not raised at all,

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Speaker 2: why are people baptized for them? And as for us,

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Speaker 2: why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death

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Speaker 2: every day. Yes, just as surely as I boast about

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Speaker 2: you in Christ, Jesus, our Lord. If I thought wild

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Speaker 2: beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what

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Speaker 2: have I gained? If the dead are not raised, Let

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Speaker 2: us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Do not

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Speaker 2: be misled bad company, corrupts good character. Come back to

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Speaker 2: your senses as you ought, and stop sinning. For there

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Speaker 2: are some who are ignorant of God. I say this

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Speaker 2: to your shame. But someone will ask, how are the

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Speaker 2: dead raised? With what kind of body? Will they come?

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Speaker 2: How foolish? What you sow does not come to life

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Speaker 2: unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant

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Speaker 2: the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps

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Speaker 2: of wheat or of something else. But God gives it

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Speaker 2: a body as he is determined. And to each kind

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Speaker 2: of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh

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Speaker 2: is the same. People have one kind of flesh, animals

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Speaker 2: have another, birds another, and fish another. There are also

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Speaker 2: heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies, But the splendor

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Speaker 2: of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor

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Speaker 2: of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one

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Speaker 2: kind of splendor, the moon another, and the star is another.

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Speaker 2: And stars differ from star and splendor. So will it

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Speaker 2: be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that

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Speaker 2: is sown is perishable. It is raised and perishable. It

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Speaker 2: is sown in dishonor it is raised in glory. It

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Speaker 2: is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It

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Speaker 2: is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

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Speaker 2: If there is an natural body, there is also a

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Speaker 2: spiritual body. So it is written. The first man, Adam,

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Speaker 2: became a living being, the last atom a life giving spirit.

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Speaker 2: The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and

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Speaker 2: after that the spiritual. The first man was of the

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Speaker 2: dust of the earth. The second man is of heaven.

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Speaker 2: As was the earthly man. So were those who are

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Speaker 2: of the earth, And as is the heavenly man, so

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Speaker 2: also are those who are of heaven. And just as

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Speaker 2: we have borne the image of the earthly man, so

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Speaker 2: shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I

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Speaker 2: declare to you, brothers, and sisters, that flesh and blood

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Speaker 2: cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable

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Speaker 2: inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We

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Speaker 2: will not all sleep, but we will all be changed

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Speaker 2: in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye at

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Speaker 2: the last trumpet, For the trumpet will sound, the death

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Speaker 2: will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For

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Speaker 2: the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the

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Speaker 2: mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with

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Speaker 2: the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying

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Speaker 2: that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed

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Speaker 2: up in victory. Where Oh death is your victory, where

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Speaker 2: O death is your staying. The sting of death is sin,

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Speaker 2: and the power of sin is the law. But thanks

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Speaker 2: be to God he gives us the victory through our Lord,

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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.

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Speaker 2: Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the

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Speaker 2: work of the Lord, because you know that your labor

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Speaker 2: and the Lord is not in vain. Death is inevitable

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Speaker 2: for all of us, whether we realize it or not.

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Speaker 2: It's something that counts at the end of our days.

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Speaker 2: The paradox of the Christian faith, however, is that this

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Speaker 2: death is just the beginning of eternity. For those who believe,

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Speaker 2: we will receive new bodies, and the death we endure

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Speaker 2: here on earth will lead to new life and heaven.

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Speaker 2: First Corinthians fifteen reminds us of this truth, because though

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Speaker 2: death might seem powerful, Jesus is greater. Death never gets

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Speaker 2: the final word for those who put their hope in Christ.

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Speaker 2: The foundation of Christian hope isn't just positive thinking or

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Speaker 2: ignorance as bliss. It's the resurrection of Jesus that changes everything.

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Speaker 2: Paul reminds us and these few verses that death is real,

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Speaker 2: but it's not ultimate. When Jesus died and arose from

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Speaker 2: the grave, he defeated sin, death and Satan himself, and

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Speaker 2: because he lives, we have the promise of eternal life.

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Speaker 2: Resurrection isn't just a cool story. It means death isn't

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Speaker 2: the end. Suffering is temporary. Eternity in Christ is secure.

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Speaker 2: Our hope is rooted in a living savior. Having this

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Speaker 2: victory doesn't mean we won't grieve again. Death is a

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Speaker 2: natural part of life. That we will all face Jesus wept,

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Speaker 2: so did his mother and disciples. Grief isn't weakness, and

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Speaker 2: loss still hurts because death was never part of God's

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Speaker 2: original design. Though we grieve, we're not hopeless. Victory means

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Speaker 2: we can mourn and hold hope today. This resurrection story

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Speaker 2: gives us purpose and hope. That's why Paul ends chapter

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Speaker 2: fifteen with these words. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters,

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Speaker 2: stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully

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Speaker 2: to the work of the Lord, because you know that

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Speaker 2: your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Because

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Speaker 2: Jesus defeated death, our lives now also matter. So we

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Speaker 2: don't live aimlessly, but we keep going through the power

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Speaker 2: the resurrection gives us. Dear Jesus, thank you for defeating

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Speaker 2: death through your resurrection. When I feel scared or overwhelmed,

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Speaker 2: remind me that my hope is in You. Help me

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Speaker 2: to live with full of faith and trust that even

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Speaker 2: in loss, something greater is in store. You swallow death

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Speaker 2: and victory, and now I'm thankful to share in that

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Speaker 2: victory with you. I love you, Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Amen.

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Speaker 2: How did tonight's scripture speak to you? Share your thoughts

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Speaker 2: and the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 1: was read from the New International Version by Biblica. All

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Speaker 1: rights reserved. If Tonight's episode blessed you, be sure to

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Speaker 1: Scripture is ready when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is

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Speaker 1: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you

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Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. Night