1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,360 S1: Hey, I'm Ali, thanks for checking out the Carl and 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,880 S1: Crew show. Did you know Carl and crew airs live 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,080 S1: weekday mornings from 5 to 9 Central Time. Go to 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,680 S1: Carl and crew.org for ways to listen in your area. 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:14,600 S1: Now let's get to today's episode. 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,759 S2: Coming to you live from the call of Hope studio. 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:20,800 S2: This is Carl and crew. 8 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,560 S3: Merry Christmas everybody. 9 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:24,960 S4: Merry Christmas. 10 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,560 S3: My goodness man we are in it now. I'm feeling it. 11 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,640 S3: We're in the season. We're in the pocket. It's beautiful. 12 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:32,840 S4: We've been in the season. 13 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,040 S3: I know, but I'm feeling it today. 14 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,599 S1: Because you took a walk in the snow. With the 15 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,520 S1: Christmas lights all around. And the quiet in the still 16 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,040 S1: of the night. You've got a husky dog. It's just 17 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:44,880 S1: that moment. 18 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,120 S3: Rocking back and forth here. Yeah, I was up real 19 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,839 S3: early this morning, and, uh, big boy, you know, I'm 20 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,480 S3: housebreaking a husky. Whoa, Nelly. I didn't know what I 21 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:00,370 S3: bargained for on that one. Housebreaking, Nelly. Housebreaking is different 22 00:01:00,370 --> 00:01:03,610 S3: than having 50 dogs in a kennel that you're training 23 00:01:03,610 --> 00:01:06,729 S3: for the Iditarod. Housebreaking is a whole nother level of 24 00:01:06,730 --> 00:01:10,209 S3: dog training, and it starts real early, like when you 25 00:01:10,209 --> 00:01:14,209 S3: get them home and it's like the little petals coming out. 26 00:01:14,209 --> 00:01:16,490 S3: It's like, whoa, whoa, hold on buddy, all right? He 27 00:01:16,530 --> 00:01:18,690 S3: sucks it in. It's like, all right, well, get me out, 28 00:01:18,730 --> 00:01:21,170 S3: get me out. And I'm like, I'm getting you out, man. 29 00:01:21,170 --> 00:01:24,970 S3: I've got my I got my slip ons going on 30 00:01:24,970 --> 00:01:27,050 S3: and I'm. And I'm scrambling. And I got him in 31 00:01:27,050 --> 00:01:29,650 S3: a hand and I'm making sure he's not piddling on 32 00:01:29,650 --> 00:01:32,690 S3: my arm. And here we go out outside and everything's good. 33 00:01:32,810 --> 00:01:35,530 S4: Oh, man. You want it. So I, you know, I 34 00:01:35,569 --> 00:01:38,010 S4: had I have a dog who we had as a puppy. 35 00:01:38,010 --> 00:01:41,089 S4: So we did the housebreaking thing and, and he let 36 00:01:41,090 --> 00:01:44,410 S4: us know right away what kind of personality we got 37 00:01:44,410 --> 00:01:47,970 S4: in him because we started with him as a puppy, 38 00:01:47,970 --> 00:01:50,490 S4: not letting him up on the furniture. And he jumped 39 00:01:50,490 --> 00:01:53,170 S4: up on an Ottoman across the room from me. And 40 00:01:53,170 --> 00:01:56,970 S4: so his name's Koda. I said, Koda off and he 41 00:01:56,970 --> 00:02:01,220 S4: looked at me. He stared. He barked once and then 42 00:02:01,220 --> 00:02:03,500 S4: crouched and peed on my Ottoman. 43 00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:11,340 S3: No. Coat I love Koda. Now love Koda. 44 00:02:11,419 --> 00:02:11,859 S4: And. 45 00:02:12,060 --> 00:02:15,579 S3: Barked once crouched and peed. He barked that Ottoman man. 46 00:02:15,620 --> 00:02:18,700 S4: He did. He said it's mine. Shut up! And I said, 47 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:20,700 S4: I looked at my wife and I was like, oh man, 48 00:02:20,700 --> 00:02:22,540 S4: we both do. We couldn't help but to laugh. 49 00:02:22,580 --> 00:02:24,660 S3: Of course you did. But that was the worst thing 50 00:02:24,660 --> 00:02:25,500 S3: you could have done. 51 00:02:25,540 --> 00:02:25,859 S4: And he. 52 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:27,340 S3: Was right. It was the natural. 53 00:02:27,340 --> 00:02:28,220 S1: Response, right? 54 00:02:28,580 --> 00:02:32,660 S4: He's still here, but his personality is consistent with with 55 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:33,180 S4: that moment. 56 00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:33,780 S3: Defiant. 57 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:37,820 S4: He's defiant. He's he's a great dog, but he is stubborn. 58 00:02:38,060 --> 00:02:40,100 S1: Did you keep him off the furniture? Did you know that. 59 00:02:40,380 --> 00:02:43,500 S4: We gave up on that one really quickly? 60 00:02:43,540 --> 00:02:48,139 S3: So we're doing puppy puppy comparisons here. Blaze is super, 61 00:02:48,139 --> 00:02:50,660 S3: super in the pocket with what I'm wanting him to do. 62 00:02:50,700 --> 00:02:55,459 S3: That's good. Really funny that way. But he. And this 63 00:02:55,460 --> 00:02:58,060 S3: morning he was just pulling like a I mean, he's 64 00:02:58,060 --> 00:03:00,700 S3: 12 weeks old, I think. Yeah, I think right at 65 00:03:00,700 --> 00:03:04,540 S3: 12 weeks old or close to it. And he's getting 66 00:03:04,540 --> 00:03:07,780 S3: these his legs are getting long. So he's like top 67 00:03:07,820 --> 00:03:11,180 S3: breed Alaskan sled dog. He comes from a winning kennel 68 00:03:11,220 --> 00:03:14,340 S3: of Mitch Seavey and his dad. Eero and his mom, Fendi, 69 00:03:14,340 --> 00:03:17,579 S3: are champions. They were in lead when a record was 70 00:03:17,580 --> 00:03:21,660 S3: broken on the Iditarod. So this is like running dog bloodline, right? 71 00:03:22,060 --> 00:03:24,500 S3: So and somebody texted earlier when I was talking about 72 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:26,780 S3: this and said, hang on till he gets older, man, 73 00:03:26,780 --> 00:03:30,660 S3: you aren't kidding. I mean, I've gotta I'm already training 74 00:03:30,660 --> 00:03:33,900 S3: them with whoa. So I'm training him. G is right 75 00:03:33,940 --> 00:03:39,020 S3: or is left and whoa is stop and easy. I'm 76 00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:42,340 S3: starting to work on easy. Easy means let's slow it 77 00:03:42,340 --> 00:03:44,780 S3: down a little bit. But whoa, man, he'll put on 78 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:48,260 S3: the brakes. Now he goes because I've associated with. He's 79 00:03:48,260 --> 00:03:51,300 S3: going to get petted up like crazy. So he's pulling 80 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:53,180 S3: in front of me and I go, whoa! And he 81 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:56,550 S3: sits right down, looks back at me, tails wagging. 82 00:03:58,270 --> 00:04:00,230 S5: Pep me up. Yeah. And so I pet. 83 00:04:00,230 --> 00:04:02,270 S3: Him up and I go, okay, here we go. And 84 00:04:02,270 --> 00:04:04,550 S3: he boom off again. But I had a funny thing 85 00:04:04,550 --> 00:04:08,630 S3: happened this morning. And I hope you can understand this. 86 00:04:08,630 --> 00:04:11,230 S3: So I'm walking along and in Chicago we've got about 87 00:04:11,230 --> 00:04:15,310 S3: 16in of snow thereabouts on the ground. And this morning 88 00:04:15,310 --> 00:04:18,190 S3: there was a little bit, just a little like a 89 00:04:18,190 --> 00:04:21,469 S3: quarter inch of snow. And on that slick surface, that 90 00:04:21,470 --> 00:04:24,390 S3: quarter inch of snow is like putting ice skates on 91 00:04:24,430 --> 00:04:27,109 S3: your feet, man. I mean, it's slick. 92 00:04:27,150 --> 00:04:27,870 S1: Very slick. 93 00:04:27,910 --> 00:04:28,070 S5: Yes. 94 00:04:28,110 --> 00:04:30,070 S3: So I'm like, all right, this guy's wanting to go 95 00:04:30,070 --> 00:04:32,909 S3: for a walk. And I'm realizing, whoa, half a block in, 96 00:04:32,910 --> 00:04:35,630 S3: I'm like, yeah, I'm going to be doing splits and 97 00:04:35,630 --> 00:04:38,990 S3: everything else out here. So I'm being really careful. But 98 00:04:38,990 --> 00:04:42,350 S3: I got to walk pretty good pace because four mile 99 00:04:42,390 --> 00:04:46,229 S3: an hour walk you can't do less than four miles 100 00:04:46,230 --> 00:04:49,150 S3: an hour. So you got to be stepping out. So 101 00:04:49,190 --> 00:04:52,390 S3: as I'm stepping out I'm like, oh my goodness. Because 102 00:04:52,390 --> 00:04:55,440 S3: my feet when I'd step forward, big long stride. 103 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:55,760 S5: Would. 104 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,200 S3: Come out from under me. And yeah, I'm not into 105 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,839 S3: pulling muscles at 4 a.m.. That's not my jam. So 106 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:08,320 S3: I'm walking. Careful. And then I realize the the coolest 107 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,680 S3: spiritual metaphor phenomenon happened. And it was the coolest thing. 108 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,520 S3: I'm I'm holding on to him and I'm realizing, hold it. 109 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:20,760 S3: That little bit of tension. Not a lot, but that 110 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,039 S3: little bit of tension he has on me is like 111 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,320 S3: a help. It's not about me just placing my feet perfectly. 112 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:31,560 S3: It's about me holding that tension just just taut. And 113 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,880 S3: I thought, this is exactly what it's like following Jesus. 114 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,320 S3: As long as we're connected to him. Look, it may 115 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:45,280 S3: be slippery below us, but just having that connection with Jesus, 116 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:47,880 S3: it's going to get us down the road, guys. So 117 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,880 S3: there's my takeaway from O'dark 30. 118 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,490 S1: Early morning walks with Blaise. Yeah. If you want to 119 00:05:54,490 --> 00:05:56,929 S1: see one of those walks with Blaise, check out Facebook 120 00:05:56,970 --> 00:06:00,289 S1: and Instagram. Carl and crew. This one is him busting 121 00:06:00,290 --> 00:06:03,450 S1: through the snow when we got that big snowfall, and 122 00:06:03,450 --> 00:06:06,250 S1: I put some epic theme music behind it, which just 123 00:06:06,250 --> 00:06:11,010 S1: makes it pretty funny. He's just it's like a movie soundtrack. 124 00:06:11,010 --> 00:06:13,969 S1: So check it out on Facebook and Instagram. Carl and crew. 125 00:06:14,130 --> 00:06:15,450 S3: Yeah, love you guys. 126 00:06:16,050 --> 00:06:19,890 S2: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home. 127 00:06:20,089 --> 00:06:23,929 S2: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on 128 00:06:23,970 --> 00:06:25,090 S2: Moody Radio. 129 00:06:25,130 --> 00:06:27,250 S3: Every once in a while you have a guest come 130 00:06:27,250 --> 00:06:31,130 S3: in here. That. Whoa, look at that. Couple of years ago, 131 00:06:31,410 --> 00:06:36,930 S3: wrote something, spoke something, and it was featured nationally or internationally. 132 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:40,529 S3: Hang on. Because have we got a treat for you? 133 00:06:40,570 --> 00:06:44,210 S3: Doctor Sweeting had an op ed that is going to 134 00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:47,729 S3: relate to this season like you can't believe. And that's 135 00:06:47,730 --> 00:06:49,289 S3: coming up here in just a moment. 136 00:06:49,290 --> 00:06:52,610 S1: But first doctor Don Sweeting joining us right now, recent 137 00:06:52,610 --> 00:06:56,450 S1: president and chancellor at Colorado Christian University. Take us to 138 00:06:56,490 --> 00:06:59,610 S1: John four and how that parallels what we're talking about 139 00:06:59,650 --> 00:07:00,169 S1: right now. 140 00:07:00,570 --> 00:07:03,410 S6: Yeah, John four is a text which is not a 141 00:07:03,410 --> 00:07:06,690 S6: Christmas text, which is a Christmas text. How's that. 142 00:07:06,690 --> 00:07:07,570 S5: For a yes. 143 00:07:07,730 --> 00:07:07,850 S6: For. 144 00:07:07,890 --> 00:07:08,930 S5: Description? Love it. 145 00:07:09,370 --> 00:07:11,010 S6: You look at it and you go, this has nothing 146 00:07:11,010 --> 00:07:13,090 S6: to do with Christmas. You read it carefully. It has 147 00:07:13,090 --> 00:07:16,369 S6: everything to do with Christmas. It's about God stepping into 148 00:07:16,370 --> 00:07:18,570 S6: our mess. I mean, think about this. If you don't 149 00:07:18,570 --> 00:07:21,650 S6: know the story, friends, it's about a story of Jesus. 150 00:07:21,650 --> 00:07:25,290 S6: And he's passing through Samaria, an area Jews weren't supposed 151 00:07:25,290 --> 00:07:28,290 S6: to pass through. And he meets this woman at a well. 152 00:07:28,330 --> 00:07:31,410 S6: He's thirsty and she's a Samaritan woman. They're not supposed 153 00:07:31,410 --> 00:07:34,370 S6: to be talking to each other culturally or ethnically. And 154 00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:37,970 S6: he engages her. And it's fascinating because, first of all, 155 00:07:37,970 --> 00:07:42,130 S6: it's a story about God drawing near. So remember, Jews 156 00:07:42,130 --> 00:07:45,890 S6: weren't supposed to interact with Samaritans. And there's a lot 157 00:07:45,930 --> 00:07:49,050 S6: in the New Testament that's about that. And so Jesus 158 00:07:49,050 --> 00:07:53,140 S6: does what's unthinkable. He draws near to her. And, you know, 159 00:07:53,340 --> 00:07:56,140 S6: you might think, if you're listening to this program at Christmastime, 160 00:07:56,180 --> 00:07:58,780 S6: you know, God's that kind of God, that he's distant 161 00:07:58,780 --> 00:08:01,660 S6: and he's far away. He'd never come near me. Well, 162 00:08:01,660 --> 00:08:04,860 S6: this story just breaks that fence down. And it echoes 163 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:07,500 S6: John one where it says, the word became flesh and 164 00:08:07,540 --> 00:08:10,540 S6: dwelt among us. God kind of moved into our neighborhood. 165 00:08:10,860 --> 00:08:13,820 S6: He creates space and time. He enters space and time. 166 00:08:13,860 --> 00:08:17,420 S6: So this first parallel is God draws near. The second 167 00:08:17,420 --> 00:08:20,700 S6: parallel is it's a really messy world, this woman. Yes. 168 00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:24,100 S6: I mean, think about it. Five husbands, let me tell you. 169 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:28,340 S6: Talk about chaos and this woman. I mean everything about 170 00:08:28,340 --> 00:08:32,620 S6: her relationally. It was chaos and Jesus engaged her. And 171 00:08:32,620 --> 00:08:35,300 S6: then he says, he talks about the gift that God 172 00:08:35,300 --> 00:08:39,140 S6: has for you. Now we're talking gifts. John chapter 411. 173 00:08:39,179 --> 00:08:41,580 S6: If you knew the gift of God and who it 174 00:08:41,580 --> 00:08:44,100 S6: is who's saying to you, give me a drink? Um, 175 00:08:44,179 --> 00:08:46,660 S6: of course, Christmas is about the greatest gift of all. 176 00:08:46,660 --> 00:08:49,510 S6: And this woman, she thought water was the thing in 177 00:08:49,510 --> 00:08:52,310 S6: front of him. Jesus is thirsty. She gives him a drink. 178 00:08:52,350 --> 00:08:54,949 S6: She comes to the well, she's probably thirsty, and Jesus 179 00:08:54,950 --> 00:08:58,350 S6: brings up living water and he says, no, I've got something. 180 00:08:58,510 --> 00:09:01,790 S6: The greatest gift of all. And at Christmas we're preoccupied with, 181 00:09:01,830 --> 00:09:03,750 S6: you know, all the things we think we need. And 182 00:09:03,750 --> 00:09:06,270 S6: then there's the thing that we really need. That's what 183 00:09:06,309 --> 00:09:09,670 S6: Jesus was locking into with this woman. One other thing 184 00:09:09,670 --> 00:09:12,790 S6: I see here, too, is so she's kind of diverting 185 00:09:12,790 --> 00:09:17,550 S6: the conversation towards second things. She wants to get into 186 00:09:17,550 --> 00:09:21,030 S6: a worship debate like which mountain we worship as Samaritans 187 00:09:21,030 --> 00:09:24,430 S6: on Mount Gerizim, you worship as Jews on Jerusalem. And 188 00:09:24,429 --> 00:09:27,110 S6: Jesus said, no, you know, come back to first things. 189 00:09:27,110 --> 00:09:30,110 S6: The first thing is you worship in spirit and truth 190 00:09:30,110 --> 00:09:32,949 S6: and I'm the Christ. I am he, you know. And 191 00:09:32,950 --> 00:09:35,390 S6: I think about Christmas, we get caught up in second 192 00:09:35,390 --> 00:09:38,510 S6: things and the traditions and the music, and we burn 193 00:09:38,510 --> 00:09:41,830 S6: ourselves out sometimes. And, uh, Christmas draws us back to 194 00:09:41,870 --> 00:09:45,429 S6: the very first thing Jesus, this woman needed. Jesus, if 195 00:09:45,429 --> 00:09:49,800 S6: you're listening today. You need Jesus, and God has this 196 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,960 S6: great gift for you. And that's what Christmas is all about. 197 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:54,600 S5: Yeah. 198 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:57,680 S3: Doctor Don Sweeting, our guest right now, what causes people 199 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:03,000 S3: to be hesitant to invite Jesus in to their shame? 200 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,640 S3: Because the big thing this woman needed to lay down 201 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,120 S3: was her shame. And until she knew she was loved 202 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,080 S3: as she was, that wasn't going to happen. 203 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,200 S6: Yeah, I think she thought she was too dirty, too messy, 204 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,680 S6: and God was too holy and God wouldn't care. And 205 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:19,880 S6: this passage just said, uh, no, actually, that he specializes 206 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,319 S6: in this business. Uh, he came to a messy, broken world. 207 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,600 S6: Your life's a mess. Your church may be a mess. Uh, 208 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,280 S6: and your relationships may be a mess. But he is 209 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,560 S6: what you need. Because he can bring order, strength, life. 210 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,040 S6: You know, living water to you, too. This is a 211 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,319 S6: great message. You know, you were saying that lots of people, 212 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,319 S6: they they forget about the messes that sometimes mess up 213 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,559 S6: our Christmas season and and some people think that message 214 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,319 S6: cancel your Christmas season. Yeah, but the mess, the mess 215 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:54,040 S6: doesn't cancel your Christmas. It rather confirms our need of 216 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:54,800 S6: a savior. 217 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:57,120 S1: Doctor Don Sweeting, our guest. Right now, let's talk a 218 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,240 S1: little bit more about the shame piece, because I think 219 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,080 S1: that that's a big part of it is that you 220 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,200 S1: definitely feel like, especially if it's a mess that you've made. 221 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,280 S1: But even if it's not the mess that you created, 222 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,520 S1: there's a shame of feeling this is what my life 223 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,120 S1: looks like and I need to get myself together. I 224 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,160 S1: need to kind of figure things out and then maybe 225 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:18,200 S1: God can help me. 226 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,960 S6: I think that's backwards. I think with shame, sometimes we 227 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,880 S6: make the mistake that all shame is bad. There's a 228 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,439 S6: proper shame. I mean, when we screw up, I mean, 229 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,040 S6: shame is guilt and shame. There's a real guilt and shame. 230 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:35,040 S6: There's also a false guilt in shame. Jesus answers that, too. 231 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,120 S6: He removes it. He removes that guilt. He. He forgives. Um. 232 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,760 S6: He takes away the shame. He accepts. He embraces sinners. 233 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,130 S6: And that's, uh. That's why I need Christmas. And I 234 00:11:46,130 --> 00:11:46,730 S6: need him. 235 00:11:47,090 --> 00:11:49,970 S3: Doctor Don Sweeting. What is the fresh thing God's doing 236 00:11:49,970 --> 00:11:52,370 S3: in your life right now? In this Christmas, it is 237 00:11:52,370 --> 00:11:55,250 S3: easy to get into the grind. And here comes another one. 238 00:11:55,250 --> 00:11:57,730 S3: We sing the songs and move on. What's he doing 239 00:11:57,730 --> 00:11:58,170 S3: in you? 240 00:11:58,450 --> 00:12:01,850 S6: Well, he's teaching me to wait, Carl. And I'm really 241 00:12:01,850 --> 00:12:04,850 S6: bad at that. Wait on him for, you know, what's 242 00:12:04,890 --> 00:12:08,010 S6: next in my life. And you know, I'm realizing that 243 00:12:08,010 --> 00:12:11,329 S6: advent is about waiting. You know, it's about anticipating. It's 244 00:12:11,530 --> 00:12:14,370 S6: it's celebrating the first coming, but waiting for his second 245 00:12:14,370 --> 00:12:17,290 S6: coming and and preparing our hearts and making him room. 246 00:12:17,290 --> 00:12:19,650 S6: So he's teaching me a lot about waiting this year. 247 00:12:19,890 --> 00:12:22,570 S1: Our guest, Don Sweeting this morning, he's got an article 248 00:12:22,570 --> 00:12:24,730 S1: I want to point you to five reasons why we 249 00:12:24,770 --> 00:12:28,209 S1: desperately need Christmas this year. This was an op ed 250 00:12:28,250 --> 00:12:30,770 S1: that he wrote a couple of years ago, but very timely. 251 00:12:30,809 --> 00:12:33,490 S1: Still text sweet and we'll send that to you. Text 252 00:12:33,530 --> 00:12:39,489 S1: sweet to 800 555 7898 for this article by Don Sweeting, 253 00:12:39,530 --> 00:12:44,020 S1: just text sweet to 805 555, 78, 98. 254 00:12:44,059 --> 00:12:46,780 S2: She was trying to earn her way to God, but 255 00:12:46,780 --> 00:12:50,260 S2: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in 256 00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:53,580 S2: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 257 00:12:53,620 --> 00:12:55,939 S3: Hey, if you're a budding preacher, I got a recommendation 258 00:12:55,940 --> 00:12:59,500 S3: for you. Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson. It's an older book, 259 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:02,980 S3: but it is dynamite if you are a budding communicator, 260 00:13:02,980 --> 00:13:06,179 S3: if you teach, even if you are, I would say 261 00:13:06,179 --> 00:13:09,460 S3: even leading a small group. It is powerhouse. And I'll 262 00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:13,100 S3: tell you why. Head Robinson came up with, uh, he 263 00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:16,740 S3: probably didn't. He codified it, made it really popular. And 264 00:13:16,740 --> 00:13:20,100 S3: that is big idea preaching. Meaning you got to look 265 00:13:20,140 --> 00:13:25,500 S3: at texts, scriptures and go, well, what's the big idea here? Well, 266 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:27,420 S3: if you look at the woman at the well, I mean, 267 00:13:27,460 --> 00:13:30,540 S3: there's so many subplots going on there, but at the 268 00:13:30,540 --> 00:13:34,620 S3: end of the day, it's God through Jesus Christ stepping 269 00:13:34,620 --> 00:13:38,819 S3: into her total mess. That's the big idea, Ali. 270 00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:41,230 S1: Right. And sometimes, you know, when we think about the 271 00:13:41,230 --> 00:13:44,830 S1: Christmas story, we've heard it so many times. We are 272 00:13:44,830 --> 00:13:48,470 S1: familiar with the big idea, the birth of Jesus. But 273 00:13:48,470 --> 00:13:51,110 S1: sometimes it can be so familiar that other parts of 274 00:13:51,110 --> 00:13:54,430 S1: the story that also reflect Jesus can be kind of 275 00:13:54,470 --> 00:13:55,190 S1: lost on us. 276 00:13:55,230 --> 00:13:55,670 S5: Yeah. 277 00:13:55,910 --> 00:13:58,550 S3: How powerful. Dan Darling, with us here right now. How 278 00:13:58,550 --> 00:14:01,870 S3: powerful is it that that story puts on display the 279 00:14:01,870 --> 00:14:04,670 S3: big idea that God steps into our messes? Dan, how 280 00:14:04,670 --> 00:14:05,750 S3: does that hit you? 281 00:14:05,950 --> 00:14:06,790 S5: Well, it's. 282 00:14:06,790 --> 00:14:10,270 S7: Incredible. And I think particularly right now at Christmas, you know, 283 00:14:10,429 --> 00:14:13,309 S7: for many people, Christmas is festive and full of joy 284 00:14:13,309 --> 00:14:17,630 S7: and lights and presents and cookies and and I love 285 00:14:17,630 --> 00:14:19,470 S7: all of that. But for many people, this time of 286 00:14:19,470 --> 00:14:21,670 S7: year is really hard and difficult. And one of the 287 00:14:21,670 --> 00:14:24,830 S7: things I try to say is that Jesus stepped into 288 00:14:24,830 --> 00:14:26,830 S7: a world. He was born into a world as broken 289 00:14:26,830 --> 00:14:28,990 S7: and difficult as the world we have today. 290 00:14:29,350 --> 00:14:33,110 S1: Dan Darling, our guest right now, he's a best selling author, pastor, leader, 291 00:14:33,110 --> 00:14:36,430 S1: podcast host. The book we're featuring today, The Characters of Christmas, 292 00:14:36,430 --> 00:14:40,070 S1: the unlikely people caught up in the life of Jesus. 293 00:14:40,430 --> 00:14:44,110 S1: Unlikely people who are those people that sometimes get overlooked 294 00:14:44,110 --> 00:14:46,430 S1: in the nativity scene or the Christmas story? 295 00:14:46,790 --> 00:14:49,630 S7: Well, I think of Joseph, you know, here he is 296 00:14:49,830 --> 00:14:52,070 S7: just living his life, and all of a sudden he 297 00:14:52,110 --> 00:14:55,910 S7: finds out that his, um, fiancee is with child and 298 00:14:56,070 --> 00:14:58,110 S7: he's not quite sure what to do. He tries to 299 00:14:58,110 --> 00:15:00,550 S7: do the right thing. Uh, he does the next right 300 00:15:00,550 --> 00:15:03,510 S7: thing to to take care of her at his own cost. 301 00:15:03,510 --> 00:15:06,830 S7: And then he gets a visit from the angel and, uh, 302 00:15:06,830 --> 00:15:09,910 S7: immediately obeys, the Bible says. And then, of course, when 303 00:15:09,910 --> 00:15:14,150 S7: he's given the vision to take Jesus to Egypt to 304 00:15:14,190 --> 00:15:16,310 S7: escape Herod, he gets up and does it right away. 305 00:15:16,310 --> 00:15:20,190 S7: And just an image of a faithful follower of Christ, uh, 306 00:15:20,190 --> 00:15:24,590 S7: who had an unenviable task of being a father to 307 00:15:24,630 --> 00:15:26,190 S7: the Son of God. Imagine that. 308 00:15:26,230 --> 00:15:26,830 S5: Yeah, man. 309 00:15:27,190 --> 00:15:28,270 S7: A difficult job, you. 310 00:15:28,270 --> 00:15:29,470 S5: Know for. 311 00:15:29,470 --> 00:15:32,870 S3: Sure. You know, Dan, something else too. I don't know 312 00:15:32,870 --> 00:15:36,470 S3: if you've. I've really done a lot of work on her, 313 00:15:36,470 --> 00:15:40,920 S3: but Mary gets overlooked in a lot of I've got 314 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,680 S3: Air quotes on evangelical, you know, Bible preaching, community churches, 315 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:49,600 S3: you name it, circles because she's been deified in some circles. 316 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,920 S3: So we've kind of pendulum swung away from Mary. But man, 317 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,840 S3: what a woman of God. Daniel, what do you say? 318 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,200 S7: Well, she really was. I mean, if you think about it, 319 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,560 S7: you know, we're unlike some of our other friends. We don't, 320 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,480 S7: you know, deify her. But she really was signing up 321 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:10,000 S7: for an assignment that was difficult. And she said yes 322 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,720 S7: to the Holy Spirit. She said yes to God, even 323 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,160 S7: knowing that she'd have to watch her son grow up 324 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,280 S7: and be mocked and be rejected. She'd have to see 325 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:23,280 S7: her son beaten and arrested unjustly and and killed. Uh. 326 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,240 S7: Imagine that. I mean, I'm I'm a father. I have 327 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,360 S7: four kids. One of the hardest things is to see 328 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,120 S7: your kids suffer at any level. Yeah. And she had 329 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,640 S7: to see this for her, her son, and yet was 330 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:34,520 S7: willing to step in and do that. And if you 331 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,770 S7: if you listen to her song that she sings after 332 00:16:37,770 --> 00:16:40,490 S7: the visit from the Angel. She understands the gravity of 333 00:16:40,490 --> 00:16:42,930 S7: the moment. She understands who this child is. 334 00:16:43,330 --> 00:16:46,890 S1: What about Jesus's surprising ancestors? 335 00:16:47,090 --> 00:16:48,770 S7: That's one of the wonderful things I love about the 336 00:16:48,770 --> 00:16:51,450 S7: story of Christmas. You know, typically, if you read Matthew, 337 00:16:51,490 --> 00:16:54,050 S7: you're tempted to skip over that first chapter or even 338 00:16:54,050 --> 00:16:56,370 S7: Luke in the genealogy. You think, okay, a bunch of names, 339 00:16:56,370 --> 00:16:58,210 S7: I can get through this, but actually it's a big 340 00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:01,690 S7: story there. Uh, what what Matthew is saying is that Jesus, 341 00:17:01,730 --> 00:17:05,010 S7: this this baby born in Bethlehem, is the rightful king. 342 00:17:05,050 --> 00:17:09,250 S7: The promised king, um, promised in in Old Testament. And 343 00:17:09,250 --> 00:17:11,690 S7: if you look at the people in his lineage, it's 344 00:17:11,690 --> 00:17:17,050 S7: not people you and I would choose. It's, uh, Bathsheba who, uh, uh, 345 00:17:17,090 --> 00:17:21,210 S7: was the sign of David's sin. You have, um, you know, Tamar, 346 00:17:21,330 --> 00:17:24,730 S7: you have several people with checkered histories. Rahab. Right, who 347 00:17:24,730 --> 00:17:28,489 S7: was grafted into the the people of God, Ruth, who 348 00:17:28,490 --> 00:17:32,570 S7: was not even a part of Israel. She was a moabitess. 349 00:17:32,810 --> 00:17:36,540 S7: And it does show that God's family is bringing people 350 00:17:36,540 --> 00:17:39,820 S7: from everywhere, and also that God's grace extends even to 351 00:17:39,820 --> 00:17:41,500 S7: the people that we don't think should belong. 352 00:17:41,940 --> 00:17:45,420 S3: Yeah, I think that's one of the coolest things. You know, 353 00:17:45,420 --> 00:17:48,900 S3: Christmas has come and go, Dan, I think you're younger, 354 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:52,820 S3: much younger than me, probably. But one of the great 355 00:17:52,820 --> 00:17:57,619 S3: dangers here. Dan Darling, our guest right now is that these, 356 00:17:57,780 --> 00:18:01,620 S3: these seasons come and go and we miss the golden 357 00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:05,619 S3: opportunity here. And this is to worship in a really 358 00:18:05,619 --> 00:18:09,940 S3: special way. What have you learned, what not to do 359 00:18:09,940 --> 00:18:12,460 S3: and what to do? I'm not even asking you if 360 00:18:12,460 --> 00:18:14,179 S3: you're any good at it, Daniel. 361 00:18:14,859 --> 00:18:17,219 S7: Well, I think for Christmas, one of the things I 362 00:18:17,220 --> 00:18:20,060 S7: enjoy is that we have a whole season really to 363 00:18:20,060 --> 00:18:23,700 S7: reflect on the incarnation. And I'm not one of those 364 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:26,179 S7: that says you have to start listening to Christmas music 365 00:18:26,180 --> 00:18:28,139 S7: after Thanksgiving. I'm like, if you want to listen to 366 00:18:28,140 --> 00:18:32,500 S7: it in October, that's fine with me. Um, but it 367 00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:35,179 S7: you think of some of the great, the great hymns 368 00:18:35,180 --> 00:18:38,020 S7: of the faith. Many of them are Christmas hymns and 369 00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:44,100 S7: the the rich theology, the idea that God would descend 370 00:18:44,580 --> 00:18:51,220 S7: and humble himself and submit himself to his own creation. 371 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:56,180 S7: You think of that night in Bethlehem, this fragile baby, uh, 372 00:18:56,220 --> 00:19:01,220 S7: not in a palace, not in, uh, Jerusalem or in Rome, 373 00:19:01,220 --> 00:19:05,460 S7: but in this, a cave, the backside of the Roman Empire. 374 00:19:05,940 --> 00:19:10,700 S7: There's no room in the inn, and in really difficult circumstances. 375 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:12,660 S7: And there's the Son of God, the one who hung 376 00:19:12,700 --> 00:19:15,500 S7: the stars, the one who who breathed life into human beings, 377 00:19:15,820 --> 00:19:19,220 S7: subjecting himself to humans so that he might, um, come 378 00:19:19,220 --> 00:19:21,460 S7: and save us from our sins and make the world 379 00:19:21,460 --> 00:19:23,659 S7: new again. I mean, you can't really dwell on that 380 00:19:23,660 --> 00:19:26,859 S7: story too much. I think if you're coming to Christmas 381 00:19:26,859 --> 00:19:31,340 S7: this year with, um, sorrow and sadness, as many people are. 382 00:19:31,420 --> 00:19:34,870 S7: Maybe you've experienced a loss. There's there's an empty chair 383 00:19:35,430 --> 00:19:37,830 S7: at the table this year. You know that you can 384 00:19:37,830 --> 00:19:41,070 S7: bring that to Christmas because, um, it's not all just festivity. 385 00:19:41,109 --> 00:19:43,950 S7: Jesus came into a broken world to make it new again, 386 00:19:43,950 --> 00:19:46,350 S7: and the world he came into was as broken as 387 00:19:46,350 --> 00:19:47,390 S7: the world is today. 388 00:19:48,030 --> 00:19:50,470 S1: Dan Darling, our guest right now, author of The Characters 389 00:19:50,470 --> 00:19:53,110 S1: of Christmas The Unlikely People Caught up in the life 390 00:19:53,109 --> 00:19:56,070 S1: of Jesus. What did the research and the preparation and 391 00:19:56,070 --> 00:19:59,710 S1: the writing of this book do for you as you 392 00:19:59,990 --> 00:20:00,709 S1: dove in here? 393 00:20:01,270 --> 00:20:04,150 S7: Well, I really loved it. You know, I've always loved, um, 394 00:20:04,150 --> 00:20:07,430 S7: character profiles, and I grew up actually listening to people 395 00:20:07,430 --> 00:20:11,389 S7: like Chuck Swindoll doing these great preaching sermons, character profiles 396 00:20:11,390 --> 00:20:14,790 S7: with great stories and characters in Scripture. So I love 397 00:20:14,830 --> 00:20:17,070 S7: doing this. And just to learn about what the everyday 398 00:20:17,070 --> 00:20:19,790 S7: lives was about the people caught up in this drama, 399 00:20:19,830 --> 00:20:23,510 S7: you know, the shepherds, the wise men, Mary and Joseph, 400 00:20:23,510 --> 00:20:25,750 S7: Simeon and Anna, they didn't know they'd be cast into 401 00:20:25,750 --> 00:20:28,110 S7: this great story. They didn't know that they'd be on 402 00:20:28,109 --> 00:20:30,710 S7: our Christmas cards and nativity scenes, and that our kids would, 403 00:20:30,750 --> 00:20:33,840 S7: you know, dress up like them every year at Christmas. Uh, 404 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,800 S7: they were just regular people that were cast by God 405 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,600 S7: into this grand story. And it does show that the 406 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,760 S7: kingdom of God is filled with ordinary people, people, uh, 407 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:47,960 S7: who aren't famous and don't have a platform or whatever, 408 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,240 S7: who are faithful and who, uh, are swept up into 409 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:52,920 S7: God's grand story of salvation. 410 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,880 S3: Yeah, I love it. Daniel, darling, uh, it's got a great, 411 00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,760 S3: great book out, and we're going to give you a 412 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,640 S3: link to this thing. You know, I feel really prompted, Daniel, 413 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,520 S3: that we would pray this morning for those that are 414 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,160 S3: not able to enter into Christmas, even as God would 415 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,880 S3: have them. Would you pray for those that are crushed 416 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,520 S3: in spirit today? Those that are brokenhearted, those that are 417 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:24,440 S3: maybe feeling apprehension about a party they've got to go 418 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,800 S3: to and they know they're going to see somebody there. 419 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,120 S3: I mean, the list goes on and on, right? Oh, yeah. 420 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:31,889 S3: This thing doesn't end. Would you just pray for a 421 00:21:31,890 --> 00:21:32,810 S3: second here, my man? 422 00:21:33,850 --> 00:21:37,090 S7: Lord, we thank you that you are the good news 423 00:21:37,090 --> 00:21:39,169 S7: that we have at Christmas. Lord, I know that there's 424 00:21:39,170 --> 00:21:44,090 S7: many people, maybe several people listening who for for whom 425 00:21:44,090 --> 00:21:46,850 S7: Christmas is hard and difficult. It reminds them of a 426 00:21:46,850 --> 00:21:50,970 S7: failed relationship, a failed marriage, a the loss of a child, 427 00:21:51,290 --> 00:21:54,969 S7: the loss of a job, uh, betrayal. Something like that. Lord, 428 00:21:54,970 --> 00:21:58,010 S7: that Christmas is not as festive and wonderful for them 429 00:21:58,010 --> 00:22:00,050 S7: as it is for everyone else. I pray that they 430 00:22:00,050 --> 00:22:03,129 S7: would find comfort in you. And knowing that, um, you 431 00:22:03,170 --> 00:22:06,770 S7: came to heal our brokenness. You came to make us whole. 432 00:22:06,890 --> 00:22:09,290 S7: You came to to forgive us of our sins and 433 00:22:09,290 --> 00:22:12,330 S7: make us right with God and Lord. That they would 434 00:22:12,330 --> 00:22:15,330 S7: understand that this baby in the manger is the answer 435 00:22:15,609 --> 00:22:18,729 S7: to our problems, and that, uh, they'd be able to 436 00:22:18,770 --> 00:22:21,729 S7: find the little slivers of light in the darkness. We 437 00:22:21,730 --> 00:22:24,609 S7: know that light has come into the world and the 438 00:22:24,609 --> 00:22:27,290 S7: darkness has hasn't overcome it. Lord, I pray that you'd 439 00:22:27,290 --> 00:22:29,619 S7: give them joy Today. In your name we pray. 440 00:22:29,780 --> 00:22:32,340 S3: Amen. Well, we got a link, don't we, Ali? 441 00:22:32,380 --> 00:22:34,740 S1: We do the book again. The characters of Christmas. The 442 00:22:34,740 --> 00:22:38,020 S1: unlikely people caught up in the life of Jesus. Daniel Darling, 443 00:22:38,020 --> 00:22:43,820 S1: our guest right now, just text book to 800 555 7898. 444 00:22:43,859 --> 00:22:49,300 S1: Text book to 800 555 7898. We'll get the details 445 00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:49,980 S1: sent to you. 446 00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:53,300 S2: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you 447 00:22:53,300 --> 00:22:57,540 S2: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's 448 00:22:57,540 --> 00:22:59,780 S2: curling crew on Moody Radio. 449 00:23:00,020 --> 00:23:03,500 S3: I mean, here's one of the tough realities of Christmas. 450 00:23:03,820 --> 00:23:07,820 S3: Not everybody is going to be fired up to celebrate 451 00:23:07,820 --> 00:23:10,379 S3: the birth of Christ. Bottom line, by the way, we 452 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:14,540 S3: need to be careful here. Any notion that our appetite 453 00:23:14,540 --> 00:23:19,700 S3: for the biblical Jesus being celebrated by the masses and 454 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:23,300 S3: we want everyone on board, I that's that's not what 455 00:23:23,340 --> 00:23:25,500 S3: Jesus promised. As a matter of fact, 11 of the 456 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:30,859 S3: 12 disciples either were beheaded or crucified or upside down 457 00:23:30,859 --> 00:23:33,980 S3: crucified because they didn't want to be crucified as their Savior. 458 00:23:34,380 --> 00:23:38,619 S3: They lost their lives and Jesus himself said, if they 459 00:23:38,619 --> 00:23:43,139 S3: persecuted me, how much more so for those who follow me. 460 00:23:43,780 --> 00:23:46,580 S3: This is a reality that we live in today. We're 461 00:23:46,580 --> 00:23:49,379 S3: going to cover a lot of ground here with Alex McFarland. 462 00:23:49,580 --> 00:23:52,460 S8: You know, more and more people are speaking up about Jesus. 463 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:56,500 S8: The comedian David Spade, very famous comedian in the news, 464 00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:58,619 S8: he came out and he said that he is a 465 00:23:58,619 --> 00:24:01,780 S8: Christian and the the local mall that he took his 466 00:24:01,780 --> 00:24:05,820 S8: kids to, they were talking about lighting the tree, the tree, 467 00:24:06,020 --> 00:24:09,100 S8: and he said, come on, say it, the Christmas tree. 468 00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:14,780 S8: And he said, David Spade. David Spade, comedian SNL yeah, 469 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:19,020 S8: along with people like Rob Schneider and Victoria Jackson and 470 00:24:19,060 --> 00:24:22,500 S8: some of the other, um, you know, well-known celebrities that 471 00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:25,910 S8: are beginning to come out and say, look, there's kind 472 00:24:25,910 --> 00:24:29,869 S8: of like kicking Christmas and Jesus Christ to the curb. 473 00:24:29,990 --> 00:24:33,310 S8: And we're not going to, you know, be silent about it. But, 474 00:24:33,350 --> 00:24:36,990 S8: you know, Jesus is controversial. There's a line in the sand. 475 00:24:37,030 --> 00:24:40,030 S8: I mean, if you take your stand for Jesus, you know, 476 00:24:40,070 --> 00:24:44,149 S8: that's kind of a a really definitive move. Yeah, but 477 00:24:44,150 --> 00:24:47,070 S8: that's what we're supposed to do. We're his representatives. He 478 00:24:47,070 --> 00:24:48,910 S8: was willing to die for us. We need to take 479 00:24:48,910 --> 00:24:50,109 S8: our stand for him. 480 00:24:50,150 --> 00:24:54,150 S1: Doctor Alex McFarland, our guest right now, Christian apologist, author, evangelist, 481 00:24:54,190 --> 00:24:58,390 S1: religion and culture analyst. You know, there's long been conversations about, 482 00:24:58,430 --> 00:25:02,190 S1: you know, everybody wants to embrace the season and there's 483 00:25:02,190 --> 00:25:05,429 S1: lots of messaging that does strip Christ out of it. 484 00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:08,350 S1: But are we seeing do you think we're seeing it 485 00:25:08,350 --> 00:25:11,710 S1: escalate where these there are these sort of culture wars 486 00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:15,390 S1: over anything that wants to put Jesus Christ front and center? 487 00:25:15,630 --> 00:25:19,630 S8: Yeah, I absolutely think so. And, uh, you know, partly because, 488 00:25:19,670 --> 00:25:21,950 S8: you know, in Europe and America, I mean, we really 489 00:25:21,950 --> 00:25:24,919 S8: need a revival. And I would encourage every believer to 490 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,840 S8: pray for that. But also, I think we are nearing 491 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,760 S8: the return of Jesus, I really do. And as we 492 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,840 S8: get closer to Christ's return, evil is going to escalate 493 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,879 S8: and Satan is getting busy because he knows his time 494 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,359 S8: is short. We don't know the date. I read a 495 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,920 S8: book about Bible prophecy, and I really do think the 496 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:53,080 S8: global escalation of evil, violence and and blasphemy is indicative 497 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,200 S8: of the spiritual battle we're in because Christ is coming 498 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,520 S8: and many people know it, but the devil knows it. 499 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,160 S3: Yeah. No. It's interesting. Alex, I've I've done a lot 500 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,440 S3: of thinking about this because you can you can pull 501 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,000 S3: certain stats. In fact Ali and I've talked about this 502 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,240 S3: around here. You can look at things like poverty, uh, 503 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,440 S3: polluted water versus clean water. Uh, and I'm talking about 504 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:22,609 S3: global stats on poverty, health metrics and everything. And in 505 00:26:22,609 --> 00:26:25,890 S3: many of these dials, things are getting better and better. 506 00:26:25,890 --> 00:26:29,050 S3: But here's what's bizarre, as I even go around the 507 00:26:29,050 --> 00:26:32,650 S3: globe and I'm not just talking stateside here, I'm talking 508 00:26:32,650 --> 00:26:38,290 S3: in Burundi, Africa. There is this weird undercurrent. That's the 509 00:26:38,290 --> 00:26:41,409 S3: only description I have for it. There's this weird undercurrent. 510 00:26:41,890 --> 00:26:44,889 S3: And I think one of the things we champion here, Alex, 511 00:26:44,930 --> 00:26:49,930 S3: is don't become that angry Christian that can't turn anyone 512 00:26:49,970 --> 00:26:54,690 S3: on to Jesus. We gotta shine brightly. Yes, take a stand, 513 00:26:54,850 --> 00:26:59,129 S3: but anticipate Jesus promise. This was coming our way. Alex, 514 00:26:59,130 --> 00:26:59,889 S3: what do you say? 515 00:27:00,210 --> 00:27:04,010 S8: Well said, brother, you know we need to be joyful and. 516 00:27:04,010 --> 00:27:06,650 S8: And look, we're all, you know, we're realistic. You know, 517 00:27:06,730 --> 00:27:09,409 S8: things are not like they ought to be. But you 518 00:27:09,410 --> 00:27:13,330 S8: know what's really cool? In Mark 1323, Jesus said to 519 00:27:13,330 --> 00:27:17,890 S8: the disciples that we are to take heed and rejoice, 520 00:27:17,890 --> 00:27:21,290 S8: because I have told you all things, and one of 521 00:27:21,290 --> 00:27:23,050 S8: the one of the cool things about being a Christian 522 00:27:23,050 --> 00:27:27,050 S8: is we know what's going on. I mean, that's right. 523 00:27:27,130 --> 00:27:28,090 S8: You know what I mean? 524 00:27:28,130 --> 00:27:29,690 S3: Yeah. It's that practical. 525 00:27:30,210 --> 00:27:33,690 S8: Yeah. And at the end of Hebrews chapter 11, this 526 00:27:33,690 --> 00:27:37,410 S8: is so cool because, look, we know the tomb is empty. 527 00:27:37,450 --> 00:27:40,810 S8: Christ is risen. We've got the complete Bible, and we 528 00:27:40,810 --> 00:27:44,090 S8: know he's with us every day of our journey down here. 529 00:27:44,450 --> 00:27:47,010 S8: Jesus is as close by as a prayer. But in 530 00:27:47,050 --> 00:27:50,090 S8: Hebrews 11, there's all these heroes of the faith that 531 00:27:50,090 --> 00:27:54,850 S8: were willing to die for the faith that they only 532 00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:58,530 S8: had a little smidgen of knowledge about. And it says 533 00:27:58,530 --> 00:28:04,890 S8: these persevered in faith, not yet having received the promise. Meaning? 534 00:28:05,130 --> 00:28:08,290 S8: I mean, I think about, you know, Abraham and David and, 535 00:28:08,330 --> 00:28:11,129 S8: you know, Deborah and Barak and all these people that 536 00:28:11,130 --> 00:28:16,010 S8: were willing to die for the Messiah that would come. 537 00:28:16,410 --> 00:28:21,540 S8: And they they only had a little smidgen of the revelation. Yeah. 538 00:28:21,540 --> 00:28:24,100 S8: That's right. Now, you and I, we've got the Bible 539 00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:27,220 S8: Peter preached at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit fell. The church 540 00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:31,180 S8: is birthed. Uh, we've been here for 2000 years. The 541 00:28:31,180 --> 00:28:34,500 S8: tomb is empty. Christ is coming back. Israel is back 542 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:38,700 S8: in their land. I mean, we have every reason. And 543 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:40,820 S8: I just want to say to everybody, you know, Christmas 544 00:28:40,820 --> 00:28:44,020 S8: can be stressful. I love Christmas. You know, the month 545 00:28:44,020 --> 00:28:46,740 S8: of August is when I start getting out the Christmas stuff. 546 00:28:46,940 --> 00:28:49,700 S8: You know, I but I just want to say to 547 00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:54,380 S8: everybody out there, Jesus is with you. Yes, Jesus is 548 00:28:54,380 --> 00:28:58,500 S8: for you. Call out to him. You can make it 549 00:28:58,500 --> 00:29:01,620 S8: because he is your strength. And we know the whole 550 00:29:01,660 --> 00:29:05,460 S8: big story. It's not always easy. But let me tell you, 551 00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:08,260 S8: when we see the Lord face to face. And we will. 552 00:29:08,300 --> 00:29:10,900 S8: It might be very soon. Might be, might be very soon. 553 00:29:11,140 --> 00:29:14,700 S8: You will know it was so worth it. 554 00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:19,390 S1: Doctor Alex McFarland, apologist, culture analyst. Our guest right now. 555 00:29:19,630 --> 00:29:22,670 S1: Why do you believe that this season is the ideal 556 00:29:22,710 --> 00:29:26,670 S1: time for Christians to really be focused on discipleship and 557 00:29:26,670 --> 00:29:29,190 S1: share the gospel with the people around them? 558 00:29:29,590 --> 00:29:31,590 S8: Well, you know, in spite of all the, you know, 559 00:29:31,630 --> 00:29:35,190 S8: the noise around us, people do seem to soften up 560 00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:38,070 S8: at Christmas a little bit. And maybe it's the memories 561 00:29:38,070 --> 00:29:41,030 S8: of childhood or something, I don't know. But I want 562 00:29:41,070 --> 00:29:44,070 S8: to challenge everybody. Um, maybe there's somebody you need to 563 00:29:44,070 --> 00:29:46,270 S8: do a little fence mending with. That's what we say 564 00:29:46,270 --> 00:29:49,390 S8: down south, you know, kind of reconnecting with people, a 565 00:29:49,390 --> 00:29:52,469 S8: little fence mending. Pray about it and then pick up 566 00:29:52,470 --> 00:29:57,190 S8: the phone or invite somebody to church. Christmas. And maybe 567 00:29:57,190 --> 00:30:00,630 S8: it's the the the music and the songs and the memories, 568 00:30:00,630 --> 00:30:06,350 S8: but Christmas is just the ideal time to, um, just 569 00:30:06,350 --> 00:30:10,150 S8: show a little love and remember that, you know, life. 570 00:30:10,150 --> 00:30:14,190 S8: Life is pretty short. And, um, the greatest thing is 571 00:30:14,590 --> 00:30:19,680 S8: to love Jesus, to love others and to, um, you know, 572 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:24,760 S8: no regrets. And, um, I know little, uh, hurts and 573 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:30,000 S8: grudges and, you know, bygones. Look, it's not worth it. 574 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:38,560 S8: There's just something so therapeutic about loving, forgiving, celebrating life together. 575 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:43,240 S8: And Christmas is a great time because, look, God gave 576 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,640 S8: the greatest gift, his son Jesus. How about we give 577 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,920 S8: a great gift to those around us, which is unconditional love? 578 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:55,120 S3: Yeah, I love it, man. I love your love. What 579 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:57,440 S3: you're vibing on this morning? I don't know how else 580 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,880 S3: to say it. Good word. Doctor Alex McFarland. This guy's 581 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,480 S3: all over the globe and doing a great work. Uh, 582 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:06,640 S3: I'll tell you what we're going to do here, guys. 583 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:10,240 S3: I feel prompted. We had this thing called ten questions 584 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,560 S3: every Christian should be asking. And I love this resource. 585 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,920 S3: And so we're going to get this PDF loaded up. Uh, 586 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,800 S3: I love to what Ali set up with you, man. 587 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,680 S3: This is a season for discipleship, man. I mean, it's 588 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:27,080 S3: not just. And I dig the lights. I've got all 589 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,760 S3: that stuff cooking myself. I dig it, and I love 590 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:35,040 S3: Christmas songs, and. But I'll tell you what an opportunity, Alex, 591 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,959 S3: to step toward Jesus today, right? My man. 592 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,360 S8: Exactly. I'm with you all the, you know, accoutrements. I 593 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,920 S8: love it, too. But, you know, here's one, one very 594 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,920 S8: important thing. And I'm. I'm leading a trip to Israel 595 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,640 S8: in March. This is real, you know, jingle bells and 596 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,479 S8: you know, all that stuff aside. No, honestly, the the 597 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,600 S8: birth of Jesus. The life of Christ as foretold in 598 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,640 S8: the scriptures. This is historically documentable. Um, when whenever I 599 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,440 S8: go to Israel, we go to about 72 sites, Old 600 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,760 S8: and New Testament sites. We go to where David fought Goliath. 601 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:16,330 S8: We go to the tomb of Samuel. Rachel. Uh, the 602 00:32:16,330 --> 00:32:19,410 S8: synagogue at Capernaum and Magdala. And I guess here's my 603 00:32:19,410 --> 00:32:24,570 S8: point to everybody listening. The fact that Jesus came proved 604 00:32:24,570 --> 00:32:29,010 S8: he is the Messiah, rose from the dead. This is real. 605 00:32:29,050 --> 00:32:29,450 S3: Yeah. 606 00:32:29,490 --> 00:32:31,450 S8: I mean, it really, really happened. 607 00:32:31,610 --> 00:32:34,250 S3: In Mount of Olives. Yeah. And the Mount of Olives 608 00:32:34,250 --> 00:32:37,410 S3: didn't split open yet, so this is imminent here, bro. 609 00:32:37,810 --> 00:32:42,250 S8: Right on, right on. And so put your faith in Jesus, folks. 610 00:32:42,290 --> 00:32:45,330 S8: We always say this. If anybody's listening and you're just. Maybe. 611 00:32:45,330 --> 00:32:48,130 S8: Maybe you know about Jesus, but it's time to have 612 00:32:48,130 --> 00:32:52,690 S8: a relationship with Jesus. I promise you, folks, he's as 613 00:32:52,690 --> 00:32:56,170 S8: close by as a prayer. You call out to Jesus today, 614 00:32:56,530 --> 00:32:59,810 S8: and he will be the most real thing in your life. 615 00:33:00,330 --> 00:33:02,250 S3: Amen. That's good stuff. 616 00:33:02,370 --> 00:33:05,250 S1: Alex McFarland, our guest. I've got a resource for you 617 00:33:05,250 --> 00:33:07,810 S1: that we would like to feature. It's ten questions. Every 618 00:33:07,810 --> 00:33:11,610 S1: Christian should be asking, something doctor McFarland has put together 619 00:33:11,610 --> 00:33:14,940 S1: and is graciously shared with you. Just text Alex to 620 00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:22,860 S1: 800 555 7898. Text Alex to 800 555 7898. We'll 621 00:33:22,860 --> 00:33:24,060 S1: send it right to your phone. 622 00:33:24,180 --> 00:33:28,860 S2: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. 623 00:33:29,180 --> 00:33:32,940 S2: Super di is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 624 00:33:32,940 --> 00:33:34,900 S2: on Moody Radio. Man. 625 00:33:35,180 --> 00:33:37,940 S3: If phone lines just lighten up. What mess in your 626 00:33:37,940 --> 00:33:40,940 S3: life did Jesus step into and walk you through? Ali. 627 00:33:40,940 --> 00:33:41,740 S3: Let's roll sister. 628 00:33:41,740 --> 00:33:44,620 S1: Let's go to Suzanne. First time caller from Muskegon, Michigan. 629 00:33:44,620 --> 00:33:45,780 S1: Tell us your story. 630 00:33:47,340 --> 00:33:53,219 S9: Good morning. 42 years ago, um, after nine years of 631 00:33:53,220 --> 00:33:55,900 S9: marriage and two children, six and eight years old, my 632 00:33:55,900 --> 00:34:01,620 S9: husband was killed in a tragic accident. And that sends 633 00:34:01,620 --> 00:34:05,340 S9: you on a different path in life. I knew the 634 00:34:05,340 --> 00:34:09,380 S9: Lord at the time. And, um. But still, grief was 635 00:34:09,380 --> 00:34:12,950 S9: hard for me to come by. They just started trying 636 00:34:12,950 --> 00:34:16,910 S9: to get back into life and not dealing with it. 637 00:34:16,989 --> 00:34:19,270 S9: So down the road about ten years is when the 638 00:34:19,270 --> 00:34:22,190 S9: Lord really got Ahold of me, when I had to 639 00:34:22,670 --> 00:34:27,950 S9: break down and finally face what had happened. We had. 640 00:34:28,070 --> 00:34:31,150 S9: I hope this helps someone because it's hard to share this, 641 00:34:31,150 --> 00:34:34,589 S9: but we had not been on best terms for the 642 00:34:34,590 --> 00:34:38,390 S9: three days before he passed. Before he died. And so 643 00:34:38,390 --> 00:34:41,990 S9: that was an extra thing to deal with. And, um, 644 00:34:42,469 --> 00:34:45,469 S9: people praying. I had people praying for me all the time. 645 00:34:45,670 --> 00:34:48,310 S9: So if you have someone you love, keep praying for them. 646 00:34:48,550 --> 00:34:52,950 S3: Yeah. Suzanne. Thank you, sister, for calling in. We love you. Boom! 647 00:34:53,150 --> 00:35:00,950 S3: That's heartbreaking. But ten years after Jesus met you, they're powerful. Lynn, 648 00:35:00,950 --> 00:35:05,109 S3: first time caller. Twinsburg, Ohio. What's your. 649 00:35:05,110 --> 00:35:07,989 S10: Story? Wow. Suzanne just told my story. 650 00:35:08,030 --> 00:35:09,230 S3: Wow. Wow. Let's hear. 651 00:35:09,310 --> 00:35:13,149 S10: It. Oh my gosh. I just was like Holy smokes. 652 00:35:13,510 --> 00:35:17,910 S10: You know what? Same thing. Um, in 2011, my husband 653 00:35:17,910 --> 00:35:21,430 S10: came home, thought he had the flu and was dead 654 00:35:21,430 --> 00:35:25,149 S10: in bed the next morning. And let me tell you 655 00:35:25,190 --> 00:35:28,750 S10: that that puts you in a place that you can't 656 00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:33,910 S10: even begin to wrap your brain around. And, um, and 657 00:35:33,910 --> 00:35:40,029 S10: although we hadn't been at odds beforehand, things were a 658 00:35:40,030 --> 00:35:44,430 S10: little bumpy, you know, and, um, and but they were 659 00:35:44,430 --> 00:35:47,950 S10: starting to look up, and I just kept thinking like, Lord. 660 00:35:47,950 --> 00:35:52,790 S10: Like why, when things were starting to really connect and 661 00:35:52,790 --> 00:35:55,950 S10: things are getting, you know, so much better and that 662 00:35:55,950 --> 00:35:58,510 S10: we're starting to actually have the relationship that we maybe 663 00:35:58,510 --> 00:36:02,430 S10: should have always had. Now he's just gone. I was 664 00:36:02,430 --> 00:36:07,310 S10: struggling so bad with my faith it wasn't even funny. And, um, 665 00:36:07,750 --> 00:36:10,359 S10: and I know that even though there were times that 666 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:14,200 S10: I didn't think he was there, he had to be 667 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:15,840 S10: there because I'm still here. 668 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:17,640 S3: Yeah, way to put it, Lynn. 669 00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:21,560 S10: You know, so I know, I know for a fact 670 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:26,520 S10: that he was there. And, um, but you know. But. Yes. 671 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:27,320 S10: Oh my gosh. 672 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,560 S3: Yeah. Lynn. You got it, sister. Listen, you articulated it 673 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,720 S3: so well. That is tough. But how well put. How 674 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:36,560 S3: do I know he's there? 675 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:37,960 S1: I'm here because I'm still here. 676 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:40,080 S3: That's no joke, man. 677 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:40,520 S1: Wow. 678 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,760 S3: Lou. First time caller. Grafton, Ohio. What's your story, Lou? 679 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,759 S11: Well, I have a couple. I just had one. One 680 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:51,160 S11: was my son. He got killed in 17. I got through. 681 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:56,800 S11: The biggest one was salvation. Um, I was an addict 682 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:02,640 S11: of all sorts of drugs, booze, whatever. And, um, I 683 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:04,840 S11: heard the Lord's audible voice today. I was going to 684 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,090 S11: commit suicide. Say, I didn't say be you for this. 685 00:37:07,969 --> 00:37:11,570 S11: And he has walked with me now since that day, 686 00:37:12,650 --> 00:37:16,930 S11: and I can't thank him enough for caring enough to 687 00:37:16,969 --> 00:37:19,529 S11: find me in that little hole and let me know 688 00:37:19,530 --> 00:37:20,170 S11: he loved me. 689 00:37:20,690 --> 00:37:25,489 S3: Oh, Lu, bless your heart, sister. We love you. Wow. Oh, 690 00:37:25,610 --> 00:37:29,650 S3: merry Christmas to you guys. These stories are too much. Ali, 691 00:37:29,650 --> 00:37:31,049 S3: let's get one more. At least in here. 692 00:37:31,090 --> 00:37:34,850 S1: Yeah, let's go to Michelle. First time caller from Tampa, Florida. Michelle, 693 00:37:34,890 --> 00:37:37,770 S1: you're you're in a mess right now. I understand, go ahead. 694 00:37:39,610 --> 00:37:41,890 S10: Yeah. Hi. Um. I'm sorry. 695 00:37:41,930 --> 00:37:42,450 S1: That's okay. 696 00:37:42,489 --> 00:37:46,009 S10: I get a little emotional. I'm. I'm single and in 697 00:37:46,050 --> 00:37:48,810 S10: my 60s. And the Lord, I've been in ministry most 698 00:37:48,810 --> 00:37:51,370 S10: of my life. I love Jesus with all my heart. 699 00:37:51,690 --> 00:37:53,410 S10: I've been on the mission field that I had a 700 00:37:53,410 --> 00:37:56,489 S10: fire in my home in August, and it. And the 701 00:37:56,489 --> 00:38:02,130 S10: smoke just filled and destroyed everything. And in my dog 702 00:38:02,410 --> 00:38:06,660 S10: passed as well, which was my Companion and that Jesus 703 00:38:06,660 --> 00:38:09,700 S10: gave me. And so I'm praying that God will give 704 00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:14,580 S10: me another little, uh, pup. But, um, but the Lord's faithfulness. 705 00:38:14,580 --> 00:38:18,780 S10: He's been faithful my whole life. And through tragedy and 706 00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:22,259 S10: triumph that I know he's pulling me through this and 707 00:38:22,260 --> 00:38:26,420 S10: he's making a way. And there is hope in him. 708 00:38:27,300 --> 00:38:31,140 S10: And that's the key. Even in this season, we have 709 00:38:31,140 --> 00:38:34,580 S10: hope in him. The world does not give us hope. 710 00:38:35,020 --> 00:38:38,940 S10: It's not in anything but him and the Holy Spirit, 711 00:38:39,020 --> 00:38:43,739 S10: you know, just fills me with his presence. And when 712 00:38:43,739 --> 00:38:47,899 S10: I feel freak out, freak out mode like, no, I 713 00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:50,259 S10: can trust him because he holds me in his the 714 00:38:50,260 --> 00:38:53,580 S10: palm of his hand. He holds the world in place. 715 00:38:53,780 --> 00:38:56,339 S10: How much more is he? Me as his child is 716 00:38:56,340 --> 00:39:01,340 S10: going to help me and he is as I trust him, um, 717 00:39:01,340 --> 00:39:04,060 S10: in everything. And so I just want to give him 718 00:39:04,060 --> 00:39:06,219 S10: the glory that he's helping me even in the middle 719 00:39:06,219 --> 00:39:09,180 S10: of this, um, that he will make a way. 720 00:39:09,340 --> 00:39:14,460 S3: Yeah. Michelle, you are a unbelievable, radiant woman of God. 721 00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:14,900 S1: Wow. 722 00:39:15,300 --> 00:39:18,420 S3: You are really radiant. I'm going to pray right now. 723 00:39:19,020 --> 00:39:21,540 S3: I'm going to get a massive prayer huddle around you. 724 00:39:21,580 --> 00:39:24,420 S3: You ever had about 20, 30,000 people pray for you 725 00:39:24,420 --> 00:39:28,779 S3: at one time, Michelle? Probably not. Here we go. Here 726 00:39:28,780 --> 00:39:31,780 S3: we go. Come on. Let's huddle around Michelle. Right now. Father, 727 00:39:31,780 --> 00:39:35,860 S3: in the name of Jesus, we thank you. Uh, man, 728 00:39:37,700 --> 00:39:42,220 S3: for a woman who's so rich in faith. Lord, she's 729 00:39:42,219 --> 00:39:46,739 S3: been following you faithfully for a good number of years. 730 00:39:48,420 --> 00:39:53,020 S3: She lost her buddy. And, Lord, I just pray that 731 00:39:53,020 --> 00:39:57,339 S3: you will bring beauty out of these ashes. And that 732 00:39:57,340 --> 00:40:02,950 S3: you will. You will surprise Michelle in ways with your 733 00:40:02,989 --> 00:40:06,990 S3: hugs and providence and care over her that astounds her. 734 00:40:08,110 --> 00:40:10,230 S3: I thank you that she's hanging on to you. I 735 00:40:10,230 --> 00:40:13,549 S3: thank you that you meet her in the ashes of life. 736 00:40:14,630 --> 00:40:19,150 S3: But Lord, there's some there's some needs that Michelle has, 737 00:40:19,150 --> 00:40:21,669 S3: some of which you probably can't even share here right now. 738 00:40:21,670 --> 00:40:26,390 S3: But there's some needs. There's some dreams, there's some sweet desires. 739 00:40:26,390 --> 00:40:30,950 S3: And for Christmas, I'm asking you. Oof! Uh, give em 740 00:40:30,950 --> 00:40:31,550 S3: to Michelle. 741 00:40:31,590 --> 00:40:32,510 S1: Yes, Lord. 742 00:40:32,989 --> 00:40:37,190 S3: Ask you to give em to her. In ways that 743 00:40:37,190 --> 00:40:41,989 S3: would blow her mind. And I pray in Jesus name. Amen. 744 00:40:42,030 --> 00:40:42,590 S1: Amen. 745 00:40:43,870 --> 00:40:47,029 S10: Amen. Thank you so much. And you all are so awesome. 746 00:40:47,350 --> 00:40:50,470 S3: Oh, you're a great kid, kiddo. You hang in there. 747 00:40:50,469 --> 00:40:53,670 S3: My goodness. You got me crying in here. Michelle. Ali, 748 00:40:53,670 --> 00:40:57,149 S3: go somewhere with this thing. Oh my goodness. 749 00:40:57,590 --> 00:41:00,589 S1: We need you. God. That's. That's what we need. We 750 00:41:00,590 --> 00:41:01,750 S1: need you to do it again.