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Speaker 1: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of

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Speaker 1: great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke to ten,

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Speaker 1: heavenly Father, we thank you for the lessons we learn

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Speaker 1: from the shepherd's encounter with the angels. May we embrace humility,

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Speaker 1: rejoice in your redemption, and engage in heart felt worship

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Speaker 1: this Christmas season. Help us to spread the good tidings

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Speaker 1: of great joy to those around us, reflecting your love

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Speaker 1: and grace. Amen.

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Speaker 2: Joseph wrapped him in his arms and wiped him with

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Speaker 2: woven wool. He stared into the child's eyes. There was

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Speaker 2: nothing different about him. There were no lights radiating from

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Speaker 2: his eyes or humming of heavenly hosts behind him. He

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Speaker 2: wall a baby, crying and taking in the newness of life.

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Speaker 2: But as Joseph cradled him in his arms, he knew

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Speaker 2: without a doubt this child was exceptional, chosen, blessed. All

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Speaker 2: the turmoil, danger and chaos he had to endure was

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Speaker 2: worth it for the sake of this treasure he held

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Speaker 2: in his hands. We already know his name, he said

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Speaker 2: to Mary. Mary reached for her son and cradled him

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Speaker 2: in her arms. She stroked his face. His name will

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Speaker 2: be Jesus. She whispered, the Lord says, Mary pressed Jesus

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Speaker 2: against her chest and cried joyfully. He was the fulfillment

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Speaker 2: of God's promise to humanity, the good Shepherd of Israel,

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Speaker 2: the Savior of the world.

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Speaker 3: I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in

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Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,

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Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love

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Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you

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Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment

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Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits

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Speaker 3: the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention,

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Speaker 3: but it's in the midst of all this crush and

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Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and

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Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help

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Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,

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Speaker 3: life changing word by sending you my free daily email devotional,

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Speaker 3: PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign up

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Speaker 3: for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org, Jack

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Speaker 3: Graham dot org. Today we visit the hill country of

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Speaker 3: Bethlehem under a starlit sky We'll meet three shepherds whose

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Speaker 3: lives are about to be changed forever. These lowly shepherds,

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Speaker 3: existing on the fringes of societ are about to be

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Speaker 3: visited by a divine chorus of heavenly messengers. Their message

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Speaker 3: is a resounding song of joy, peace and salvation. Why

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Speaker 3: would God choose to visit shepherds of all people to

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Speaker 3: be the first to behold him. In Biblical times, shepherds

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Speaker 3: were often considered to be on the lower rungs of

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Speaker 3: the social ladder. Their work was humble, demanding, and required

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Speaker 3: they isolate for months at a time. As a result,

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Speaker 3: shepherds were considered awkward and untrustworthy. Yet God saw fit

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Speaker 3: to choose them. God often refers to himself as a shepherd.

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Speaker 3: This isn't because God considers himself awkward and untrustworthy. Rather,

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Speaker 3: God calls himself a shepherd because we are like sheep.

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Speaker 3: Think about sheep for a moment. They have large bodies,

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Speaker 3: small legs, and aren't very intelligent. All those qualities make

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Speaker 3: them fearful and anxious creatures, vulnerable to predators. Additionally, sheep

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Speaker 3: are one of the only animals unable to survive in

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Speaker 3: the wild without human care. They can't become pharaoh, meaning

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Speaker 3: they'll perish without a shepherd to look after them. We,

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Speaker 3: like sheep, are skittish and vulnerable. That's why David called

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Speaker 3: God his shepherd, who restores his soul and protects him

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Speaker 3: from enemies. Scripture frequently uses the imagery of shepherds to

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Speaker 3: describe spiritual leadership. Moses was a shepherd before returning to

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Speaker 3: the people of Israel. King David was a shepherd before

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Speaker 3: becoming Israel's king, and Jesus refers to himself as the

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Speaker 3: good Shepherd. The shepherd's inclusion in Christ's birth story underline

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Speaker 3: the importance of spiritual guidance and reflects God's care for

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Speaker 3: his people. So let's join these shepherds now on the

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Speaker 3: rolling hills of Bethlehem. Imagine yourself lying back on a

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Speaker 3: grassy hill, gazing up at the vast universe above you.

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Speaker 3: Hear the crackling of the fire behind you, and the

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Speaker 3: occasional a of a nearby lamb. This is where the

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Speaker 3: shepherds find themselves before an abrupt and glorious interruption.

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Speaker 2: In a valley not too far from the glimmering hills

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Speaker 2: of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds lay in the fields,

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Speaker 2: tending to their flocks. The night was alive with the

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Speaker 2: distant songs of crickets and the gentle rustle of tall

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Speaker 2: grass swaying to a soft breeze. The sheep had settled

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Speaker 2: for the night, their breathing gentle and rhythmic. Together, the

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Speaker 2: shepherds pointed out constellations, their fingers tracing the ancient patterns

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Speaker 2: in the sky as they told stories and shared laughter.

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Speaker 2: One of them, an older shepherd with eyes that held

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Speaker 2: the spark of countless sunrises, pointed to the sky. Look there,

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Speaker 2: he said, his voice, like weathered would.

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Speaker 1: A quiller the eagle.

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Speaker 2: It flies highbove our heads, never bound by Earth's old

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Speaker 2: I wish I could so like an eagle, the younger

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Speaker 2: shepherd replied. The others chuckled at his boyish imagination. They

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Speaker 2: would travel to Egypt and behold the great relics of Pharaoh. Well,

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Speaker 2: I would soor to Rome and have a look at

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Speaker 2: Caesar's great thrown the room. The three shepherds laughed together,

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Speaker 2: their eyes tracing the lines of constellations, finding in them

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Speaker 2: the stories of gods and heroes, love and loss. The

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Speaker 2: valley listened a silent witness to their friendship. The life

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Speaker 2: of a shepherd was often lonely. For most of the year,

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Speaker 2: they existed as outcasts on the edge of the city.

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Speaker 2: They traveled the plains of the Judean wilderness, often alone

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Speaker 2: with their sheep, But at this moment they had each

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Speaker 2: other the stars and shared stories beside a crackling fire.

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Speaker 2: Their bodies, wearied from the day's labor, began to succumb

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Speaker 2: to sleep's gentle pull. Their gazes, fixed on the boundless heavens,

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Speaker 2: grew soft as dreams beckoned. Then, without warning, a gust

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Speaker 2: of wind, sharp and cold, swept through the valley, stirring

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Speaker 2: the shepherds from their rest. The wind extinguished their fire

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Speaker 2: with an abrupt hiss, and they leaped to their feet.

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Speaker 2: Darkness enveloped them. What is happening, one of them said

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Speaker 2: in a panicked voice. Then, in an instant, a burst

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Speaker 2: of light split the horizon like a long, shimmering blade.

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Speaker 2: It split and danced, reaching out to them in a

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Speaker 2: blinding embrace. Light poured out like a rushing waterfall and

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Speaker 2: surrounded the shepherds in a myriad of beautiful colors. The

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Speaker 2: shepherds heard an orchestra of instruments and singing come from

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Speaker 2: the light. It was a symphony, pure and transcendent, as

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Speaker 2: if they were listening to it within their own souls,

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Speaker 2: As if they were listening to it within their own souls.

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Speaker 2: Terror and awe came upon the shepherds as they fell

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Speaker 2: to the ground, their bodies trembling. Then from the light

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Speaker 2: a voice emerged.

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Speaker 3: Fear not.

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Speaker 2: The voice, clear and resonant, rang out from the light.

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Speaker 2: Its timber was filled with authority and gentleness, command and comfort.

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Speaker 2: We have come with good tidings of great joy. In

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Speaker 2: the town of Bethlehem lies a baby. This child is

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Speaker 2: the Messiah, the Lord, the savior of the world, and

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Speaker 2: redemption of mankind. The shepherd's eyes widened as the angel

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Speaker 2: and an entire choir of heavenly hosts emerged from the light.

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Speaker 2: They couldn't speak, for their minds struggled to even grasp

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Speaker 2: the magnitude of what was unfolding before them. The lights,

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Speaker 2: hues of bright, orange, pink, and white, swirled around them

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Speaker 2: like a flock of ethereal doves, casting a warm glow

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Speaker 2: on their upturned faces. Go therefore and see for your

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Speaker 2: safe You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths

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Speaker 2: lying in a manger. The angel continued his words, infused

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Speaker 2: with an urgency that set their hearts aflame. As he spoke,

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Speaker 2: the choir of angels slowly rose their voices. The light

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Speaker 2: swirled to the rising and falling of their harmony. Finally,

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Speaker 2: the song crescendoed into a resonating song of praise. Then,

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Speaker 2: as suddenly as it had come, the light dissipated, leaving

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Speaker 2: the valley bathed in the soft glow of the stars.

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Speaker 2: Once more, the melodies of heaven were replaced by the

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Speaker 2: gentle whispers of the evening wind. At a few chirping crickets,

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Speaker 2: the shepherd sat stunned and silent, their minds reeling from

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Speaker 2: the vision they had just witnessed. The oldest shepherd turned

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Speaker 2: to his companions. Did we all just see that? Or

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Speaker 2: is this old man finally loose in his mind? The

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Speaker 2: two others nodded their heads in confirmation that they had

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Speaker 2: all born witness. Still stunned by what they had seen,

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Speaker 2: their eyes turned towards Bethlehem, where a few torchlights still

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Speaker 2: flickered in the distance. Resting above the city was a

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Speaker 2: new star, radiant and singular, unlike any they had seen before.

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Speaker 2: The older shepherd turned to his young friend and laughed,

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Speaker 2: you make it to see royalty after all. They all

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Speaker 2: laughed with unexplainable joy. With a shared understanding, they rose,

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Speaker 2: leaving their belongings behind, their steps quickening as they ran

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Speaker 2: towards Bethlehem. Their hearts were aflame with a joy they

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Speaker 2: could not contain, and a purpose they could not deny.

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Speaker 3: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of

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Speaker 3: great joy, which shall be to all people. This message

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Speaker 3: of joy echoes throughout the New Testament as joy, as

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Speaker 3: a hallmark of those who have experienced Christ's redemption. The

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Speaker 3: good tidings are indeed of great joy because they announced

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Speaker 3: the arrival of the Savior, fulfilling God's promise us to

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Speaker 3: redeem his people. The angel's announcement heralded a new era

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Speaker 3: filled with hope. The joy comes from the realization that

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Speaker 3: God has not abandoned his people. That should bring all

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Speaker 3: of us joy. Today, we don't worship with God, who

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Speaker 3: has remained distant and aloof despite our sin and depravity.

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Speaker 3: God chose to rescue us and raise us to glory

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Speaker 3: with him. The very fact that these lowly shepherds were

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Speaker 3: able to behold the splendor and majesty of the angels

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Speaker 3: is a testament to how God operates. He doesn't think

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Speaker 3: about status, symbols, or wealth. The wise men would have

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Speaker 3: been the first to behold the new born king if

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Speaker 3: he did. God chose the rustic outcasts, proving he doesn't

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Speaker 3: care about your wealth, your popularity, or your status. No

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Speaker 3: matter where you are or what you have done, the

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Speaker 3: Gospel mess is for you to enjoy. Let's not make

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Speaker 3: the mistake of thinking Christmas is merely for us to enjoy.

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Speaker 3: Though ultimately Christ's birth gives glory to God. The angelic

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Speaker 3: praise glory to God in the highest should resonate in

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Speaker 3: our hearts as we ponder the magnitude of what God

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Speaker 3: has done. His redemptive plan and magnificence are shown throughout

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Speaker 3: the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Join us

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Speaker 3: for our next episode of stories of the Messiah. As

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Speaker 3: the shepherds search high and low for God's son, when

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Speaker 3: they finally arrive at the stables, the fear and awe

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Speaker 3: of the Lord come upon them, and unbeknownst to them,

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Speaker 3: they set the stage for King Herod to catch Wind

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Speaker 3: of Jesus. Thank you for listening to Today's Bible in

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Speaker 3: a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, and

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Speaker 3: before we go, I want you to know that I

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Speaker 3: would love to send you my daily devotional to give

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Speaker 3: you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit Jack Graham

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Speaker 3: dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.

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Speaker 3: That's Jack Graham dot org