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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and the Lord God formed man of

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Speaker 1: the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils

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Speaker 1: the breath of life, and man became a living soul

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Speaker 1: Genesis two seven. Dear Heavenly Father, like Adam and Eve,

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Speaker 1: I realize that I too get to make the decision

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Speaker 1: to live together with you and divine unity to day.

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Speaker 1: Help me to make the right choices so that I

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Speaker 1: can continue to thrive in this beautiful garden called life.

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Speaker 1: I will celebrate the fact that you have created the

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Speaker 1: perfect life partner for me that will allow me to

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Speaker 1: enjoy your many blessings and to experience the love and

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Speaker 1: joy that comes with companionship. I declare that life flows

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Speaker 1: through me because you breathed your breath into my body.

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Speaker 1: I declare that I can live in vulnerability and transparency

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Speaker 1: because in your presence is no shame or guilt. Thank

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Speaker 1: you for forming me and sculpting me out of the

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Speaker 1: dust of the earth. When life gets a little dirty

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Speaker 1: and even messy at times, I will calm my soul

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Speaker 1: because through today's reading in Genesis two five to twenty four,

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Speaker 1: I see you created amazing things out of dirt. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for

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Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year dot.

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Speaker 2: Com, Adam and Eve. Previously, in our story, we witness

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Speaker 2: the creation of the universe. Out of chaos and nothingness.

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Speaker 2: God made everything. We spoke light and life into existence.

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Speaker 2: The glory of the skies, the galaxies, and the creatures

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Speaker 2: of the Earth were made by God and declared to

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Speaker 2: be good. Now we will learn more about the creation

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Speaker 2: of man and woman, made in the image of God,

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Speaker 2: inspired by the Book of Genesis.

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Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the

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Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, we

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Speaker 3: heard about the grand unfolding of God's act of creation,

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Speaker 3: night and day, Earth, sky and seas, animals, plants, moon

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Speaker 3: and stars, and humanity. Today we take a microscope to

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Speaker 3: the pinnacle of God's creation, Man and woman, his image bearers.

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Speaker 3: This is the story of the very first humans. As

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Speaker 3: you listen today, pay close attention to how God creates man,

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Speaker 3: how he stands apart from the rest of creation. Notice

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Speaker 3: the great care God takes not only in warming man,

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Speaker 3: but in providing for him in every imaginable way, including

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Speaker 3: a suitable companion, one that was perfectly made for him.

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Speaker 3: This isn't just the dawn of humanity, but the dawn

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Speaker 3: of marriage. Listen for what this passage teaches about the

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Speaker 3: design of marriage and the designer of marriage. Finally, you'll

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Speaker 3: encounter a choice in today's story, a choice that God

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Speaker 3: gives because He is not interested in forced worship, compulsory obedience,

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Speaker 3: or artificial, superficial love. This story reveals God's heart to you,

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Speaker 3: his care for you, his love for you. It's a

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Speaker 3: story about his desire for you to be fulfilled by

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Speaker 3: him and in him, and for you to choose a

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Speaker 3: relationship of trust with him. So come with me, and

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Speaker 3: let's take a look in Eden at the story of

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Speaker 3: Adam and Eve and the perfect garden God gave them.

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Speaker 2: The world was new, and its refreshing mist was covering

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Speaker 2: the land. Streams and rivers flowed from the ground, giving

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Speaker 2: life to all plants and living creatures. Among the quiet

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Speaker 2: and new earth, God was at work personally and intricately.

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Speaker 2: God formed a man from the dust as a potter

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Speaker 2: does with clay. Then he breathed life into him. God

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Speaker 2: named him and knew him, His name was Adam. God

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Speaker 2: made a dwelling place for Adam in a garden called Eden.

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Speaker 2: He placed Adam there, and it was filled with every

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Speaker 2: tree that is pleasant and good for food. In this garden,

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Speaker 2: man's relationship with God began, and with that relationship a

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Speaker 2: choice of free will. There were two trees in the garden.

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Speaker 2: One was the tree of life. The other was the

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Speaker 2: tree of knowledge of good and evil. God commissioned Adam, saying,

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Speaker 2: you may eat of every tree of the garden, but

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Speaker 2: not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

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Speaker 2: for if you do, you shall surely die. This would

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Speaker 2: be Adam's choice, for God does not desire relationship without

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Speaker 2: free will. Adam was with God in Paradise. He dwelt

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Speaker 2: in the garden that was filled with all things good.

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Speaker 2: Yet there was one thing that was not good. God said,

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Speaker 2: it is not good that man should be alone. So

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Speaker 2: the Lord caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. God,

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Speaker 2: like a silent surgeon, took a rib from Adam's side.

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Speaker 2: From this rib, he formed a woman and breathed life

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Speaker 2: into her. At this moment, Adam's loneliness was quieted, and

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Speaker 2: his soul and body were satisfied. With her. Adam then

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Speaker 2: sang to her, and the two were married before God

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Speaker 2: to this day. This is why a man will leave

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Speaker 2: his family and become united with his wife. They were

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Speaker 2: naked and without shame, for there was no evil to

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Speaker 2: corrupt the purity of their unity. They made love, ate

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Speaker 2: the food in the garden, and cared for the earth

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Speaker 2: and its animals. God was in the garden with them,

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Speaker 2: and it was still good. Yet there still remained a

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Speaker 2: choice to stray, a choice that would alter the course

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Speaker 2: of all creation.

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Speaker 3: The dawn of man. This was a different work of creation.

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Speaker 3: For all other created things, God merely spoke, and things

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Speaker 3: that were not suddenly were. But for humanity it was different.

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Speaker 3: God took his own hands in the very dirt he

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Speaker 3: had created and formed man in the image of his

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Speaker 3: triune cell. But he didn't stop there. He didn't just

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Speaker 3: fashion man with his hands. He breathed his very breath,

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Speaker 3: his breath life, into Adam. Then God created a special place,

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Speaker 3: a garden for Adam. Did you notice the nature of

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Speaker 3: God's relationship with Adam. This was not a created being

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Speaker 3: without choice, without freedom. God created a true relationship with Adam,

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Speaker 3: and so he gave mankind a choice two trees, one

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Speaker 3: full of good in life, the other the path of

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Speaker 3: broken relationship and an untimely death. And it was in

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Speaker 3: this garden that God and man were to live in communion,

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Speaker 3: knowing each other intimately. I imagine this garden as the

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Speaker 3: very best of the very best in a perfect creation.

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Speaker 3: This was the most perfect place imaginable, where every single

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Speaker 3: need Adam had was met, every need except one, companionship

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Speaker 3: and community. Our trying God knew that to truly reflect

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Speaker 3: his nature, this man would need to, as he does

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Speaker 3: with the Son and the spirit. Live up to this point,

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Speaker 3: God has said everything was good, But looking at the

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Speaker 3: lone man, he said it was not good. God created

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Speaker 3: all the animals and brought them to Adam, who named

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Speaker 3: each one of them. But none were a fitting match.

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Speaker 3: You see, they were not part of Adam's own flesh.

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Speaker 3: They were distinctly different. That simply would not do. So.

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Speaker 3: Once again God set to work in creating with his

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Speaker 3: own hands. Genesis two twenty two and twenty three records

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Speaker 3: the moment when God gave Adam this beautiful gift of

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Speaker 3: a companion. It says, and the Lord God fashioned into

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Speaker 3: a woman the rib which he had taken from the

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Speaker 3: man and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

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Speaker 3: at last, this is bone of my bones, and flesh

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Speaker 3: of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she

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Speaker 3: was taken out of man. God gave Adam a helper,

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Speaker 3: a perfect pair to be with him for mutual satisfaction.

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Speaker 3: Eve was created from man, and together they lived in

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Speaker 3: a perfect place, at least for now. But let's not

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Speaker 3: get ahead of ourselves. Today's story tells us something very

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Speaker 3: important about our need for community and companionship. You see,

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Speaker 3: whether you are married or not, God has created you

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Speaker 3: to be in communion with others. It is not good

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Speaker 3: to be alone. As God's image bearer, just like Adam

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Speaker 3: and Eve, you are made to live in community, in

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Speaker 3: unity with others, just as God himself exists in unity.

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Speaker 3: And the highest expression of this unity is seen nowhere

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Speaker 3: better than in the marriage relationship created by God right

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Speaker 3: there in the garden of Eden. Likewise, this story shows

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Speaker 3: you that God has given you a choice. Like Adam

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Speaker 3: and Eve, you have before you the choice to follow

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Speaker 3: God or follow your own desires. It is a choice

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Speaker 3: between life eternal and death eternal, and it's the most

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Speaker 3: importan choice you will ever make Dear Heavenly Father. Just

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Speaker 3: as you provided for Adam's every need, you continue to

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Speaker 3: do so for us today. You have created us for

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Speaker 3: community with others and with yourself, and we thank you

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Speaker 3: for that. Oh Lord, help us to choose you and

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Speaker 3: your ways, God, the way of life everlasting in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot

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Speaker 3: Com app and make prayer a priority in your life.

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Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love.

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Speaker 3: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in

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Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how

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Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be

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Speaker 3: sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless