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Speaker 1: For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those

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Speaker 1: who are dying, but to us who are being saved,

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Speaker 1: it is God First Corinthians one eighteen. Dear Lord Jesus,

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Speaker 1: we stand in awe of your incarnation, humbled that you

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Speaker 1: would choose us to witness your love and grace. Fill

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Speaker 1: our hearts with reverence for your holiness. Give us the

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Speaker 1: boldness to share your good news without fear of rejection

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Speaker 1: or failure. We know that the message of your gospel

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Speaker 1: holds the power to change and transform lives. May we

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Speaker 1: press forward with boldness and joy, sharing with others the

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Speaker 1: same message that has changed our lives. May our lives

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Speaker 1: echo the shepherd's song of hope and redemption. Empower us

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Speaker 1: with your spear to be bold, brave, and humble in

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Speaker 1: the presence of others. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen,

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Speaker 1: Go therefore and see for yourselves. You will find the

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Speaker 1: baby wrapped in swaddling class lying in a manger. The

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Speaker 1: Angel continued his words, infused with an urgency that set

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Speaker 1: their hearts aflame. As he spoke, the choir of angels

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Speaker 1: slowly rose their voices. The light swirled to the rising

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Speaker 1: and falling of their harmony. Finally, the song crescendoed into

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Speaker 1: a resonating song of praise. Then, as suddenly as it

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Speaker 1: had come, the light dissipated, leaving the valley bathed in

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Speaker 1: the soft glow of the stars. Once more, The melodies

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Speaker 1: of heaven were replaced by the gentle whispers of the

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Speaker 1: evening wind and a few chirping crickets. The shepherds sat

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Speaker 1: stunned and silent, their minds reeling from the vision they

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Speaker 1: had just witnessed. The oldest shepherd turned to his companions.

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Speaker 1: Did we all just see that? Or is this old

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Speaker 1: man finally loose in his mind?

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 2: a new star, radiant and singular, unlike any they had

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Speaker 2: seen before. The older shepherd turned to his young friend

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Speaker 2: and laughed, you may get to see royalty after all.

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Speaker 2: They all laughed with unexplainable joy. With a shared understanding,

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

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

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Speaker 2: joy they could not contain and a purpose they could

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Speaker 2: not deny.

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Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible and

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Speaker 3: of your podcast today. The Bible into your podcast is

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Speaker 3: an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to

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Speaker 3: you each week through the support of listeners just like you.

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Speaker 3: Your support today is so important that we want to

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Speaker 3: thank you for your gift by giving you a copy

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Speaker 3: of my book called The Jesus Book. It is a

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Speaker 3: powerful guide that shows how every book of the Bible

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Speaker 3: points to Jesus and how his living word, the truth

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Speaker 3: of God's Word, will transform your life. So to get

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Speaker 3: a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jack

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Speaker 3: Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot org

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Speaker 3: slash Jesus and thank you for your support. This episode

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Speaker 3: explores the themes of reverence, evangelism, and the humbling joy

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Speaker 3: of being chosen to witness God's goodness. In our last episode,

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Speaker 3: a small group of shepherds visited by a choir of

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Speaker 3: angels proclaiming the newborn King with passion in their hearts.

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Speaker 3: The shepherds will embark on a search for a child

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Speaker 3: lying in a major Their search for Jesus mirrors our own.

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Speaker 3: We stumble in darkness, looking for hope around every corner,

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Speaker 3: and when we finally find Jesus, joy abounds in our hearts.

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Speaker 3: I pray that this story will be a beacon of

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Speaker 3: hope for anyone lost in darkness. The Gospel of John

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Speaker 3: describes Jesus as a light that darkness cannot overcome. The

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Speaker 3: closer you are to Christ, the further you are from darkness. Now,

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Speaker 3: let's place ourselves in the sandals of these shepherds. Let's

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Speaker 3: step into the presence of Christ and feel the gravity

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Speaker 3: of his goodness. This story will showcase the transformative power

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Speaker 3: of Jesus's presence and how it changes us from the

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Speaker 3: inside out. After this story, we'll unpack themes and lessons

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Speaker 3: to take into our daily walk with God.

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Speaker 2: The city of Bethlehem was still asleep. Silence covered the

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Speaker 2: night like a warm blanket. Dawn was approaching to welcome

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Speaker 2: the chirping of birds and the humming of vendors preparing

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Speaker 2: for the day. The tranquil silence of the morning was

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Speaker 2: interrupted by the ragged breaths of shepherds desperately searching for

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Speaker 2: a child swallowed in a manger. Are we sure we

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Speaker 2: heard the angel correctly, one of the masked. Would the

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Speaker 2: child really be found in a feeding trough? It seemed absurd,

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Speaker 2: But then again, it was absurd for a quire of

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Speaker 2: angels to visit a few lowly shepherds. The wisdom of

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Speaker 2: God seemed like foolishness to the world. None of it

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Speaker 2: makes sense, the older shepherd said, with a chuckle. But

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Speaker 2: we know what we heard and saw. The companions paced

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Speaker 2: through town, looking behind fences and walls for any sign

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Speaker 2: of a baby in a manger. Their enthusiasm didn't wane,

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Speaker 2: especially when they heard the faint cries of a new

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Speaker 2: born baby in the distance. The shepherds followed the sound

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Speaker 2: down a cobbled stairway of an inn carved into the

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Speaker 2: side of the hill. A flickering oil lamp revealed shadows

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Speaker 2: of two people leaning over a crying baby. The babies

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Speaker 2: crying turned to soft whimpers, eventually soothed by his mother's voice.

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Speaker 2: The shepherds inched closer, finally stopping at its entrance. When

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Speaker 2: they reached the stable, their bodies froze in reverence. Their

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Speaker 2: minds grappled with the enormity of what lay within. Like

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Speaker 2: Moses near the burning bush, they knew that they were

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Speaker 2: un wholly ground. The air was thick with expectancy. As

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Speaker 2: they peered into the shadows. Joseph met their eyes and

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Speaker 2: stood up. He stepped forward, blocking their view of his

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Speaker 2: wife and child. Who are you, he asked sternly. Mary

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Speaker 2: reached out and touched his arm, her eyes filled with understanding.

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Speaker 2: They came to see him, She whispered, her eyes soft

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Speaker 2: and tired. Joseph's eyes softened, and he nodded, stepping aside

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Speaker 2: to allow the shepherds to approach. With hesitant steps, the

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Speaker 2: shepherds came closer, their hearts fluttering with awe and eyes

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Speaker 2: brimming with tears. The humble surroundings faded away as they

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Speaker 2: beheld him. The baby Jesus lay in a manger, his

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Speaker 2: tiny form wrapped in swaddling clothes, his face radiant with

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Speaker 2: innocence and promise. They were overwhelmed with joy and humility.

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Speaker 2: God chose these simple men to witness his new born son.

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Speaker 2: The knowledge was a weight and a blessing, a secret

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Speaker 2: that filled them with the reverence they had never known.

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Speaker 2: The youngest shepherd of the three stepped forward with humility.

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Speaker 2: He pulled out a woolen blanket he had woven himself

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Speaker 2: from his lambs. He handed it to Mary. His voice,

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Speaker 2: choked with emotion, faltered as he spoke for the child,

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Speaker 2: a humble gift. Mary's eyes beamed with gratitude as she

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Speaker 2: accepted the offering, her lips curving into a gentle smile.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, she whispered. Her voice was warm and soothing.

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Speaker 2: The shepherds bowed to je Jesus, their bodies trembling with

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Speaker 2: the enormity of the moment. A profound and unbreakable connection

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Speaker 2: had been forged, a moment in time that would resonate

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Speaker 2: throughout the ages. Mary didn't say anything. She pondered everything

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Speaker 2: in her heart, wondering what the future held for Jesus.

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Speaker 2: The shepherds stood and bowed their heads to Marry and Joseph.

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Speaker 2: They exited the stable, stealing one final glance at the child.

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Speaker 2: Before they left. The sun began to rise over the hills,

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Speaker 2: painting the sky with hues of gold and pink. Their

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Speaker 2: hearts were filled with an overflowing well of joy. Their

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Speaker 2: contemplative walks slowly turned into a dance of praise and worship.

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Speaker 2: Soon enough, the shepherds were shouting through the streets, their

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Speaker 2: voices raised in worship and faces glowing with a light

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Speaker 2: that drew curious onlookers. Some shook their heads, thinking the

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Speaker 2: shepherds were crazy, drunk, or both. But the shepherds, undeterred

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Speaker 2: by scorn, proclaimed that the Messiah had been born and

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Speaker 2: they had been privileged to see him. Word began to

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Speaker 2: spread like ripples in a pond, the whispers growing in

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Speaker 2: strength and conviction. The shepherd's testimony, although unlikely, rekindled hope

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Speaker 2: and a few who heard it. If the Messiah had

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Speaker 2: truly been born, then hope for Israel was alive. The

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Speaker 2: testimony reached the ears of some of the servants of Herod,

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Speaker 2: the land's ruler. Their faces paled, their hearts pounding with

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Speaker 2: fear and hope. They did not tell Herod, choosing instead

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Speaker 2: to hold silent, their minds filled with dreams of redemption

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Speaker 2: from the oppression of Rome. Once weighed down by sorrow

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Speaker 2: and suffering, the land seemed to awaken to a new possibility.

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Speaker 2: The whispers grew into a chorus of voices a community

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Speaker 2: united by faith and longing. In that humble stable, a

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Speaker 2: child had been born, a king who would change the world.

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Speaker 2: The shepherds, once forgotten guardians of their flock, had become

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Speaker 2: heralds of a new era. Their voices res with the

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Speaker 2: truth that would transcend time and space. As the day unfolded,

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Speaker 2: the sun casting a golden glow on the land, the

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Speaker 2: shepherds returned to their fields. Their souls were forever changed.

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Speaker 2: They looked to the bright blue skies and basted in

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Speaker 2: the sun's warmth. Their eyes would permanently be filled with

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Speaker 2: wondering gratitude that God had chosen them to bear witness

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Speaker 2: to his greatest gift. It was a story they would

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Speaker 2: tell for the rest of their lives, a tale of

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Speaker 2: faith and providence, of humility and grace. They had stood

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Speaker 2: on holy ground, and they had witnessed God incarnate in

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Speaker 2: the silence of the fields. As the sheep grazed and

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Speaker 2: the world moved on, they would remember, and they would

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Speaker 2: give thanks, their voices raised in a song that would

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Speaker 2: echo through the ages, a melody of hope and redemption.

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Speaker 3: I want us all to pause for a moment and

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Speaker 3: consider how strained this scene would be to an ancient reader,

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Speaker 3: The God of all creation chose to dwell among us,

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Speaker 3: not in the form of a tyrant or warrior, but

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Speaker 3: as a child. When he was born. He chose to

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Speaker 3: be born from a poor family in a stable set

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Speaker 3: in a feeding trough, and as he lay there in

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Speaker 3: a manger, his first worshipers were a few lowly shepherds.

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Speaker 3: God packaged a remarkable event in unremarkable circumstances. This is

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Speaker 3: proof to us that God uses the foolish things of

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Speaker 3: this world to confound the wisdom of the wise. We

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Speaker 3: often want to see God move in mighty in miraculous ways,

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Speaker 3: like Moses parting the seas or Elijah calling down fire

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Speaker 3: from heaven. Still, the Christmas story reminds us that God

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Speaker 3: is also at work in life's mundane and unremarkable margins.

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Speaker 3: God chose to move and a run down stable surrounded

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Speaker 3: by ordinary shepherds. Therefore He can work in your life

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Speaker 3: as well. The shepherd's reaction as they entered the stable

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Speaker 3: was pure awe. They felt the weight of the moment.

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Speaker 3: They were in the presence of something holy and divine.

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Speaker 3: In today's fast paced, noisy world, the concept of reverence

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Speaker 3: can seem outdated, out of touch. Yet these simple men

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Speaker 3: teach us timeless lessons about reverence and worship. What does

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Speaker 3: it mean to have reference and awe for God? First,

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Speaker 3: it means to recognize God's holiness. Just as Moses stood

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Speaker 3: before the burning bush, the shepherds realized that they were

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Speaker 3: on holy ground and responded accordingly. This encounter invites us

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Speaker 3: to recognize God's sanctity in our lives. Do we approach

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Speaker 3: God with the recognition that He is holy and set

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Speaker 3: apart from us? Second, the shepherds allowed themselves to be

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Speaker 3: suspended in wonder. Their hearts were fluttering with awe in

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Speaker 3: the presence of Christ. This awe and wonder at God's

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Speaker 3: nature is something we can cultivate by reflecting on God's greatness,

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Speaker 3: his love, and his works in our lives. It requires

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Speaker 3: us to pause and ponder and press into the glory

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Speaker 3: of God. When was the last time you stepped back

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Speaker 3: and allowed yourself to be in awe of God? Lastly,

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Speaker 3: the shepherds responded to God's holiness with evangelism. The shepherds

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Speaker 3: didn't keep their experience to themselves. They went out into

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Speaker 3: the streets proclaiming the birth of the Messiah. Despite scorn

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Speaker 3: and misunderstanding, the shepherds boldly shared the good news. We

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Speaker 3: are called to share our faith with others, not fearing rejection.

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Speaker 3: Their testimony ignited hope in the hearts of those who heard.

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Speaker 3: Sharing our faith can catalyze hope in a world often

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Speaker 3: weighed down by despair. Some people will doubt your testimony,

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Speaker 3: and others will receive it gladly. First Corinthians, Chapter one,

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Speaker 3: verse eighteen tells us that the Gospel is folly to

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Speaker 3: those who are perishing, but to those who believe it's

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Speaker 3: a source of power. The realization that they were chosen

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Speaker 3: to witness this event overwhelm the shepherds with joy and humility.

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Speaker 3: The shepherds were simple men, yet they were chosen. This

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Speaker 3: is a profound reminder that God's choosing is not based

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Speaker 3: on status or worldly qualifications, but on His grace. My friends,

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Speaker 3: you are chosen. You are chosen to be witnesses to

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Speaker 3: the light and love of Christ. Just as the shepherds

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Speaker 3: proclaimed the Messiah and the city streets, so too should

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Speaker 3: we bold proclaimed the good news of Jesus. May this

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Speaker 3: Christmas season awaken us a renewed reverence of boldness to

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Speaker 3: share the joy of Christ and a profound gratitude that

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Speaker 3: we have been chosen to be part of God's marvelous plan.

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

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Speaker 3: and before we go, I wanted to let you know

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Speaker 3: that the Bible into your podcast is an outreach of

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Speaker 3: PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each week

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Speaker 3: through the support of listeners like you. Your support today

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Speaker 3: is so important that we want to thank you for

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Speaker 3: your gift by giving you a copy of my book

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Speaker 3: called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide

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Speaker 3: that shows how every book in the Bible points to Christ,

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Speaker 3: and how you can better read and understand the Bible

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Speaker 3: and how God's Word transforms our lives. So to get

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Speaker 3: your copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jaggraham

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Speaker 3: dot org slash Jesus. That's Jaggraham dot org slash Jesus

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Speaker 3: and thank you for your support.