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God's Ark Returns to Israel - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when they arose early on the
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  Speaker 1: morrow morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to
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  Speaker 1: the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the
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  Speaker 1: head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands
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  Speaker 1: were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of
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  Speaker 1: Dagon was left to him. 1 Samuel 5.4 Today is
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  Speaker 1: the day, Lord, that my mind and heart will change
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  Speaker 1: its position as I realize and recognize that you will
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  Speaker 1: not be mocked. As I meditate on 1 Samuel 5
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  Speaker 1: and 6, my heart and my mind will be put
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  Speaker 1: at ease when it appears that Satan has his plans
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  Speaker 1: for overriding your declared promises and plans for my life.
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  Speaker 1: Because it is through this text that you make yourself known.
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  Speaker 1: It is in this text that you show your power.
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  Speaker 1: in making all false gods bow to the power of
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  Speaker 1: the great I Am. All glory and praise goes to you, God.
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  Speaker 1: And I thank you that, in the same way the
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  Speaker 1: Philistines returned your ark and brought more than what was taken,
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  Speaker 1: I too will receive double for the trouble that the
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  Speaker 1: enemy has brought into my life. I decree and declare
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  Speaker 1: that nothing will be lost in my life, and that
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  Speaker 1: whoever tries to raise up against the plan of the
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  Speaker 1: Lord in my life will have no choice but to
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  Speaker 1: open the doors that have been locked and cut the
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  Speaker 1: red tape that's been wrapped around my future. Thank you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: that at your name all man-made idols of distractions must
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  Speaker 1: bow like the idols of the Philistines. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: God's ark returns to Israel. In our last story, we
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  Speaker 2: witnessed the slaughter of Israel's army at the hand of
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines. Israel summoned the Ark of the Covenant to
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  Speaker 2: the battlefield, but the Philistines defeated them and took it
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  Speaker 2: back to their camp. All of Israel mourned the loss
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  Speaker 2: of the Ark, but God would not be trifled with.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about God's power displayed among
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines, inspired by the book of 1 Samuel.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
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  Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous reading,
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  Speaker 3: we heard how Eli's sons died in battle, a punishment
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  Speaker 3: for their sins against God. Along with them, Israel lost
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  Speaker 3: thousands of men to the Philistines. But they lost something
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  Speaker 3: even greater as the Ark of the Covenant was taken
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  Speaker 3: by the Philistines. Hope seemed lost for Israel as God's
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  Speaker 3: presence had departed from them. But in today's reading, we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear about the high price the Philistines would pay for
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  Speaker 3: their theft and how God's power was going to be
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  Speaker 3: shown to all as his presence was restored to his people.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The Philistines drug the Ark of the Covenant back to
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  Speaker 2: the city of Ashdod. Torches illuminated the smug grins on
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  Speaker 2: their faces as they placed the Ark at the foot
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  Speaker 2: of their idols. They placed the Ark in the temple
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  Speaker 2: of Dagon, the Philistines' god. the idol was placed before
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  Speaker 2: a bronze statue of Dagon. It loomed over the ark
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  Speaker 2: as if they were making God bow to him. The
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  Speaker 2: Philistines slept soundly in their beds, not hearing the large
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  Speaker 2: crash in the night. When they arose the next morning,
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  Speaker 2: they found the statue of Dagon fallen face down before
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  Speaker 2: the ark of the Lord. Perplexed, the Philistines put Dagon
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  Speaker 2: back in its place and left. Another night passed. Crashing
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  Speaker 2: and shattering echoed through the empty temple. When the priests
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  Speaker 2: awoke to check on the temple, they saw the statue
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  Speaker 2: of Dagon fallen face down before the Ark. Its head
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  Speaker 2: and both its hands were cut off cleanly and lay
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  Speaker 2: spread out before the Ark of the Covenant. The priests
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  Speaker 2: trembled and dared not enter the temple again until the
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  Speaker 2: Ark was released. Yet God was not yet finished. The
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  Speaker 2: Philistines had made a mockery of his name, and they
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  Speaker 2: slaughtered his people. They were right to fear him in
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  Speaker 2: the beginning, for the God that struck down Pharaoh would
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  Speaker 2: have no problem dealing with the minuscule Philistine army. The
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  Speaker 2: hand of God was heavy against the Philistines, and they
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  Speaker 2: all became afflicted with painful tumors. Their false god, Dagon,
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  Speaker 2: could not save them. Their priests prayed to a piece
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  Speaker 2: of metal to deliver them, but God reigned. Get the
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  Speaker 2: Ark out of here before we perish, the people of
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  Speaker 2: Ashdod said. So they took the Ark to the city
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  Speaker 2: of Gaith, a terribly evil place filled with giant warriors
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  Speaker 2: that wore steel for armor. Yet the mighty men of
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  Speaker 2: Gaith quaked under the power of God. Their strong arms
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  Speaker 2: and broad backs could not shield them from his anger.
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  Speaker 2: Tumors broke out in them as well, and the entire
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  Speaker 2: city wailed in pain. Their cries filled the skies, and
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  Speaker 2: they cast the ark out of their land back to
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  Speaker 2: the Israelites. This has not happened by coincidence, the Philistine
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  Speaker 2: elders said. They winced in pain and guilt, saying, God
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  Speaker 2: struck down Egypt long ago, and now he strikes us
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  Speaker 2: down as well. Pharaoh did not listen, but we must.
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  Speaker 2: Learn from his hardened heart. So the Philistines sent back
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  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant with a guilt offering. The
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  Speaker 2: gold offerings molded into the shape of the tumors and
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  Speaker 2: mice that plagued their land. The people of Israel rejoiced
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  Speaker 2: when the Ark returned. They offered sacrifices to God and
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  Speaker 2: worshipped Him for His great power. The Philistines would soon
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  Speaker 2: regather and retaliate. But for now, they hid in fear
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  Speaker 2: because of God's mighty hand. God's anger against the Philistines
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  Speaker 2: reflected the depth of his righteousness. Though God is patient
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  Speaker 2: and kind, he is by no means safe. His name
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  Speaker 2: is not to be mocked, and he is not to
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  Speaker 2: be placed at the altar of a false god like Dagon.
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  Speaker 2: The Philistines' tumors were but an image of their inner sickness.
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  Speaker 2: The Philistines would eventually attack again, and again they would
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  Speaker 2: witness God's might.
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  Speaker 3: Today's story begins with the Philistines in possession of the
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  Speaker 3: Ark of the Covenant. They believed they could use it
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  Speaker 3: for their profit, their benefit, just as they looked to
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  Speaker 3: other gods. So they took the Ark to the shrine
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  Speaker 3: of their god Dagon and set it next to it.
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  Speaker 3: But God was not about to let his name be
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  Speaker 3: used by those who did not know or fear him.
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  Speaker 3: And he certainly wouldn't be just one among the many
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  Speaker 3: false gods. So when the Philistines woke the next morning,
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  Speaker 3: they found their idol lying face down. They picked him
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  Speaker 3: up and put him back. But the next morning, he
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  Speaker 3: had fallen again, this time his head and hands broken off.
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  Speaker 3: But God wasn't through. The whole city felt his judgment,
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  Speaker 3: and people for miles around developed tumors. They knew this
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  Speaker 3: wasn't a coincidence, so they sent the ark to another town.
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  Speaker 3: And the same thing happened, terrifying the people once more
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  Speaker 3: with painful tumors. So the Ark of the Covenant was
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  Speaker 3: sent to a third city, but the people cried out
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  Speaker 3: in fear. We don't want this. In 1 Samuel 5, 11,
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  Speaker 3: we read, They sent therefore and gathered together all the
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  Speaker 3: lords of the Philistines and said, Send away the Ark
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  Speaker 3: of the God of Israel and let it return to
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  Speaker 3: its own place, that it may not kill us and
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  Speaker 3: our people. For there was a deathly panic throughout the
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  Speaker 3: whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
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  Speaker 3: You see, God's presence among those who truly seek him
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  Speaker 3: brings peace. But among the wicked, those who reject him,
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  Speaker 3: it brings panic. God's judgment is not something to be
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  Speaker 3: taken lightly, of course. And after seeing what he had
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  Speaker 3: done in two other cities, the Philistines begged for the
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  Speaker 3: ark to go back to Israel. The Philistines knew they
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  Speaker 3: were guilty and the ark couldn't simply be returned as
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  Speaker 3: if nothing happened. So they sent it back with guilt offerings.
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  Speaker 3: golden sculptures of tumors and mice, symbols of God's judgment
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  Speaker 3: against them. Unfortunately, they were only sorry and scared, not contrite,
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  Speaker 3: not changed, not repentant. They just wanted to be done
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  Speaker 3: with this punishment. How tragic it is when people reject
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  Speaker 3: God and the opportunity to repent of their sins and
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  Speaker 3: to get right with Him. So the ark was returned
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  Speaker 3: to Israel and great rejoicing arose among them. They worshiped
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  Speaker 3: God for His mightiness, praising Him for returning the ark
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  Speaker 3: to them. But Israel's struggles were far from over, hindering
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  Speaker 3: their relationship with God. And we'll hear more about that
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  Speaker 3: the next time. Dear God, we thank You that in
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  Speaker 3: our story today we learn how holy You really are,
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  Speaker 3: that You are righteous, and that You judge the wicked.
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  Speaker 3: Help us not only to regret our sin, but to
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  Speaker 3: truly repent of it and turn from it. and ask
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  Speaker 3: you to be our Savior and Deliverer. In Jesus' name, 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 Jim. Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: God through Jesus Christ, then visit jackgram.org.