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Little Christs - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And it came to pass that a
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  Speaker 1: whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught
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  Speaker 1: much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for giving me the heart of Barnabas, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for allowing me to encourage and to speak
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  Speaker 1: life into all those willing to listen. As I grow
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  Speaker 1: and evolve in my faith, I pray that my life
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  Speaker 1: would be a beacon of hope and a model for
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  Speaker 1: others to follow. As you begin to expand your number
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  Speaker 1: of believers around me, I pray that we would operate
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  Speaker 1: in such a way that people can see the resemblance
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  Speaker 1: of Christ in our everyday actions and deeds. Through this,
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  Speaker 1: I pray that revival will break loose in my city,
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  Speaker 1: in my state, and in my country. I pray that
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  Speaker 1: we would make such a noise that the whole world
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  Speaker 1: will look in our direction and wonder where we get
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  Speaker 1: our joy, our peace, and our power from. When asked,
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  Speaker 1: we will rejoice because you are now giving us the
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to share the greatest love story ever told, the
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  Speaker 1: gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Little Christs.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, Peter discovered that the kingdom of
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  Speaker 2: God was expanding to more than just the Jews. Through
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  Speaker 2: his interactions with Cornelius, Peter began to learn that God
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  Speaker 2: was going to extend his reach to all the nations.
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  Speaker 2: Now we see the church expand and grow despite persecution.
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  Speaker 2: Everywhere the family of God goes, positive change follows. And
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  Speaker 2: the believers begin to create a reputation everywhere. that would
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  Speaker 2: echo thousands of years into the future.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
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  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
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  Speaker 3: to get a copy of the Jesus book, simply go
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  Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. In our last episode, we heard
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  Speaker 3: how God showed Peter that the gospel of Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 3: is meant for everyone, all nations. not just the Jewish people,
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  Speaker 3: but people everywhere. Peter then shared the gospel with a
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  Speaker 3: household of a Roman centurion named Cornelius, and his whole
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  Speaker 3: family came to faith in Christ. The good news of
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  Speaker 3: Jesus was beginning to spread beyond the Jewish world and Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 3: and now the word of God is moving throughout the earth. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we'll hear how more non-Jews around the world began to
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  Speaker 3: embrace the gospel, and as the church grew, Barnabas was
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  Speaker 3: sent to Antioch to strengthen and encourage the new believers.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's reading from the exciting
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  Speaker 3: book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: The heavy clanging of chains echoed through the streets of Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 2: Believers in Jesus were rounded up like cattle and thrown
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  Speaker 2: into prison for their faith. Soon the jail cells were
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  Speaker 2: overflowing with people singing psalms and praises to God. So
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  Speaker 2: the violence increased. Men were fed to lions and women
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  Speaker 2: were ripped away from their children. Whoever did not receive
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  Speaker 2: a beating received humiliation. So the people of God scattered
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  Speaker 2: to the outer regions of the Roman Empire. Believers in
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  Speaker 2: Jesus fled to Cyprus and Antioch for safe haven. Before,
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  Speaker 2: the word was only preached to the Jews. But now
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  Speaker 2: there were rumblings of the revival erupting forth from the Hellenists,
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  Speaker 2: who were Jewish Greeks. So many started coming to know Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: that the apostles sent Barnabas to go and lead them.
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  Speaker 2: They needed someone rational yet caring. They needed a man
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  Speaker 2: strong enough to lead but gentle enough to comfort others.
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  Speaker 2: Barnabas was all of these things and more. God had
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  Speaker 2: appointed him with a sharp mind and saintly heart. It
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  Speaker 2: was this mind and heart that resonated with Saul. Barnabas
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  Speaker 2: had taken Saul under his wing and discipled him. The
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  Speaker 2: two spoke of God, Jesus, the Word, and miracles. Slowly,
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  Speaker 2: Saul was growing in the power and wisdom of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: The Hellenistic believers created an infamous reputation in Cyprus and Antioch.
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  Speaker 2: When there was a great famine in the land, the
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  Speaker 2: disciples of Jesus sent a great deal of resources to
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  Speaker 2: meet the city's needs. Believers worked day and night to
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  Speaker 2: ensure everyone was fed and clothed. People observed their self-sacrifice
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  Speaker 2: and kindness. They saw thousands of people being fed and
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  Speaker 2: hundreds of people being healed. The Gentiles noticed that there
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  Speaker 2: was something strange about them. They looked and acted like
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  Speaker 2: Jesus himself. They were like little Christs. Thus, people began
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  Speaker 2: to refer to them as Christians.
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  Speaker 3: As we begin today's reading, we see that the gospel
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  Speaker 3: is on the move. The church is on the move.
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  Speaker 3: The persecution that came as a result of faith in
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ has now scattered the church in Jerusalem as
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  Speaker 3: believers now move from their safe haven from Jerusalem to
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  Speaker 3: the uttermost parts of the earth. They're going to places
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  Speaker 3: like Cyprus and Antioch. Though many of the believers were
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  Speaker 3: still stuck in the mindset that the gospel was for
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  Speaker 3: a select group only and therefore only preached the word
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  Speaker 3: to people who were religious, the There were others who,
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  Speaker 3: like Peter, understood that there was a much greater mission,
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  Speaker 3: a broader mission. So in Acts 11, verses 20 and 21,
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  Speaker 3: here's what we find. But there were some of them,
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  Speaker 3: men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch
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  Speaker 3: spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And
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  Speaker 3: the hand of the Lord was with them, and a
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  Speaker 3: great number who believed turned to the Lord. Hellenists were
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  Speaker 3: Greek men and women. They were Gentiles. And we see
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  Speaker 3: that as they heard the good news, they also received
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  Speaker 3: it by putting their faith in Christ and following him.
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  Speaker 3: The church is multiplying and now is experiencing an explosion
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  Speaker 3: of growth in these distant cities. This, of course, was
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  Speaker 3: great and all a part of God's plan. And when
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  Speaker 3: the church in Jerusalem received the news that people were
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  Speaker 3: being saved at distant places, they sent a trusted brother
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  Speaker 3: in Christ to help strengthen and instruct these new believers.
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  Speaker 3: Barnabas was one of these men. He was known to
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  Speaker 3: be full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 3: He had been the first in Jerusalem to welcome Saul,
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  Speaker 3: who became Paul in his miraculous conversion. And so when
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  Speaker 3: Barnabas saw the need in Antioch, he went to Tarsus
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  Speaker 3: to find Saul and bring him to Antioch. And together,
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  Speaker 3: these men taught the believers for an entire year. And
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  Speaker 3: their teaching paid off. These followers of Christ stood out
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  Speaker 3: from the crowd in Antioch. Their generosity and kindness did
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  Speaker 3: not go unnoticed, and soon they earned a moniker, Little
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  Speaker 3: Christ or Christians. This is the name now with which
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  Speaker 3: we are so familiar, and it began back at Antioch
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  Speaker 3: when the believers there were first called Christians because of
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  Speaker 3: their Christlike attitude and actions. Today's reading reminds us of
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  Speaker 3: the importance of discipling new believers in the faith, and
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  Speaker 3: that this is something that takes time and intentional investment
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  Speaker 3: by more mature believers. Barnabas knew that the believers in
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  Speaker 3: these places needed to be instructed in the faith so
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  Speaker 3: that they would remain true to the gospel and to
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  Speaker 3: the word of God. He also understood that Saul, though
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  Speaker 3: he was highly educated in Jewish law and tradition, needed
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  Speaker 3: a mentor in his new faith, someone to walk with him,
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  Speaker 3: to encourage him, and prepare him for the ministry to
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  Speaker 3: which God had called him. We all need a Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: or two in our lives, and we should also seek
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  Speaker 3: to be a Barnabas to others. encouraging, mentoring, and bringing
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  Speaker 3: people up in their faith. This reading is also a
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  Speaker 3: reminder of what it means to be called a Christian.
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  Speaker 3: This is not simply a group or a club that
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  Speaker 3: we joined. We are called to reflect Christ into the world,
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  Speaker 3: to remind people of Jesus, that people will see Christ
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  Speaker 3: working in us and therefore call us Christians. Let's pray together.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, how we praise you for your goodness and
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  Speaker 3: your grace in taking the gospel to the whole world,
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  Speaker 3: and including all of us who believe and trust in you.
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  Speaker 3: Help us, like those believers in Antioch, to remind people
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus, to be models of Christ in the world
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  Speaker 3: so that when people see our good works, they will
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  Speaker 3: glorify God and believe and follow Jesus himself. For it
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  Speaker 3: is in his name that we pray. Amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. And
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: before we go, I wanted to let you know that
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach of
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each week
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: through the support of listeners like you. Your support today
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: is so important that we want to thank you for
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: your gift by giving you a copy of my book
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: that shows how every book in the Bible points to
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Christ and how you can better read and understand the Bible.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: And How God's Word Transforms Our Lives. So to get
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: your copy of the Jesus book, simply go to jackgram.org
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: your support.