Latest / Grace 809 / Lifespring! One Year Bible - 1 Peter 4-5: Perspective

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Lifespring! One Year Bible - 1 Peter 4-5: Perspective · Grace 809

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  Steve Webb: It's impossible for them to have.
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  One more time as the man said. Coming to you from Riverside,
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  California this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible
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  and podcasting since 2004. I'm here Oh g god caster Steve Webb.
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  This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire
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  Bible in a year. Today is epistle Sunday, we'll read first
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  Peter four and five, I'm calling today's episode perspective. The
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  show notes page for today's at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 319.
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  And my email address is Steven Lifespring media.com. Let's
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  begin.
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  First Peter chapter four. Since Christ suffered while he was in
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  his body, Strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking
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  Christ had the person who has suffered in the body is finished
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  with sin. strengthen yourself so that you will live here on earth
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  doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. In the
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  past, you wasted too much time doing what non believers enjoy.
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  You are guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild
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  and drunken parties and hateful idol worship. non believers
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  Thank you think it is strange that you do not do the many wild
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  and wasteful things they do so they insult you, but they will
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  have to explain this to God who was ready to judge the living
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  and the dead. For this reason, the good news was preached to
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  those who are now dead, even though they were judged. Like
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  all people, the good news was preached to them so that they
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  could live in the spirit as God lives. The time is near when all
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  things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves
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  so you will be ready to pray. Most importantly, love each
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  other deeply. Because love will cause people to forgive each
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  other for many sins. Open your homes to each other without
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  complaining. Each of you has received a gift to us to serve
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  others be good servants of God's various gifts of grace. Anyone
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  who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves
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  should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything
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  God will be praised through Jesus Christ, power and glory
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  belong to Him forever and ever. Amen. My friends, do not be
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  surprised at the terrible trouble which now comes to test
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  you. Do not think that something strange is happening to you. But
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  be happy that you are sharing in Christ's sufferings so that you
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  will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in
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  glory. When people insult you, because you follow Christ, you
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  are blessed, because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of
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  God is with you. Do not suffer for murder, theft or any other
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  crime nor because you trouble other people. But if you suffer
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  because you are a Christian, do not be ashamed. Praise God,
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  because you were that name. It is time for judgment to begin
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  with God's family. And if that judging begins with us, what
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  will happen to those people who do not obey the good news of
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  God, if it is very hard for a good person to be saved, the
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  wicked person in the center will surely be lost. So those who
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  suffer as God wants should trust their souls to the faithful
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  Creator, as they continue to do what is right.
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  First Peter, chapter five. Now I have something to say to the
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  elders in your group. I also am an elder. I have seen Christ's
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  sufferings that I will share in the glory that will be shown to
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  us. I beg you to shepherd GOD's flock for whom you are
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  responsible. Watch over them because you want to not because
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  you're forced. This is how God wants it. Do it because you're
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  happy to serve. Not because you want money. Do not be like a
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  ruler over people you're responsible for, but be good
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  examples to them. Then when Christ the chief Shepherd comes,
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  you will get a glorious crown that will never lose its beauty.
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  In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under
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  older people. And all of you should be very humble with each
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  other. God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the
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  humble. Be humble under God's powerful hand. So he will lift
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  you up when the right time comes. Give all your worries to
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  him because he cares about you. Control yourselves and be
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  careful. The devil your enemy goes around like a roaring lion
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  looking for someone to eat. Refuse to give into him by
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  standing strong and your faith. You know that your Christian
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  family all over the world is having the same kinds of
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  suffering. And after you suffer for a short time, God who gives
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  all grace will make everything right. He will make you strong
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  and support you and keep you from falling. He called you to
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  share in His glory in Christ, a glory that will continue
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  forever. All power is his forever and ever. Amen. I wrote
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  this short letter with the help of Silas, who I know is a
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  faithful brother in Christ. I wrote to encourage you and to
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  tell you that this is the true grace of God. Stand strong in
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  that grace the church in Babylon, who was chosen like
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  you, sends you greetings, Mark, my son in Christ also greets you
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  give each other a kiss of Christian love when you meet
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  peace to all of you who are in Christ.
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  In today's comments, I'd like to address chapter five verses one
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  through six, Peter tells the older members to be shepherds to
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  GOD's flock from a sincere desire and not for money, and to
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  do so by providing a good example. Not by lording it over
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  them. And then he tells the younger folks that they should
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  be willing to submit to the older people. And he wraps up
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  this section by saying that they should all be very humble with
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  each other. These verses grabbed my attention, because I've been
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  involved in the church since I was in my teens. So I've been a
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  member of the younger crowd. And now I'm definitely one of the
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  older crowd. I've been on both sides. You know, it's funny how
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  we move through life. We're taking a side trip here, by the
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  way, I'll get back to First Peter in a moment. Right now my
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  newest granddaughter, Penny, have I told you about her? Well,
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  anyway, right now, pretty much any room she's in, in any crowd
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  she's in. She's the youngest person in the room. Of course,
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  she doesn't know that. But she is. So as we move through life,
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  we go from being the youngest person in the room to being the
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  average age of the population. And in most rooms, you're in
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  many of the people are generally your age. And then we move to
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  being an older person like I am, and in many cases, more so every
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  year, I'm the oldest person in the room, I have to say it's
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  kind of a funny feeling. And to go from being the youngest
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  person in your family, which I used to be, of course, including
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  extended family to being the oldest as I am for the wed
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  branch of the family. It's kind of a humbling thing. Back to
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  First Peter, when I was young, there was no doubt that the
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  elders were in charge, church was pretty much entrenched in
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  the way things were done. But I gave my heart to the Lord right
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  around the time that the Jesus freak movement was born in the
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  late 60s, early 70s. And a lot of changes began to happen. And
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  by the way, I guess in some parts of the world like
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  Australia, like Kirsti, Jesus freak is a derogatory term.
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  Here, it's not generally meant that way. So don't take offense
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  at that, here in the US to be a Jesus for He just meant that you
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  were somebody who was a bit of a hippie and love Jesus, and that
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  was me. But now today, somehow, we've come to a point in today's
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  culture where the older people in many churches no longer have
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  a voice, they're not in charge. If you're older than 35, or 40,
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  it just might as well find a seat. It's the younger people
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  that have kind of taken control. Well, having been a young person
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  right there when things began to change. And now being one of the
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  elders in terms of age, I'm currently much closer to 70 than
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  to 60, I have the benefit of perspective that the younger
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  folks just don't have, it's impossible for them to have,
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  they can't have the kind of perspective that an older person
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  has. Now several years ago, I attempted to hike to the top of
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  Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United
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  States. I didn't make it all the way. But that's another story.
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  But what I want to talk about now is that the view from the
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  trailhead, the beginning of the trail that led to the top, well,
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  that view was extremely limited, because being in the forest, the
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  trees limited the view, you couldn't see very far at all.
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  But once he got on the trail, and you were hiking for a couple
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  of hours or so you gained some altitude. And there were places
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  where you could look out over the beautiful Owens Valley
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  between the trees, you began to gain some perspective, and you
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  could see for miles. And then after having been on the trail
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  for several hours, you were above tree line, there was
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  nothing to block your view. And you could see even further
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  because you were so much higher. Well, that's how it is with
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  elders versus youngsters. The young people think that they
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  know it all. But they're really just starting out on the trail.
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  They don't know that there's so much more to see because they've
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  never seen it. There's a reason that the Holy Spirit through
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  Peter calls the elders to shepherd the flock, they're
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  further along in higher on the trail. He doesn't call them
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  because they're better but because they've got the benefit
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  of perspective. And the younger folks should humbly accept that
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  with age comes perspective, and hopefully, not guaranteed, but
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  hopefully wisdom. And then of course, the elders should humbly
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  teach and lead the younger believers. What do you think?
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  Let me know go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 319. Tomorrow's
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  Monday. So we'll read from the law. We're still in Deuteronomy
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  The last book will read from the law and the chapters will be 13
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  through 15.
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  Unknown: And now, as the French say, it is time for le boost.
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  Steve Webb: On this date in church history, July 17 1505. In
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  Germany 21 year old Martin Luther entered the effort
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  Monastery of the Augustinian era mites. I never knew this about
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  Martin Luther but after having survived a lightning strike, he
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  vowed to become a monk. And he took his vows in 1506 and was
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  ordained a priest in 1507. And then on this date in church
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  history, July 17 1674, Isaac Watts was born. He was an
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  English nonconformist clergyman and pioneer hymn writer. He's
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  regarded as the father of English hymnody. And he wrote
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  more than 750 songs, including, when I survey the wondrous
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  cross, we're marching to Zion, alas, and did my savior bleed.
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  And you might have heard of this one Joy to the world. On my show
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  Lifespring him stories, I'd featured a couple of Isaac Watts
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  hymns. If you'd like to listen to those, I'll have the links on
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  the show notes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 319.
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  Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank You again for giving us
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  your word. We thank you for revealing yourself to us, and
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  for helping us through the Holy Spirit to understand what it is
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  you want us to do. We thank you for bringing believers together
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  as a body as a family. Your Word tells us that we need each other
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  and that you've given different people different gifts, so that
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  in the body, they work together with each one having a purpose.
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  We thank you for that, Lord. And I ask that you would help us to
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  humbly work together no matter our age, our background, our
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  education, our skin color, or any other differences we might
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  have. What matters is that you have called us into your family
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  and when we have faith in Jesus, you actually adopt us into your
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  family. What a marvelous gift of grace that is Lord hallelujah. I
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  asked for your blessing today on each one of us. Lead us guide us
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  direct us. Thank you for bringing us together here as the
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  Lifespring family. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you have
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  a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring
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  media.com Share it on the show.
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  If you'd like to comment on today's show, please do and
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  Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 319. Scroll all the way to the bottom
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  of the page. You'll see a box where you can put your thoughts.
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  Send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com And thanks
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  to the team Kirsty shot of San Pedro and Denise and Hey, thank
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  you for making me a part of your day. Let's do it again tomorrow.
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  Are you glad the show is here? Are you getting something out of
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  it? Well then put something back into IT support the show at
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  Lifespring media.com/support. Until tomorrow may God bless you
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  richly My name is Steve Webb. Bye