Latest / Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews / Jesus Our Stronghold: Inside The Chosen Season 5 Bible Study With Amanda Jenkins

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Jesus Our Stronghold: Inside The Chosen Season 5 Bible Study With Amanda Jenkins · Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio.
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  Speaker 2: Amanda, thanks for joining me, Thanks for having me.
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  Speaker 3: Amanda Jenkins, lead creator of The Chosen's additional content, is
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  Speaker 3: our guest.
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  Speaker 2: Of course.
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  Speaker 3: Amanda, you are the co author of the new Bible studying,
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  Speaker 3: The Stronghold of the Chosen, which is based on Season
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  Speaker 3: five of The Chosen. This is the fifth Chosen Bible study,
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  Speaker 3: one for each season. It was a preview of this.
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  Speaker 3: I know very little about it. I haven't gone through
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  Speaker 3: it yet, but I've enjoyed learning what I have learned
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  Speaker 3: about it. What are the theme to this Bible study
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  Speaker 3: and what do you want fans to know about it?
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  Speaker 4: Well, every season we do a Bible study and it'll
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  Speaker 4: have some thematic connection to that season, and so season
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  Speaker 4: five we're seeing it. It begins with the triumphal entree
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  Speaker 4: of Christ on Palm Sunday, and so.
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  Speaker 1: We really wanted to lean into that.
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  Speaker 4: And the Zacharian nine is the prophetic passage that talks
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  Speaker 4: about how the Messiah is going to enter on a donkey,
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  Speaker 4: and so we looked at that and we were reading
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  Speaker 4: that and there's this line in it where it talks
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  Speaker 4: about how he is your stronghold and he is your
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  Speaker 4: place of hope. And to be honest, I think every
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  Speaker 4: every time we do a Bible study, God meets us
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  Speaker 4: as writers first, as writers and creators first. And that's
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  Speaker 4: something that my co writer Doug Heffman and I both
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  Speaker 4: needed in that in that season of reconnecting with Jesus
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  Speaker 4: as our stronghold and what does that mean? And what
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  Speaker 4: does it mean that he entered on a donkey, but
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  Speaker 4: he's coming back when he comes back on a horse,
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  Speaker 4: you know, And so we just there were these themes
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  Speaker 4: of hope and when your ground beneath your feet is
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  Speaker 4: shifting to and as the ground was about to shift
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  Speaker 4: dramatically for the disciples, and then we're going to see
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  Speaker 4: that all through season five as well.
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  Speaker 1: What do we return to? We turn to our stronghold
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus is our hope.
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  Speaker 5: And so that's what this Bible study is about.
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  Speaker 4: We explore those the triumphal entrybut passages and we and
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  Speaker 4: we look at Zacharai and I and we learn what
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  Speaker 4: that means for Jesus.
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  Speaker 5: Spare a stronghold.
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  Speaker 3: People always want to know what the shows and Bible
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  Speaker 3: studies are they video driven? Do you watch a clip
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  Speaker 3: and then read a passage in the book how does
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  Speaker 3: it work.
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  Speaker 4: We really study a passage of scripture, so it's a
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  Speaker 4: real deal Bible study. But it is connected in the
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  Speaker 4: sense that we're always including script excerpts and we'll go
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  Speaker 4: deeper in kind of sidebars on certain moments of the
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  Speaker 4: show or certain quotes of the show. So it's very
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  Speaker 4: show connected. But we always say our Bible studies are
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  Speaker 4: not a supplement to the show. The show is a
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  Speaker 4: supplement to the Bible studies because to us, the Bible is.
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  Speaker 1: The main thing.
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  Speaker 4: The main thing is the main thing, and so we
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  Speaker 4: really do go after a passage of scripture, We really
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  Speaker 4: do a Bible study, and then we include examples and
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  Speaker 4: scenes from the show.
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  Speaker 3: Would you say this study is uniquely needed right now
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  Speaker 3: in today's culture. It seems like we need a stronghold.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, more than ever, shifting sands, right, I just think
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  Speaker 4: that well, and I think a lot of people when
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  Speaker 4: you suffer, it makes you, It causes you to readdress
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  Speaker 4: how you where your hope comes from. And I think
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  Speaker 4: so often we put our home but our circumstances. We
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  Speaker 4: know that we're not supposed to do that.
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  Speaker 5: We know our hope is in God, and we say that,
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  Speaker 5: But does that really.
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  Speaker 4: Mean when things are really hard, or when there's chaos
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  Speaker 4: in the world, or when our children are struggling or
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  Speaker 4: whatever it is, how do we go back to, Okay,
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  Speaker 4: what does it really mean actually for me to hope
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  Speaker 4: in the Lord? And what does it really mean that
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  Speaker 4: I can trust Jesus in spite of what's happening right
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  Speaker 4: now in my finances or in my health or in whatever.
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  Speaker 5: So I think it's I think it's always needed.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's timeless.
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  Speaker 4: I think every generation has needed it, and then of
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  Speaker 4: course we uniquely need it where we are and add
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  Speaker 4: in the world right now.
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  Speaker 3: Are these themes always obvious with these Bible studies or
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  Speaker 3: is it kind of like scripture where you could pull
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  Speaker 3: a dozen themes out of five verses?
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  Speaker 6: Because yeah, I think it you probably could.
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  Speaker 5: You probably could just do whatever, and there's a ton
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  Speaker 5: but we don't in the sense that first of all,
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  Speaker 5: we have time to have a bunch of ideas, to
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  Speaker 5: be honest, and then we're just really super prayerful, and
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  Speaker 5: God just causes the theme to be so obvious that
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  Speaker 5: I'm not even sure we're brains, are you know? We're
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  Speaker 5: just like, this is what we're supposed to be doing.
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  Speaker 4: Doug Huffman and I are always on the same page,
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  Speaker 4: and so it's really been a very God driven I
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  Speaker 4: don't know what he wants to talk about is what
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  Speaker 4: we talk about.
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  Speaker 3: You know, you travel with Dallas and the crew to Italy.
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  Speaker 3: We're season six with Shadows, wht we talk to you
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  Speaker 3: briefly about that. There was a viral video that showed
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  Speaker 3: Dallas and the cast and crew kind of crying emotional
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  Speaker 3: and then at the end of the video, I think
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  Speaker 3: that was you hugging him. Give me your remembrance of
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  Speaker 3: that and what was it as draining as it seemed
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  Speaker 3: on video for the cast and crew during that time.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah, it was really hard this whole season. And
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  Speaker 4: of course it's meant to be right. You're dear depicting
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  Speaker 4: the Crucifixion, and I think God just had everyone in
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  Speaker 4: a really raw, dependent place in personal lives, in work lives.
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  Speaker 1: It's the emotions that our cast.
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  Speaker 4: Have to repeat hour by hour by hour, and then
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  Speaker 4: Dallas being the one who's stewarding that and stwarting them
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  Speaker 4: and their emotion and their own spiritual journeys in real life.
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  Speaker 1: And then these you know, these character arcs and all
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  Speaker 1: the things.
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  Speaker 4: He had been in Italy for two weeks prior to
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  Speaker 4: me arriving, and by the time I got there, it
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  Speaker 4: had been a it had it had been a hard season,
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  Speaker 4: and then another couple hard.
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  Speaker 5: Weeks, and so that particular day was a real struggle.
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  Speaker 4: They were they were actually filming Jesus being lifted up
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  Speaker 4: onto the cross over and over and over, and it
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  Speaker 4: was physically grueling.
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  Speaker 1: It was emotionally grueling.
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  Speaker 4: Everybody was in tears, and so you say cut, and
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  Speaker 4: the actors need consoling and shepherding.
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  Speaker 1: And so he's he's comforting them.
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  Speaker 4: And then I arrived and he needed a minute, and
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  Speaker 4: so he was able to kind of turn around.
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  Speaker 1: I actually was.
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  Speaker 6: Coming on a set and I was excited and I
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  Speaker 6: was like, hey, I'm here, and then I see him
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  Speaker 6: coming toward me, and I realized He's not okay, and
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  Speaker 6: so it was just it was it was good timing
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  Speaker 6: for him, and so he got his his moment where
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  Speaker 6: he could actually just have that release as well and
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  Speaker 6: then get.
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  Speaker 1: Back to work.
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  Speaker 3: You got to pour in hands, we could pour into
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  Speaker 3: the others. I guess that's kind of what was going on.
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  Speaker 3: What are your emotions as the Chosen series of winds down.
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  Speaker 3: It might not feel like it to you because you
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  Speaker 3: guys are fill in the middle of it, but you
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  Speaker 3: only have to film one more season of or you
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  Speaker 3: have to release season six.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, what are your emotions personally because.
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  Speaker 3: You've been through there, through this for many years now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I actually we're starting to get that question sometimes, and
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  Speaker 4: I actually appreciate it because it's reminding me to be
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  Speaker 4: a little bit more present because I feel what you're saying.
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  Speaker 4: It's like, no, we're in the middle of post now,
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  Speaker 4: and then we have to then Dallas's currently writing scripts
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  Speaker 4: for season seven, and then we have to do season seven,
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  Speaker 4: and then we're doing translations around the world and all.
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  Speaker 1: There's never a dull moment.
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  Speaker 4: And so I need to choose to be more present
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  Speaker 4: in it. I think it's going to be. I mean,
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  Speaker 4: we're just so grateful to be able to do this,
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  Speaker 4: to be able to be a part of this, that
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  Speaker 4: I need to write remember it to poke my head
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  Speaker 4: up sometimes and then and and and actively be grateful
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  Speaker 4: versus just in theory, you know, and just go wow,
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  Speaker 4: this is to take it in for a minute, you know.
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  Speaker 4: We need to be reminded of that sometimes. But for
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  Speaker 4: right now. You know, it's kind of hand to plow still.
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  Speaker 4: I think when when it's done, I think it.
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  Speaker 1: Will be beautiful and rewarding. But we have, you know,
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  Speaker 1: ongoing plans.
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  Speaker 4: For the next stories that we want to tell, and
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  Speaker 4: I think Dallas wants to tell Bible stories for the
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  Speaker 4: rest of his life. So I don't we just feel
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  Speaker 4: done with this one maybe and then we're on too
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  Speaker 4: new and others.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well you've got one on Joseph. I believe that's
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  Speaker 2: being filmed right now.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know all this, all the orders of all these,
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  Speaker 3: but Moses is down the road, and the way I
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  Speaker 3: believe the Way of the Apostles is.
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  Speaker 5: I forget what it's.
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  Speaker 3: Called the Way of the Chosen yet, Yeah, are there
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  Speaker 3: going to be Bible studies with those or has that
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  Speaker 3: been decided to get that has.
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  Speaker 1: Not been decided yet?
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  Speaker 4: I think that's I am Actually I have loved this
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  Speaker 4: whole process because it has absolutely kept me in the
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  Speaker 4: word every single season and engaged in a really unique way.
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  Speaker 4: But I have a lot of publishing contracts that will
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  Speaker 4: finally be done, and I'm going to need a minute.
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  Speaker 1: To decide if this is something that there's still a
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  Speaker 1: need for in the marketplace.
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  Speaker 4: But I you know, we are looking forward to a
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  Speaker 4: good long nap after season seven.
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  Speaker 2: Finally, amen to that.
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  Speaker 3: I think I've asked everybody this question except you, And
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  Speaker 3: the question is why do you think they chosen is
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  Speaker 3: such a hit? It's I think you guys are just
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  Speaker 3: kind of like getting on the horse and you can't
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  Speaker 3: get off. But why do you think it's it's been
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  Speaker 3: so popular to where it's embraced by people of all
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  Speaker 3: walks of.
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  Speaker 2: Life, you know, people on the left, people on the right. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's amazing to me.
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  Speaker 4: I think there's I think there's a surface level answer,
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  Speaker 4: and then they think there's a bigger answer.
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  Speaker 1: I think the surface.
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  Speaker 5: Level is that it's a very authentic portrayal.
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  Speaker 4: And what I mean by that is we aren't going
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  Speaker 4: story to story the way so many other Bible projects
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  Speaker 4: have done, where you just go miracle to miracle and
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  Speaker 4: sermon to sermon. We're actually telling stories about real people.
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  Speaker 4: Because Sadels always says, if you can connect to the
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  Speaker 4: people the way that you know that they're real and
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  Speaker 4: that you identify with them, then you can also maybe
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  Speaker 4: identify with the way they connected to Jesus and so
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  Speaker 4: portraying real people is a new thing, and so people
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  Speaker 4: are seeing themselves now in the stories. But then there's
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  Speaker 4: this bigger thing that God just was pleased to tell
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  Speaker 4: this story in a visual way at this time in history.
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  Speaker 4: And so we don't take credit for that part. We
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  Speaker 4: just go, wow, we got to be present for this
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  Speaker 4: thing that God is doing. And there's a revival in
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  Speaker 4: all over the world happening.
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  Speaker 1: This is a part of that. And so so.
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  Speaker 5: I think my husband's a really good storyteller.
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  Speaker 4: And I'm really proud of him, and he's a really
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  Speaker 4: honest guy and that's coming through in his work.
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  Speaker 1: But then also just God's doing a thing.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you said revivals happening all over the world.
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  Speaker 3: Do you see the indication of that in terms of
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  Speaker 3: these Bible studies that you you guys are releasing any feedback,
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  Speaker 3: Do you see anything any kind of examples of that
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  Speaker 3: in your own life.
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  Speaker 4: Well, the exciting thing about the Bible studies is, you know,
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  Speaker 4: people get so excited about the show.
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of like the camp high.
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  Speaker 4: You know, kids go to camp and they get so
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  Speaker 4: excited and they raise their hand and they accept Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: But then after that you know when we go back
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  Speaker 4: to the daily some we're going to fall away. So
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  Speaker 4: we're going to go back to their The thing that
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  Speaker 4: we love about the Bible Studies is in between these
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  Speaker 4: seasons there's real substance that we're hoping to give to people.
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  Speaker 4: And so if we can get people into their Bibles
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  Speaker 4: and learning how to study their Bibles and having any
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  Speaker 4: kind of a habit and getting into their Bibles, that'll.
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  Speaker 1: Last long beyond the show.
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  Speaker 4: So our greatest hope is that they land in the
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  Speaker 4: Bible and stay in the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: And that is what we're seeing.
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  Speaker 4: We are seeing people just dive in in a deeper
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  Speaker 4: way and they're being discipled and we get to be
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  Speaker 4: a part of that too.
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  Speaker 3: In our final team minutes here, let's talk about something
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  Speaker 3: very personal to you. You've you've had lots of You've
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  Speaker 3: had a busy summer and a busy year. You and
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  Speaker 3: Dallas both there's been engagements in marriages. I've lost track
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  Speaker 3: of how many kids you guys have that have gotten
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  Speaker 3: it been hitched. But give us an update on that
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  Speaker 3: just personally, and what's that been like for you this summer.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, we have four kids and two of them got engaged.
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  Speaker 4: This year, we had a wedding in the middle of.
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  Speaker 5: Shooting season six, which was crazy.
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  Speaker 4: Our daughter got married and then our son is getting
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  Speaker 4: married in another couple of months, so you know, I've
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  Speaker 4: kind of it's insane, but it's it's also really It
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  Speaker 4: keeps you totally connected to our real lives right, totally
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  Speaker 4: connected to the kids needs, totally connected to celebration, and
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  Speaker 4: so much should be thankful for. Inside of our family.
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  Speaker 4: The kids have struggled, just like normal families, and now
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  Speaker 4: we're in a really sweet season where they're experiencing some
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  Speaker 4: real blessing and we love our new we call them
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  Speaker 4: our new kiddos too, and so we just were It
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  Speaker 4: was such a joy this season, in the middle of
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  Speaker 4: a really hard season where you're doing the crucifixion and
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  Speaker 4: it's heavy and it's hard, and it's hot outside and
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  Speaker 4: Italy is far away and it's all these different circumstances.
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  Speaker 4: Then your your kid gets married and it's just lovely.
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  Speaker 3: If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave a
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: five star review.
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  Speaker 2: That's how we help more people just like you find
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: the show.
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  Speaker 3: A big thanks to the team at Life Audio for
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: their partnership with us.
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  Speaker 5: On the podcast.
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  Speaker 3: you next time.