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We are actually concluding
a sermon series.

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That we started several weeks ago
called the God of the Christmas story.

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And so what we've been doing over the last
several weeks is looking at the Christmas

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story, but trying to figure out what do
we notice about our God through this?

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What do we see about our Heavenly
Father as we examine and study

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out a very familiar passage?

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Of the Christmas story, and so we've been
looking at just the first two chapters

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from the gospel Matthew and so in the
first one Matthew chapter 1 We saw how the

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God of the scriptures is the God of hope
and we saw that through the genealogy of

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Jesus Then we move forward and we looked
at verses 13 to 25 and we saw how God is

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a God of mystery by bringing about the
birth of his son through the Virgin Mary.

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And then last week we talked about the
God of invitation chapter 2 verses 1

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through 12 and how God when he brings the
Magi really is inviting all of mankind

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to an eternal relationship with him.

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And today we'll conclude by finishing
out chapter two and we'll see how God is

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a God of provision, a God of provision.

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Let's go to our Father in prayer.

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Father, we thank you so much for this
opportunity for most of the OC church

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to come together on this Christmas
Eve and be able to worship you.

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God, we've been encouraged just to see
friends that we haven't seen in a long

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time, to be able to sing songs about the
birth of your son Jesus, and God, to be

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reminded that you provide in the waters.

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Father, it was so encouraging to see
Josephine get baptized yesterday.

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Father, as she has entered a new
life, and we thank you because it

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was Jesus who allowed us all to
have an opportunity at eternal life.

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Father, I pray that you will speak.

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Father, it's not about
anything else except you.

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May you speak to every soul.

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Father, put to the side any
distraction that can get in the way

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from hearing the message you have.

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In Jesus name, Amen.

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Amen.

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Now again, provision means to provide.

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Says, we see if God is the God
of provision means God is the

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God who provides for his people.

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So let's get into the scriptures.

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Matthew chapter two,
starting off in verse 13.

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And those in the coastline,
south and central ministries.

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I know I haven't had a chance to
speak in a long time to you or

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maybe you've never heard me speak.

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So let me remind you of
something real quickly.

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Then if we want the next
several minutes to go well, I

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need you to be fully engaged.

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And I need a couple of amens.

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Oh, my man, what's going on?

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It's been a minute.

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All right, so we need some amens.

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We need some hallelujahs.

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You know what I'm saying?

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We need some come on and all
that good stuff We just don't

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need to hear get off the stage.

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That's the last thing you need to
say All right, if you do that, the

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Lord will strike you where you sit.

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Okay.

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All right.

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All right.

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Let's go ahead Let's get into it Matthew
chapter 2 verse 13 It says when they

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had gone an angel the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream get up He said, take the

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child and his mother and escape to Egypt.

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Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is
going to search for the child to kill him.

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So he got up, took the child
and his mother during the night

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and left for Egypt, where he
stayed until the death of Herod.

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And so was fulfilled what the
Lord had said through the prophet.

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Out of Egypt I called my son.

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When Herod realized that he had
been outwitted by the Magi, he

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was furious and he gave orders to
kill all the boys in Bethlehem.

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And it's vicinity who were two years
old and under in accordance with the

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time he had learned from the Magi.

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Then what was fulfilled then what
was said through the prophet Jeremiah

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was fulfilled a voice is heard around
my weeping and greet morning Rachel

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weeping for her children and refusing
to be comforted because they are no

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more after Herod died an angel the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

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and said Get up, take the child and his
mother and go to the land of Israel.

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For those who were trying to
take the child's life are dead.

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So he got up, took the child and his
mother and went to the land of Israel.

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But when he heard that Hercules was
reigning in Judea in place of his

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father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

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Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew
to the district of Galilee, and he went

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and lived in a town called Nazareth.

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So was fulfilled what was said
through the prophets, he, that

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he would be called a Nazarene.

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Let's stop right there.

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Hopefully you already caught it.

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But we see the God of provision
on full display in this passage.

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And we're going to break
it down here a little bit.

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And so in verses 13 and 14, we see
that God provides provision through

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providing protection from Herod.

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Again, provision means to provide, and
so this God of provision provides in many

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ways and provides many different things.

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In the first off, we see
that God provides protection.

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Herod wants to kill the child, Jesus.

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And so he tells him to move and to
escape, and he's warned in a dream.

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We also see God provides
direction for the family.

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Hey, going over to Egypt.

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Later on, going over to Israel.

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Now what's interesting and really
cool about Egypt is that, you

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know, Egypt actually had a large
population of Jewish people.

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And so this would actually
be the destination that many

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Jews would go to whenever the
nation faced trouble or trials.

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Many of them would, would, would
leave town and they would go to Egypt.

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And so there were large colonies.

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And in fact, one scholar said there
was probably at least a million

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people in the land of Egypt.

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A million Jews in the land of Egypt.

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And so it's interesting,
God says, Go to Egypt.

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You got a bunch of people there.

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By the time you arrive, you'll fit in.

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You'll be okay with your newborn.

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And you'll probably have a safer, not
safer, but a quicker way to get on

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your feet and provide a way of living.

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Then he says, alright, I
want you to go to Nazareth.

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Now we know from the gospel of
Luke that that's Joseph's hometown.

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So now you can go back.

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Don't go back to Bethlehem,
but go to Nazareth.

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On over to the area of Galilee and
Nazareth, hometown, you can probably

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get quickly back on your feet and
be able to provide for your family.

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So he provides direction.

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We also see that God provides
resources for the trip.

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If you remember, the Magi, I know
some of you guys weren't with

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us last week, but most of us are
very familiar with the passage.

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But the Magi came and
they provided some gifts.

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Let's go and look at it again.

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On coming to the house, they saw
the child with his mother Mary, and

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they bowed down and worshipped him.

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Then they opened their treasures
and presented him with gifts of

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gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

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Now again we understand there's A lot
of spiritual implications and symbolism

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that took place in these gifts.

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But guess what?

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They were practical
means of transportation.

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And by the time they
get there, guess what?

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Hey man, I got some gold.

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I got some frankincense I could,
man, can I get, let's, let's

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barter, let's exchange so I can
provide for my wife and my newborn.

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Well, the Lord provides.

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I'm sure Joseph was like, thank you,
Magi, because a brother needed that coin.

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You know what I'm saying?

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Some of y'all like, yeah, thank you
for that, that bonus this month.

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Or thank you just for that
extra check that came in.

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We also see that God provides
reassurance to trust him.

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He provided it then, but as Matthew writes
this letter for this Jewish Christian

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audience, and that we are enabled and
benefited to be able to read ourselves,

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we are reminded that God provides
reassurance that we can trust him.

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The Bible is filled with many scriptures
saying, Trust God, do not fear.

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And we see in the passages here
that Matthew decides, you know what,

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let's take some of these passages.

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We don't have enough time to
break down the prophecies and

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how peculiar they really are.

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But he provides these scriptures
to say, hey, you know what?

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God has been present the whole time.

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God's had a plan the whole time.

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God's been inviting his
people the whole time.

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And God's been providing and
still provides the whole time.

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Again, we see the God of hope.

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We see the God of mystery.

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We see the God of invitation, and
we see the God of provision as

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we examine the Christmas story.

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And so God is providing all these
things, and here's the great thing about

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it, brothers and sisters, is that God
is still the God of provision today.

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He 2, 000 years ago, I'm
not gonna provide anymore.

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I did enough.

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Even though He could, and that
would still be sufficient.

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But he's still the God of provision today.

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That means he provides for his
people now and he will provide.

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God provides an escape route
from danger in our lives.

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He'll provide some shelter and protection
from evil that is lurking in our lives.

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He'll provide direction for our life.

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Support means and necessities to survive,
and that will strengthen our faith in Him.

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Protection, direction, resources,
reassurance, often seen and

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experienced today in different ways.

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Sometimes the miraculous, sometimes
it's just simple divine methods of God.

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All available for you and me this hour.

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Let's break down a couple of these.

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Church, are you still with me?

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God provides through his word.

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Think about it.

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Protection, resources, reassurance,
direction for our lives, help, evidence

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to trust him, all found in the scriptures.

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Also, through his Holy Spirit.

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The power, the strength, and direction
to make things clear, although the

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Holy Spirit does it in different
ways on different occasions.

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He also provides through his church.

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God working through relationships, advice,
intangible help, intangible resources.

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Have you ever been helped
by anybody in the church?

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If you say no, yes you have.

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How'd you even get here today?

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Okay, somebody in the church.

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I'm sure the Holy Spirit
didn't direct you here.

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Maybe he did, but I doubt that.

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You see, God provides through
his word, through his spirit,

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and through his church.

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So what does this mean for you?

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In me today.

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It means we can trust God.

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It means we can trust God.

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We can trust God's plan and directions
for our lives that are found in

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scripture or that are directly
designed for us in our lives.

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God's provided a plan and we can
trust his plan to overcome evil and

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give eternal salvation through his
son, Jesus, and through his return.

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Someday we can trust his promises.

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We can trust that following His
word will benefit our lives,

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benefit our relationships,
and benefit those around us.

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We can trust that.

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And so what does that
mean we should do then?

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Well, I think it's simple.

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Trust and follow.

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The response to the God of provision
is to trust Him and to follow

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His direction for our lives.

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To trust that He'll provide
and then to follow His will.

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But see, we have to learn to place our
trust in God's protective timing and care.

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And so we might have it for a moment,
but we need to be reminded of it.

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I got into an accident last Wednesday.

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I know man.

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You telling me it appears that I'm at
fault But I've been struggling every

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single day, and I'm like I don't know
if I was at fault even this morning

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I was like Karina I think he cut in
front of me But I'm not gonna get

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into the whole story because then I'll
start struggling okay And I might just

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go in some other place spiritually
okay, so now we have this hassle of

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dealing because it now It's a total
loss Raul knows I call Raul like man.

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I'm in trouble And so it's a total loss
and so now here we are and I'm starting to

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fret I'm looking like what should we do?

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I'm asking Kenny Barber
for advice the other day.

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And so I'm there and Karina she's
like God's gonna provide She's like

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he's always provided for us a car.

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I was like you right.

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That's true.

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That's right Okay, and it helped me.

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I did say a hallelujah.

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I was like, you know what God
provided this car He provided that

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car that car that car man got a bit.

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He's got a track record Why am I tripping?

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Let's see.

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We need to learn this again.

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We might have it for a moment, right?

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The problem is it maybe if you're like
me is that we can easily forget and

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then we doubt which leads to missed
opportunities, which usually lead to

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miss blessings in our lives, which can
often lead to mistakes that we make.

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Send or damage and or damage
to our lives or those around us

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because we didn't trust him enough.

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We decided I'll make this decision.

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I won't seek input because
I know what's good.

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I have a track record and
then what happens is regrets.

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But if we can go back to the God of the
Christmas story and we can remember he's

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a God of provision that we can remember,
recall and stand firm in our trust.

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But then we have to follow
his lead and direction.

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It's a two parter.

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We have to follow God's direction.

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Just think about this.

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God gave direction to Joseph and Mary.

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He gave them a plan, but then
he gave them some direction.

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So Joseph and Mary, their responsibility
and their role was to do what?

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To trust him, but not trust him by staying
put, but actually following what he said.

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Just imagine if they decided
we trust you, but we aren't

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going to follow what you said.

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How would that Christmas story turn out?

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I don't know if me and you
would be here this morning.

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And so what do we learn?

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Is trusting is good, but it's
not true trust until we actually

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make a step in following.

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And so what we learn, and this hit me as
I was studying this out, is that this, is

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that revelation requires participation.

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When God reveals something to
us through his word, through his

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people, through the Holy Spirit, it
requires you and me to act upon it.

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Just to receive it and do nothing
with it is useless and pointless.

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So when God reveals his eternal
will for our lives on a lifestyle

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of holiness, we have to trust him,
but then actually follow through.

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When God starts to reveal things for
your life individually, you gotta trust

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him, but then follow his direction.

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Because when God provides
direction, then the protection

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and help we have, we experience.

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You see, revelation means
nothing without participation.

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I'm sure a lot of you, especially
you coming from different parts

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of town, you probably used
GPS this morning, didn't you?

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Look, she's nodding her
head like, Yeah, I sure did.

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I've never been over here before.

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She's like, Placentia,
is that in Orange County?

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You know what I'm saying?

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And so you used GPS.

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Just imagine if you used GPS and
you decide, I'm gonna turn it

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on, but I'm not gonna follow it.

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I'm gonna have that, that screen on, but
I'm just gonna go the way I wanna go.

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Where would you end up?

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Who knows where?

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You might end up in Long Beach.

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Riverside, Mexicali, who knows?

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But here's the thing, here's what
happens, brothers and sisters.

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We do this on a consistent basis.

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God reveals something, we turn it
on, but yet we don't follow it.

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Then we end up going, man, I'm
lost in my Spiritually, I'm off.

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This didn't go well.

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Man, this is causing damage and a mess.

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But the direction, the spiritual
GPS was on the whole time.

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We claim to believe it and follow it.

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But we decided to veer into our own path.

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You see, revelation
requires participation.

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It requires us to do something.

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But that's when we experience
the God of provision.

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We experience it, we see it,
we testify with our own lives.

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Once we actually trust
And follow His direction.

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This is why I need time in God's Word.

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This is why you need time in God's Word.

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So you can have an understanding
of God's will for your life.

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This is why we need personal
devotional time in prayer with God.

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So His Spirit can minister to us.

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This is why we need
relationships in the church.

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Because sometimes we're not listening.

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And we need God.

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And God's saying, look I'm going to speak
through my children to help you out.

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You see, God's provision is
experience when we trust and follow.

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Let, let, let's go ahead and
let's come in for a landing here.

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Let's get real practical.

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Those in the north know we
like action steps over here.

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And so I want to give us
some action steps this week.

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You can practice, you can put this into
practice in the next 24 hours, okay?

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And some will be a little bit longer.

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But here's, here's the first one.

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Go ahead and thank God for
his provision in your life.

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Spend some time in the next 24
hours thanking God for providing.

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When you start off, you'll end
up going down a longer list.

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Then you imagined you start there.

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I'll just give him a couple minutes
And if you start to really think you're

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providing you're gonna go down a path
and it's a good path And you'll start

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to appreciate the God of proof you start
to be reminded that God will provide

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this week Second go ahead and follow
his will in that one area of your life.

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You know that area You know that area.

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You know that area that God's
been trying to minister to.

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He's been trying to say something.

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But you've been hesitant.

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You've been resisting.

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Like, I don't know if I really
want to turn on the GPS.

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I don't know if I really want
to listen to it right now.

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I want to encourage you to make a
decision that you will follow through

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in his direction in your life.

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Whatever that that area is, maybe
it's being humble, forgiving

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or asking for forgiveness.

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Sharing the love of Jesus
with a family member.

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Prioritizing God first over
school or work in the new year.

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Whatever it is, follow His
will in that area in your life.

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You know, our Heavenly
Father is a God of provision.

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And we will experience His provision when
we trust Him and follow His direction.

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We're going to take communion right now.

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This is where we have the emblems, the
bread and the juice, they represent

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Jesus body and blood that was sacrificed
so that we could have salvation.

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And we remember as we look at the
God of the Christmas story is that

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He is the God who provided Jesus
to be our Redeemer and Savior.

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God provided Jesus to be
the example on how to live.

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And God provided Jesus
to atone for our sins.

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Let's close out with a very familiar
passage in John chapter three, verse

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16, for God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only son that

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whoever believes in him shall not
perish, but have eternal life for God

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did not send his son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the

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world through him, the God of provision.

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Let's pray.

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Father, we thank you so
much for sending your son.

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God, you provided.

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Salvation through your son.

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00:21:28,890 --> 00:21:33,120
You provided atonement for
our sins through your son.

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You provided forgiveness through your son.

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00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,160
You provided hope through your son.

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00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,590
You provided peace through your son.

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You provided joy through your son.

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00:21:47,330 --> 00:21:51,650
You provided the ultimate
example of love through your son.

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You provided the church through your son.

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00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,004
You provided us the Holy
Spirit through your son.

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00:21:59,675 --> 00:22:03,815
You provided us a new resurrected
life through your son.

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We thank you for your methods.

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We thank you for your decision.

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We thank you for your character.

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We thank you that we can have an
eternal relationship with you.

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Thank you, not just for Christmas
events and celebrations, but

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thank you for Jesus being born.

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00:22:29,605 --> 00:22:33,305
And God, we thank you for being
a God of hope, being a God of

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mystery, being a God of invitation
and being the God of provision.

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We pray in the name of Jesus.

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Amen.