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Hello and welcome to the warm 
Church podcast. 

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It's boxing day Monday. 
The 26th of September and we 

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trust you having a memorable and
blessed Christmas. 

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My name is Tom and along with 
Philip and my wife. 

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We lead the one Church owed be 
site and I have the chance of 

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sharing a message with you today
and the title of this message is

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who brings mern to her birthday.
So I'm sure that nearly all of 

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us listening will have received 
some kind of gift in the last 

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couple of days or whenever 
you're listening to this, it's 

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been a week of giving. 
Some gifts are great to receive 

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some gifts, not so much. 
Here's a guide of some definite 

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gifts not to get on certain days
if it's a mum's birthday, never 

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give anti-aging Chrome. 
If it's an anniversary, flowers 

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are good, a Action of flowers. 
Plain self-raising, gluten-free 

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are not a good idea. 
A baby shower, don't buy shower 

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gel or a loofah. 
It's not that kind of shower and

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if you're going to a funeral 
party poppers and party hats are

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not advised amazingly, the GIF. 
We're going to talk about today 

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that really was given was even 
more inappropriate. 

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It seemed than these. 
I remember going to a friend's 

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birthday party. 
When I was 10 years old, his 

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name was Tim and I Bought him 
gel pens. 

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I don't know why, but I got it 
in my head that this was the 

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worst gift ever and he would 
hate it. 

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So when we got back to his house
after the party, he said he was 

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opening his presence and I was 
so nervous. 

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I went and hid in the toilet 
while he opened them. 

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Thankfully he actually liked his
present but I was terrified the 

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other day. 
My daughter Rosie received a 

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card for her birthday and you 
know she has a sister called Zoe

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and often their names are mixed 
And there in the card. 

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It said, dear Zoe happy birthday
with love from the person. 

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It was from, we did laugh about 
it and there was a present 

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inside. 
So she wasn't too fussed in the 

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story of the first Christmas, 
the visit of the Magi to Jesus 

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has been told in countless 
nativities, and stories and 

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retellings around the globe. 
Jesus is somewhere between one 

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and two years old, moved to a 
house living in Bethlehem. 

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Mmm. 
And In This Moment, the major I 

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arrived, I'm going to read from 
Matthew 2, and then we're going 

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to talk about the gifts that 
they bought to Jesus after Jesus

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was born in Bethlehem in Judea 
during the time of King Herod 

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Magi, from the East came to 
Jerusalem and asked, where is 

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the one who has been born? 
King of the Jews. 

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We saw his star when it Rose, 
and have come to worship him. 

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When King Herod heard this, he 
was Disturbed and all Jerusalem 

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with him. 
When he had called together all 

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the peoples Chief priests and 
teachers of the law, he asked 

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them where the Messiah was to be
born in Bethlehem in Judea, they

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replied. 
The this is what the prophet has

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written. 
So Herod called the Magi 

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secretly and found out from them
the exact time. 

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The star had appeared and sent 
them to Bethlehem and said, go 

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and search carefully for the 
child. 

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As soon as you find him report 
to me, sir, I too may go and 

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worship him. 
After they'd heard the king, 

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they went on their way and the 
star they had seen when it Rose 

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went ahead of them until it 
stopped over the place where the

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child was when they saw the 
star, they were Overjoyed on 

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

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and they bowed down and 
worshiped him. 

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Then they opened their treasures
and presented him with gifts of 

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gold, frankincense and myrrh and
having been warned in a dream 

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not to go back to Herod. 
They returned to their country 

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by another route. 
The Magi came to the Palace of 

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course. 
That's where you'd expect to 

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find a newborn king but they 
came ready to bring their 

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adoration and their worship. 
They came ready to bring 

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something of worth. 
They came ready to bring gifts 

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to this newborn king. 
They must have been excited and 

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expectant as they arrived there 
at the palace and then when they

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arrived at the simple home and 
met Mary and Jesus, In the 

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Greek, the word proskuneo is 
used when they talk about 

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worshiping. 
It's not just a coming and 

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singing a song, but that word 
means to lean and kiss towards 

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another literally, these wise 
people, these major I had come 

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to kneel and kiss towards this 
young boy, Jesus to celebrate. 

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They had brought gifts. 
Now, these gifts, we will have 

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heard I'm sure many is many, 
many times. 

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Gold frankincense and myrrh. 
Gold Berlin frankincense. 

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Yeah, sure. 
But who brings myrrh to a 

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birthday? 
Imagine if you're visiting a new

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child and say congratulations to
the family and then you give 

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that little child, a leaflet 
from Cooperative Funeral Care, 

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it just doesn't sit, right, this
is exactly what happened in this

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moment, they were basically 
giving this child something that

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symbolized Death. 
But first, let's talk about the 

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gold. 
Now bringing gold to a King, 

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obviously gold. 
It honors the Great and the 

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Royal in the ancient world and 
still today, it's a symbol of 

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value and wealth, gold, calf, 
gold, Menorah gold currency, 

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gold, jewelry, gold decoration, 
and gold streets in Revelation. 

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All Through the Bible, we find 
gold even the holy of holies the

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most holy place in the temple 
where people could encounter 

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gods. 
Presents. 

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It was adorned with gold. 
Gold comes supposedly from the 

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Collision of neutron stars but 
all I know is its mind and 

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traded and exchanged around the 
world it's a metal that you can 

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beat one gram of into a one 
meter squared sheet. 

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It's an amazingly malleable and 
also precious material, the gold

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gift tells and reminds us that 
Jesus is royal he is of great 

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worth like the finest Palace and
Temple but the gold could also 

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tell us that Jesus like the holy
of holies is this gold adorned 

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one through whom all people can 
encounter the presence of God. 

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The second gift, the Mage I gave
was frankincense frankincense it

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kind of makes sense. 
It was for burning and sacrifice

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and offering it was used in 
worship. 

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They've come to worship the 
newborn king and so they bought 

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frankincense. 
We find this material in Exodus 

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30 where it's used for burning 
and making something pure and 

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sacred. 
It comes from the sap of a tree 

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and in the ancient world, The 
life of a tree was its sap and 

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when it was cut, it would flow 
Harden and then be used. 

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And this was frankincense and 
this gift tells us, that Jesus 

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is Worthy of worship. 
He's worthy of sacrifice, and 

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that is what the Mage I had come
to do. 

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But it could also tell us 
something more. 

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Perhaps, it tells us that Jesus 
is the new pure and sacred 

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offering a fragrance that would 
be holy like no other. 

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Frankincense makes sense. 
But Ma who brings myrrh to a 

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birthday myrrh was for anointing
and preparing, but mainly for 

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anointing preparing an embalming
the Dead. 

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It came from a rare tree, it 
would be cut deeply repeatedly 

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to extract this sap. 
This murmur. 

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Now, this murmur would have been
used to anoint, as well as just 

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the dead, many things. 
In fact, in the Bible, Marie's 

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used to anoint priests and the 
Altar and the temple before 

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sacrifices are made. 
Perhaps, it's just telling us 

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that Jesus is anointing oil 
preparing all to be made, right?

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With God, but actually the myrrh
speaks to us of death. 

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This baby boy there in Bethlehem
who they came to worship. 

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He was born and set apart to 
die, and Jesus did he did die? 

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He was a precious gift, a light 
to the world Hosanna. 

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Hallelujah Messiah. 
Savior, yet Jesus died. 

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And at Christmas, we think of 
this newborn life but also we 

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must remember that this child, 
this King gave his life. 

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The next time we read about 
murmur is in John chapter 19, in

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the aftermath of Jesus death on 
the cross. 

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And we read this, Joseph of 
Arimathea asked pilate for the 

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body of Jesus. 
He came and took the body away. 

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He was accompanied by Nicodemus,
they brought a mixture of myrrh 

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and aloes about 75 pounds, 
taking Jesus body. 

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The two of them wrapped it with 
the spices in strips of linen. 

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In at the place where Jesus was 
crucified, there was a garden 

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and in the garden, a new Tomb in
which no one had ever been laid 

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and they laid Jesus there. 
Who brings myrrh to a birthday? 

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Well, I for one am glad the 
major I did, because the death 

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and resurrection of Jesus is the
Hope for the whole world and is 

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the Hope for my life. 
Just like when murder is 

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harvested, Jesus is the deeply 
and repeatedly cut tree. 

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His sap released his life given 
up. 

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He was pierced blood and water 
flowed from his side, Jesus gave

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up his life and so we've all of 
this is really true about Jesus.

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If he does replace the holy of 
holies and the sacrifices 

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rituals offerings Consecration 
and purification. 

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If through his death, we can all
be welcomed into God's presence.

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If all of this happened because 
of what Jesus did his life death

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and Resurrection, then maybe 
bringing Myrtle a birthday is 

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actually the greatest gift that 
could have been given. 

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Maybe it's not strange after 
all, but maybe it gives us hope 

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today. 
Wherever you're listening from 

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and perhaps you're listening on 
boxing day or in the week after 

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Christmas or even at a later 
date, I'd love to pray for you. 

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So let's pray together. 
Loving father, thank you for the

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miracle and the reality of 
Christmas. 

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Thank you for your son Jesus in 
the gift of gold. 

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We thank you, Jesus, for your 
immeasurable worth may. 

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We learn to bring you the 
Worship. 

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You Deserve like the major I 
did. 

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In the gift of Frankincense, we 
thank you. 

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Jesus, that you're the pure and 
sacred offering and may we enter

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into the presence of God, with 
boldness in the gift of myrrh. 

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We thank you Jesus, that your 
life was one of preparation and 

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anointing. 
We thank you for your death, 

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your resurrection and that we 
are transformed because of it 

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and to you Jesus our King, our 
holy of holies, our Pure 

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offering and our savior who died
in our place. 

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May you receive all glory and 
honor this Christmas time. 

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Our men, if you need anything at
all, please know that we are 

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here, you can get in touch with 
us today and we'll be able to 

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respond even over the Christmas 
period. 

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We'd also love you to join us on
New Year's Eve as we pray on, 

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Zoom at 11 p.m. and then on New 
Year's Day As We Gather, for one

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church together, from 10:30, 
a.m. at the one Center 10 frog 

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Island. 
If you can't Kim person. 

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Then you can join us on YouTube 
as well as the whole service 

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will be streamed online. 
Live have a great week, be 

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blessed, we love you and we'll 
see you soon. 

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Kim person. 
Then you can join us on YouTube 

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as well as the whole service 
will be streamed online. 

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Live have a great week, be 
blessed, we love you and we'll 

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see you soon.