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And I was thinking about the 
role that light has played and 

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continues to play in our life as
we think about the light shining

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in the darkness. 
Just consider going through your

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day without any light, without 
any artificial light, without 

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any natural light. 
Can you imagine trying to 

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navigate on the Kennedy 
Expressway without any light or 

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just even parking at the grocery
store? 

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Parking at Costco? 
Zero light, let alone getting 

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your groceries, let alone making
dinner. 

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No light to guide you. 
Can you imagine what it would be

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like to try to meet people or 
even form, relate, form lasting 

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relationships if you had no 
light to to illuminate someone's

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facial expressions and you think
about what it would be like just

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to stay, to keep yourself out of
danger without any light. 

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If you think about the role of 
light, it just becomes clear 

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that physical light makes 
physical life possible, makes 

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human life possible. 
It allows for us to 

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differentiate what is what and 
allows for us to navigate and 

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form a life of love. 
Now, one of the claims that 

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Jesus Christ made about himself 
was that he was the light of the

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world. 
Now in that he was not claiming 

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to be physical light. 
That was, that's what the sun 

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does. 
It already takes care of that. 

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He was claiming to be spiritual 
light. 

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In a world where we often feel 
confused and overwhelmed, Jesus 

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promised to answer the big 
questions of life like this. 

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Is there a God? 
And can we be in relationship 

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with that God in a meaningful 
way? 

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What's our purpose and calling 
in life when we hurt ourselves, 

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When we hurt other people and 
live with regret? 

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What do we do with the guilt and
shame that we carry? 

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Is there anywhere we can take it
to be free when we suffer? 

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Is there any meaning in our 
suffering? 

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Is there any hope when we're 
experiencing pain? 

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And where can we find love and 
belonging that will always be 

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there no matter what kind of day
we're having? 

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See The thing is that we need 
spiritual light to navigate 

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those questions in life. 
And we all have these questions 

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and that's what Jesus Christ 
offers when he says I am the 

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light of the world. 
We're looking today at the 1st 

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or sorry, at the final lesson, 
the Gospel of John, page 16 in 

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your programs. 
You're welcome to follow along 

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if you'd like. 
And this, this poem, which 

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introduces a biography of Jesus,
reveals 4 powerful functions of 

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spiritual light. 
And each of these are going to 

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sort of illuminate a different 
aspect of the human experience. 

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And as you hear these four 
functions of spiritual light, I 

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want to invite you to consider 
this question. 

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Where could we let the light in 
this Christmas? 

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Now the first function, the 
first powerful function that 

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John claims about Jesus is this 
light creates life. 

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Light creates life. 
John introduces his poem here 

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and he introduces Jesus here 
with with a word in Greek. 

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It's Lagos. 
And one of the ways we can 

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understand what Lagos means is 
it's like a divine blueprint. 

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It's translated as word with a 
capital W and it's and it's 

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Jesus, but Jesus bringing in 
God's blueprint for the world. 

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And he says this in the 
beginning was the word, in the 

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beginning was the Lagos. 
And he's John's sort of drawing 

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on the ancient book of Genesis. 
Some of you are familiar with 

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how Genesis begins in in the 
beginning, you know, God created

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and what did God create? 
God let said let there be light 

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and there was light and then 
creation followed that light. 

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You don't have to be a religious
person per SE to appreciate how 

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physical light brings about 
physical, physical light brings 

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about physical life. 
Scientists tell us that light in

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the form of these ancient UV 
rays actually once played a very

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significant role in carving out 
galaxies and sort of trapping 

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and maneuvering light and 
particles, waves and particles 

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into the world. 
We now know that light took an 

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active role in shaping even our 
Galaxy, and in our own gardens 

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00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,920
we can see that like plants 
grow, when photosynthesis 

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happens, it takes and 
metabolizes the power of light 

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so that our tomato plants are 
nice and juicy. 

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Artists know this. 
In fact, the word photography 

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means to write with light. 
Light gives shade and color and 

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shadow, and it speaks a wordless
beauty into any canvas or frame 

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or sunset. 
John describes Jesus as light 

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that gives way to life. 
When he says this, all things 

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were made through him and then 
in verse three he says in him 

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was life and the life was the 
light of men, the light of 

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humanity. 
Jesus, the light of the world 

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creates life. 
He once said this, you know, the

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thief comes to steal and kill 
and destroy, but I have come 

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that they may have life and have
it abundantly. 

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So you think about like, has 
anything stolen your hope? 

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And there's plenty of things in 
this world that can steal our 

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hope. 
But you know, Jesus, as the 

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00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,920
light of the world promises, he 
comes to restore it. 

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Has anyone destroyed our trust? 
Has anyone left us hurt or 

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traumatized? 
Jesus came to restore that life 

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that was taken, and he speaks a 
wordless beauty onto the canvas 

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of our soul, no matter how much 
damage or hurt has been done to 

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it. 
Are we dying on the inside from 

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00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,160
shame or guilt? 
Jesus offers forgiveness, a 

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00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,880
fresh start and a never ending 
relationship with God. 

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00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,480
You know, after a long spiritual
winter, Jesus is like that 

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00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,080
springtime Chicago sun that 
comes out and everyone's so 

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00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,600
excited to bask in the light and
be like, yes, restore me after 

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what was taken from me these 
last six months. 

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He's life giving, He's 
restoring, He's full of hope. 

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But the light doesn't just give 
life. 

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It has another function which 
which might feel bracing at 1st,

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and that's this. 
That light doesn't just create 

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life. 
Light confronts darkness. 

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Light confronts darkness. 
John tells us in verse 5 that 

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the light shines in the darkness
and the darkness has not 

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overcome it. 
The light of Christ disrupts and

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overcomes the darkness of this 
world. 

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We might think of this as like 
the tough love way that the 

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light that the light shines. 
We can take an example from 

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00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,600
everyday life. 
Imagine being deep asleep, 

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blackout curtains drawn. 
It's really cozy, it's really 

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warm. 
You're dreaming your best dream,

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but you're also in that moment. 
In reality, you're missing your 

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flight unless you get up, or 
you're going to miss the 

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00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,520
presentation at work, or the 
callback audition, or your kids 

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00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,080
orthodontist appointment which 
has been scheduled for nine 

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00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,400
months. 
And so unless someone shows some

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00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,320
tough love and opens the door 
and flicks on the light and 

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00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:41,600
pierces your psyche with pain 
from like opening the curtains, 

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you're going to miss it. 
And and yet, once they do, once 

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they wake you up with that 
light, once the light shines in 

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the darkness, you're grateful 
for the light. 

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It doesn't feel good at first, 
but it's setting you free to 

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live the calling that you have 
for that day. 

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Light confronts darkness. 
Light exposes the truth, no 

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matter how painful. 
Now, this is true in the realm 

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of justice in society. 
The light of truth brings 

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accountability wherever there is
corruption, and one Chicagoan 

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who lived this truth was known 
as Ida B Wells. 

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Ida B Wells Wells was a 
successful journalist in the 

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late 1800s. 
She was actually born to 

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enslaved parents and spent her 
life savings on starting a new 

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paper which became renowned. 
It was called the Memphis Free 

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Speech lived in Memphis. 
And as her career took off, 

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something happened which changed
the whole trajectory of her 

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career. 
Three of her friends ran a 

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grocery store, and that grocery 
store came under attack from the

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local white mob, which saw it as
a threat and wanted to get 

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vengeance. 
And so in an act of defending 

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their store, these men, these 
three friends of hers, were 

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arrested. 
They were imprisoned and then a 

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00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:07,760
mob came, broke into the prison 
and and put them to death by an 

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00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,560
act of mob violence. 
Now, this was normal at the time

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and people kind of were afraid 
to question this practice of, of

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mob violence. 
And so she wrote about it in her

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paper. 
And guess what? 

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The mob came after her paper and
destroyed every piece of 

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equipment she had and they came 
after her too. 

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Where did she escape to? 
She came to Chicago and for the 

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next 35 years she continued 
exposing the ways that mob 

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violence was happening against 
people of color all over the 

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country. 
She tracked it down as one of 

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the first instances of 
investigative journalism and and

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00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:50,360
eventually it was outlawed. 
Now, here's a a quote that she 

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lived by. 
She summed up her life's work in

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this way. 
The way to right wrongs is to 

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turn the light of truth upon 
them. 

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The way to right wrongs is to 
turn the light of truth upon 

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them. 
Now here's my problem. 

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I'm all for the light of truth 
being turned on someone else, 

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but it when it comes to my 
darkness, I'm much less willing 

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and comfortable for the light to
shine on the dark corners of my 

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soul. 
And I'm so grateful that when 

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Jesus shines his light, it 
shines not only with truth, but 

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also with grace. 
Now, during his earthly 

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ministry, we see that Jesus 
found people who were sort of 

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like trapped in spiritual 
darkness, some kind of personal 

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darkness, and his light actually
set them free. 

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Zacchaeus was a corrupt 
government official. 

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Everyone hated him. 
Jesus befriended him, came over 

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to his house. 
By the time dinner was over, he 

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was helping Zacchaeus pay back 
what he had stolen from other 

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people in society with interest.
And Zacchaeus joy was restored. 

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There's another woman that he 
met in a town called Samaria, 

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and Jesus got into a 
conversation with her. 

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Again, very few people wanted to
be her friend, but he brought up

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this thing that was going on in 
her life, which was kind of a it

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was an open secret, but she had 
a history of toxic 

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relationships. 
And he brought it up in such a 

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way that liberated her and set 
her free and her life was never 

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the same. 
Even the guy who wrote today's 

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gospel, John had an anger 
problem. 

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And Jesus had a nickname for 
him. 

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He was one of the sons of 
Thunder. 

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00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,640
And by the time Jesus had shined
his light in John's direction 

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for a number of years, just slow
in a slow life on lifeway, John 

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was known as the Beloved 
Disciple. 

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He was known for love, 
tenderness, became a pastor and 

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00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,240
lived for many years shepherding
A flock, going through 

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00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,040
suffering. 
Now this, these stories are 

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00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,120
being multiplied over all over 
the world right now. 

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Millions of stories for billions
of stories, quite frankly, of 

195
00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:59,440
the way Jesus shines his light 
on people and changes them from 

196
00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,400
the inside out. 
It's not to condemn them, it's 

197
00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,960
to bring them liberation. 
He just rolls back the spiritual

198
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:07,800
darkness. 
His light shines in the darkness

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00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:09,160
and the darkness doesn't 
overcome it. 

200
00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:16,560
Now maybe you have felt judged 
by someone's light before and 

201
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:20,120
that's a terrible experience and
I just want you to know it 

202
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,600
wasn't right and that when Jesus
shines his light in our 

203
00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,680
direction, it comes with grace 
and healing and joy and 

204
00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,760
unconditional love. 
If all that he did with his 

205
00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,800
light was to confront, it would 
be discouraging. 

206
00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,040
And that's why John goes on to 
describe 1/3 function of the 

207
00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,280
light of the world and that's 
this. 

208
00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,360
The light claims us as his own. 
He doesn't just confront the 

209
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,280
darkness, He claims claims us as
his own. 

210
00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,320
Ultimately the light of the 
world wants a relationship with 

211
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,600
us. 
And that's why John says in 

212
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:59,120
verse 9 the true light, which 
gives light to everyone was 

213
00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,560
coming into the world. 
Now John goes on to say not 

214
00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,400
everyone received the light. 
Not everyone was up for that. 

215
00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,200
Verse 12 says this. 
But to all who did receive him, 

216
00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,880
who believed in His name, He 
gave the right to become 

217
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:16,280
children of God. 
Now in the ancient world, your 

218
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,800
identity, your sense of 
existence and having a self 

219
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:20,800
largely came through your 
family. 

220
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,840
If you were orphaned, you had no
identity. 

221
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,760
You had no self. 
People didn't think of you as a 

222
00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:29,800
person. 
Sometimes people will get named.

223
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,040
They would just get a number. 
Your number is 4, your number is

224
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,800
5 because they didn't have a 
self. 

225
00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:41,240
So if someone were to adopt you,
to claim you and bring you into 

226
00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,200
their family, not as a servant 
but as a child, it changed 

227
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,400
everything for you. 
You didn't just get a place to 

228
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,120
sleep and eat. 
You have an identity now. 

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You have a self. 
You're recognized. 

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You have a family to belong to, 
a legacy to keep, a blessing to 

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inherit and pass on. 
Your existence now matters. 

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So to be adopted was a profound 
act of grace in the ancient 

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world. 
It still is. 

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And that's what the light of the
world came to offer. 

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He came to say no matter which 
family we came from, he came. 

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He comes to say, look, I know 
you, I love you, I choose you. 

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I claim you as my own. 
Welcome to the family of God. 

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Our context is a little 
different from the ancient 

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world. 
In the modern world, our 

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identities largely come through 
our accomplishments, and this is

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especially true in the city. 
Many of us feel that if we 

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haven't made good, we don't 
matter much. 

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We believe that if we could just
sort of advance ourselves a 

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little bit more, we would 
finally be recognized, that we 

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would finally have a self. 
And what does this do? 

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You know it gives way to 
punishing seasons at work, or 

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training to the point of injury,
or painstaking hours of 

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posturing online, or just 
constantly searching for the 

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next self help hack self help 
book self advancement routine. 

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In the modern world, we find 
ourselves in this exhausting 

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cycle of trying to belong, being
good enough to belong, being 

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good enough to be remembered or 
included, and just feeling that 

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ambient sense of shame that we 
haven't done it yet. 

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So if you're exhausted from 
proving you belong, but are 

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never sure, this light is for 
you. 

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This is a warm light that has 
come to claim you. 

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Just imagine in your life if you
never had to strive again, if 

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you never had to prove anything 
else, if you never had to pull 

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yourself up from your bootstraps
again because you knew you were 

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already loved, already chosen by
Jesus, the light of the world, 

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who knows us and names us and 
claims us as his own, just as we

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are. 
That's what he came. 

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That's what he's ready to do. 
Now, once he claims us, what is 

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the light of the world offer? 
And this is how John concludes 

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that the light communes with us.
The light doesn't just claim us 

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as his own, He communes with us.
John uses some poetic language 

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in verse 14 to describe how 
Jesus Christ, God's Son, became 

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a human being. 
He says this and the word that's

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Jesus became flesh. 
That means that he was born as a

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human being and dwelt among us 
and we have seen his glory, 

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glory as of the only son from 
the Father, full of grace and 

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truth. 
John is helping us see this 

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truth. 
The light of the world became a 

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real person. 
He was born as a human baby to 

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to His mother was named Mary. 
His adoptive father was named 

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Joseph. 
He needed care. 

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He needed feeding and cleaning 
and love and attention just like

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any of us did. 
He grew up to become a man and 

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he became a day laborer. 
And after a time of being a day 

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laborer, he, he invested himself
in a small group of people where

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he taught them how to love and 
how to live and how to lead. 

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He taught them what was worth 
dying for. 

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He taught them how to have a 
relationship with God. 

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He became friends with them. 
He ate around, he invited people

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around the table. 
He walked in a suffering world 

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without any modern conveniences.
He knew what it was like to 

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sweat and suffer and rejoice and
feel lonely and, and pray. 

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The word became flesh. 
It was a human being and he 

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00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:54,160
connected with people. 
He loved people, he befriended 

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00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,400
them and through his spirit, he 
still does. 

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He still befriends people. 
This is what John talks about 

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when he says, we, we've seen his
glory. 

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You know, the light became a 
human being and shone through 

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his life. 
A national study by Ohio State 

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00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,920
University discovered that 2/3 
of parents reported isolation 

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and loneliness. 
You don't have to be a parent to

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know that like, depending on the
season that you're in, you might

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feel lonely. 
Sometimes you have more friends 

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00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:30,480
in your life than other times, 
especially when responsibilities

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00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,840
pile up, when you're moving to a
new town, when you have a 

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00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,520
medical set back, and the 
holidays are an especially 

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00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,120
lonely time for many people. 
The end of the day, Jesus 

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Christ, the light of the world 
created, who created us, wants 

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00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:51,040
to have a relationship with us, 
not just in the good times, but 

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00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,440
in the hard times, not just when
we're riding high, but also in 

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00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:58,280
our lowest moments, not just in 
the life we have, but also in 

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00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:02,920
the life to come. 
He will never reject us, He will

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00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,720
never hurt us, and no one else 
in this life can promise that. 

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He once spoke these words. 
He said. 

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I stand at the door and knock. 
If anyone hears my voice and 

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00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,800
opens the door, I will come into
him and eat with him and He with

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00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,320
me. 
In these words, Jesus is saying 

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00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,440
that He is pursuing us, He's 
seeking to connect with us and 

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00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,160
this is still true. 
This invitation still stands. 

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00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,680
It might be 6 months before we 
can get outside and bask in the 

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sun. 
That time is a long way off, 

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00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,200
relatively speaking. 
And when that time comes, we 

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00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,640
will probably put on our shorts 
and pursue the light and bask in

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00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,840
it and get warm and it will be 
great. 

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00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:57,840
But this Christmas time, we do 
not have to wait at all to bask 

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00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,440
in the spiritual light that has 
come to the world and is shining

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00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,880
right now. 
And my invitation to you is to 

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00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,920
to be as. 
Intentional to bask in his 

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00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,040
light, as you will be in six 
months. 

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To bask in the physical light. 
Let him recreate you from the 

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inside out. 
Whatever's died, let him 

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00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,680
recreate you. 
Let him fill you with hope and 

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00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,680
purpose again. 
Let him forgive any guilt. 

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00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,680
Let him release any shame. 
Let him speak a better word over

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00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,000
your life and over your future. 
Let him claim you. 

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00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,560
Let him commune with you. 
This might mean just taking a 

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00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,040
moment to sort of pray to him 
directly in your in your mind 

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00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,600
and heart. 
Simply Jesus, you are the light 

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00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:44,320
of the world shine on me. 
It might mean reading the rest 

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00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,240
of the book. 
That is, you know, we we read 

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00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,360
the beginning of it tonight, the
Gospel of John. 

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Whatever you do, my invitation 
to all of us is let's let the 

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00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,520
light in. 
Let's let the light in. 

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00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,520
And as we do, friends, I want to
invite you to receive this 

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00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:08,920
ancient blessing. 
May the Lord bless you and keep 

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00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,760
you. 
May the Lord make his face to 

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00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,040
shine upon you. 
May the Lord be gracious to you.

343
00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,080
May the Lord look with favor 
upon you and give you peace. 

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00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,240
In the name of the Father and 
the Son and the Holy Spirit, 

345
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,120
Amen. 
Let's just take a moment of 

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00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,800
silent prayer to give you an 
opportunity to invite the light 

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00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:29,000
in.