WEBVTT

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 the city walls, the early mornings, the late nights,

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 all of the praying, the fasting, the strategic planning,

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 the giving of time and money and energy and resources,

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 persevering through threats and opposition,

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 confronting conflict.

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 What is all this for?

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 Where is it all leading to?

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 That's what we see beginning in chapter eight.

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 In many ways, chapter eight, eight through 10

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 are the climax to this whole story.

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 We see at the beginning of chapter eight

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 that God works powerfully among his people,

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 that a revival breaks out.

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 God works in a powerful way to bring about a great movement

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 of spiritual renewal among the people.

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 And how this spiritual renewal happens

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 and what follows is the subject of chapters eight through 10.

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 And this morning, we're gonna see part one

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 of this movement of renewal as we focus on chapter eight.

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 We're gonna ask two questions.

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 Our two questions are what happens in this story

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 and what can we learn?

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 What happens in this story and what can we learn?

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 So first of all, let's look at what happens in this story.

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 Beginning of verse one tells us that very early one morning,

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 at the beginning of the seventh month of the year,

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 all of the people gather together

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 in the city near the water gates.

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 The water gate.

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 Remember that for later on in the sermon.

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 This assembly of people is just shy of about 50,000 people.

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 So imagine Nat's Park downtown.

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 Imagine National's Park filled to the brim.

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 That's about the size of this assembly.

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 And the people have gathered,

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 they've assembled for one purpose,

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 to hear the word of God read.

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 To hear the word of God read.

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 Now you have to appreciate the drama

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 and expectation of this moment.

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 This is something that had not happened

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 in the life of God's people for several generations.

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 The people gathered together in this moment

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 had not heard God's word read or taught publicly

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 in such an assembly for over 100 years.

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 You know, many of us have probably been to church many times.

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 Some of us may have grown up in the church.

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 And so you just have to appreciate

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 what would it have been like

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 to grow up in Babylon during the exile

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 and to never have heard the word of God read

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 or taught publicly.

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 Not a single sermon, not a single Bible study.

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 But now for the first time,

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 you're gathered with 50,000 of your friends and family

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 to hear the word of the Lord.

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 And so Ezra the priest and the scribe

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 climbs up on top of a large wooden platform

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 that they had built

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 so that people could see him and hear him

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 as he read God's word.

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 And he gets to the top

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 and he puts the big book of the law

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 on top of the podium

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 and he opens it

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 and he starts reading.

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 Verse three says that the people were eager.

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 They were attentive to read the book,

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 to read God's word.

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 Verse three,

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 and the ears of all the people

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 were attentive to the book of the law.

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 The people are waiting.

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 They're on the edge of their seat.

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 They're eager.

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 They're receptive.

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 They're open.

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 They're attentive to the word.

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 If you're here this morning

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 and you're unfamiliar with the Bible,

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 maybe particularly the Old Testament,

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 what Ezra was reading,

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 the book of the law,

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 would have been the first five books

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 of the Old Testament.

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 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

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 Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

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 These are also known

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 as the five books of Moses

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 or the Pentateuch.

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 The Pentateuch.

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 One way to think about it

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 if you're unfamiliar with the Bible

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 is that these books

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 were Israel's

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 Declaration of Independence,

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 Constitution,

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 and Gettysburg Address

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 all wrapped into one.

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 These five books

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 told the story

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 of who God was,

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 of who they were

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 as a people,

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 what their story was,

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 and how they were to live

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 in light of that.

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 Verses seven through eight

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 tell us that not only

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 was God's word

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 clearly read,

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 but it was clearly

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 explained.

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 It was clearly explained.

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 As Ezra read,

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 the Levites helped

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 the people to understand

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 what was being read.

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 How exactly did this happen?

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 What was the format of this?

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 What was the structure of this?

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 Well, we actually aren't told

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 specifically in this text.

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 Some scholars suggest

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 that perhaps Ezra

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 read a section

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 and then paused

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 and perhaps

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 across the whole assembly

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 as people are gathered

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 in small groups,

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 the Levites would go around

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 and sort of share

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 and summarize

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 and explain

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 what was just read.

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 And then Ezra would move on

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 to reading the next section.

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 We don't know

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 if this is exactly

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 the order of what happened,

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 but we know

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 that some version

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 of this

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 is what happened.

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 Ezra read

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 and the Levites

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 explained clearly

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 the meaning

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 of God's word.

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 And this went on

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 for four hours.

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 We're told it goes on

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 from sunrise

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 to midday

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 around noon.

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 Next time you think

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 that a Sunday morning sermon

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 might be

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 going a little long,

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 just remember

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 Nehemiah chapter 8.

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 Four hours.

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 People are standing.

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 And that at the end

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 of it all,

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 at the end of the four hours,

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 how did the people respond?

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 Well, we see in verse 6,

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 and Ezra blessed the Lord,

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 the great God.

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 And all the people answered,

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 Amen, Amen,

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 lifting up their hands.

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 And they bowed their heads

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 and worshiped the Lord

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 with their faces

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 to the ground.

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 And then in verse 9,

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 for all the people

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 wept

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 as they heard

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 the words of the law.

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 This is a powerful moment.

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 The Spirit of God

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 is moving.

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 The people worshiped

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 and they wept

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 in response

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 to God's word.

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 Why is that?

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 Why did they respond

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 in that way?

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 Well,

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 well, of course,

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 God's Spirit

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 was moving

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 among them powerfully.

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 But again,

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 imagine for a moment

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 that you've grown up

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 in exile in Babylon

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 and you've never heard

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 the word of God

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 read or taught publicly

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 in a way

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 that you can understand.

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 And then you hear Ezra

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 get up

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 and start reading

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 the book of Genesis

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 and how God

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 made heaven and earth

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 and all of his,

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 every man and woman

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 made and created

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 in his image

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 and how God

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 had made a promise

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 to Abraham

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 that his people,

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 your people,

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 would be a light

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 to the nations,

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 a blessing

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 to all the peoples

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 on earth.

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 And then Ezra

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 moves on to Exodus.

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 You hear the miraculous

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 story of God's

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 great power and salvation

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 to lead your ancestors

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 out of bondage

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 when they were in slavery

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 in Egypt

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 and how Moses

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 led them to Mount Sinai

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 where the Lord

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 appeared

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 in great power

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 and glory

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 and smoke

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 and fire

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 and entered

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 into a covenant

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 relationship

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 with his people

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 and gave them the law.

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 And then you keep,

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 Ezra keeps reading

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 in Leviticus

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 and Numbers

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 and Deuteronomy

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 and you read

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 how God

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 made it possible

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 for a sinful

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 people,

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 for a sinful

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 people

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 to continue

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 to live

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 in a covenant

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 relationship

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 with the Holy God

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 through atonement

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 and sacrifice

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 to follow

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 his commands

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 and to walk

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 in his way

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 so that they might

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 live out their vocation

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 of being a light

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 and a blessing

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 to all the nations

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 of the earth.

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 And over the course

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 of four hours

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 you hear the story

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 of your people

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 being read

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 of your people

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 to giveHope