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[SPEAKER_00]: Christian parenting.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Spring is filled with celebrations, and our mom, Stads and Grads Gift Guide, is designed to help families find meaningful gifts that point their loved ones toward faith and encouragement.

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[SPEAKER_00]: From Bibles and devotionals to inspiring books and study tools, the guide is filled with thoughtful resources for every stage of life.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well hello and welcome to the Truth Seeker's podcast.

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[SPEAKER_00]: A Truth Seeker is someone who wants to know the truth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They search for what's true and they won't rest until they find it.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I am a Truth Seeker and if you are too, then you've come to the right place where we will search for truth each week in the stories of the Bible.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In our last episode, we talked about the quiet waiting of the second day, a day when everything seems still.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The disciples were hidden behind locked doors and sure of what would happen next.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You probably felt like hope had been buried right alongside Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But today,

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[SPEAKER_00]: Today is different.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It is early in the morning.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The sun is just beginning to rise.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The sky is soft with light and the world is waking up.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And while the disciples are still hiding, someone else is on the move.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Her name is Mary Magdalene.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary loved Jesus with all her heart.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He had changed her life.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He had healed her, restored her and given her a new beginning, and now the one she loved was gone.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Her heart was broken.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Very early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary made her way to the tomb.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I wonder what she was thinking as she walked.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Was her heart heavy with grief?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Was she replaying everything that had happened?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Was she wondering how things could have

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[SPEAKER_00]: But when Mary arrived at the tomb, something was different.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary looked closely, and there she saw the stone.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The stone that had been rolled in front of the tomb was now rolled away.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Wait a minute, that stone was huge.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It had been sealed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Guards had been placed there.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Who could have moved the stone?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary's heart must have been racing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She ran back to tell Peter and John, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Peter and John ran quickly to the tomb as fast as they could.

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[SPEAKER_00]: John got their first and looked in.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Then Peter went inside.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He saw the linen cloths lying there, but Jesus was not there.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The tomb was empty.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Something had happened.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The disciples went back, still trying to understand and figure out what had happened.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But Mary stayed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She stood outside the tomb weeping.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever been so sad that you just could not leave?

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[SPEAKER_00]: that's where Mary was.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She loved Jesus and now she thought even his body had been taken.

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[SPEAKER_00]: As she cried she went down and looked into the tomb again and this time she saw something she had not seen before.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Two angels in white were sitting where Jesus' body had been.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They asked her, woman, why are you crying?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary answered, they have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Then she turned around and saw a man standing there, but she did not recognize who he was.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The man asked her, woman, why are you crying?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Who is it you are looking for?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Thinking he was the gardener, come to take care of the garden, Mary said, sir, if you have carried him away, please, please tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you feel the sadness in her words?

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[SPEAKER_00]: She just wanted to be near Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She had come to anoint him to place precious spices and perfumes on his body as an act of loving care.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This was something that was done, a normal act that was done in that culture, a way to show a final honor and devotion to someone who had passed away.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She had come to say her final goodbye to Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: and then all of the sudden in that one moment everything changed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Everything changed with just one word.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary heard her name spoken.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She heard Mary.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus had said her name.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And in that moment, her eyes were open.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She knew that voice.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She'd heard that voice before.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It was Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She had heard Jesus call her name in the same exact way.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Could it be?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary turned and looked.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus was alive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you imagine that moment?

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[SPEAKER_00]: The grief, the confusion, the hopelessness, suddenly turning into joy, wonder, and amazement.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary cried out rabony.

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[SPEAKER_00]: which means teacher.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The one she thought was dead, was standing right in front of her alive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus had done exactly what he said he would do.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He had risen.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Death had not won.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The grave had not held him, and the story was not over.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it was just beginning.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said to her, go to my brothers and tell them.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary, the one who came weeping,

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[SPEAKER_00]: became the one who went rejoicing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She ran to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord, what a turn around, from sorrow to joy, from confusion to clarity, from death to life.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Dear true seekers, what is the truth that we find in this most powerful moment?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Because Jesus conquered death and the grave, so can you and I?

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[SPEAKER_00]: When we put our faith in Jesus and what He has done for us, we do not have to fear death.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We can know that because we put our faith in Jesus,

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[SPEAKER_00]: One day we will see him face-to-face, and we will live with him forever.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That is a beautiful promise, and one that gives us hope.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Not only that, but we can know that just as Jesus knew Mary's name, he knows our name too.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus knows your name.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Just like he called Mary by name.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He sees you, he knows you, and he calls you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes like Mary we may feel confused or sad.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we may not recognize what God is doing right in front of us, but Jesus is not far away.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He is near to those who call on Him.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He is alive, and He meets us right where we are.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The resurrection reminds us that no situation is too hopeless for God.

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[SPEAKER_00]: What looks like the end might actually be the beginning of something new.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Mary went to the tomb expecting to find death, but instead, she found life in the person of Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus gives us life.

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[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I am the way.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Friends, there's only one way to God and that is through Jesus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is God Himself come to Earth as a man to live and to die and to rise again, so that we might be saved, so that we no longer will know separation from God.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It's only through Jesus, can we find God?

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[SPEAKER_00]: He is offering the invitation to you and to me, to all of us.

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[SPEAKER_00]: to accept his free gift of salvation, to put our faith in him, to believe in him, to trust that he died on the cross, that he forgives us of our sins, that he rose from the dead, that he's coming back again for those who put their faith in him, who follow him, and who obey.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is Good News Friends.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is the best news ever.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you'd like to read today's story in your Bible, you can find it in John chapter 20, verses 1 through 18.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You can also find it in Matthew chapter 28, verses 1 through 10, Mark chapter 16, verses 1 through 8, and Luke chapter 24, verses 1 through 12.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let me pray with you before we go.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Dear Heavenly Father,

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[SPEAKER_00]: We thank you that Jesus is alive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you that the story did not end at the cross or the tomb.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you that you bring life where there was one step and hope where there was once to spare.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Just like Mary, you call us by name.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You remind us that you know us and you see us.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Help us to trust you even when we do not understand what is happening around us.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I thank you for making away that we might have everlasting life.

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[SPEAKER_00]: that we might enjoy your presence forever, because of what you did for us.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Open our eyes to see you at work in our lives and fill our hearts with the same joy that Mary experienced when she realized Jesus was alive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We love you and we trust you and Jesus name we pray.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All right, we have just a couple reviews to read today.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This one says, dear Michelle, and it's me Brooklyn.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I sent you a review before, like a while ago, and wanted to say that you're doing great with this podcast.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you, Brooklyn.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She says, my Nana has been struggling lately.

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[SPEAKER_00]: She tried to get up this stairs and fell.

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[SPEAKER_00]: After the second step, Nanna slept in the living room that night and I'm really worried about her.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Please pray for my Nanna.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well Brooklyn, I'm going to pray that Jesus helps heal your Nanna and that she recovers quickly and that she continues to be able to do all the things that she did before.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I know sometimes walking up those stairs can be tricky, so we're going to pray for Nanna and just bless her and bless you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, this next review says,

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[SPEAKER_00]: We love listening in the car, listening family from Illinois, and that is from Lila, who's 10, and Isaac who's 7, so shout out to Lila and Isaac, thank you for listening.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All right, if you have not given the podcast a review or five star review on iTunes, and that is your main place where you listen, I would love it if you would go in and do that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: More than that, no matter what platform you're listening on, if you are able to download each episode when they come out, especially the new ones as they come out.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you've got it set to download to your phone or device whenever it comes out, that is so helpful.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All the things we can do to keep the podcast being shared and being found by other people around the world It's such a ministry and blessing and I think you offer continuing to support it Pray for it pray for me pray that the word continues to go out Because the Bible says that God's Word does not return void and we pray that it continues to plant many Many seeds so thank you for joining me today and I look forward to our time together next week