Crossroads Christmas Special

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Merry Christmas.

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Welcome to Crossroads Christmas Special.

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My name is Brian, I am so excited about today.

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We have Grammy Award winning artists,

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we've got World-Class Dancers,

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we're going to be in the middle of Moab, Utah.

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We have original music.

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We're doing everything we can to give

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you and I great Christmas experience because,

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man, we need Christmas more than ever

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because 2020 has sucked from start to finish,

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or at least from March until now,

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it's been incredibly difficult.

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It's been sort of like this tree behind me.

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It's made national news on Fountain Square in Cincinnati

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of a tree that went up

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and it was like an ugly Charlie Brown reject tree,

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just nasty and gnarly.

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And what do you know?

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They brought somebody in and they did his magic to it.

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And it ended up being an amazing, beautiful thing.

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That's kind of what Christmas is.

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Our life is difficult, things are going right.

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And someone comes in and does something,

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His name is Jesus.

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He's known as the Savior.

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And we want to feel that today.

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We want to have a good time with that today.

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Some of us in the midst of our difficulty,

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we're asking, "Where's God

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in the midst of all of our waiting?"

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He's inviting us to come in from the cold.

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- We want to welcome, Lecrae.

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- Glad to be here.

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- Man, it's good to have you here.

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We've got some real deal talent here.

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And one of the very few people

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when I'm on set with,

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you're actually taller than me.

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I don't like it.

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- Yeah, I can see everything going on up there,

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just so, you know.

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- (chuckles) I'm not going to be

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braiding my hair, that's for darn sure.

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I'm normally supposed to be

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the tallest person around here,

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and you've got me beat. - Not today.

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Nah, you could make it to the NBA,

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but you like a short guard.

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- I would not make it to the NBA

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on any -- on any reason at all.

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I'm so excited to be with you because

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the whole idea behind this was

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get back to old school Christmas special.

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When I was a little itty bitty kid,

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I remember being with my parents

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and watching these Christmas specials on TV.

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David Bowie singing with Bing Crosby

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and Sammy Davis Jr. And just these things

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where everyone would just have

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a nice, good feels of Christmas.

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So we're trying to do that today

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and glad you're to be a part of it.

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We're going to hear more from you later

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and hear you sing later.

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But first, would you believe it if I told you

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that we can tell the whole Christmas story beatbox?

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- Wait, wait. What?

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- Well, we're going to do

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something special for you right now.

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- I'm nervous.

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- The Christmas story from the Bible.

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A surprise is the kind of thing you remember,

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and that's what we do every single December,

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we celebrate Christmas when Jesus was born.

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The surprise more surprising than any before.

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It wasn't that no one knew

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God would be sending a rescuer.

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The narrative had been pending

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for thousands of years.

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They knew He'd appeared,

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but unknown with the when

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and the how and the year.

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In the beginning, God had created the world,

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which was good.

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But He thought his greatest idea

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had been people who He loved them,

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so He gave them the world He had made for a home.

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But God told them one rule

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they could never break,

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there existed a tree

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that they just must not take any fruit from,

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not one piece, not one single bite.

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But a devious serpent said that was a lie.

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He convinced God's creation

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they could do what they want.

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They didn't need rules, he said, nonchalant.

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So they tasted the fruit

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and they instantly knew

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that it wasn't a thing that had been good to do.

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[beatboxing]

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But God couldn't let that be the end of the story,

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even though we all know

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that they should have been sorry.

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He crafted a plan to redeem His creations.

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His plan was a person, a family, a nation.

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Oh, yes, that Mary,

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a girl of great import

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for without her part in the story

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we'd be short a mother,

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someone who could have the new baby.

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Into the angel, let's call him Gabe.

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So Gabe told young Mary,

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"You're having a son.

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Please call him Jesus because

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He is the one who saved the whole world."

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This was God's rescue plan

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to reverse the worst curse.

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Remember that, the first man?

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So Mary was in, she believed, good to go,

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but she was engaged to a guy well call Joe.

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He had reason to fear

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when the angel said not to,

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but opposite that he obeyed like you ought to.

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So Joe was from Bethlehem.

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Oh, that little town? Yeah, that one.

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So they made a trip,

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looked around for a place they could stay,

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get married, some peace.

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But that night wasn't silent, not in the least.

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On this night had come God's great big surprise.

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A baby was born. Yes, a baby who cries,

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who spits up and gets up all hours of the night.

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A newborn born to make everything right.

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But God did tell some of the birth of His son.

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They weren't popular nor special someone's,

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just some shepherds watching over their flock

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when an angel appeared

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and they started to gawk

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and the angel said,

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"You've got no reason to fear.

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In fact, you should celebrate, Jesus is here.

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He's been born in the stable, a manger, in fact.

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So he's going, get moving.

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It's time to react.

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"A stable?" They may have thought,

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"That can't be right.

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A savior would not spend

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His very first night in a manger,

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the place where the animals eat.

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That's not quite a place where King ought to be."

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But indeed, there He was, just like God has said,

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a king, but no castle or comfortable bed.

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Just a baby, a small, tender child

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who was born, who like no one else ever

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would save the whole world.

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Now some magi out East

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had seen a bright star

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and decided to follow

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no matter how far.

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So they came and they saw

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and they knelt and they gave

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frankincense, myrrh, and gold

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to the heavenly babe.

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As we get to the end of our story,

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let's pause [clock tick]

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and remember the glorious part of this all

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is that God saved His people,

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the ones that He loves

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with the greatest surprise that ever there was.

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It was small, at least a first glance,

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just a baby.

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But pay close attention and maybe,

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just maybe you'll see what God plans

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that astonishing rescue

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to ransom his people, and that includes you.

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[beatboxing]

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Everybody knew the king was coming soon,

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Everybody waited

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When's he gonna come,

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When's he gonna make his move

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It's so long we've been waiting

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They were looking for a big man, big town

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Surely knew his way around

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a big crowd, gold crown

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Couldn't be defeated by anyone, anyone

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And they thought they would spot him easy

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It would be a piece of cake to recognize

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All the changes he was gonna make things better

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Better, Better, Better

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Baby love crashed into the world,

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crashed in Baby love crashed into the world,

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crashed in

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Everybody knew the king was coming soon,

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Everybody waited.

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We want a king now,

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to come turn things upside down

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We've been oh so patient.

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They thought that he would be a big deal, big king

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Everybody recognize him.

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Bow down, take heed

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What they didn't realize is God does things differently

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So he didn't make a big splash, big thing

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Didn't. draw attention to the newborn, new king

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Slipped into the world like anyone, anyone.

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crashed in

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crashed in

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Oh the angels told the shepherds in the field

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And the star did glow and wise men did appear

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And then low and behold the people began to hear

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And the king was known,

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the king was here

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Yes the king was known,

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the king was here

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They sang low and behold

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Low and Behold

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Low and Behold

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Low and Behold

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crashed in

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crashed in

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crashed in

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crashed in

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crashed in, baby love

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Come they told me-

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Oh...Oh,Oh,Oh...Oh...Oh, Oh, Oh

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A new born king to see-

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Oh...Oh,Oh,Oh...Oh...Oh, Oh, Oh

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Our finest gifts we bring

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To lay before the king

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Pa rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum,

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Rum pum pum pum

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So to honor him

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When we come

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Little baby

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Oh Oh, Oh, Oh...Oh Oh Oh

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I am a poor boy too

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Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh...Oh Oh Oh

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I have no gift to bring

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That's fit to give our king

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Pa rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum,

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Rum pum pum pum

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Shall I play for you,

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on my drum

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They say you're the light that gives me life

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With drum in hand I've come tonight.

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What will you do with what I bring?

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This is my beggars offering.

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They say you're the light that gives me life

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With drum in hand I've come tonight.

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What will you do with what I bring?

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This is my beggars offering.

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Then he smiled at me

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And so I played

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And so I played

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On my drum

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On my drum

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On my drum

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- There's a reason you aren't satisfied

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with the ordinary, you were made for adventure.

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A life with God doesn't have to be boring.

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It can be a pulse pumping,

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heart pounding life of purpose.

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And we can guide you there.

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The adventure awaiting you is bigger

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and more life giving than you could ever imagine.

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Join us every weekend for 45 minutes

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of challenge, hope, and encouragement

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to guide you on your spiritual adventure.

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- We love Christmas because it helps us feel.

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It's just a story that makes us feel good

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and man, do we need to feel good this year.

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But if we're not careful, we can miss

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a huge part of the Christmas story.

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The Christmas story is not all about

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clean things and nice buildings

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and beautiful trees.

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It's actually a gritty story

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with gritty people

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taking place in an environment

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very similar to this.

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It was in an environment like this

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where shepherds, who are a key part

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of the Christmas story, played their role,

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out in the fields taking care of sheep.

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Let's go ahead and read this classic text

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that comes to the Book of Luke 2.

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Angels show up and the first thing

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they say is, "Fear not."

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Fear not. Why would they tell

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the shepherds to not be afraid?

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Why? Because the shepherds are afraid.

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That's why.

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I don't know what your picture is of angels.

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Angels are God's warriors.

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They remind us that there is

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a spiritual battle that's taking place.

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And when an angel shows up,

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who is God's Navy SEALs,

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they have heavenly armaments on,

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whatever they are, and they freak people out.

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They're going, "Oh, stop, stop. Don't be afraid."

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Let me tell you something.

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If you ever saw an angel,

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you would not want to be touched by an angel.

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Shepherds are not expecting a touch with the heavens.

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In fact, they're not expecting much from anybody

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because shepherds are pretty unrespectable people

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in that culture and time.

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They're dirty blue collar workers, so they believed.

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They had a dirty job of dealing with dirty sheep.

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And yet, God shows up to them.

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I find this incredibly encouraging because

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I've got years of dirt in my life.

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I've got vices in my life.

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It's 2020, man, and I've had a harder run

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than I've ever had, you probably have to.

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It's been a dirty year for many of us.

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Broken New Year's resolutions,

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finances down,

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things you want to do not going well.

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We've learned things about ourselves

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we might not have liked about ourselves

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as a result of all the changes

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that have come our way.

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Many of us just feel more unworthy

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maybe than we ever have.

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And yet, angels come to

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these quote unquote, unworthy, dirty people

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to actually use them in the Christmas story.

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There is a place for you at Christmas

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if your life isn't clean.

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Christmas is for those of us who are not clean

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because the idea of Christmas is that

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there is a Savior coming.

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Jesus is a Savior.

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Our bad history understanding of this

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is Jesus is in this nice, beautiful little barn

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probably Pottery Barn had a say in how to design it.

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Everything is nice and beautiful.

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No, no, that's not what a manger is.

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A manger isn't a cool barn.

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A manger is a feeding trough for cattle.

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Jesus is placed in a cow's cereal bowl.

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This is a dirty place for the Son of God to lie,

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and yet He's lying there.

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This is a difficult time for Mary and Joseph.

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This is a freaky time for the shepherds.

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And that's what Christmas is.

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It brings us hope.

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It brings us purpose.

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It brings us a vision of the future.

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But it does that because

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our current circumstances might not be ideal.

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Maybe never before have we needed Christmas

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as much as we need it now,

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and specifically, the original Christmas

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for people who have issues, like you and I.

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- Do not be afraid.

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I bring you good news

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that will cause great joy for all the people.

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Today, in the town of David,

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a Savior has been born to you.

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He is the Messiah, the Lord.

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This will be a sign to you:

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You will find a baby wrapped in clothes

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and lying in a manger.

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O come

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O come

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O come

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O come let us adore him

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O come

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O come

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O come

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O come let us adore him

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O come all ye faithful

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Joyful and triumphant

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O come ye oh come ye To Bethlehem

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Come and behold him

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Born the king of angels

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Come O come

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Come

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O come

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O come, O come let us adore him

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Yea, Lord, we greet thee

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born this happy morning,

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Word of the Father,

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now in flesh appearing

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O come ye,

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O come ye to Bethlehem

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O come

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O come

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O come

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O come let us adore Him

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O come

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O come

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O come let us adore Him

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Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ the Lord

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Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ the Lord

00:25:11

- Hey, I'm here with Lecrae. Welcome.

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- Appreciate you. Thanks for having me.

00:25:15

- Yeah, it was great to have you.

00:25:16

Got to know a little this last year,

00:25:17

so to have you here as a part of the Christmas special

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is a big, big deal. In fact, you're a big deal.

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- Oh, man.

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Grammy Award winning recording artist,

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songwriter, author, performer, dog groomer.

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I mean, I love these things that you can do

00:25:32

and yet you're here with us.

00:25:33

And I'm excited to spend the day with you.

00:25:35

- I appreciate it.

00:25:36

I'm most proud about my dog grooming skills.

00:25:39

- Just so we can be a little gritty

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and not just nice, feel good Christmas.

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I think it's important to recognize that

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the first Christmas was born in pain and difficulty.

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And it might be more true to Christmas form

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if we're struggling to some degree.

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- I definitely want to walk people through

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being able to navigate that pain.

00:25:59

A lot of times we love Jeremiah 29:11:

00:26:03

I know the plans I have for you,

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plans for a future and a hope.

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But that promise was connected to pain.

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Those people were in captivity

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and so they needed to know that God had

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a promise for them on the other side of that.

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And I think that's what we have to know as well,

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is that as we're going through pain,

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that there's a promise we can hold on to.

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And Christmas is a reminder.

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You know? You were just talking about, it's like,

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"Hey, this is a tough time,

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but this is the Savior of the world.

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Hold on onto that promise."

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- We're more divided than we've ever been as a country.

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What is it, though, about Christmas

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that gives you hope this year?

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- You've got these wise men who've traveled for miles

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because of a prophecy that they've heard.

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And these are not Jews,

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but they're coming to see the Jewish Savior.

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It's not just one ethnic group.

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It's not just one economic group.

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It's not just male or female.

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It's a collective coming to worship the King.

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And that's what Christmas is about.

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It's about us seeing the Savior.

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And the Savior brings us together and unites us.

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- That's good.

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Well, why don't we get to the good stuff?

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The good stuff is this man singing.

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Let's go do that right now.

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- God often comes to us at the least expected time

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and even the least convenient time.

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The shepherds have got a job to do.

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They've got an agenda for their day

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and now everything is thrown up in the air

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and they have got to move.

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You and I have to move right now.

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You might say, "How in the world would I do that

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during quarantine and worldwide pandemic?"

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There's always something you can do

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to get closer to God and be responsive to His voice.

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It could be a relationship you need to reach out to.

00:30:36

It could be doubling down on your budget.

00:30:39

It could be doubling down and evaluating

00:30:42

your prayer life, how you're reading the scriptures,

00:30:45

planning for your future.

00:30:47

There's all kinds of things that you can do.

00:30:49

But the key thing is when God comes to you,

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you've got to move because

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the next thing is the right thing

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and it's a place that you need to move to right now.

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And it's the place where the shepherds were moving to.

00:31:32

It says that the shepherds are in wonder.

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Well, no wonder they're in wonder.

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They're getting encounters with angels,

00:31:41

they're seeing God in the flesh.

00:31:44

Crazy things are happening.

00:31:47

I love that they're in wonder.

00:31:48

And I grieve that in our culture.

00:31:49

We've lost the wonder.

00:31:52

We've lost the mystery and the ah.

00:31:55

In this place, I'm in wonder over this place,

00:31:58

even though I understand it's happened

00:31:59

over long periods of time with wind coming through

00:32:01

and erosion and all that kind of stuff,

00:32:04

there's still a wonder.

00:32:06

We can Google just about anything we want

00:32:08

and we can find answers immediately

00:32:10

and we think we're know it alls.

00:32:12

And therefore we think we know all about God,

00:32:14

but we don't.

00:32:15

There's a mystery about it.

00:32:22

The Christmas story, we can't fully figure it out.

00:32:25

We can't fully explain it.

00:32:26

There's things going on that are beyond human reason.

00:32:29

If God was to come down to the world

00:32:32

and take on flesh, we should expect

00:32:34

to not understand everything.

00:32:35

We should expect to be blown away

00:32:37

by things that we don't understand.

00:32:38

And I love that about Christmas.

00:32:40

I love that about the story of God.

00:32:43

The shepherds not only are in wonder,

00:32:45

but when they see this they realize this is good news

00:32:47

and they have to go share this good news.

00:32:49

That's called the gospel, sharing of the good news.

00:32:53

It's what we're doing right now

00:32:54

and it's what all of us need to do

00:32:56

in the midst of our cynical world

00:32:57

is share the good news of Jesus.

00:33:09

The good news is that there is a Savior coming for us.

00:33:14

The Jews were looking for a savior.

00:33:16

Now they were looking for a different kind of savior.

00:33:18

They were looking for a savior

00:33:20

to save them from political oppression.

00:33:24

That would have been the shepherds, who were Jews,

00:33:26

it would have been Mary and Joseph,

00:33:28

it would have been everybody else

00:33:29

who was under Roman oppression.

00:33:31

They wanted someone to come and crush them.

00:33:34

Does it sound a little familiar to you?

00:33:36

Here in our culture, everyone's wanting

00:33:38

someone to come and crush the people

00:33:40

who think differently than us,

00:33:41

crush the people who vote differently than us.

00:33:43

God's not interested in our political situation so much.

00:33:47

He's interested in our hearts.

00:33:50

He's interested in us having a relationship with Him.

00:33:54

When Jesus comes to save us

00:33:58

and to unite us to God,

00:33:59

to eliminate the barrier of sin

00:34:01

and our rebelliousness that unites us to God,

00:34:04

a crazy thing happens.

00:34:05

As we united to God, we get united

00:34:09

with all different kinds of people,

00:34:11

from all different cultures,

00:34:12

with actually all different kinds

00:34:14

of political ideologies.

00:34:15

And there is a unity that comes.

00:34:17

There's a harmony that comes because

00:34:19

we've been united with God.

00:34:21

Have we ever need that more than we need it right now?

00:34:24

Our culture is so divided, right/left,

00:34:27

divided racially, divided economically.

00:34:30

And Christmas can be a message of unity,

00:34:33

people coming together in oneness,

00:34:36

sharing a common belief that God loves me

00:34:40

and that Jesus has died for me.

00:34:42

And when this happens, you actually become a light.

00:34:47

Jesus said of Himself one time

00:34:48

that He is the light of the world.

00:34:50

When we become like Him,

00:34:52

when He comes inside of our lives,

00:34:54

we actually become lights

00:34:55

and we start reverberating around all of the cultures,

00:34:59

all the communities in which we reside.

00:35:02

Where are the light bearers in our divided culture today?

00:35:06

Where are they?

00:35:08

Many of them are right now

00:35:10

with us in this Christmas experience.

00:35:13

And God wants you and I to be unifiers,

00:35:16

to be people who bring good news,

00:35:18

who bring the light of Jesus.

00:35:22

Maybe you've experienced His warmth

00:35:26

just now in the midst of our experience together.

00:35:29

Maybe an angel has landed on your shoulder.

00:35:33

And I don't mean just figuratively,

00:35:34

I mean maybe literally.

00:35:36

Maybe you're feeling something

00:35:37

that you haven't felt before.

00:35:39

Maybe you're getting caught up in the One.

00:35:41

I just want to tell you,

00:35:42

that's not because of the production.

00:35:44

I believe that's because Jesus still comes

00:35:48

and reaches and saves people.

00:35:51

Maybe now is your time.

00:35:53

You could say a prayer, one which I've said

00:35:56

and millions and millions of others have said.

00:35:58

It goes something like this.

00:35:59

If you want Him in your life,

00:36:01

if you want Him to save you,

00:36:02

if you want His warmth,

00:36:04

if you want the unity that He brings,

00:36:07

you could just pray something like this.

00:36:09

Jesus, I want You in my life and in my heart.

00:36:14

I ask You forgive me for my sin.

00:36:19

I ask that You would fill me right now with Your Spirit.

00:36:24

I want Your good news.

00:36:27

As best I can, I will follow You the rest of my life.

00:36:33

Amen.

00:36:36

When a prayer like that gets prayed

00:36:39

and when a life like yours starts

00:36:41

going in the direction of Jesus,

00:36:44

Christmas has come to this world

00:36:46

and it's come to your life.

00:39:58

The best way to watch Crossroads Church

00:39:59

is on your smart TV,

00:40:01

because that's where your family hangs out.

00:40:03

And plus, taking a break from your phone

00:40:05

and tablet feels good.

00:40:07

Download the Crossroads TV app on your smart TV

00:40:10

and your TV becomes a place to hear from God,

00:40:13

A window into life change,

00:40:15

a spiritual rhythm,

00:40:17

your "I finally went to church this week."

00:40:21

Set a time to experience church on your TV.

00:40:24

See, you've already made your TV smarter.

00:40:27

Download the Crossroads TV app.

00:40:29

It'll give you the boost

00:40:30

you and your family need for your week.

00:40:34

- Hey, I want to welcome

00:40:35

six time Grammy Award winning singer,

00:40:37

the best selling contemporary Christian singer ever,

00:40:41

the first Christian artist to go platinum.

00:40:43

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

00:40:46

She's an incredible songwriter and author.

00:40:48

When I told my kids I was meeting you

00:40:50

and you we're going to be on our Christmas special,

00:40:52

my kids said, "My gosh, Amy Grant, she owns Christmas."

00:40:55

Amy Grant, welcome.

00:40:57

- Thank you. It's great to be here.

00:41:00

- So let's play a game. - Okay.

00:41:01

- I say a line and then you sing the next line.

00:41:05

Are you good enough to do that?

00:41:07

- I used to be. I don't know.

00:41:08

- Okay, all right. Here we go. Let's try it.

00:41:11

Oh, I know there's more snow up in Colorado...

00:41:14

- (singing) than my roof will ever see,

00:41:17

but a tender Tennessee Christmas.

00:41:20

- Oh, that's so good. All right.

00:41:22

One more question, because I've always wondered

00:41:24

your song Oh, Sleigh Ride.

00:41:27

There's a line in that song,

00:41:30

every time I listen to it,

00:41:31

I'm trying to figure out what's going on.

00:41:33

You know what that line is? - Yoo-hoo.

00:41:35

- Yes. What is that? What --

00:41:37

Tell me the story behind yoo-hoo.

00:41:38

- It was, yeah, I just --

00:41:42

You know, I had a sled.

00:41:44

We all played outside.

00:41:45

- And did that just spontaneously come out

00:41:47

in the recording studio, that yoo-hoo?

00:41:48

Or did you --

00:41:49

Did you make that up ahead of time to do that?

00:41:52

- I did, yeah, just breathing and, you know, yoo-hoo.

00:41:55

I grew up in a neighborhood with a whole bunch of kids.

00:41:58

- You went through a major health crisis this last year.

00:42:02

Tell us about that.

00:42:03

- I did. I had open heart surgery in June.

00:42:05

And I felt fine all the way up until then.

00:42:08

And after recovery, I was fine.

00:42:09

They just randomly discovered a birth defect and --

00:42:13

- Open heart like, crack your sternum?

00:42:15

- You know what I call it? Tattooed cleavage.

00:42:20

Yeah, I know. I went --

00:42:22

I went -- here's the crazy thing is,

00:42:25

like I've always had tons of energy

00:42:27

and my husband does --

00:42:28

He doesn't really have an active lifestyle.

00:42:30

And so he went to the doctor

00:42:32

and so he did all these tests.

00:42:33

I'm like holding his hand. "You're going to be OK."

00:42:37

And the doctor said, "Your heart's great.

00:42:39

You need to exercise, eat better."

00:42:41

And then he looked at me and he said,

00:42:42

"We should check you out."

00:42:43

And I was like, (scoffs) "Me?"

00:42:45

And then they ran a test and he was like,

00:42:47

"You're going to be dead in two years

00:42:48

if we don't do this."

00:42:49

- Oh, wow.

00:42:51

- Like, he just felt compelled to say

00:42:54

to the person he was not seeing, he was not my doctor.

00:42:57

My scar reminds me if I ever have

00:43:01

an impulse that's not on my agenda,

00:43:05

what if it could affect somebody's life?

00:43:09

Call that person, hey, think about so-and-so,

00:43:12

reach out to so-and-so, whatever it is,

00:43:14

turn left instead of right.

00:43:15

I mean, what if the Spirit really works that way?

00:43:17

Just any time something kind of

00:43:19

floats across your radar and you're like,

00:43:20

"Why don't we...?" - Yeah.

00:43:22

- You know, because for me, it was life and death.

00:43:25

- This year's obviously been different.

00:43:27

What's your hope for unity this Christmas?

00:43:29

- I read an article one time that said

00:43:30

it takes 3 seconds to actually acknowledge another person.

00:43:34

That's what I want to do.

00:43:35

There's so much fracture in the world

00:43:37

and we don't know everybody's woundedness,

00:43:40

Everybody's disappointment, all of that.

00:43:42

But if we could just approach

00:43:45

every circle we walk into, especially strangers.

00:43:49

And if you're looking to find a common --

00:43:53

- Yeah. - --We're both human.

00:43:54

I feel like the best community is created

00:43:57

when there's a common purpose.

00:43:59

And that might even just like be to have fun.

00:44:01

Six summers ago, I started hosting a day camp,

00:44:03

two weeks at our farm.

00:44:05

And it's just a melting pot

00:44:08

of all different ethnic, racial backgrounds,

00:44:13

a place that would look like heaven.

00:44:15

In fact, the first summer we had that

00:44:16

is when the shooting happened in North Charleston.

00:44:19

And one of the counselors at the camp,

00:44:21

his grandparents went to that church.

00:44:25

And I just thought, "Oh, my gosh,

00:44:26

this camp is like our living prayer for reconciliation."

00:44:30

- So I'm so excited to hear you perform.

00:44:32

Tell us what you're going to do for us right now.

00:44:34

- I'm going to do a song called Breath of Heaven.

00:44:36

I love this song because it's telling the story of Mary,

00:44:39

but also it's just such an honest prayer,

00:44:44

especially this year.

00:44:45

It almost feels like I'm singing this

00:44:48

as a prayer for all of us.

00:44:49

- It's a good word.

00:44:50

We all need God's breath to hold us together.

00:44:52

So why don't we do that right now?

00:45:04

- I wrote these lyrics

00:45:06

imagining what Mary must have felt like

00:45:10

as the birth of Jesus approached,

00:45:12

terrified, uncertain.

00:45:16

Kind of like we feel right now.

00:53:17

Part of what makes Christmas special to us

00:53:20

are the traditions,

00:53:21

the things we do year after year after year.

00:53:23

For many of us, we sing Silent Night every year.

00:53:25

Maybe you go to a church building

00:53:27

and they sing Silent Night.

00:53:29

Maybe they have candles

00:53:30

and everyone's holding up the candle

00:53:32

in that dark auditorium.

00:53:34

We want to do that right now.

00:53:35

Why don't you go some place in your house,

00:53:37

get yourself a candle, get a book of matches, get lighter.

00:53:41

We're going to do this together.

00:53:43

This signifies how Jesus is the light of the world.

00:53:46

He comes into dark times and dark places,

00:53:51

like us and our country right now in 2020.

00:53:54

And yet he illuminates things.

00:53:57

He warms things.

00:53:58

And as we all hold these candles,

00:54:00

if it's just you and your house,

00:54:01

just please do it still.

00:54:02

You'll be standing in unity

00:54:04

with everybody all across the country

00:54:07

that's saying to God, "God, I want to be united

00:54:12

under your banner and I want Christmas this year."

00:54:16

Let's do this together.

00:59:13

- Thanks for being with us for this Christmas Special.

00:59:15

I hope you'll share this with your friends,

00:59:17

with your family, with everybody you know,

00:59:19

because all of us need

00:59:21

a little bit of feel good over the Christmas.

00:59:23

We encourage you to go ahead and download

00:59:25

the Crossroads app for iPhone, Android or TV.

00:59:28

You can connect with us all the time

00:59:30

and you can actually join us

00:59:31

for a weekend service at Crossroads.net.

00:59:35

We'd love to connect with you for the rest of 2020

00:59:37

and into 2021.

00:59:39

Have a very merry Christmas.

00:59:42

- If you want your 2021 to be different,

00:59:44

you have to try something new.

00:59:46

Join us the first week of January

00:59:48

for a brand new weekly online episode.

00:59:50

I'll show you how to

00:59:52

blaze a new adventurous path this coming year.

00:59:58

- I'm Tiara and I lead our Community Care Team.

01:00:01

So my team answers any questions that you have

01:00:05

that could be as small as: how do I stream?

01:00:08

I need prayer.

01:00:09

Everything in my life is going down.

01:00:11

I'm lonely.

01:00:12

My marriage stinks.

01:00:13

I need someone to be there for me.

01:00:16

So we come alongside of people in their journeys

01:00:18

to let them know that God loves them.

01:00:20

We'd love to talk to you.

01:00:22

Chat with us today at Crossroads.net

01:00:24

to get started on your spiritual adventure.

	🎄 Merry Christmas 🎄	0:01
	❄️ Come In From The Cold ❄️	1:16
	Introducing Lecrae	4:11
	Kids' Club: Beat Box Christmas Story	5:21
	👶 Baby Love ❤️	8:34
	🥁 Little Drummer Boy 🥁	12:19
	Brian Tome: The Sheppards Story Part 1	16:53
	🐑 O Come, Emmanuel 🐑	21:20
	Interview With Lecrae	25:12
	Lecrae: We Three Kings	27:12
	Brian Tome: The Sheppards Story Part 2	29:59
	Joy To The World	36:55
	Interview With Amy Grant	40:34
	Amy Grant: Breath Of Heaven	44:55
	Amy Grant: Tennessee Christmas	48:53
	Candle Light 🕯	53:17
	Silent Night	54:18

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