You are a Creator

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- Welcome to Crossroads.

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I'm Andy and happy Thanksgiving.

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I hope you and your family had a great holiday

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and had a time of gratitude and thankfulness.

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As a church, we actually donated

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over 10,000 meals to families who needed them.

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So way to go!

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Today we're in our series Real Encounters with God

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we're exploring the ancient places from the Bible

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and discovering what they mean for our lives today.

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Now, we filmed the series all the way back in May,

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and honestly, we sincerely and consistently pray

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for all of the innocent people who are suffering

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as a result of the conflict in the region.

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And we still want to show you this series

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because we believe God chose

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the ancient land of Israel,

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that He carved His story into the place itself

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and it has something to say to us today through it.

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So before we get started with the episode,

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we're going to actually have a time of worship.

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Our Crossroads music team Justin, Eric,

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Deborah and the rest of the crew,

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they actually wrote and recorded these songs

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with you in mind, to give you a tool to use

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all week long to connect with God.

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They help us remember what Jesus did for us

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and to be grateful.

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So turn up the volume, go full screen,

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and let's get started.

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- Man, I love those songs and how they remind us

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about what God says is true about us,

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and about what God says is true about Him.

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Now there are even more songs from Crossroads Music

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available to listen to all week long.

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You can find them by just searching

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for Crossroads Music wherever you listen to music.

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And we say this all the time,

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but it's because it's true,

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we are a community, not just content.

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We have people all over the world,

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some meeting on Sunday mornings

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in our nine physical locations,

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and thousands more meeting together

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online, in dorm rooms, bars, coffee shops,

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living rooms, and even in prisons.

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So whoever you are and wherever you are,

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man, we want you to connect.

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To learn more, just check the happenings section

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of your Crossroads Anywhere app

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for specific location based opportunities

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for you to get connected.

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If you don't have the app, hey,

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then just download it for free today and get started.

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There you'll be able to stay up to date,

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read scripture, journal, pray, and so much more.

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And things like the app, these services,

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these videos, the music, they're all

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just funded by givers at Crossroads.

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Now we give because we want to follow God

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with our whole lives.

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Now we don't just want to say we follow Him,

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we actually want to show it through our sacrifice.

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This past week, I actually got a letter

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from a guy in our community that I'd never met.

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He shared his story titled There's Purpose in My Pain,

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and it actually enclosed a $25 check

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to help fuel the good things

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that are happening in this community.

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Something else you should know about this guy

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is he's actually currently incarcerated at a prison

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about 100 miles away from where I'm standing.

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And I love, I love that our church

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is made up of people from all different walks of life,

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all running after Jesus together.

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And to the guy who wrote me that letter,

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hey, you know who you are.

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And I want all of us, everybody watching

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to pray for you together right now.

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Father, we thank You that You know who we are,

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that you know what we need.

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God, we thank You for this man's boldness,

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and God, we just are grateful that you are

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a God who renews, who redeems, who restores,

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and who brings healing and freedom. Amen.

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And to our members of our Crossroads community

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who are watching weekly at prisons

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around Ohio and Kentucky, man, we love you

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and we are so proud to be

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a part of this community with you.

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Now, it's our last week of Real Encounters with God

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and it has been so amazing.

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Today, Brian's talking about being a creator.

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- The Story of God told through the land of Israel

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is written in the pages of Scripture

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and carved by the very finger of God into the land itself.

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Join us on a journey to discover your spiritual roots.

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Uncover the six essential elements

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of identity deep within you,

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revealed through the life of King David

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and perfected in the life of Jesus.

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The fourth season of Real Encounters with God: Downline.

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All new on location in Israel.

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New places, new encounters, real encounters with God.

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- In the beginning,

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the Word was with God,

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and the Word was God Himself.

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- The story of God,

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it's not only written on pages of scripture,

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but it's carved into the land itself

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by the finger of God.

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The land, it speaks.

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It speaks of who He is,

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and because of Him who we are.

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The land was spoken into existence

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by the Word of God.

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The Word became flesh.

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The Word, a person with a name, Jesus.

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God himself spoke a word to you and me,

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not just from the dusty pages of history,

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but here and now the Word is alive.

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- There in the shadows, a whisper of light

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and the fell of darkness fell.

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The Word was, the Word is,

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the Word will forever and ever one.

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the Word will forever and ever one.

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There in the middle, the Word became flesh,

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from glory down to dust.

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He traded the heavens to come wash our feet,

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living water here with us.

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All for a world He loved.

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- Imagine a God who loved you so much,

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so personally, so wildly,

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so beyond measure,

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that He creates the entire world,

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the land itself,

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just so you could know God's love.

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It speaks God's Word in Hebrew.

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Dabar means word, or talk or thing, a noun.

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Catch this, there is no difference

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between the Word of God and the person of God.

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It speaks of who He is and who we are.

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- The Word was, the Word is,

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the Word will be forever and ever.

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the Word will be forever and ever.

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- There is a heartbeat.

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A heartbeat in the pages of Scripture.

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A pulse beneath the land calling

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to its people, to you, to me,

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adopted sons and daughters,

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the downline of King David.

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It speaks God's Word, His truth,

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His character, the great I Am.

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It speaks of who we are

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because of who He is.

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It tells the story of our spiritual roots.

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We are the signature of God.

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We are Imago Dei, His image bearers.

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So, if we were created to look like Him,

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if we were created to bear His image,

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then we have to ask, who is He?

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What does He look like?

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His land, His people, His Word reveals it all,

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father, mother, your ruler, friend,

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creator, son, daughter, the great I Am.

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- For when You say it, it is finished,

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your Word is final and I believe it.

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For when You say it, it is finished,

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Your Word is final and I believe it.

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Your word was, your word is,

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Your Word will be forever and ever.

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Your word was, Your Word is,

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Your Word will be forever and ever.

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Your Word heals, Your Word builds,

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Your Word stands forever and ever.

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Your Word is moving,

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Your Word is living,

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Your Word is returning to earth from the heavens.

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- Six identities, primal, essential,

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all working together in perfect harmony,

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not a number to lock you in

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or a sign to mark you or cage you

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or keep you from living free,

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but a beautiful balance of a spiritual DNA

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to give you the wisdom and the strength

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that you need to live fully alive, to thrive.

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No more numbing out.

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No more being out of alignment

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with who God called you to be.

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One building upon the other.

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Nothing in contradiction because

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He is who He says He is, the great I Am.

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He is, I am, you are, the land speaks.

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Are you listening?

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- And in the ending, the Word will remain,

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though the earth will pass away.

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Kingdoms will crumble

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and riches will fade,

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but the Word of God will reign.

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- All right. This is Real Encounters.

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We are in Israel talking about these real stories

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that really happen with real people.

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We've got Hannah, Brian, our guide Tsuriel.

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And this season we're focused on this idea

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of the primal DNA or these six elements of identity

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that God has inside of us, and today is creator.

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Talk about why creator?

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- When we're little kids,

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everyone wants to play in the sand.

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We want to create.

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Today, younger people, they want to be

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content creators on social media.

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This isn't being cool or hip.

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I really think it's we're all wired

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and designed to be a creator.

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Whatever form it is, that is who we are.

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And when you understand that,

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there's a level of confidence you can walk in

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to get stuff done.

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- Does being a creator mean like the classic,

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you know, art, music.

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Right, like you got to be creative

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or artsy or whatever? - Is that what you mean?

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- No. Well, it certainly can mean that.

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We're going to look at David, who had some of those things.

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He was artsy, doing poems and stuff like that.

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That's certainly one manifestation,

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which some people are.

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Other people are -- they hang drywall

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and they actually like it.

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I don't know how. It's hard. - It's awful.

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- They're leaving the job site at

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the end of the day and go, "Huh, I created that.

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I got that done."

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Other times it's building an organization,

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it's creating a marriage, creating a culture.

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Anything where something is in disorder

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or nothing is there and you bring it to being

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because we're made in the image of God.

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He's a creator, therefore

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part of our identity is we are creators.

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- Yeah, I like that a lot.

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So we've been talking about this character, David,

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and what that might look like in his life.

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Where do we go?

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What do you guys think about,

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what makes sense for for David there?

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- Well, you're the pro, what are you thinking?

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- Well we were talking about that and we thought

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about David, you know, much of his life

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he actually spent before he became a king,

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he was spending in the desert,

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hiding and running for his life.

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And one of those famous places is Ein Gedi,

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which is a desert, actually.

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And over there, we can try and deal with David

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in those years that he built himself

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and start to form himself also as a creator.

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You know, he tried to think about, "Okay,

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what would I do with my future kingdom,

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with my future army, with the house of God

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that I'm planning to try and build?"

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So, all those characters of him that

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we were speaking were mostly built

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during the time of the desert,

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and that's why we thought that it's worth going there

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and to try to get to David in this maybe low point,

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but actually the point that where he was built.

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- I think that's a great idea.

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There's some of those Psalms that he created,

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that poetry he created. He's odd guy, right?

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He's hard core killer as the conqueror of Goliath

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and then he's artsy guy who's writing poems.

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- And playing the harp. - Yeah.

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Can't you at least play the electric guitar

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or something like that, or drums?

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But like, you know, so I guess

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he couldn't play electric guitar, bass.

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Right? Whatever it is.

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But I think the backdrop,

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when you look at this Ein Gedi stuff,

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it's like you can almost see,

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"Oh, that was inspiring what he was writing."

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So I think it's a great call.

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- And it points us to we've been talking about

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not just David, but Jesus, right?

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It points us to, he talks and writes about

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even Jesus in some of those Psalms.

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And so what is Jesus a creator, though?

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Because that one feels like

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I don't want to say a stretch,

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but sometimes when I look at Him,

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that's definitely not the first thing that comes

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to my mind, like, "Oh Jesus. Yeah, the Creator."

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- He's creating health when people are are sick

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and hurting and He's -- - That's good. Yeah.

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- John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word,

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and the Word was God, and the Word was with God,

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and He was the Word that was speaking creation into being.

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So He was present at creation.

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Kyle mentioned earlier, we were talking parables,

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He was creating stories with parables.

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So, yeah, I think

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we see a lot of fingerprints of his creation.

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Well, it seems like He maybe was inspired

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by the way He was brought up.

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We know His dad, Joseph,

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we say carpenter a lot in English,

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but maybe it wasn't carpentry,

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maybe it was stonemasonry.

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- Yes, we normally talk about Jesus

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or Joseph as a carpenter.

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And maybe he was a stonemason.

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Definitely Jesus, whatever Joseph was,

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He grew up with His father.

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You know, that was the way back then.

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And He would learn to do what His father is doing.

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And we are talking about, you know,

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we thought, what do we do with Jesus then?

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And where do we go?

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And we thought about Sepphoris, that was a Roman city.

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It was a Jewish city back then, of course,

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with a lot of Roman things in it

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that was not very far from Nazareth.

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Nazareth was a tiny little place, not important.

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So definitely there wasn't enough work

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for Joseph and Jesus at Nazareth.

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And that's why He would have to go to that

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so-called big city and to work there

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and actually to create things in people's homes,

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streets, you know, furniture,

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or even just stonemasonry stuff.

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- Yeah, right. Builders are not builders

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because they can't figure out a way to make money.

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They're builders because they're drawn to,

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"Oh, I get to major on what I love to do, is create."

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- Awesome. So we'll head off with you to Sepphoris

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to see a city that Jesus may have

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actually played a hand in building.

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Just four miles from Nazareth, where Jesus grew up,

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was the bustling city of Sepphoris

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that attracted tradesmen from all over the region

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to the work of building the city.

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It's very likely that Jesus and His father

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helped carve the rocks and build the buildings

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of this historically significant city.

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- So here we are in Sepphoris.

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In Hebrew it's Tzipor, it's a bird.

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And Sepphoris was the capital of Galilee

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during Jesus's childhood.

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Nazareth is not very far from here, just a few miles,

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about five miles from here.

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And Nazareth was a tiny, not very important city.

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I would say Jesus' lifetime,

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this is part of the city that was existing.

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So if we're talking about Jesus coming to visit

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or work at Sepphoris, this is a Jewish neighborhood

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that was up on top of the hill.

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So he was probably walking through those streets

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that we were just walking right now.

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- Obviously, we don't know if Jesus was here,

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but just to imagine that it's possible

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some of these stones were set in place by Him

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or designed by Him, or the arches or the doorways.

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It's really cool.

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It makes me think about the verse

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that says He's the chief cornerstone.

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- Yeah. I mean, what's crossing my mind,

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to be completely honest, is just that

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sometimes we can think Jesus was fully God

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and He was fully man.

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This is one of those moments where you go,

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"He gets me, He gets us."

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Because He was not just at home, like,

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divinely eating grapes and raisins and being worshiped.

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He was out here in the beating sun,

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working with His hands, getting cuts, getting bruises.

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And so He knows what it's like for us to get cuts,

00:32:15

get bruises, to what it feels like to have purpose

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and a human, it's just making that fully man part

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come alive and I think that just makes Him more powerful.

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That's weird a lot of stones makes me think of that.

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But it does. It does. Yeah.

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- What do you think people miss about Jesus being creator?

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- I think that there is the two sides,

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you know, the divine side of Jesus, of course,

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and the human side of that.

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And eventually we tend to maybe forget

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that everything that we see around us

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when we talk about trees, about flowers,

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about birds, Jesus was part of that creation. Okay.

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So there is a lot of thought and design

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and beauty about all that nature

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that we see around us, that Jesus is part of that.

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You know, not just taking materials

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and just throwing them all together.

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But someone had to think and design

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and say what would look beautiful in this world also?

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It was corrupted by Satan eventually.

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But we know that it started very, very well

00:33:10

with the creation.

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And I think also when it goes to the earthly ministry,

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in a sense of Jesus, He was creating,

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in a sense, new people. Okay.

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He calls us to, you know, to be born again.

00:33:21

Okay. It's a creation.

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You know, when we create a baby,

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eventually there is a new creation into this world.

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So He also tells people you need to be born again,

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you know, so Jesus wanted to change something

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in people's hearts, okay.

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And He was creating in that some things

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that we can never do by ourselves.

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Jesus came to do that. - Yeah.

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- Let's go on. - All right.

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- Man, me being here is super special.

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I'm a creative.

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I lead our creative team at Crossroads

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and to be in the place that's like,

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hey, Jesus might have been here

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and actually shaped some of these stones

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and set them in place,

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designed some of these buildings.

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It's just really, really cool.

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And it's undeniable that Jesus is a creator.

00:34:07

He made wine in the Bible,

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and not just like mediocre wine,

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but the wine at the party that they were like,

00:34:12

"This is the best wine we've ever had."

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He made parables so powerful that 2000 years later

00:34:17

we're still repeating them,

00:34:19

some of us not even knowing

00:34:20

that we're quoting Jesus when we do it.

00:34:22

It's insane. This guy just knew it. How?

00:34:25

Well, it's because of what John 1:3 says:

00:34:27

He is the creator.

00:34:29

See, Jesus doesn't claim to just be a great teacher

00:34:31

and a really good guy to hang out with.

00:34:33

He's like, "No, no, no. All this? I made all this."

00:34:37

See, that wine was so good because

00:34:39

He designed the grape, thought it up, designed it.

00:34:42

He made the soil, the nutrients, the universe,

00:34:46

the laws of physics that govern all of it.

00:34:48

He wrote them all out.

00:34:50

That's why He made great wine.

00:34:51

The parables. Why do those connect with us?

00:34:54

Because He designed us, our thoughts,

00:34:56

our hearts, our intentions.

00:34:57

He knows about it.

00:34:59

He created these perfect stories,

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these perfect examples that 2000 years later

00:35:03

we're still quoting to each other.

00:35:05

That's Jesus.

00:35:07

Now, of all the stuff He made, as amazing as it is,

00:35:10

like, this rock right here He might have made.

00:35:14

Do you know what's more amazing

00:35:16

than this rock or those trees that He made,

00:35:19

or the grass or the flowers, He made all that stuff?

00:35:22

Do you know what's more amazing than that?

00:35:24

He made you.

00:35:26

And the Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 that you,

00:35:30

out of all of creation, are His masterpiece. You.

00:35:35

If you're like most of us,

00:35:37

you don't value yourself as highly as He does.

00:35:40

You probably don't wake up in the morning and think,

00:35:42

"I am God's masterpiece."

00:35:45

That's what He thinks about you.

00:35:47

He says you're worth everything.

00:35:48

Now, the deal is a lot of us, we need recreating.

00:35:54

We're like that house that that gets out,

00:35:56

gets lived in, we get out there on life.

00:35:58

We have some bruises, we have some bumps,

00:36:00

we have some failures, we have some mistakes.

00:36:02

And oftentimes we find ourselves

00:36:04

in need of recreating.

00:36:05

And the question can be, "What about me, God?

00:36:09

Do you want to recreate me?"

00:36:11

The amazing story of the gospel is not just

00:36:14

that Jesus at one time created all this stuff,

00:36:17

or that Jesus created you however long ago you were born.

00:36:22

It's that He's recreating you right now.

00:36:26

Whatever is not right in your life,

00:36:28

whatever you wish could be different.

00:36:30

Maybe you have more fear than you wish you had,

00:36:32

more anxiety, maybe you're less confident.

00:36:36

Maybe you don't have the faith that you wish you had.

00:36:38

Whatever it is Jesus says, "I'm here to make that new.

00:36:42

I'm making everything new."

00:36:44

In fact, in 2 Corinthians the Bible says this:

00:36:56

What that means is anything in your life can be made new.

00:37:00

There's actually a scene at the end of the Bible

00:37:03

in Revelation where Jesus stands up and he says,

00:37:05

"Behold, I'm here to make everything new."

00:37:11

I don't know if you've ever felt like,

00:37:12

"Maybe God's done with me, you know, I'm too far gone.

00:37:17

It's too late for me. Whatever."

00:37:18

That's not what God says about you.

00:37:20

There's never a point when He gives up on you.

00:37:22

At any point He can remake you.

00:37:25

But I want to be very, very clear,

00:37:28

the gospel of Jesus is not a self-help message.

00:37:32

You cannot recreate yourself.

00:37:35

You cannot create peace where there's anxiety,

00:37:38

you can't do it, but He can if you'll just ask Him.

00:37:42

Just ask Him to remake you and He will.

00:37:46

You don't have to use fancy words, you know.

00:37:48

Jesus, the great part about Him as He's hanging out here,

00:37:50

what He shows us is He's an approachable guy.

00:37:55

Imagine if He's on this jobsite,

00:37:56

He's the one making buddies, making friends,

00:37:58

hanging out before work, after work, on the way to work.

00:38:01

He's easy to talk to, all you have to do is ask.

00:38:05

You just say, "Jesus, will You recreate in me peace?

00:38:10

Or will You create in me forgiveness?

00:38:13

Will You grow in me faith?

00:38:15

Will You remake the places where I'm stuck,

00:38:17

the places I don't even know what I need,

00:38:19

will You do that for me?"

00:38:20

If you'll just ask Him, I promise His answer will be yes.

00:38:24

And the creator of the universe

00:38:28

Himself will go to work on you.

00:38:38

An oasis in a vast desert, Ein Gedi

00:38:41

was a place of refuge that provided protection

00:38:43

and rest for future King of Israel, David,

00:38:45

when he was being hunted by the current king Saul.

00:38:48

Already a proven warrior, it was here

00:38:51

that God called out the creator in David,

00:38:54

building one identity upon the other.

00:39:02

- The most interesting person in the Bible is...

00:39:05

Jesus. That's always the answer, right?

00:39:07

Except that's actually not who I'm thinking of right now.

00:39:10

I'm thinking of David, King David,

00:39:13

warrior David, shepherd David.

00:39:16

This is the guy you just can't put in one little box.

00:39:20

He comes on the scene for the rest of the world

00:39:23

in the most famous story probably ever told

00:39:26

in any culture in any time period, David and Goliath.

00:39:30

He puts down the giants.

00:39:33

And in this time, he's also told that

00:39:36

he's going to be the next king of Israel.

00:39:39

Saul, who's the first and current king of Israel,

00:39:42

finds out he's a successor.

00:39:44

He doesn't want a successor.

00:39:45

He wants to keep ruling.

00:39:46

And so he responds by trying to put David to death.

00:39:51

David goes from having this mountain top experience

00:39:54

of putting down a giant at around

00:39:57

anywhere from 13 to 16, to for the next 14 years,

00:40:02

running for his life.

00:40:05

This is the way it is with many of us in our life.

00:40:07

We have these mountain top moments,

00:40:08

but our life isn't defined by the mountain top moments.

00:40:11

It's defined by how you do in the valley.

00:40:14

How long can you endure in the valley?

00:40:17

I'm in a valley where David was.

00:40:20

This is known as Ein Gedi.

00:40:22

It's known as the place where David escaped to.

00:40:25

It's known as the stronghold.

00:40:27

This is how 2 Samuel records it:

00:41:02

David feels safe and secure here.

00:41:04

He can see Saul perhaps coming with his army.

00:41:08

He's trying to chase him down up on these cliffs,

00:41:11

and he can skirt out to where the Dead Sea is,

00:41:13

go around there to Moab,

00:41:14

to where his grandmother Ruth was from.

00:41:16

He can be up high looking to see

00:41:18

if any enemies are coming to get him,

00:41:20

and he can hide in some of the cliffs here.

00:41:22

He's got water that's here.

00:41:23

He's a shepherd.

00:41:24

He understands that life forms need water

00:41:28

in order to live, and he's got plenty of it right here.

00:41:32

Here are the place where so much

00:41:34

of his inspiration comes through.

00:41:36

And what I love about David is

00:41:37

you can't just put him in one category.

00:41:41

He's not just one identity.

00:41:43

He has multiple identities.

00:41:45

We all have multiple identities.

00:41:47

They're primal to us. It's in our DNA.

00:41:50

You could say David is a blue collar worker.

00:41:53

Yes, but he's not just a blue collar worker a

00:41:55

s a shepherd, he's also a warrior.

00:41:57

He's not just also a warrior, but he's also a poet.

00:42:00

The Book of Psalms is filled with his poetry.

00:42:02

We're going to find out today he's a musician.

00:42:04

He would write songs.

00:42:06

He's a Renaissance man, and he's a collection

00:42:09

of a bunch of identities that are primal to who he is.

00:42:13

And this is the same with us.

00:42:15

We have multiple identities

00:42:16

that are primal inside of us

00:42:19

that need to be unlocked and unleashed.

00:42:22

We're going to learn from David in this area today.

00:42:30

David is a creator. That's what he does.

00:42:34

He creates and he calls things into being.

00:42:37

This is actually natural to all of us.

00:42:39

It's why I'm saying it's part of our primal DNA.

00:42:42

Pablo Picasso said, "Every child is an artist.

00:42:47

The problem is remaining one as you age."

00:42:51

Because as we get older, the complexities of life,

00:42:54

the difficulties of life, the stresses of life,

00:42:58

the pains and bruises add up

00:43:00

to where we just try to function

00:43:01

and get ourselves through our day

00:43:02

and through our life, instead of calling things into being.

00:43:06

We need to call things into being

00:43:08

because it's actually who we are, it's how God created us.

00:43:11

The Bible says that God has created us,

00:43:14

men and women, in the image of God.

00:43:17

We're like Him in a way that

00:43:19

no other created thing is like Him.

00:43:22

Now hear me real clearly.

00:43:24

I like animals, you could even say I love animals,

00:43:27

or at least I love my dog peanut.

00:43:28

I've got a cat, got a dog. I'm pro-animal.

00:43:31

They're really, really good.

00:43:32

And as great as animals are,

00:43:34

we have to recognize they're not humans.

00:43:37

We have capacities that they don't have,

00:43:40

and God has given us those abilities.

00:43:43

It's not just communication.

00:43:45

I don't think there's any strong evidence

00:43:47

that animals are able to deeply

00:43:50

and empathetically communicate with one another.

00:43:54

That's something that we can create language

00:43:57

and connect with our hearts, that I'm not seeing

00:43:59

any evidence that animals can have that level of conversation.

00:44:02

But it's not just that,

00:44:03

it's animals don't create like we can.

00:44:08

You may think, what are you talking about, Brian?

00:44:10

You got beavers, they're creating dams.

00:44:13

And you've got birds, they're creating nests.

00:44:17

Fair enough. Very true.

00:44:19

But those things they're creating,

00:44:20

they're creating those things for survival.

00:44:24

They're not innovating and creating something

00:44:27

that they've never seen or thought of before.

00:44:30

They're not able to do what we're able to do

00:44:32

and that is create a plane, even though

00:44:35

we don't have feathers to fly.

00:44:38

Birds are not going to be able to create

00:44:40

a submarine that goes down on the bottom of the ocean,

00:44:43

because they're not created in the image of God,

00:44:46

let alone they're not going to do poetry

00:44:48

or any number of things because

00:44:51

they're not created in the image of God.

00:44:53

We naturally want to create, it's what we do.

00:44:55

I always have a project going in my life,

00:44:59

and it's because I want to create things.

00:45:02

I've got a 1978 CJ7 that I am restoring,

00:45:06

and it's not just because I want a vehicle

00:45:09

that I had in college.

00:45:10

It's I like the creative process.

00:45:12

I like figuring out what color is it going to be?

00:45:15

What suspension am I going to put on this?

00:45:17

How am I going to fix this?

00:45:19

What kind of interior are going to put in? I'm creating.

00:45:21

At my house my wife is always saying,

00:45:23

"Would you just relax, just calm down,"

00:45:26

because I've always got a project going at the house.

00:45:28

My most recent thing was a little arbor,

00:45:31

a little trellis at my house.

00:45:33

I'm going to grow vines up.

00:45:34

I'm always doing something because I'm creating,

00:45:37

because God has made me a creator

00:45:39

and He's made you one too.

00:45:41

This content that I'm giving you right now,

00:45:43

I could have written an article about it.

00:45:45

I could have stood on a stage and given it to you.

00:45:48

But the creator in me was saying,

00:45:51

"How else can we communicate this in a way

00:45:53

that creates life and space for people?"

00:45:56

And the funny thing is, is when I'm creating

00:45:59

it for sure is work. It's hard.

00:46:02

That's why some of us might not be creating.

00:46:04

And I want to encourage you to create today

00:46:06

because it is work, but it's the kind of work

00:46:08

that's restorative. It brings life to you.

00:46:12

When we're not doing what God has created us to do,

00:46:15

we will be prematurely worn down.

00:46:19

As David is in this environment being restored

00:46:24

with the shade, being restored with the water,

00:46:28

I think this great work of art comes to his mind

00:46:32

and he creates it for us.

00:46:33

It's well known. It's called Psalm 23,

00:46:36

and in it David says this:

00:46:51

I think David is creating the Psalms,

00:46:56

many of them, in this water,

00:46:58

and he's finding it restores his soul.

00:47:02

Friends, you've got to figure out

00:47:03

what it is that you're going to create,

00:47:05

or life is just going to wear you down.

00:47:07

You've got to have your soul restored.

00:47:10

Creation is what does that.

00:47:12

We are not productivity machines.

00:47:15

We are not an assembly line.

00:47:16

We aren't created to be on an assembly line 24/7.

00:47:20

We're not human doings, we're human beings,

00:47:23

and part of who we are and our being

00:47:26

is to be like God and that means to be a creator.

00:47:30

And when I create, I'm blessing others.

00:47:34

That's the drive, to bless others.

00:47:37

It's really cool to see how our modern culture

00:47:43

is finding new outlets for creation.

00:47:45

Social media has created this whole new job

00:47:48

called content creator, and people are wanting

00:47:50

to create things and put it out there.

00:47:52

And I think that's great. I think that's awesome.

00:47:55

It's not that the youngest generation

00:47:57

has more creatives.

00:47:58

All of us have the DNA of creativity.

00:48:02

It's just the youngest generation has got

00:48:04

an outlet that maybe my dad's generation didn't have.

00:48:07

My dad's a creator. He's a nuclear engineer.

00:48:09

He used to design nuclear reactors. Yeah.

00:48:14

If you're designing nuclear reactors, you're creating.

00:48:17

No beaver or dog is ever going to figure out

00:48:19

how to harness energy and make a structure for that.

00:48:21

Only a creator can do that, people who are like my dad.

00:48:24

In fact, if you're hanging drywall, it may be tiring,

00:48:27

but you're actually creating rooms.

00:48:29

But this idea of putting stuff out on the internet

00:48:32

and making a living from it is great. I'm all for it.

00:48:34

Let's just remember this:

00:48:37

The point of creating is to bless others.

00:48:42

It's not to make a name for myself, it's to bless others.

00:48:45

The greatest art inspires people.

00:48:47

It doesn't bring glory to the creator,

00:48:50

at least that's not why it's created,

00:48:52

it's created to inspire and bless others.

00:48:55

This is how David uses his art, his music,

00:48:59

he creates amazing songs.

00:49:01

Saul is anti David. He wants to kill him.

00:49:05

But at the same time, Saul is tormented

00:49:08

by a spirit, an evil spirit.

00:49:11

Is this mental illness? Is this just an evil spirit?

00:49:15

Is that spirits and illness working together?

00:49:18

We can parse that verbiage later,

00:49:20

but the point is, he is conflicted.

00:49:22

He is not well.

00:49:24

And there's a solution for him:

00:49:26

It's great art to be created.

00:49:28

Someone says, "Hey, I know this guy

00:49:31

who actually can create. Let's find him."

00:49:34

1 Samuel 16:18:

00:49:52

And so David's ability to create this music,

00:49:56

because he has these multiple identities,

00:49:59

he's a man of valor, he's a warrior, he's a son,

00:50:02

and he's a creator is what gives others life.

00:50:06

The world needs you to bless others

00:50:09

and give people life, in the process, you yourself

00:50:13

are going to be restored and be more like God.

00:50:26

I think the environment in which you reside

00:50:32

has a lot to say about how we create.

00:50:34

I just think David is in this beautiful place

00:50:36

that God's created, and he's being stimulated

00:50:39

to write some of the best poetry

00:50:41

about rushing waters, about fortresses,

00:50:44

about the beautiful nature of God.

00:50:47

When you want to create

00:50:49

and stoke that DNA that's inside of you,

00:50:51

where you reside and what you do has a big impact.

00:50:55

I think that's why many parents instinctually

00:50:58

take their kids to the beach.

00:50:59

And I think that's why just about every kid,

00:51:02

as soon as they get to the beach,

00:51:04

they get themselves down to where there's some sand

00:51:09

and they start creating.

00:51:11

What kid doesn't like playing at the beach?

00:51:14

And what parent doesn't love seeing their kids play?

00:51:17

It's a form of creation.

00:51:19

I mean, right now I'm around sand right now

00:51:21

and I just can't help but put my fingers in it,

00:51:25

do some painting with it, do some structures with it.

00:51:29

Makes me wonder, you know, if David

00:51:31

was actually in this exact same place right now.

00:51:35

This might have actually been the beginning

00:51:37

of a vision that he had to create something

00:51:40

towards the end of his life.

00:51:41

The temple was where God's people

00:51:45

would worship God and come together.

00:51:47

And at this point in David's life,

00:51:49

there is no temple, there's just a tabernacle.

00:51:51

They're just worshiping in tents.

00:51:53

And later in David's life, he gets a vision

00:51:57

to create something, to create the temple.

00:52:01

So he raises money for it. He designs it.

00:52:03

He's actually not the one to build it.

00:52:05

His son Solomon does, but he's the creator.

00:52:08

He's the one who dreams it into being.

00:52:21

His looked a lot better than that.

00:52:25

I just think David has as a core competency creating

00:52:29

because this is what we have as people.

00:52:31

Jesus is a creator.

00:52:33

John 1:3 says, In Him and through Him

00:52:35

all things are created because He is a creator.

00:52:38

So are you.

00:52:51

- Hey, thanks for joining us for Real Encounters with God.

00:52:54

If you missed any week in the series,

00:52:55

or to check out previous seasons of Real Encounters with God,

00:52:58

just head to Crossroads.net/RealEncounters.

00:53:00

And can you believe it? It's almost Christmas.

00:53:04

Next week we start our Christmas at the movies series.

00:53:06

And every Christmas we give gifts

00:53:08

because we think every child deserves Christmas joy.

00:53:12

This season bring joy to a child

00:53:13

whose family can't afford presents

00:53:15

or is affected by incarceration.

00:53:18

You can join us wherever you live.

00:53:19

Just check in the happenings section of the Crossroads app

00:53:22

or head to Crossroads.net/anywhere

00:53:24

to learn more.

00:53:26

Here's just one story of how a gift impacted

00:53:29

a family last year through the Christmas Gift Drive.

00:53:39

- I'm here for a felonious assault

00:53:42

with a deadly weapon, and I was originally charged

00:53:45

with attempted murder, but they dropped it.

00:53:46

And I got six years. I shot someone.

00:53:51

I was mixed up in a lifestyle of drugs

00:53:53

and selling drugs, getting high, using,

00:53:56

living a fast life.

00:53:58

Coming to prison is like, "Oh, I don't want to do that."

00:54:00

But in my case, it was a blessing because

00:54:03

if I would not have came here, I'd probably

00:54:05

end up dead or killed someone.

00:54:08

The big thing with me right now is, like, my children,

00:54:11

because I have been out of their lives for so long,

00:54:13

and they was young when I went to prison.

00:54:15

So it's like I've missed out on

00:54:16

so many milestones in her life.

00:54:18

I haven't seen my son in six years,

00:54:20

so it means a lot to me.

00:54:23

I'm sorry. - Oh, no. No.

00:54:28

I'm sure it's going to mean a lot to them as well.

00:54:31

- I haven't seen him since he was ten years old

00:54:33

and he was 16.

00:54:38

It's a blessing to be able to have you guys

00:54:40

come in here and do something like that,

00:54:41

because in a place like this,

00:54:42

sometimes it can get lonely and get hard

00:54:47

being in an environment like this sometimes.

00:54:49

So it's nice when people come in from the outside

00:54:52

and lets us know there's still life out there,

00:54:53

and there's still things going on out there

00:54:55

and there's people that care.

00:54:57

It's just been really hard.

00:54:59

So today means a lot for Christmas.

00:55:02

I love you. - How are you?

00:55:04

- Look at you. You look so handsome. You're so grown.

00:55:07

- How are you doing? - I'm fine. You are so handsome.

00:55:10

Can I kiss you?

00:55:17

- It means a lot. Like, it's heartbreaking

00:55:19

that like six years, but like at least I see now.

00:55:22

Like, I'm able to see, you know I love you.

00:55:28

- I just want to tell them that I love them

00:55:30

and things are going to be different when I come home.

00:55:37

I just want to make a promise to them

00:55:39

and keep it and not go back on my words.

00:55:44

- What an amazing opportunity

00:55:46

to be a part of a mission bigger than you.

00:55:49

We're not just doing an event.

00:55:51

We're creating a memory, and that is so long lasting.

00:55:55

Crossroads community and leadership team

00:55:57

just wanted to figure out how can we

00:55:59

come alongside the families here that are in prison,

00:56:02

they're a part of our community.

00:56:04

And so we wanted to figure out

00:56:06

how can we go deeper as we come here for other things,

00:56:08

like Anywhere services.

00:56:10

We also do other programs here like marriage

00:56:13

and the God Experiment, Undivided.

00:56:15

So they see us not as just an organization

00:56:18

just dropping in. They see us as a family coming in.

00:56:22

So we're just providing an extension of love for them.

00:56:25

I've walked around to some of the tables

00:56:27

just to kind of see how the families are doing.

00:56:30

They're loving the food.

00:56:31

They're loving the time that they get to spend

00:56:33

with their children and their caregivers.

00:56:35

So just watching that, the hours that

00:56:39

we put into this thing, it's all worth it.

00:56:44

I think the women here and the men as well,

00:56:47

they're really, really appreciative because

00:56:49

they not only can see the commitment,

00:56:51

but they can feel the love.

00:56:53

- Five, six years ago, I was a completely different person.

00:56:56

I was so angry, hurt, full of rage.

00:56:59

And He's just --

00:57:01

He's worked a miracle in my life I feel like.

00:57:03

When you see people that don't even know you,

00:57:05

that are strangers, that still have the love

00:57:07

and kindness in their heart to come out here

00:57:08

and take their time and volunteer

00:57:10

and do things for us when they got so much

00:57:12

going on out there in the world with their own family.

00:57:14

So I just want to say thank you and I appreciate it

00:57:16

and you're a true blessing, all of you.

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