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♪ theme music ♪
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(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
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an in-depth, interactive study
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of the Word of God.
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I am looking forward to this study
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on Prophecy in the Psalms.
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These are Scripture songs, written
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up to 3,000 years ago, that give us
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powerful revelations about Messiah
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and about a God who loves us
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with an immeasurable and unfailing love.
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It's part of our series
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on Bible Prophecies and Stories
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for the Last Days.
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So, this isn't just ancient history;
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this is present truth
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that will bless your life today.
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So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School.
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Welcome to the team,
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say, "Hi," to each other.
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Good to have you all here.
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and I'm excited because Kylynda,
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one of our team members,
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will be leading today in our study,
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and it's going to be exciting.
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Let's see who's joining us remotely.
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Kevin, great to have you back with us,
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always glad to have you here.
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Cory, great to have you with us today,
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glad you're here.
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And Leeah, great to have you with us, too.
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You know, I appreciate
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our remote team members adding
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some diversity to our team,
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and I'm glad you're with us, too.
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Sometimes I'll get an email saying,
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"The teacher asked a question;
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I raised my hand."
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Well, you can always send us an email
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at sshope@hopetv.org.
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Let us know how you're being blessed
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through a study of the Word of God.
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Here's a note from Koos, K-O-O-S,
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Koos in South Africa.
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Hey, Zandile, that's your homeland.
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Did I say Koos' name right?
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(Zandile) K-O?
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(Derek) O-S, two O's.
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(Zandile) Okay, yes, that's...
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(Derek) We'll go with Koos.
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If we got it wrong, you write and tell us.
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"Hope Sabbath School
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is the high point of our week."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) "We don't have a church
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in our town, and, therefore, we have
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to rely on the internet.
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We stay in a small town on the border
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between South Africa and Mozambique.
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God bless Hope Sabbath School.
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Thank you. Amen."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Thanks for writing to us.
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You know, we don't imagine sometimes
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when we're recording that someone
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in a little town on the border
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of South Africa and Mozambique
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is a lifeline learning more
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about the Word of God.
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Thanks so much, Koos, for writing to us.
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Here's a note from Ethiopia.
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Seems like we get a few emails
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from Ethiopia, and Both writes.
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I wrote to him; I said, "How do
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you pronounce it?"
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He said, "Both, like Both," okay.
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"It's a great privilege for me
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to participate in Hope Sabbath School
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as an on-line member.
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I'm filled with hope, and I get
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peace of mind, and I like the theme songs
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and your smiles."
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(Team) Nice.
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(Derek) "Throughout my study
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for four years in university,
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I've been watching Hope Sabbath School,
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and I thank God," hear this testimony
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from Both, "I thank God because He's
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still keeping my Bible in my hand..."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) "...through the ministry
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of Hope Sabbath School."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Congratulations, Both,
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on fours years through university,
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but may I give thanks to God
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that you kept your Bible in your hand.
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"Keep up the good work preparing people
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to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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May God bless you abundantly. Amen."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) We say, "May God
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bless you, too, Both."
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Thanks for writing to us.
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Here is a note sent from a donor
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in North Carolina in the United States,
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"Greetings, Hope Sabbath School."
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(Team) Greetings.
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(Derek) "You're such a blessing
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to all of us who are following
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the narrow path to victory in Jesus."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Your enthusiasm mixed
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with godly knowledge is invaluable,
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and I personally see God's Spirit
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shining from your faces."
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(Stephanie) Wow, praise God.
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(Derek) We know that's a miracle of God
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because we're all broken people
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on this planet, but if the light of Jesus
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can shine through us, we're going to use
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my favorite Hebrew word.
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(Derek, Team) Hallelujah.
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(Derek) "Stay strong
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in the Lord Jesus Christ," and a donation
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of 212 dollars from North Carolina.
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Well, you know who you are, thank you.
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I'm sure there is
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some special significance to the 212,
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but I want to tell you, you're part
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of a great miracle of God.
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And thank you to each donor.
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We're a donor-supported ministry.
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And you say, "Derek, can I help?
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Would it make a difference?"
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Absolutely! Even if it was
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just the 12 dollars before the 200,
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it would make a difference, wouldn't it?
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Jesus affirmed those who brought
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great gifts, but also like the woman
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who anointed His feet,
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but also who brought the little gift
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that was all they had.
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You can go to our website,
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hopetv.org/hopess, click
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on the Donate button.
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Say, "Derek, I pray that God would bless,
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that His message of His saving grace
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would go to the world so Jesus
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can come back soon," thank you.
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One last note, from Gladys in Texas,
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and Gladys writes and says, "I watch
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Hope Sabbath School every week
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with my husband.
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I love the way you make it simple
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to understand the Bible.
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I love the team interaction,
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and I love the testimonies."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) We hear that over and over again.
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Well, Gladys, you may hear
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a testimony today as we're talking
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about Prophecy in the Psalms,
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so pray for us as we study.
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"We appreciate the hard work
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of the entire team
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including Bodil's Scripture songs."
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) "Keep spreading the good news."
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Well, you know, you can download
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the Scripture song that we have
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for this series.
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Go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess,
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and scroll down and you'll see you
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can get the song and the sheet music.
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You can learn that and sing it
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with your Bible study group.
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But before we do sing, I just want
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to remind you again about the free gift
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we have for this series because we're
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talking about Bible Prophecies
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and Stories for the Last Days.
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We're almost home.
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The prophet Daniel said
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there will be a time of trouble
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such as never was
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before the glorious return of the Lord,
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and we want to be covered and protected.
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This resource, called Radical Protection,
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will not only bless you
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but bless your family, and you can get
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a free digital copy.
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Just go to our website,
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click on the Free Gift tab,
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and you'll be able to download a copy.
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You can share it with your friends.
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You say, "Well, I have loved ones
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I want to be protected."
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Share it with them as well.
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Be a blessing to those around you.
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But, right now we need you to sing
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our theme song from Colossians 3:16,
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"Let the word of Christ dwell in you."
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Let's sing together.
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♪ music ♪
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(Derek) I'm looking forward to our study
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on Prophecy and the Psalms, Kylynda.
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(Kylynda) Would you join me
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as we begin in prayer.
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Dear God, the Author of songs,
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of hymns, of prophecy, thank You
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so much for sending the Word, Your Son.
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Please guide our Scripture study today
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as we seek to understand words
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that bring life. Amen.
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(Derek, Team) Amen.
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(Kylynda) Well, when I was
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in elementary school,
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one of our earliest assignments
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involved a game where we had to indentify
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similarities across objects.
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I'll give you an example.
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Let's say there was an avocado,
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a cactus, and an emerald.
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What would be the common similarity?
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(Shawn) Green!
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(Kylynda) Green, yes.
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So, this is a really great task to help us
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practice our pattern recognition,
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and it's really important that we're able
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to identify themes, whether we're
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looking at data or looking at literature
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because when we see a common pattern,
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a motif, reappear over and over,
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it's a sign that we
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should take special notice.
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So, I thought we could play
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a kind of similarity game today
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as we begin this study of the lesson.
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So, if we have an example
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from Exodus 14 and 15, this is telling
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when the Israelites escaped
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the Egyptian captors, and they
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go through the Red Sea.
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Now, we have another story in Matthew 26.
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In fact, the last lesson we
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discussed this, and this is the scene
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from the Last Supper.
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Jesus institutes the Last Supper,
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and then later on will go to be crucified.
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And our final story, Revelation 15,
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and this is a description
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of the temple in Heaven.
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So, in these three stories,
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the escape through the Red Sea
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and afterwards, and then we have
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the institution of the Last Supper,
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and then we have the temple.
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What might be a common action
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that occurs in all three?
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(Shawn) God's deliverance?
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(Kylynda) God's deliverance, that's great,
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we have salvation.
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Well, something that might be
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a little bit hidden in all these texts
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is that in each one
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of them they're singing.
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(Derek) Oh!
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(Kylynda) As we go through...right?
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[After they go through] the Red Sea,
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they celebrate with a song.
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At the end of the Last Supper,
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they sing a hymn together.
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And when we look at the throne room,
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we see the angels and the elders
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as well as the creatures singing.
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So, music is found throughout the Bible.
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And this kind of makes sense
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in our own lives.
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If we think of really special moments
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in our lives, like, let's say,
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a special worship service
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or a wedding celebration,
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sometimes even really sad memories
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like a funeral, music is often
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in each one of these events.
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We think of music as a way where we can
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express our emotions.
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What are ways that we see music
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being utilized in the Bible
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based on maybe some of these examples
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we talked about our some
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you know in your head?
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Thoughts of how we see music
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in the Bible. Sophia.
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(Sophia) As praise.
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(Kylynda) As praise, definitely.
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Any other ways where music
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appears in the Bible? Shawn.
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(Shawn) Just as encouragement.
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You know, there's just something
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about a blessed song that's
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sanctified by God that meets you
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at the core of who you are
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and just uplifts you to Heaven.
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There have been many times
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I've heard a three-minute song
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that gave me more truth
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than a 45-minute sermon.
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And that's just a blessing from the Lord.
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(Kylynda) Thank you
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for sharing, Shawn. Puia?
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(Puia) I'm remembering
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the Song of Solomon; the entire book
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is basically songs where Solomon
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described his love for his lover.
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So, that is also another instance
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where we see song in the Bible.
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(Kylynda) And, Cory?
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(Cory) Yeah, it seems like King David
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almost bubbled out with joy
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in song many times.
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(Derek) True.
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(Kylynda) Wonderful, thank you,
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all of you, for sharing.
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So, maybe I can just do a little recap.
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We can see song used in the Bible
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as an expression of great emotion,
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whether that's praise or celebration,
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but, as Cory was mentioning, some
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of the Psalms are actually songs
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that are about someone experiencing
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a lot of despondency in their lives.
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As Shawn was mentioning, song can
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also be used as a communal experience,
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a worship lesson, and as Puia mentioned,
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a song may be a love story
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between the singer and the listener.
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But there is actually, at least for me -
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I hadn't studied this in the past -
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a really interesting aspect of music,
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music as an important, if not vital,
teaching tool
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and a lens in which we
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can better understand prophecy.
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So, that's kind of a really big statement.
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We're going to back that up by taking
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a framework of how God views
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music in the Bible.
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And so, we're going to turn, first of all,
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to a verse that's located in Colossians,
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chapter 3, verse 16.
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And this might sound very familiar,
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if you are listening on line, because it's
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one of our Scripture songs.
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So, we'll look at Colossians, chapter 3,
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verse 16, and, Puia, would you mind
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taking us there to read the text.
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(Puia) Sure, and I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version,
Colossians 3:16:
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(Kylynda) So, we see
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in this really beautiful text
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an encapsulation of all these ideas,
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of praise, of teaching and inspiration.
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Well, when we think
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about a very rich source of songs
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in the Bible, one that was
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already mentioned were the psalms.
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As Derek was saying, this is a collection
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of music sung, millennia old.
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And we want to take a look,
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because maybe someone who's
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listening in says, "Well, when I read
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the Bible, the Gospels are
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really important; they
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tell us about Jesus."
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Maybe, "When I read the Bible,
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it's really important for me
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to focus on prophecy."
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"Oh, but the Psalms, they're just songs.
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If they're useful, maybe we
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can use them to sing."
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But God says that they are actually
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very important, and they have
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a very special inspiration.
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So, the person
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that maybe might come to mind
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when we think about a psalm writer...
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there are multiple.
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In previous lessons, we've studied
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several of them, so maybe some people
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can give me some help.
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Who are the various people
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that have written psalms that are
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recorded in the Bible?
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(Team) King David.
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(Kylynda) King David, right, he wrote
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nearly half of the psalms.
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So, let's take a look to see what was
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his testimony in writing these psalms.
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And we can find this in some texts
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that look at the end of his life
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in 2 Samuel, chapter 23, verses 1 and 2.
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And, Shawn, would you mind taking us there
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and reading those texts?
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(Shawn) I'd be happy to; we'll be reading
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2 Samuel, chapter 23, verses 1 through 2,
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and I'll be reading
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the English Standard Version:
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(Kylynda) So, who do we see here,
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inspiring King David?
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(Team, Kylynda) God. The Holy Spirit.
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(Kylynda) Okay, but let's say that I'm
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being a little grumpy, and I say,
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"Okay, well, David, you know, he was
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the great king of Israel,
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but what about all these other psalms?"
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Well, let's take a look
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at some other verses that we can find
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in the New Testament
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which really kind of hones in and sets
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this framework of Psalms
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as a place of inspiration.
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We're first going to turn
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towards 2 Timothy, chapter 3,
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verses 16 and 17, and, Kevin, would you
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mind taking us to these texts
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in the New Testament?
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And, as Kevin is reading, Leeah,
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if you could look up 2 Peter,
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chapter 1, verses 19 [through] 21.
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So, we'll read these in conjunction
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and then discuss.
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(Kevin) Sure, and I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version,
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2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, says:
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(Kylynda) Thank you. So, which Scriptures?
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(Team, Kylynda) All Scripture.
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(Kylynda) Okay, and, Leeah,
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if you could take us to 2 Peter,
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chapter 1, verses 19 through 21.
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(Leeah) Of course, I'll be reading
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from the English Standard Version,
and it reads:
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(Kylynda) Thank you so much, Leeah.
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Okay, so, a little quick summary
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of our introduction here.
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We took a look in Colossians, chapter 3,
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verse 16, where we use Scripture
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as a teaching tool.
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And then we took a look a the psalmists,
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and we see the the psalms
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are inspired by God.
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And as we look at words written
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by Jesus' own disciple,
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Scripture is a prophetic word,
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and if all Scripture is divinely inspired,
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then Psalms have a very special place,
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as all of the Bible does, to point us
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to truths about prophecy.
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Now, we could spend probably weeks
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and weeks studying
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various prophetic themes
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found in Psalms.
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Unfortunately, we don't have the time,
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so we're going to focus on two elements,
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the first, the tabernacle,
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and the second, the psalms
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as pointing towards Jesus Christ.
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But, first we're going to view this idea
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of the psalms as a way
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to better understand elements
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of the sanctuary.
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This is a really common theme
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found in the psalms.
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Sometimes it's referred
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to as the House of the Lord,
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such as in Psalm 122,
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so this idea of the tabernacle,
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the House of the Lord, a place of worship.
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I want us first to go back to the origins
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of the tabernacle.
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Who designed the tabernacle?
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And how was the tabernacle formed?
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And when was it formed?
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So, let's take a look by focusing
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on a verse found in Exodus,
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Exodus, chapter 25 and verse 40.
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Zandile, can you take us to this text?
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(Zandile) Sure, and I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version,
verse 40 says:
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(Kylynda) Okay, so maybe Zandile
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can help me out.
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When was the "when"
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of the sanctuary being built?
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In very general terms, not a year,
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but what portion of the Bible
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are we reading from?
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(Zandile) We are reading from Exodus.
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(Kylynda) So, the Israelites
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have left Egypt; they're starting off
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as a people.
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So, who was the designer
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of the tabernacle?
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(Zandile) According to the verse, God was.
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(Shawn) That's right.
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(Kylynda) But, how was
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the tabernacle designed?
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Was it something just made up on the spot?
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(Team) No.
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(Kylynda) Shawn.
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(Shawn) God had a pattern
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of the sanctuary already developed
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that He revealed to Moses.
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And as we discussed in previous lessons,
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the sanctuary would end up being
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a paradigm of how the plan
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of salvation would come about.
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So, it wasn't something God
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just made up willy-nilly.
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He wasn't thinking, "Hey,
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I'll be a cool architect
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and make this awesome-looking sanctuary,"
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but it was to be a living parable
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of our own salvation.
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(Kylynda) That's wonderful, thank you.
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You're giving a great summary
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of where we're going to move on to next.
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Perhaps one place in the Bible
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that spends the most time talking
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about this heavenly sanctuary,
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this paragon, is found
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in the book of Hebrews,
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so let's take a turn towards Hebrews.
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We're going to look at chapter 8
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and read verses 1 and 2,
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so Hebrews, chapter 8, verses 1 and 2.
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And I think it was discussed
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in previous lessons.
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Shawn, perhaps you brought this out.
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We see Hebrews as a book
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that's telling us of the better,
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of the better high priest,
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of the better sacrifice,
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of the better pure sanctuary
or tabernacle.
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So, as we're understanding
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how the earthly sanctuary
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points to salvation
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and to the appearance of Christ,
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let's take a look
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at the heavenly sanctuary,
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which was the model.
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So, we're looking at Hebrews.
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I mean, we could look
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at many different verses, but we're
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going to focus on chapter 8,
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verses 1 and 2, and, Tendi,
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if you could read that for us.
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(Tendi) And I'll be reading
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from the New King James,
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and it reads, Hebrews 8:1-2 reads:
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(Kylynda) Thank you, so we have
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the true tabernacle in Heaven
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that was erected.
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So, Zandile read,
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initially the tabernacle, as the children
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of Israel were leaving Egypt,
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was a moveable structure,
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which kind of makes sense, right?
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They are journeying
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on to the Promised Land.
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And, as we read the Bible,
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eventually it becomes erected
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into a permanent building place.
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Maybe, Puia, would you mind
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just kind of summarizing when this happens
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and in what part of the Bible
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this takes place.
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(Puia) So, as we journey
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with the Israelites, after they
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entered the Promised Land,
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we can find in 1 Kings that finally God
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gave them the instruction to build
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as a building itself, right?
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So, in the story of, specifically, Solomon
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was the temple built and dedicated
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as an immovable sanctuary.
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(Derek) I never realized
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while growing up,
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maybe everybody else knew,
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but that tabernacle,
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which was like a tent, right,
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existed for several hundred years
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after the children of Israel made it
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to the Promised Land.
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And then, as Puia mentioned,
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David wanted to buld
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a more permanent structure,
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but the Lord said, "Your hands
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are covered with blood,
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but your son will build it, and that's
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why we call it Solomon's temple.
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But, that tabernacle, which was
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designed after the pattern
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Moses had been shown,
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was not just when they were wandering
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but was there for centuries
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once they arrived in the Promised Land.
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(Kylynda) Yes, definitely a sacred space.
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So, we know that the tabernacle
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has a long history
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with the children of Israel.
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We know that it's designed
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after a tabernacle, a perfect tabernacle
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or heavenly temple, that we
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can read about in Hebrews.
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And, as Shawn mentioned, it's a symbol,
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a revelation, of the plan of salvation.
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So, now let's take our focus
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to what are the lessons that God
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wanted to teach us
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through the sanctuary and its services.
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And to do this, we're going to go
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back to the book of Hebrews.
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Now, we're going to go
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a chapter down, chapter 9,
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looking at verses 11 through 15.
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So what is God trying to teach
-
through the sanctuary
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and its building place?
-
Stephanie, could you read
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those verses for us?
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(Stephanie) Sure, and I'll be reading
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from the New King James Version:
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(Kylynda) That is
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a very theologically packed text
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of the sanctuary and its services.
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Is anyone on the team willing
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to summarize maybe even a portion
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of what this means
-
for the plan of salvation?
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Kevin, would you mind?
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(Kevin) When I hear those verses
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and read it, I get that God wants us
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to really dig into the sanctuary message
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and understand it deeply
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because if you just look at it
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on the surface, there are sacrifices,
-
there is blood, there are
-
some unappealing things.
-
But, if you look into it, the symbolism
-
behind it reveals God's plan for us.
-
It shows us what He actually did for us
-
in giving up His only begotten Son
-
and reveals His plan to spend
-
all eternity with us.
-
There is so much there that you
-
could study; it's an amazing message.
-
(Kylynda) Thank you so much
-
for sharing, Kevin. Samantha.
-
(Samantha) Yes, what I get from this
-
is that it points us to Christ,
-
the perfect Sacrifice.
-
And with Christ, there is no need
-
for animal blood or rituals,
-
and through His blood
-
we have eternal redemption.
-
(Kylynda) Thank you
-
so much, Samantha. Shawn.
-
(Shawn) It's just a reminder
-
that Jesus' blood was
-
sufficient for all time.
-
It's not just redemption,
-
it's eternal redemption.
-
And once we get to Heaven,
-
that redemption is going to continue
-
covering us for our entire time
-
in the glory of God.
-
(Kylynda) Wonderful, it will
-
certainly be such a great celebration
-
when we can rejoice with the Lamb.
-
So, there is a lot that we can unpack
-
on these texts, but you might say,
-
"Well, our lesson is talking
-
about the psalms,"
-
so let's go back to the psalms.
-
We have kind of a framework
-
of the sanctuary, of its purpose,
-
of its pointing toward salvation,
-
but the psalms,
-
wonderfully, beautifully provide
-
a new lens, a new aspect
-
and further depth to our understanding
-
of the sanctuary and sanctuary experience.
-
So, let's talk about this idea
-
of entering the sanctuary.
-
Shawn, you had mentioned that we're
-
looking forward to the day
-
where we can all enter, you know,
-
face-to-face the presence of God
-
and have this worship experience.
-
However, every single day we are called
-
to join God in a worship experience
-
to tabernacle with Him.
-
and the psalms give us
-
some interesting...
-
some people might call it
-
maybe very extremely conditional
suggestions
-
about entering the space.
-
Some might call it a beautiful message
-
of hope of entering this space.
-
We're going to study this tension
-
of what it means to enter
-
into a tabernacle experience
-
here on a sinful earth.
-
The psalms bring out this idea
-
of cleansing before entering
-
the tabernacle space.
-
We can see this in multiple verses.
-
We're going to take a look first
-
at Psalm 15, looking
-
at verses 1 through 5, and then we'll take
-
a look at Psalm 24, verses 3 and 4.
-
But, first of all, let's go to Psalm 15,
-
verses 1 through 5, and, Samantha,
-
if you could read those texts for us.
-
(Samantha) Psalm 15, verse 1
-
to verse 5, I will read
-
from the New King James Version:
-
(Kylynda) Thank you for reading
-
those texts, Samantha.
-
Let's see if we can move on
-
a little bit forward to Psalm,
-
chapter 24, looking at verses 3 and 4.
-
So, I want to read these
-
in conjunction with each other, and you'll
-
hear a familiar theme that appears.
-
Leeah, could you read these texts for us?
-
(Leeah) Of course, I'll be reading
-
from the English Standard Version,
and it says:
-
(Kylynda) Wow, that seems like a really...
-
(Stephanie) High calling.
-
(Kylynda) A high calling,
thank you, Stephanie.
-
(Derek) I hear those, and I think,
-
"There's no hope for me,
-
really, really, unless I read
-
the other psalm, because he also says,
-
"I'll dwell in the House
-
of the Lord forever."
-
And I'm like, "Really?!
-
I've read the book;
-
I know what you've done."
-
And it's only because of Psalm 51,
-
which I know we will probably read,
-
where he says, "God, create in me
-
a clean heart," because I don't think
-
any of us could read Psalm 15
-
and say, "Yes, yes,
-
uprightly all the time..."
-
If that is what is required,
-
it is a miracle of God's grace
-
and goodness that we will dwell
-
in the House of the Lord forever.
-
(Kylynda) So, these psalms are
-
indicating that that cleansing
-
needs to take place,
-
but as Derek says, can we
-
do [this cleansing] ourselves?
No. Samantha.
-
(Samantha) You know what will bring
-
you hope, Derek, is that God's mercy
-
dwells in this temple.
-
His mercy is there, and so we
-
can feel free to go there
-
because we know He's not going
-
to judge us like...
-
(Derek) Thank you, Samantha,
but, you know,
-
I think it illustrates an important point,
-
as you talk about themes.
-
If someone just read Psalm 15,
-
they'd just get depressed and say,
-
"There's no hope for me."
-
They need to read
-
the whole counsel of God,
-
and all Scripture is given
-
by inspiration and is profitable
-
for reproof (ouch, Psalm 15, right),
-
for correction, yes,
-
but also for instruction in righteousness.
-
How can I be right with God?
-
(Kylynda) Wonderful. I mean,
-
we'll turn to Psalm 51 to take a look
-
at this cleansing that takes place,
-
a moment that happens
-
in a very tragic point
-
in King David's life.
-
And as we're turning there,
-
Puia, if you could finish off
-
with a comment that you were making.
-
(Puia) So, in verse 3 of Psalm 24
-
that we just read, the question was,
-
"Who may ascend
-
into the hill of the Lord?"
-
So, in the Hebrew Scripture,
-
when it talks about the hill of the Lord
-
in the context of the sanctuary,
-
it's talking about Mount Zion.
-
Zion was where the sanctuary
-
was built eventually.
-
And it's very interesting to note
-
that when we come
-
to the last book of the Bible
-
in Revelation, chapter 14, we see
-
this beautiful prophecy in a way
-
where the Lamb is standing on Mount Zion
-
with the saints, 144,000
-
and innumerable, countless people
-
from all parts of the world.
-
So, the question in Psalms was,
-
"Who will be able to stand?"
-
Well, in Revelation we see
-
this prophecy of people standing
-
with the Lamb on Mount Zion.
-
And the key about that cleansing
-
that you mention is, in order to qualify
-
there, according to Revelation,
-
they follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
-
That's the key!
-
Derek, there's hope for us.
-
If we follow the Lamb,
-
we'll be able to stand
-
because of the Lamb.
-
(Derek) Amen. So, we need to read
-
the whole Book, really, to find
-
the goodness and the grace of God.
-
(Kylynda) And let's take a look
-
at those texts of hope
-
found in Psalm 51.
-
Could someone maybe give
-
a very brief summary
-
of why this Psalm was written?
-
Or, what events had occurred prior
-
to the writing of this psalm? Shawn.
-
(Shawn) A very quick synopsis:
-
King David was supposed to be at war,
-
but his generals were out.
-
He had remained at home.
-
Unfortunately, he was becoming,
-
shall we say, slothful in maintaining
-
his own character.
-
What ends up happening is he sees
-
another man's wife bathing on the roof,
-
has unholy, lustful thoughts about her
-
and takes her to be his own.
-
Unfortunately, through that
very tragic incident,
-
she becomes pregnant, and he tries
-
to hide his sin, which leads him
-
to killing her husband
-
and doing terrible things
-
not befitting a man of God.
-
He watches as his kingdom crumbles
-
because of this sin.
-
His son Absalom raises
-
an army against Him.
-
And when he is at his most broken,
-
he is now ready to write the Psalm
-
because a prophet came to him,
-
challenged him, and by his own confession,
-
by David's own confession,
-
he realized he was worthy of death.
-
And he repented, and this is
-
the psalm he wrote in response.
-
(Kylynda) So, when we hear
-
that story about King David,
-
we would certainly assume,
-
based off of Psalm 15, that this person
-
isn't someone who is going
-
up to the tabernacle space.
-
Mutsa, if you could start off, we're going
-
to read some select verses in Psalm 51.
-
First, I was wondering if you could read
-
verses 1 through 2.
-
We'll pause, and then we'll
-
move on to another portion in the psalm.
-
(Mutsa) Okay, and I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version, it reads:
-
(Kylynda) So, when we have sinned,
-
where can we go to?
-
Who can we ask for help?
-
(Team) God.
-
(Kylynda) Shawn.
-
(Shawn) Well, as the panel said, God,
-
but I want to focus, if I can,
-
because of Derek's question earlier
-
of "How can I have hope?"
-
It's been on my soul
-
for the last eight minutes
-
we've talked about it,
-
and we need to look
-
at what the [phrase] "blot out" means.
-
It means "to eliminate."
-
It means "to destroy the record."
-
David is pleading to God, "God, you know
-
the evil I have done."
-
He is ashamed of it.
-
He will later say his soul
-
was being broken; his bones are trembling.
-
And he asked God not only, "Forgive me,"
-
but, "Blot out the record
-
that I even sinned."
-
And while the psalm reference
-
is eluding me right now,
-
maybe the panel will know
-
where I'm talking of, the psalmist says,
-
"If You, Lord," kept a record,
-
who could be saved?!
-
But with You, there is
-
forgiveness in Your grace."
-
And so, he's asking God,
-
"Don't just forgive me,
-
don't just love me, eliminate the record
-
I ever sinned so I can ascend
-
back to Your holy hill."
-
It's a beautiful psalm,
-
one of my absolute favorites.
-
(Kylynda) Thank you for sharing.
Stephanie.
-
(Stephanie) I agree with Shawn.
-
I just want to go back one step.
-
He's coming to God because he knows
-
that God will be merciful.
-
He says, "According
-
to Your lovingkindness."
-
He said "have mercy" because he knows
-
that God is a God of mercy.
-
And so he has confidence,
-
so we can have confidence
-
when we go to God.
-
(Kylynda) So there's an aspect
-
of the tabernacle - relationship.
-
Not just relationship
-
with another fellow believer,
-
which we can see in the Psalms,
-
but with God Himself. Sophia.
-
(Sophia) I think it's also beautiful
-
that David is called "a man
-
after My own heart" by God.
-
And it says here "to create
-
in me a clean heart," a new heart,
-
so we can have a heart
-
after God, no matter what.
-
(Derek) And I want to just affirm
-
what Stephanie said about knowing
-
the character of God.
-
You know, Judas didn't know
-
the character of God,
-
and with his massive failure,
-
he decided to kill himself.
-
Peter knew the character of God,
-
and he came and was forgiven,
-
and not only forgiven but became
-
a great worker in the cause of Jesus.
-
So, I think, for anyone watching
-
the program, I just want to remind them
-
that God is merciful and gracious
-
because sometimes we're like,
-
"Well, what if I tell Him all the things?"
-
Well, can I let you know, He already knows
-
because He knows all things.
-
But, He's coming to you in love and mercy
-
and wants to cleanse you and give you
-
a new beginning, and I think that's
-
a really important point.
-
As he prays, he's claiming that God
-
is as merciful as he has known Him to be.
-
(Kylynda) Can we continue actually reading
-
more of this wonderful psalm?
-
(Derek) It's a Scripture song, right?
-
(Kylynda) ...Mutsa, I'm going to ask
-
if you could continue.
-
We'll look at verses 7 through 12
-
because these verses also have
-
some sanctuary motifs in them,
-
just really emphasizing
-
God's immeasurable, unfailing love,
-
verses 7 through 12.
-
(Mutsa) And I will be continuing
-
in the New King James Version:
-
(Derek, Team) Amen.
-
(Kylynda) So how can we have
-
a tabernacle experience?
-
What are some of the emotions
-
of entering into this sacred space
with God?
-
(Derek) I would say, Kylynda,
-
not only confessing, as Stephanie said,
-
how good God is but also confessing
-
how much I need His mercy and grace.
-
I think of the story of the sinner,
-
in the time of Jesus, beating on his chest
-
and saying, "God, be merciful
-
to me, a sinner."
-
And Jesus said, "He is the one
-
who left set right with God."
-
So, we need both to confess
-
the mercy and goodness of God
-
but also to confess our brokenness
-
and our great need of His grace.
-
(Kylynda) So, at the tabernacle,
-
we experience humility.
-
We experience confession.
-
What do we find in verse 12?
-
What other experience is there
-
waiting for us? Restoration.
-
(Team Member) Hope.
-
(Derek) And joy.
-
(Shawn) So, not only restoration,
-
but we are upheld by a steadfast spirit,
-
a spirit that won't permit us
-
to leave God again, that won't permit us
-
to fall back in that sin and darkness.
-
It's like God is saying,
-
"I love you so much, I came, I found you.
-
Now that you're here, I'm not going
-
to let you go again."
-
And I don't know about you,
-
but in my life, I want
-
that steadfast spirit every single day.
-
(Derek) I see Cory's hand raised,
-
but I would respectfully challenge
-
just a little bit with my brother Shawn.
-
When it says, "He would not permit it,"
-
I would quote Jude, who says,
-
"Now to Him who is able
-
to keep you from stumbling"
-
because, unfortunately, and we
-
could look at some examples in the Bible,
-
we can choose to walk away from His grace.
-
And we say, "Why would anybody
-
want to do that?"
-
And there are several reasons.
-
Maybe they've just never seen
-
how beautiful His character
-
of grace and mercy is.
-
But, if I choose to stay there,
-
He is able to keep us from stumbling,
-
but I wanted to see what Cory said
because he...
-
(Kylynda) Cory, please share.
-
(Cory) No, it was similar to that.
-
I do think it's important to continue
-
to reflect on where David was.
-
I mean, what had he just gone through,
-
and we mentioned that at the start,
-
but as we go through this,
-
just continue to remember the sins
-
that he just committed - adultery, murder.
-
And then he's saying, "Bring
-
back the joy of Your salvation
-
in my heart, God."
-
And you can almost see him
-
on his knees, crying, praying,
-
pleading, begging, asking
-
for God's generous spirit to come back.
-
And that heart replacement,
-
that transplant, is something
-
that we're all offered, no matter how bad
-
we've sinned, how far we've gone.
-
That heart replacement is available to us,
-
and it just brings me joy just to know
-
that that's available to me.
-
(Kylynda) Thank you, Cory. Tendi.
-
(Tendi) And adding onto what Cory
-
just said, verse 12 talks
-
about restoration of the joy of salvation,
-
and let's observe that he
-
changed in character; he repented,
-
was restored, and is going to teach
-
transgressors not to do what he did.
-
So, it shows that when we are forgiven,
-
and God restores the joy of our salvation,
-
there is an act of repentance
-
but also maturity, spiritually - yes.
-
(Derek) Beautiful.
-
(Kylynda) Zandile and then we'll move on
-
to our second aspect
-
of Prophecy in the Psalms.
-
(Zandile) Thank you, I just wanted to say
-
that David also trusted in the power
-
of God to bring renewal
-
in his life and restoration.
-
If we just pray and confess our sins
-
and still not trust and believe that
-
He will restore us, we are
-
[as bad as] we have started.
-
But we need to have that faith
-
and that trust to say no matter
-
how red they are, He has promised
-
to make them whiter.
-
(Kylynda) Thank you so much.
-
So, at the sanctuary, we see salvation,
-
the model of salvation.
-
You know, there is a high calling,
-
as Stephanie said, to enter
-
into the sanctuary.
-
The bad news, we don't match that level.
-
But the even better news is that God
-
is willing not only to cleanse us
-
and blot out our iniquities
-
but elevate us, give us a clean heart,
-
bring us into a closer restoration
with Him.
-
So, the sanctuary points to...?
-
(Derek) Messiah.
-
(Kylynda) The Messiah, Jesus.
-
The Bible is pointing to Jesus,
-
and the psalms point to Jesus as well.
-
So, Jesus actually acknowledges
-
the importance of the psalms
-
as evidence to His life.
-
I'd like us to turn to a verse
-
that's found in Luke, chapter 24.
-
Now, this is the Road to Emmaus story,
-
So, Jesus has been risen from the dead,
-
and as He is walking down the street,
-
He purposefully, we believe, meets
-
with several of His Apostles.
-
They don't know who He is,
-
and they are heartbroken
-
that Jesus has passed away.
-
And so, Jesus decides to give them
-
a Bible study of the Messiah.
-
Puia, I wonder if you could take us
-
to Luke, chapter 24,
-
reading verses 44 and 45.
-
(Puia) Sure, and I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version:
-
(Kylynda) Wow. I bet all of us
-
would have loved to have joined in
-
on that Bible study.
-
So, Luke doesn't record
-
the different texts that Jesus used;
-
he does mention the book of Psalms.
-
But, if I went to Heaven,
-
I would ask Jesus, "So, it was
-
Psalm 22, correct?"
-
So, let's turn...Psalm 22 is known
-
as a psalm that has multiple instances
-
reflecting on who the Messiah was,
-
on His sacrifice, on His death,
-
and on the resurrection.
-
We could spend our time looking
-
at every single verse.
-
We're going to just highlight
-
several of them to show that Psalm 22
-
is pointing to the Messiah
-
and how it gives us insight
-
into His character of love.
-
So, Stephanie, would you mind reading
-
Psalm 22, verse 1?
-
And as you're going there, Leeah,
-
if you could turn to the evidence
-
in the New Testament, Mark,
-
chapter 15, verse 34.
-
So, Stephanie will read first,
-
and then Leeah will take us to Mark 15.
-
(Stephanie) And I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version,
-
Psalm 22, verse 1:
-
(Kylynda) So, here's a psalm
-
which kind of reflects
-
the despondency of the author.
-
Where do we see this in Jesus' life?
-
Leeah, Mark 15, verse 34.
-
(Leeah) In the English Standard Version,
it reads:
-
(Kylynda) Jesus is quoting the psalmist,
-
and He takes these words of despondency
-
and reflects them in His own sacrifice
-
that He's given.
-
(Derek) One of my favorite preachers
-
once said Jesus cried that cry
-
so that we would never
-
have to cry that cry.
-
(Team) Amen.
-
(Derek) He suffered what we deserved,
-
and our sin was separating Him
-
from the Father's presence.
-
I don't think the Father was far from Him.
-
I think the Father was right there
-
and loved Him with the eternal love
-
with which He always had loved Him.
-
But our sin was separating Him.
-
(Kylynda) A separation never experienced
in the Bible.
-
(Derek) But what a privilege that we
-
don't have to cry that hopeless cry
-
because Jesus is our Redeemer, praise God.
-
(Team) Amen.
-
(Kylynda) In the psalm, we actually see
-
even more clear examples linking
-
the crucifixion experience
-
with the psalmist's words.
-
I wonder if we could take a look
-
at Psalm 22, verses 7 through 8.
-
So, Jesus was experiencing this feeling
-
of separation that sin had driven
-
between Him and God,
-
but He wasn't also receiving comfort
-
from the people around Him.
-
Samantha, if you could read for us
-
Psalm 22, verses 7 through 8,
-
and, Kevin, if you could turn
-
to the New Testament
-
and look up Matthew 27,
-
verses 39 through 43. Samantha.
-
(Samantha) Psalm 22, verses 7 and 8:
-
(Kylynda) And, Kevin, if you
-
could take us now to look at Matthew,
-
chapter 27, verses 39 to 43.
-
(Kevin) I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version:
-
(Kylynda) How tragic
-
that the very religious leaders
-
who are supposed to be pointing people
-
towards Jesus are actually quoting,
-
basically, a psalm that's reflecting
-
this experience of anger, of mocking,
-
towards the Messiah.
-
Let's take a look at a final example.
-
Sophia, I wonder if you could read
-
verse 18 of Psalm 22, and, Tendi,
-
if you could take us
-
to a corresponding reference
-
in the New Testament, John,
-
chapter 19, verses 23 and 24.
-
So, Sophia, verse 18 in Psalm 22.
-
(Sophia) And I'll be reading
-
from the New King James Version:
-
(Kylynda) Thank you. And, Tendi,
-
if you could take us to John,
-
chapter 19:23,24.
-
(Tendi) The New King James Version says:
-
(Kylynda) Thank you, Tendi.
-
And I'd encourage the viewers at home
-
to take time to read through Psalm 22
-
and take a look
-
at the corresponding verses.
-
Perhaps your Bible has little asterisks
-
or indications of where these texts
-
are found in the New Testament.
-
Really, as I studied the Psalms,
-
I found that it not only deepened
-
my understanding of prophecies,
-
it helped strengthen my belief
-
in who Jesus is and in His ministry.
-
And I found it to be
-
a really valuable tool that takes
-
these words, even though we don't know
-
the music, as you often say to us still,
-
but these poetic words
-
that kind of speak to the soul
-
and bring us to a deeper understanding
-
of who Christ is.
-
As we close the lesson, I want
-
to take us back to this concept of music
-
and how God uses music,
-
the words of the songs,
-
the singing of the hymns,
-
as an important lesson for us
-
to better understand prophecies,
-
to better understand our experiences
-
living in the last days.
-
And, I was wondering if the group
-
could share, perhaps, any advice
-
or experiences in which music
-
helped them in their worship experience.
-
What are ways we can incorporate music
-
into our tabernacle experience today?
-
(Derek) Well, I'd like to share something.
-
I know we're out of time, but we
-
could sing Scripture songs.
-
I want to just, if I can, close
-
in the few seconds we have left,
-
in the middle of Psalm [22], Jesus says,
-
"O My Strength, hasten to help Me!"
-
And then verse 21, "You've heard Me."
-
So, this is not a cry of despair.
-
It's a cry of anguish, but it's
-
also a cry of hope.
-
Thank you, Kylynda, for sharing with us.
-
And I hope, when you sing
-
some of these Scripture songs,
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you'll remember that the Holy Spirit
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inspired the writing of those songs
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to bless your heart and to remind you,
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no matter how far you have fallen
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from grace, that God can redeem you
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and cleanse you and save you.
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Let's pray; Father in Heaven, thank You
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for this study today, a somber study
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as we think about how Jesus was treated,
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but He was willing to suffer
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what we deserved, that we might receive
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the eternal blessing
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that He alone deserves.
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Thank You for Your grace.
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May we accept the gift of Your salvation
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and may we share that good news
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with those around us.
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In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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(Team) Amen.
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(Derek) Well, it's an amazing journey.
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As Kylynda said, go back to the psalms,
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not only Psalm 22 but other psalms.
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See it all pointed to Jesus,
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and then run to Him, your Savior,
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and go out and be a blessing
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to those around you.
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♪ theme music ♪