WEBVTT 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:04.080 Welcome to the Awakening Church Podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.960 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.400 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:13.359 Merry Christmas. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.239 My name is Ashley, and I get to serve as the kids' pastor here. 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:24.559 Those are the parents whose kids are other places. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:30.239 Christmas is my favorite time of year. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:37.439 This year I had Christmas music playing in our car on the way home from trick-or-treating. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:45.119 We probably put up our live Christmas tree as far before Thanksgiving as we can find one. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:48.240 There's a picture that you'll see of my daughter standing in front of it. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.600 That picture was taken the day before Thanksgiving this year. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:57.039 And every year we purchase a few more strands of lights for the front of our house. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:02.079 And there's another picture of my two kids who are standing by their favorite part of our yard. 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:18.079 I love to make the Christmas season just a little bit longer because there's so much fun to be had, there's so many treats to be eaten, and there's just so little time to pack it all in. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:30.159 In the midst of the Christmas hustle of buying gifts, decorating the tree, and holiday parties, it can be easy to be distracted from what God is doing in our lives. 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:42.000 We're in this series called A Return to Wonder, where we're asking this question: what if there is a deeper reality to the Christmas season that we have been missing all along? 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:48.319 And if that's true, how do we return to the wonder of this magical time of year? 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:59.200 When it comes to Christmas, we're so familiar with the nativity and it gets all tangled up with all the other parts of Christmas that it tends to lose its sense of wonder. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:10.800 Through this series, we're taking a fresh look at the birth of Jesus and the nativity to allow our hearts to return to the wonder of God with us. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:16.400 This morning, we're looking at the story of Mary, Jesus' mother. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:25.680 Through the story of Mary, we discover how God invites us to soak in the wonder of his faithfulness. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:33.280 As I begin, I want to give you a little background about who Mary was and where we find her in this story. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:41.120 Mary was a young Jewish woman from a town called Nazareth, which isn't exactly the place where you want to tell people that you're from. 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:47.439 It was one of those places that the general belief was nothing really good comes from Nazareth. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:03:00.319 Mary was betrothed to a young man named Joseph, and this betrothal was an arranged marriage, which typically took place in a girl's younger teenage years and in a boy's older teenage years. 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.719 So those are the ages that we find Joseph and Mary as their story begins. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:13.919 Mary would have been preparing for her upcoming marriage, getting her home ready, planning her future with Joseph. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:22.000 And this is when her life was completely interrupted by a visit from an angel of the Lord. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.759 And that's where we'll pick up the story. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:31.680 Luke 1, 28 says, the angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:33.840 The Lord is with you. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:36.159 Can you imagine that greeting? 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:44.400 What a shock for all of a sudden an angel to be right in front of you, declaring that you are highly favored by God. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:48.479 I think our initial response would be similar to Mary's. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:56.000 The next line says, Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:02.560 But the angel goes on to say, do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:08.400 You who are highly favored, you have found favor with God. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:15.360 We often think of favor as someone receiving more than others, maybe more than we're receiving. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:28.959 Maybe an extra big slice of pie at a family dinner, or a promotion or raise at work, or maybe a prayer answered when ours feel like they're left unheard. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:33.600 But that's not what this phrase, highly favored, refers to here. 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:39.279 Highly favored means being a recipient of God's grace. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.759 Mary was highly favored and unaware of it. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.240 She was troubled at the angel's greeting. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:48.800 She may have been thinking, does he have their own house? 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:50.879 Does he know who I am? 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:54.240 Or wondering, why did God choose me? 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.600 Who am I to be highly favored? 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:09.759 Mary was highly favored, not because she was special or godly or had done anything to deserve this title, but simply because she had received God's grace. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.959 We tend to place Mary on this pedestal. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:15.360 She is the mother of Jesus, after all. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:17.759 We honor her in beautiful artwork. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:19.680 She's been named a saint. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:36.319 But there's actually something remarkable that we can see ourselves and our own identity through her story, through this introduction of her story. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:42.720 Mary isn't the only one through Scripture that God has described as highly favored. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:47.920 The Greek word for highly favored is found in just one other place in Scripture. 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:53.759 In Ephesians 1:6, Paul uses the same word to describe God's grace. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:59.199 He wrote his glorious grace, which he has freely given us. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:06.000 If we back up a couple of verses to verse 4, we get a full picture of what God is saying, what Paul is saying here. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:15.759 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:21.199 His glorious grace, which he has freely given us. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:27.519 This favor that Mary had came from God's deep love for her. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:31.279 Mary was highly favored. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:38.079 And as we see in Ephesians, you have been chosen by God. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:43.360 You are highly favored and maybe unaware of it. 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:47.759 This favor only comes from God's great love. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:51.199 Friends, you are deeply loved. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.319 We are deeply loved by God. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.920 This same favor rests on you as it did on Mary. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:01.759 This is how God saw Mary. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.720 This is what the angel declared to her. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.240 And this is how God sees you. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:13.680 You are chosen to be a recipient of God's glorious grace. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:20.079 You may be feeling troubled at this, like Mary did, and have questions swirling around, just like Mary. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:22.480 Does God really know who I am? 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:24.399 Why would God choose me? 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.439 Who am I to be highly favored? 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:32.560 Because of God's great love for you. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.519 You are highly favored. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:41.680 God chose you, God is for you, and God is with you. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.639 Mary was highly favored, and God was with her. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:53.680 And once the angel told her her standing with God, he then went on with the promise from God. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:58.399 We read his words, he says, You will conceive and give birth to a son. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.319 You are to call him Jesus. 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:04.319 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:11.040 The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:13.279 His kingdom will never end. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.959 The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:26.079 So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God, for no word from God will ever fail. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:35.120 This was the long-awaited king and messiah that had been prophesied and promised so many generations before. 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:49.440 As a student and a student of her culture and heritage, Mary understood the weight and wonder of this calling and responded with humility and faith. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.000 I am the Lord's servant. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:55.279 May your word to me be fulfilled. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.120 Being pregnant with the Messiah was a great honor. 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:04.399 Mary would be the one to usher the Savior into the world. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:17.440 And being pregnant before her marriage to Joseph with a baby that was not his would bring great misunderstanding and shame for the rest of her life. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:26.720 Mary would walk through her days with this reputation of what people perceive to be great sin, even though she had done nothing wrong. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:31.200 And she accepted this graciously and faithfully. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:41.440 After this encounter with the angel, hearing God's message, she went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who was miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:46.960 When Mary arrived, Elizabeth's baby leapt in her womb for joy. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:54.320 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke over Mary, confirming the faith that she saw in her. 00:09:54.559 --> 00:10:01.840 Elizabeth said, Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:12.480 As Mary heard from the angel and now had this confirmation from Elizabeth, we see her respond to what God was doing. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.000 How does one respond to this favor of God? 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:23.679 As we experience God's goodness and faithfulness and favor, our natural response is to glorify him. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:27.840 Mary responded with this beautiful song of praise. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:34.399 This song is referred to as the Magnificat, which means my soul magnifies the Lord. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.919 This portion of scripture is highly revered by many. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:42.960 It's been memorized and written into songs because of its beauty and power. 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:51.120 As I read this, let the words of her song wash over you and listen to the way that Mary praises God. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:02.799 She said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:09.759 From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:11.759 Holy is his name. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.159 His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:18.799 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:22.240 He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:27.519 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:03.519 She declares who God is and what he has done and his faithfulness in fulfilling his promises. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.440 Some of these phrases can be a little lost on us. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:12.080 It's very Old Testament language that maybe we aren't very familiar with. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:20.320 God's promise to Israel and helping Abraham, his promise to Abraham, that doesn't really resonate with us now, does it? 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:22.240 But I want to unpack this a little bit. 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:25.840 I want us to really feel the significance of this. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:31.919 Mary's song connects to at least 13 different Old Testament passages. 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:37.840 Mary's familiarity with the Old Testament shows her love for God and his word. 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:43.120 God had promised Abraham a Messiah through his family line. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:50.879 The people of Israel were following God and trusting in his promise and had waited for thousands of years. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:58.639 As an Old Testament believer, Mary's hope of salvation rested in God's promises. 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:15.120 And now Mary saw that she had an important role in fulfilling God's promise to Israel through her song that is filled with wonder at what God has done and what he's currently doing in her. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:21.600 We see Mary reflecting on the ways that God had been faithful and loving to her people. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:27.519 So everything that we've talked about so far is leading up to the birth of Jesus. 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:31.279 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then journeyed home. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:36.480 And after this, Joseph and Mary made their way to Bethlehem for a census that was taken. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:38.399 This is where Joseph was from. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:42.159 And this is where we pick up the story again in Luke 2, 6. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:50.000 While they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:56.320 She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:02.559 What I want to focus on here is the humble nature of Jesus' birth. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:08.480 Joseph and Mary may have been in Bethlehem for some time before Jesus was born. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:12.799 There's a strong possibility that they would have tried to stay with Joseph's relatives. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:20.080 The term for inn or guest room may have referred to a guest room in someone's home rather than a hotel. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:26.240 And this likely would have been full of all of Joseph's other relatives who were coming for the census. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:37.279 As Joseph's family all gathered in Bethlehem, they would have learned that Mary was pregnant before her and Joseph were married. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.639 And this was a really big deal in their culture. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:48.159 Joseph's family may have not accepted them, which may have led to them not being welcome in the home. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:51.519 However, there's no drama in how this is told. 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:56.799 There's no search for a variety of places to stay as Mary is breathing as she's in labor. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.600 There's no heartless innkeeper turning them away in the middle of the night. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.720 There simply wasn't space for Joseph and Mary. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:10.720 So instead, they found some other place for Mary to give birth that wasn't in the inn. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:17.200 What we commonly see is a stable, but some scholars think Jesus was actually born in a cave. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:23.039 And then Mary placed the baby in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:37.919 The most high, the king of Israel, the long-awaited Messiah, one who should have been uplifted and exalted, had the most humble of births. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.799 His mother, a teenage girl. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:47.759 His birthplace, in a cave, his first bed, a feeding trough for animals. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:54.559 And his first visitors, not family, but a bunch of smelly, dirty shepherds. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:06.159 As we continue in the story, we read about the nearby shepherds who were visited by a choir of angels singing God's glory, sharing with them the arrival of Jesus. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:11.600 Luke writes, The shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:17.360 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:23.120 And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:29.360 As the shepherds saw baby Jesus, they couldn't help but tell everyone they knew. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.480 But Mary has a different response. 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:40.879 Verse 19, we see Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.759 Mary was soaking it in. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.440 She could have proclaimed it, and it would have been totally appropriate. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.840 This was her news to share. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:17:01.360 But instead, she soaked it in, both earlier in her song of what was to come, and now in the fruition of that message with her baby in her arms. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:10.960 Mary was more caught up in what God was doing than in her complicated and less than ideal circumstances. 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.559 This was a nine-month journey for her. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:17.359 And now she was on the other side. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:23.359 Nine long months of waiting and hoping and believing in what the angel had told her. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:27.920 Nine long months of aches and pains and morning sickness. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:36.480 Nine long months of the anticipation growing of holding her baby and laying her eyes on her Savior. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:42.960 I don't want this amount of time to pass us by because we read it so quickly in the text. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:48.480 In Mary's song, she covered thousands of years of God's faithfulness. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:55.200 The people of Israel had been waiting since Genesis, since Adam and Eve, for the promised Messiah. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.960 And when the angel spoke, Mary knew that the Messiah was finally coming, but in nine months. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:10.160 As someone who has carried two babies for that same nine months, I want to let you in on a little secret if you haven't done that. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:11.680 It's really long. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:25.599 Especially the final month that seems to go on and on and on and on, and the days just continue going as you're waiting for the arrival of your little baby. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:30.079 Mary had time to sit with this message from the angel. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:36.240 She had time to dream about her baby boy and imagine what he would look like, what his personality would be like. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:49.440 Mary went from the anticipation of being used by God to now beholding both her precious baby and who she knew to be the savior of her people. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:19:00.400 As Mary held her baby, she was beholding the reality that God is faithful to his people and keeps his promises. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:06.880 Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:17.200 How often do we jump to telling our people by posting or sharing instead of pondering and treasuring? 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:26.960 How often do we quit caught up in the to-do list and the colored boxes on our calendar that we miss what God is doing in our lives right now? 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:33.920 And how often do we pause to look back, to remember what God has done? 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:41.839 How much of the wonder of God is lost on us because we just move through life too quickly? 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:54.000 This Christmas season, God is doing something in each of our lives, and I don't want us to miss it because we have presents to wrap and parties to attend and just one more target trip to make. 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:56.000 So how do we do this? 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.160 How do we treasure today? 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:05.759 How do we intentionally soak in what God is doing when the pull of our culture is to just keep going and going? 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:13.039 I want to share with you one way that I have soaked in and treasured God's faithfulness over the years. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:23.920 Every year around this time, I turn on my Christmas tree, I play some worshipful Christmas music, and maybe pour some sparkling cider in my favorite snowman mug. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:34.400 And before I jump to the new year and new year's resolutions, I reflect on what God has done in my life over the last year. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:37.599 I think back to prayers that He's answered. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:42.559 Sometimes those prayers are recent, and sometimes I've been praying them for years. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:46.799 And this morning I'd love to share a couple of those reflections with you. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:55.279 A prayer that God has answered for my husband and I this year is one that we had when we moved into our home a few years ago. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:21:01.759 We prayed that our home would be a space where we could gather people, where they would feel loved and known and cared for. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.480 And then a pandemic hit. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:13.440 And it felt like this dream that we had was ripped away from us as we logged onto Zoom again and again. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:21.920 But then this fall, our small group finally began meeting in person on our back deck around our fire pit. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:30.880 And I've been reminded of this desire of my heart, and I've seen how God has answered that prayer and how He has been faithful to us. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:39.039 Sometimes, though, we get to see those prayers answered, right? 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.440 But that's not what all of life looks like, is it? 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:51.519 You may be sitting here in a deep season of grief or struggle, unsure of how God is showing up right now. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:55.599 For over a decade, I have dealt with chronic pain. 00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:00.319 I have no formal diagnosis because the cause is unclear. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.799 And with no diagnosis, there's no possible cure or treatment. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:09.680 But I believe that God can heal my body. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:19.119 I pray for this often, but sometimes when it's been a long season or the pain is a lot, I'm feeling discouraged. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:20.880 I don't want to ask anymore. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.920 And in those moments, that's where God shows up. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:31.039 Usually in a song or a scripture, he'll remind me of his faithfulness through my struggle. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.960 One that I often go to is Psalm 73, 26. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:41.119 My flesh may fail, but my God is the strength of my heart forever. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:50.319 Even in the suffering, when I'm lying in bed at the end of a long day with my body screaming in pain, God is with me. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:23:00.640 And I can be confident that God is my strength and that he will heal my body, either in this life or in life eternal with him. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:09.039 As I think of the ways that God has been faithful and kept his promises, I can be sure that he will do this too. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:20.559 When we treasure what God has done for us and really soak that in, we're able to trust that God will continue to be faithful. 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:30.240 As Mary sang her song, she looked back on God's faithfulness and believed that he would continue to keep his promises. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:45.440 This Christmas, let's take our cue from Mary and soak in that the God of the universe, our King and Savior, came to be with us because of his deep love for us. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:53.200 Take time this week, this Christmas week, to reflect on God's faithfulness in your life. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:55.200 Where has God shown up for you? 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:01.440 In both the big and the small, in both the suffering and in the celebration. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:09.519 God is working all around us, and we need to slow down to be able to see Him. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:21.839 As you ponder, notice the wonder of God and give yourself space to soak in, soak that in and treasure those things in your heart. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:28.640 Don't let this season pass you by without soaking in what God has done. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.279 Friends, you are chosen. 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:34.079 You are deeply loved. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.720 You are highly favored. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:43.440 God is faithful, God is with you, and God is for you. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:53.039 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.599 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:01.759 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.