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(Pause) Dear Lord, we bless your name this day. We are grateful for the privilege of witnessing the months of this year,

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of coming to this, the last Sunday in 1979. Bless us in this service of worship Have mercy upon us and Be in all that we say and do

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that it may redound to the glory of your name We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen

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[music] ♪ Through the victory of the children ♪ ♪ Jesus is born ♪ ♪ Oh, what a wonder ♪

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♪ In the glory he was ♪ ♪ Head of salvation ♪ ♪ Virtuous and pure ♪ ♪ Born of his will ♪

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♪ What can you call ♪ This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. ♪ Here's to my glory ♪ ♪ Here's to my song ♪

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♪ Praise be my savior ♪ ♪ All the great Lord ♪ ♪ For every commission ♪ ♪ For every new life ♪

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♪ Vision so bright ♪ ♪ There are birds on the fly ♪ ♪ And those who fled, yeah, who went out of home ♪ ♪ They put their heads in the Lord's arms ♪

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♪ Oh, this is my story, this is my song ♪ ♪ Praising my Savior all day long ♪ This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all day long. ♪ This is my story ♪

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♪ This is my song ♪ ♪ Praising my Savior ♪ ♪ All day long ♪ ♪ This is my story ♪

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♪ This is my song ♪ ♪ Praising my Savior ♪ (Music) (Coughing)

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A scripture is found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the second chapter and the first twelve verses. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying,

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"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him." When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,

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he demanded of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea, For thus it is written by the prophet, "And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

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art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel." Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men,

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inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child. When ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." When they had heard the king, they departed.

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And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star,

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they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense

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and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. We come now to our period of prayer together. It is a wonderful thing to begin the day by having a conversation with God.

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And as we come to our altar prayer, let us come forward, those of us who feel led to do so, that together as a family we may talk with the Heavenly Father. bow our heads and close our eyes. Here we are, O God, your children, gathered in your house on the last Sunday in another year. You've brought us thus far. We started out

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not knowing where we were going, but by your hand we were led. You've kept us. You've led us. You've fed us. And we've come this way not on our own strength and our own ingenuity, we can say that we've come thus far by grace, by your tender mercy, by your loving care. And so dear Lord we pause right here to say thank you. You've been so good. You've been

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so understanding. So we say thank you. Thank you that you spared us to see each other's face. Thank you for this day which is a new expression of your grace. And we say that We want you to have mercy upon us because we know that we are not all we ought to be. But we're so grateful that you have made us so much more than we were.

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Forgive us of our sins. Forgive us of those things that we set out to do in this year that we failed to do. And then help us, oh God, to be better, to be the kind of person that you want us to be.

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Oh, the blessings that we recall now are so numerous. Some of us have had times of illness and you've given us healing. We've had our moments of disappointment, but you have encouraged us and you've comforted us all along the way.

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We've had our moments of weakness, but you've given us the strength to make this journey. So we're thankful. Thankful, oh God. Thankful, oh God.

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Forgive us and then help us as we prepare now for a new journey. Be with us all as individuals and then bless us collectively. Be with all of the families that are represented here. We would remember those who are unable to come to this place.

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Some of them are sick in homes, some in hospitals. Be with them. And then, oh Lord, we would not just pray for ourselves, but we'd like for you to remember our city

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and the crisis that we face. Be with us and lead us. Gently we pray. We remember our nation, our president,

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and all of the leaders of government as we look upon the international scene with all of its dangers. Oh, we pray, dear Lord, for the guidance of your Spirit.

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Bless and use us in the work which you have set us apart to do that are witnessing for you not only here but throughout the world that we may be workers together with you in the coming of the day when you shall

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establish your kingdom in its fullness and your kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven. It is in the name of Jesus Christ we ask this. Amen. [Music]

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[Music] [music] ♪ For all you ever find ♪ ♪ Will hold on again ♪

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♪ Nothing's lost in the way ♪ ♪ That you are called to do again ♪ ♪ How you'll be in the streets ♪ ♪ If you want my heart ♪

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♪ I will surrender what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ All you ever wanted will the Lord have it ♪ ♪ The power of God's hand ♪ ♪ From the crumbling agony ♪

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♪ You are born to man ♪ ♪ Come your day is precious ♪ ♪ Every hour will come ♪ [music]

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♪ I knew when he came I was dead and gone ♪ ♪ Come, young lad, he came to call me home ♪ ♪ Come, young lad, he was home to that girl ♪ ♪ Do you believe ♪

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♪ In his wonderful power ♪ ♪ Do you believe that his deeds ♪ ♪ Are as pure as dew ♪ ♪ Call your heavenly flame ♪

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♪ Name him what he was ♪ ♪ Come, you let me see what's on his mind ♪ ♪ Come, you let me know ♪ ♪ Gave him wonder more ♪

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♪ Come to me, my friend ♪ ♪ Give a thought of love ♪ - I want everyone to sing. We are doing everything to improve our singing,

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and to do that, it depends on you. So we want everyone, everyone that has breath, to praise the Lord.

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Hymn 191, as we stand now to sing, glory to His name. (gentle music) [music]

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♪ Down at the cross where my Savior died ♪ ♪ Down where the grave was buried I cried ♪ ♪ And to my heart was the blood of Christ ♪ ♪ Oh glory to His name ♪

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♪ Oh glory to His name ♪ [music] ♪ Glory to the king ♪ ♪ Let the world know the power of man ♪

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♪ Glory to the king ♪ ♪ I am the one who loves the king ♪ ♪ The king, the one who gives the throne ♪ ♪ Oh, sweetest love to me ♪

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♪ That's the love that gives me joy every day ♪ ♪ Oh, love that's true is there ♪ ♪ Love that's true is there ♪ ♪ Love that's true is there ♪

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♪ And the world above ♪ ♪ God is good indeed ♪ ♪ Oh, fresh from heaven's great ocean ♪ ♪ I am for man and the things I do ♪

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♪ And Jesus lives in me ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good in the end ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good in the end ♪ ♪ The Lord is good in the end ♪

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♪ Yes, the Lord is good in the end ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lord is good in the end ♪ ♪ A car of jewels I'll take for a prince I'm to be ♪ ♪ A crown for my soul is ready I'll be ♪

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♪ A knight in chains to carry me away from me ♪ ♪ I'll be building a bridge ♪ ♪ For a heart to hear me ♪ ♪ For a heart to hear me ♪

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♪ For an open door ♪ ♪ And a cross that will cut my heart ♪ ♪ A heart that will cut me ♪ Our text is found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew,

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the second chapter and the twelfth verse, which reads, "And being warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country

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another way. The subject of the message, "Another Way." To every man there openeth

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a way and ways and away. And the high soul climbs the highway, and the low soul gropes the low. And in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth a highway

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and alone and every man decided the way his soul shall go. The wise men who came to see Jesus made their visit after Christmas. They were astrologers. They were persons who looked for a sign.

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They saw the sign for which they looked in the heavens. So they followed a star from afar. They were seekers, searching for the better way, the higher way of abundant living, a new way of dealing with old problems.

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The message last Sunday, we considered the gifts the wise men presented to the Christ child, their journey is ended, their mission accomplished, what next? Since we have engaged in the Christmas celebration, what next? Gifts have been presented, what next? As the wise men reflected on their visit, they made preparation to go back. They made plans for the homeward

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journey. They did not remain at the manger. They bowed there. They worshipped there. But now they must go home. What has happened has happened. Now for the understanding of it, Now for the application of it to our lives. The heavenly choir has sung its anthem of praise.

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The living word has been seen and heard. Commitment has been expressed. Now the word must be applied to daily life. otherwise share a common memory which must be applied to everyday living.

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The Christ they have worshipped, the Christ, the one to whom they have committed their lives must be applied to concrete situations. Today we are on a mountain peak from which we can look back and see the winding road over which we have traveled in 1979.

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We can see the hills and the valleys as we consider what may be called the ten top stories of 1979. We look at them in order that our memory may be refreshed, that we may reflect on our journey,

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and considering that in which we have been engaged, what has happened along the way. The first has to do with religious fanaticism in Iran, the ouster of the Shah,

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taking over of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and the holding of 50 Americans as hostages by the students. This has occupied a great deal of our concern. We had the visit of the Pope to America.

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John Paul II drew enthusiastic and enormous crowds. Both Protestants and Catholics gave attention to his visit. Then there have been the woes in Southeast Asia. Our church people have been urged to respond generously

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to the two crises in Southeast Asia, the plight of Vietnam refugee boat people, and the widespread starvation in war-torn Cambodia. We listened with a great deal of interest to President Carter

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as he spoke on a Sunday night and called our attention to our energy problems. We watched Southern Baptists as they had an uproar in Houston, the ultra-conservatives versus the moderates

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concerning the interpretation of the scriptures. Then we remember the black Jewish tensions which were touched off by the resignation of Andrew Young, ambassador to the United Nations.

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This year we have been concerned about homosexuality and what ought to be the Church's relationship to homosexuals, as to whether persons who are homosexual should be ordained to the Christian ministry

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and major religious denominations gave attention to this problem and acted on it. That was the third historic gathering of Roman Catholics, the Latin American bishops and theologians in Mexico,

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and that was attended by the Pope. We've been concerned about the Salt Tooth Debate, that treaty as it relates to US and Soviet relations. And then for the first time since our relations have thawed, so to speak, with China,

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we've had representatives of religious groups from China to make contact with the West, and this is a new sign on the horizon. Here locally, we have had desegregation as the number one news story after 10 years of litigation.

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In 25 years since the Brown decision of the Supreme Court, the Austin Independent School District Trustees voted unanimously to establish a unitary school system. Well, that's the road over which we've traveled

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traveled with its hills and with its valleys. It's been an eventful year. God has blessed us. We've seen His presence and experienced His power as we have faced these hills and these valleys. We've come now to the end of our journey. Now what? It would do well for us to remember that occasion when Peter, James, and John were with Jesus on the mountain that

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we call the Mount of Transfiguration. While they were there, they had a glorious time. Jesus was transfigured in their midst. And Peter was the first to speak. He was filled with enthusiasm. He said, "Oh Lord, let's stay here. Let's stay here. Let's not go down from this mountain, let's just stay here all the time.

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Let's make this our permanent home and build here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Jesus informed them that they must go from that place.

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Well, we've come thus far by faith, but we are not to park here. We've come to worship, we've come to sing, to pray, we've come to hear the preached Word,

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we've come to get a glimpse of the heavenly glory, but we are not to park here. We enter that we may worship and we depart that we may serve. We are not to make this a parking place.

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And so the wise men did not park in Bethlehem and make that their permanent dwelling place. Oh, they put their camels outside the house where Jesus was and they watered their camels and they fed them.

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They rested and they refreshed themselves And then they contemplated a new journey on their way home. Well, as they thought, the question arose, "Which way must we travel?

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Which way must we go? This way or that way?" We say, "Which way?" And someone has said there are no ways like the which are ways.

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To every man there openeth a way and ways and a way. And the high soul climbs the highway and the low soul gropes the low. And in between are the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth a highway and a road,

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and every man decideth the way his soul shall go. They knew full well the road over which they had traveled, they knew that way. Should they go back the same way?

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Should they go back the way they came? You know, some people are rather superstitious about how they ought to do it. If you come in this door, you must go back that same door, that same way. If you don't do that, they say it's bad luck.

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Well, these men were acquainted with superstition. They were acquainted with all of the signs of their times. But the question still arises, which way shall we travel? They arrived in Bethlehem, and when they were on their way there,

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they stopped at Jerusalem at Herod's Court. Shall they go back the same way? Shall they go back by way of Jerusalem and stop at Herod's Court, just as they did when they came?

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Shall they follow the same route? Well, if they do so, they will be on Herod's Highway. The state highway patrolman will direct them in the way that Herod wants them directed, but that's not a safe way.

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Herod's way is not a safe way. Oh, the road may be paved and the road may look attractive, but Herod's way is not safe. For Herod is only concerned with outward glory and splendor. He's a builder of palaces, temples, theaters, castles, baths, and aqueducts.

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Herod's way is not a safe way. It's a way that extols material progress to the neglect of the spiritual. Herod's way is not a safe way. Herod is primarily interested in the spread of Greek culture, and he disregards the historic

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faith. Herod's way is not the safe way. Herod's way gives priority to cultural refinement, artistic appreciation, and literary attainments without giving due consideration to human compassion and freedom and justice and love. Herod's way is not the safe way. The house of Herod worships worldliness, fame, popularity,

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and wealth. That's Herod's way. It is a way, but there is a way that seemeth right. but the end is the way of death. Herod's way is a way but it is not the safe way. Oh I know I know I know that Herod's way is a popular way. It's the traditional road. The crowd travels that way but Herod's way is not a safe way. And the

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wise men considered that way Herod was waiting for them to come back that way and he already had his evil designs arranged he had already given his orders to the highway patrolman as to what they were to do to those men if they came back that way but they were warned they were warned of God They beg for our protection, but they were warned of God, don't go back that way. God has a way of giving us warnings because of the experiences that you've shared.

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Don't go back that way, go another way. because of the blessings that you have because of how God has so wonderfully blessed us through all of the months and days that we've shared this year because God has blessed us so wonderfully he's saying to us go another way go another

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way because of what you know now that you didn't know then go another way when you started out on this journey 12 months ago you did not know how you would come through the valleys and how you would get over the hills but now you look back so as you prepare anew go another way. Go another way. When we meet

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Christ, when we encounter Him, when we have fellowship with His Spirit, we are challenge to go another way. Yes, Herod's way is a way. It's the way of the sword. The Israel is still trying Herod's way, the way of the sword. One nation says to another, "Watch out what you're doing over there.

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If you don't do the way I think you ought to do it, well, I'll bring in my sword and I'll make things happen the way I think they ought to happen by force." Herod's way is a way of war. And our world still practices that way.

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And somehow we still think that we are safer when we invest more in armament. We can talk about our nuclear weapons and how much we have invested in our safety,

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and somehow we have included bigger and bigger budgets for defense, and we somehow think that that means that we are safer. The world is still traveling Herod's way. Russia has marshaled many troops in Afghanistan,

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And we're still wondering about what may happen in the Middle East. It is still, even at this hour, the Word still comes, that we are troubled by Herod's way and the Word still comes to us. God gives a warning. He's given it to us in a dream, "Go another way, go another way."

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And so being warned of God in a dream, The scripture says that they departed to their own country another way. They departed to their own country. They went in search of their homeland, went going back home.

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Going back to do their thing so to speak as youngsters may put it today But they return to their country they return Another way another way So now

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Let us consider God's way. It's not their way that they are primarily concerned about. So, so often we are just concerned about having our way. Someone says, "Well, he wants to have his way.

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She wants to have her way. That's their only trouble. They want to have their way." Well, if we are more concerned about God having his way and permitting God's way to become our way.

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That's what it means to travel another way. It's to let God's way be your way and to somehow start out anew saying, "Lord, I want to travel another way

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and because you've been so good to me and because of the experiences that have enriched my life this year I want to say thank you and I want to travel another way.

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Go God's way, God's way, another way. "To every man thou giveth a way, and ways and a way, And the high soul climbs the highway, and the low soul gropes the low. And in between, on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro.

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But to every man there openeth a highway and a low, and every man decided the way his soul shall go another way way to express thanks to God for his goodness that's that's why they were wise they didn't go back the way they came they

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went another way that's the joy of traveling with God is that you go another way oh there'll be many go [BLANK_AUDIO]