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[ Silence ] >> Mary, bow your heads. Gracious God, our Father, as we assemble in thy presence, we invoke your spirit and your power.

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Lead us in this service of worship. Forgive us of our sins. Grant that each one of us may be a channel of your grace. Help us in all that we say and do to praise your name

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and to go forth from this place with renewed strength, with which to proclaim your will and your way. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, we pray this day. In Jesus' name, amen.

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We turn to hymn number 328, Speak to My Heart. [ Music ] [MUSIC - "SPEECH TO THE WORLD"] (SINGING) Speech to the world, O Jesus,

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speak from thy soul, O hear me. ♪ Speak to my heart ♪ ♪ O Jesus ♪ ♪ Come and bring love and peace ♪

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♪ Speak to my heart ♪ ♪ O speak to my heart ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart, I pray ♪ ♪ Ye that still think I live ♪

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♪ Oh, speak to my heart today ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Let my heart ever be filled ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus ♪

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♪ Where I feel I know to be ♪ ♪ Speak my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh speak my Lord ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart ♪

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♪ I pray ♪ [music] Our scripture lesson in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the 37th chapter, the 17th through the 21st verses.

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Then Zedekiah, the king sent and took him out. And the king asked Jeremiah secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the Lord?" Jeremiah said, "There is."

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For said he, "Thou shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon." Moreover, Jeremiah said unto King Zedekiah, "What have I offended against thee or against thy servants or against this people, that ye have put me in prison.

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Where are now your prophets, which prophesied unto you saying the king of Babylon shall not come against you nor against this land? Therefore, here now I pray thee, O my Lord, the king,

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let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee, that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."

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Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the baker's street until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus, Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

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Thus, endeth the reading of our scripture. Our time of altar prayer. It is a time when we as the family of God come together and make our petitions to him.

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As we come forth now for our prayer period together, let us remember that to pray is to be in tune with God. It is to be in tune with the infinite, to be in step with what he orders for our lives.

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To pray is not only to speak with God, to pray is to listen to God, to hear what God has to say to us. and to obey. Men ought always to pray, everybody ought to pray. For one who is

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rightly related to God, prayer availeth much. Let us pray. Gracious God, Father of us all, thou who has created us in thine image, thou who has loved us and redeemed us through Jesus Christ.

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Before you we bow now in reverence, in adoration, in humility, We are aware of our weaknesses. We are finite creatures of the dust.

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But we come to you, the source of all strength and all power. Come to you recognizing that before you, all hearts are open,

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no secrets are hid. So we come confessing our sins and seeking your loving forgiveness. As we come, we say,

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Lord, have mercy. Have mercy upon us where mercy can be found. Pour upon us your spirit and help us to be channels of your grace.

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We may worship you and that we may serve you acceptably. Bless each one of us. We face difficult situations.

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We come to the crossroads. We don't know which way to go. Direct us. Times come when we are depressed.

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We become discouraged. And we fall by the wayside. Our spirits need to be lifted. Lift us, then be with those who are unable to be here

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because of sickness. Some of them are in hospitals. Some of them are in homes. And then some of us have the infirmities

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that we would like to have removed, but you know best. So within your mercy, we rest. Bless, we pray thee, our city, our nation, and this world in which you've placed us.

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Help us to be the kind of witness that you would have us be until the time comes when you will call us home to be forever with thee. We ask these blessings through Jesus Christ,

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our Lord and our Savior, amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [ Music ]

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Good morning. The only announcement that I have this morning is to call your attention to the bullet, the announcement on the bulletin board in the front hall in reference to Black History Month. On February 20th, the Art Museum Laguna Gloria will be featuring the paintings of Dr. James Biggers from Texas Southern University.

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So if you'll look on the bulletin board in the front hall by fellowship hall, you'll see the dates and all of the events that will be taking place. They will be starting February 20th. I have the name for one visitor. When I call your name, would you please stand for a word of welcome? Mrs. G. W. Martin from Amarillo, Texas. Are there any other visitors

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who did not sign cards, it is our privilege to have you worship with us this morning, and we urge you to join in the worship in any way the Spirit moves you. If you are visiting here and you don't have a church home while you're here, we cordially invite you to unite with us here at the Ebenezer Church family.

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We would ask you to, somebody near her, would you please shake hands with her? morning we're not having fellowship afterwards but if you'll join us in the foyer so that Reverend and the other members of the church family can shake hands with you in a more personal way we appreciate your coming to visit us.

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Thank you. We're delighted to have our guest with us and I want to call your attention to some announcements that are not in the bulletin. One has to do with our observance of Black Heritage Month which is the month of February. It's a great month. I was born in that month. So in keeping with the the observance of

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Black Heritage I'm going to wear one of my a different African robe every Sunday. So I have on one today. This one is from Nigeria. When we were in Nigeria I had this particular robe made over there and so it's three pieces and it sort of represents our heritage the land from which we've come Africa and of course

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that country is possibly one of the most significant countries in Africa I think at the time we had over 30 million people and really has a viable economy and we have to depend on Liberia or Nigeria to some extent for our oil. On the last Sunday of this month will be Liberation Sunday. Liberation Sunday is

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the time when we ask you to come and dress as you'd like to dress whether it is with some African attire or whether it's in with some attire that symbolizes some period of our struggle for liberation whether it be the pre-civil war period or the present period because we are still struggling for our full freedom. We want you to come and bring your friends and then

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we'd like to possibly have dinner here at the church. We want you to bring food that we might have dinner on the ground so to speak and have set the table and have your own table here. We'll probably have some things that we will provide like the meat and one or two other things. We had chitlins once before when

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we did this and for those who can't eat pork we'll probably have chicken but we want to have a good time as the family of God and celebrate what God has done for us in our struggle for liberation. You notice here in the bulletin the report of this past month and I want to call your attention to this report if

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there should be any errors we'd like for you to call that to our attention that they may be corrected. You will notice also on page 15 a financial statement as to the worth of our church. Our total worth is six hundred and seven thousand dollars. We have had a real good year. We over subscribed our budget, had a net

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increase of some $21,000 and last Wednesday night the budget committee submitted a new budget for our church this year it's the largest budget that we've had last year was the largest budget but it just keeps pace just about with inflation some say that the rate of inflation increases about 12 or 13

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percent a year which means that unless you increase your income and you're giving that same way that you aren't even remaining at the same point. You understand that don't you? Or do you? Well that's the way it is. And it's a hundred and eighty thousand dollars and this is an increase of some twenty two thousand

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I believe it is over what was raised Last Year that we can do and we can do more we want to do more. I want to thank the Church and the Budget Committee and all who have been instrumental in helping us to this point and let us all

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struggle together Work together and give together that we might even reached higher heights You will notice one announcement here on page 17, the cover, that the Austin Association of Teachers Minority Affairs Committee invites you to the 100th anniversary celebration of the Texas State

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Teachers Association on Sunday February the 10th at 4 p.m. at the TSTA building and minority educators that will be honored at that time include TC Calhoun and F.R. Rice who were past presidents and members of our fellowship so let us keep that in mind.

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[ Music ] [MUSIC PLAYING] (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music)

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(gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING]

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(gentle piano music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (gentle music)

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(gentle music) (gentle piano music) [ Music ] [ Music ]

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[ Singing ] He was condemned for me. Ah, my transgressions and now I am free. ♪ All because Jesus was wounded for me ♪

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♪ Dying for me ♪ ♪ Dying for me ♪ ♪ Dying for me ♪ ♪ He was dying for me ♪

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♪ God, my transgressions and now I am free ♪ ♪ Well I am free ♪ ♪ All because Jesus was dying for me ♪ ♪ Risen for me ♪

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♪ Risen for me ♪ ♪ Risen for me ♪ ♪ He is risen for me ♪ ♪ Gone my transgressions and now I am free ♪

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♪ I am free ♪ ♪ Because Jesus is risen for me ♪ ♪ Coming for me ♪ ♪ Coming for me ♪

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♪ Coming for me ♪ ♪ He's coming ♪ ♪ For me ♪ ♪ For me ♪

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♪ In ♪ ♪ With what joy his dear face I shall see ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ How I praise him, he's the King ♪

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♪ For me ♪ ♪ You can ♪ ♪ Go on living ♪ ♪ You can ♪

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♪ For me ♪ ♪ Wounded for me ♪ ♪ He was wounded ♪ ♪ For me ♪

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♪ Oh ♪ ♪ My transgressions and now I am free ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Because Jesus was wounded ♪

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♪ For me ♪ Amen. We worship the Lord now in our giving. [PAUSE]

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Bless us, O Lord, in this time of sharing, that we may share in the manner that is liberal and sacrificial and loving. That we may please you. Amen. Our church is supported through tithes and offerings.

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[ Background Sounds ] (audience laughing) (soft music) (bell ringing)

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(bell tolling) (bell tolling) (bell tolling) [ Pause ]

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(bell ringing) [BELL RINGING] [BELL RINGING] (bell ringing)

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(bell ringing) (bell tolling) [ Bell Ringing ] [ Pause ]

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[MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat piano music) (upbeat piano music) [ Music ]

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♪ Mary Christian Rotherton, stand up and testify ♪ ♪ And say for God I live, for God I'll die ♪ ♪ Gonna clap your hands and pat your feet ♪ ♪ Even though you're walking along the street ♪

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♪ And if you got it ♪ ♪ I mean the old time, we live short ♪ ♪ You got it short ♪ ♪ Short sometimes ♪

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♪ Oh, you may not be able ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ To sing like Queen Jo ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪

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♪ You may not be able to preach like God ♪ ♪ You can tell me how ♪ ♪ I don't know Lord ♪ ♪ He can give you ♪

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♪ I've paid my price ♪ ♪ He can guide you ♪ ♪ He can guide you ♪ ♪ I'm not a soul ♪

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♪ I want the world to know ♪ ♪ That I know a man ♪ ♪ Wow ♪ ♪ I couldn't say a word ♪

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♪ I'll just wave my hand ♪ ♪ If you got it ♪ ♪ I'll be in the old time religion ♪ ♪ You're on the shore ♪

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♪ Of some time ♪ ♪ You ought to fall down on your knees and pray ♪ ♪ Say Lord I thank you for just one more day ♪ ♪ Ought to be able to go to God and live ♪

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♪ And when I realized that I couldn't feel ♪ ♪ And if you got it ♪ ♪ I mean the ultimate ♪ ♪ You are the show ♪

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♪ Just a time ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪

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♪ To save my pain ♪ ♪ To save my pain ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪

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♪ It's like a song ♪ ♪ She can say I love the Lord ♪ ♪ I love the Lord ♪ ♪ Forever and ever ♪

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♪ And ain't I ♪ ♪ Ain't I ♪ ♪ Yes you are ♪ ♪ You are a song ♪

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♪ I want the world to know that I know a man ♪ ♪ I couldn't say a word ♪ ♪ I just wave my hand ♪ ♪ And if you got it ♪

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♪ I mean the old term ♪ ♪ You are a song ♪ ♪ You're a song ♪ ♪ Oh you may not be able ♪

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♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ To sing like me ♪ ♪ And I'll be able to say I love the Lord ♪ ♪ I love the Lord ♪

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♪ 'Cause the Lord, he is great ♪ ♪ 'Cause the Lord, forever great ♪ ♪ Oh yes I am, I'm gonna hasten to his throne ♪ ♪ 'Cause the Lord, he found his way ♪

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♪ 'Cause the Lord, I love the Lord ♪ ♪ One day he died ♪ ♪ I want the world to know ♪ ♪ I love the end ♪

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♪ I couldn't say a word ♪ ♪ I would just wave my hand ♪ ♪ If you got it ♪ ♪ You're on a show ♪

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♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ To see my face ♪ ♪ You may not be able ♪ ♪ To preach like Paul ♪

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♪ You can say it ♪ [MUSIC] He heard my cry. I love the Lord.

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He paid my throne. I love the Lord. As I live. I love the Lord.

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I'm gonna hasten. I love the Lord. To His throne. I love the Lord.

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I love the Lord. I love the Lord. I love the Lord. I love the Lord.

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I love the Lord. I love the Lord. One day He dies. One day He dies.

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That's the deal. I want the world to know. I love Him. I couldn't say a word.

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♪ Couldn't say a word, no way in my head ♪ ♪ And if you got it ♪ ♪ I mean the old time and it does ♪ ♪ And if you haven't ♪

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♪ I mean the old time and it does ♪ ♪ And if you got it ♪ ♪ I mean the old time and it does ♪ ♪ You ought to show ♪

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♪ Show some time ♪ - Amen. - Amen. - The subject of the message. Is there any word from the Lord?

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Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah out and the king asked him secretly in his house, "Is there any word from the Lord?" And Jeremiah said, "There is, "for thou shalt be delivered

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"into the hand of the king of Babylon." "Is there any word from the Lord?" Jeremiah 37 and 17. One thing that most of us look forward to with a great deal of delight is receiving mail. First time I was away from home for a long period

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of time when I was away in college, well do I remember how we as students gathered in the business office with this familiar question on our lips. Is there any mail for me? Each of us wants to receive messages.

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We want to be addressed. We want to hear a good word. We want to be encouraged. We want to be comforted.

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So from the depths of our being comes the inquiry, Is there any word from the Lord? The prophet is God's postman. He carries a message which is not his own.

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He has received it, so he must deliver it. He is God's mailman. Nothing should prevent the delivery of the US mail regardless of circumstances, no matter what the obstacles, no matter what the cost, the mail is to be delivered.

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God's mail is to be delivered in all kinds of weather, in season and out of season, in good times and bad times, there is joy as well as where there is sorrow. The word is to be heard, it is to be delivered. But there is the question which comes leaping forth in the midst of the disillusionment of our time. Is

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Is there any word from the Lord? Does God have anything to say to us? Is there any mail for me? Is there any word from the Lord?

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As we study the life of Jeremiah, we notice it from the very beginning that the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah. It is the living word.

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It is a dynamic experience which enters the human arena and encounters us. The word arrests our attention and addresses us. This word comes to Jeremiah while he is just a lad.

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He hears the word of the Lord. And this word that speaks to him, that addresses his situation, that gives him guidance, gives him strength,

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is a word that remains with him throughout his career. It is a word which he is commanded to share with others, for he is to be a channel of that word. He is to be the means of communicating that word to others.

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And so Jeremiah, in fulfillment of that task, records the word. The word is written. It is recorded so that there is a record of the divine revelation. It is written for others to

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read and then that word is sent forth throughout the land that the word may be heard, that the word may be read. I suppose when we think about our mail today and one of the problems that we have is that so much of the mail we get is junk mail. Sometimes that's most of the mail I get, junk mail. It's true with most of us and we go and

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we see that we have so much but when we began to look at it it doesn't matter very much, it's just junk. But to really have a personal word, to get a personal letter, to get mail that somehow deals with our situation in a unique way is to somehow find an answer to the question that was asked of Jeremiah by

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King Zedekiah in the long ago. Is there any word from the Lord? Here I am in a very difficult situation and I want to know of you as a prophet. I want to know of you as one who is the spokesman of the eternal. Is there any word for me? Do you have any mail for me? Is there any word from the Lord?" Well Jeremiah had

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been saying to the nation for many years for over two decades he had been declaring that there was a word from the Lord. He had had his secretary Baruch to write and he had communicated it time and time again. He had stood in the presence of the people in the temple and he had declared that word he had

00:40:53.320 - 00:41:23.480

walked about in the land he had written sermons and delivered them he had done everything that he knew to do to let the people know that there was a word from the Lord. On one occasion he he had a sermon delivered and then he had it After having written it, it was not only delivered but it was sent to the king.

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And when the king read the sermon, the scroll as he read it, he took his pen knife and cut it into pieces and dropped it into the fire. He thought he would mutilate the word of the Lord. And we often have so many ways of mutilating the word. Sometimes a person says something that we ought to hear, something that's really addressed to our

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situation, something that really applies to us and we have a tendency to push it aside. We don't want to hear it. We mutilate it. We ignore it. We disobey it. And that word which was addressed to them from the Lord was mutilated, so to speak by the king it was cut the scroll was cut into fine pieces and burned in

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the fire. King said I don't want to hear this I'll destroy it. But Jeremiah writes it again he writes the same words again upon the scroll because the word is not destructible so the word is written again so that the word might always stand. It's true, it's valid, it's applicable to your situation. In my

00:42:45.440 - 00:43:13.520

situation it cannot be destroyed by our efforts. We may ignore it, we may disobey it, but the word still stands. So this word is read in the presence of the people. We read it now. It's still before us. It's read in the presence of the whole congregation, all of the nation. Everybody knows that there is a word

00:43:13.520 - 00:43:47.800

from the Lord that we stand under the judgment of the eternal. That's true. that's as true today as it was yesterday. So this word is read but the people ignore it. Not only is it read to the people, the masses, but also to the classes. It's read in the presence of the princes and so the princes read it, they

00:43:47.800 - 00:44:16.720

hear it and they say well we don't want to hear this, this isn't the kind of message we want. It's not pleasant to us, it doesn't tickle our fancy. Jeremiah really have this to say about what God wants us to do and what God's judgment is upon this land. And so the word is read in the presence of the King. Word

00:44:16.720 - 00:44:44.320

is not only read in his presence but Jeremiah is cast into prison. He is accused, falsely accused, and arrested. And that's that's the way people do often when they are told something to do that they don't want to do and they don't want to hear. They get angry with

00:44:44.320 - 00:45:23.760

the person who told him. So they get angry with Jeremiah he's arrested not only is he falsely accused but he is arrested and he's cast into prison and it is in that situation in the midst of a crisis that Jeremiah has the King Zedekiah to give him a secret audience so to speak as a secret conference

00:45:23.760 - 00:45:58.800

Jeremiah is brought out of the prison and brought into the presence of the king and here within the privacy of the king's chambers the king says to the prophet. Is there any word from the Lord? Well he's in a crisis now so often we come to God in a crisis. Sometimes it's a perplexing situation we don't

00:45:58.800 - 00:46:33.160

know which way to go. And we cry out in agony, "Is there any word, Lord, that you have for me in this hour?" Sometimes it's a moment of sickness and we want to know, "Does God have a word for me in this situation?" Sometimes it's in a moment of a crushing defeat that we have suffered, some disappointment that we have encountered and we really want to know does God have

00:46:33.160 - 00:47:04.060

anything to say to me right now in this situation is there any word from the Lord well Jeremiah had been telling them all the time that there was going to be an enemy from the north forces of Babylon would come and they would become captives of Babylon. Babylon had been fighting, knocking at the gates of the

00:47:04.060 - 00:47:30.120

city, but Egypt had come and the forces of Egypt had come and the forces of Babylon had withdrawn and so they had begun to think that maybe what Jeremiah was talking about wasn't gonna happen after all. But their withdrawal as far as the Egyptians were concerned that was just a temporary withdrawal and soon the Babylonians

00:47:30.120 - 00:48:06.720

came back. And in that moment, in that moment, that moment of crisis when the nation so to speak is standing there at the juncture between life and death, that moment of crisis, there comes the question, "Is there any word from the Lord?" And Jeremiah answers, "There is." There is. In the midst of our human crises, in the midst of our misunderstanding, in the

00:48:06.720 - 00:48:42.240

midst of our disillusion, there is a word that God has addressed to our situation. Yes, there is a word. God has something to say to us. And Jeremiah says, you know, there It is a word, but the word that God has to say in this situation is the same that he has said before.

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He hasn't changed his word. God has not given a revised version of what he wants people to do. The fact that God wants us to be faithful to him, God wants us to be true to ourselves, He wants us to be loving in our relationship to others.

00:49:03.620 - 00:49:19.660

He wants us to be rightly related to those eternal values. That's not something that was just true for one period in history. That's something that's true for all times. That word is the same.

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It's the same now as it will always be. And that word is sure, that word is stable, that word is dependable. It is secure. We can depend on it.

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We can stand on it. You can bet your life on it. You can risk everything on that word because it is abiding. Nothing can take it away.

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And so there is a word. It's a word which is addressed to you and to me. The wonderful thing about it is that God has wrapped that word in human flesh.

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He's wrapped it in human flesh and sent it among us. He's wrapped it up in the very concrete issues of your life and my life. That word is there.

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It's wrapped up in human flesh. Oh yes, we mutilate the word. We try to destroy it. We try to ignore it.

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We push it aside and say I'm not gonna do that. We know it's right. I'm not gonna love my enemy. I'm not going to embrace those that despitefully use me.

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We say that time and time again, but the word comes back. It's addressed to our human situation. Though you slay me, that word still stands. It rises up, walks among us.

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It's resurrected time and time again. comes to bless us, to caress us, to embrace us in such a way that our lives are enriched and we go forth to be a blessing to others. Yes, there is a word. Thanks be to God that that word is always present. When we would crush it,

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when we would hide it, the word is still there. Jeremiah says, "Yes, I know from my personal experience that the word is always there. You know I have it in me says because it is like fire burning in my bones. Can't silence it. It's always there. Always to bless us, to lead us gently and safely to where God wants us

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to be. As we sing the hymn of invitation now we invite you to come by faith, looks up to thee. What is your response to the word that God has addressed to you and to me? To be able to answer in that prayer my faith looks up to thee thou lamb of Calvary

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we invite you to come to make the decision to accept God's eternal word for there is this word from the Lord for every one of us That word is Jesus Christ, his only begotten son.

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[ Music ] Thy name was drawn to me, Now and on ever be, Savior, be mine.

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Come, hear me while I pray, ♪ Take all our guilt away ♪ ♪ Oh, let me love this day ♪ ♪ The only night ♪

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♪ May thy peace raise in heart ♪ ♪ Stands to thy painting, God ♪ ♪ My dear, dear star ♪ ♪ As love has died for me ♪

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♪ Oh, may I love to thee ♪ ♪ Hail the one and chaste as we ♪ ♪ Are giving pride ♪ ♪ Though the stars may turn red ♪

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♪ And face the world we spread ♪ ♪ In our ground ♪ ♪ Is our mystery today ♪ ♪ When sorrows tear away ♪

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♪ Oh, let me ever stray ♪ ♪ From Thee, my son ♪ Gracious God our Father, we still ask the question, is there any word from the Lord? We thank you for your response to our question, to our perplexities, to our disillusion, to

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our despair that affirmative response, "Yes, yes we can live our life, yes we can be what you want us to be." That there is a word and that word is yes, the yes that you have given to us in Jesus Christ we thank you that we have encountered him that we have been

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arrested by him that somehow he has possessed our souls we come now to remember him and as we gather here in this time of remembrance as his covenant community the fellowship that we share we ask that you would bless us and that you would especially take this bread and this wine and consecrate it in such a

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manner that as we partake of it we may rededicate ourselves to the service of the word which you have given us through Jesus Christ. Amen. Jesus took the bread, blessed it, break it, gave it to his disciples, ministered it in [inaudible]

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to give you this bread, representing this broken body. Those who are going to just be in this service, would you raise your hand? [inaudible] Also, just a couple of days ago this afternoon, the Master made it a matter of duty for this customer to make a chance of us.

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And he called in. Often as he would, the food is prepared, the drink is done. [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE]

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[ Music ] [INAUDIBLE] [inaudible] She is present there but she is not alive.

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Do you see a telephone there? Could you please rise that word? сейчас [INAUDIBLE]

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[INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE]

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[ Music ] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE] [Music]

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The atom comes back, never leaves. The Earth has no power. The atom cannot move. There are no words.

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There are no words. Time is a moving machine. [Music] There are no words.

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[Music] The atom's time. [Music] [Music] [Inaudible]

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[Music] [Inaudible] [Music] [Inaudible]

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[Music] (indistinct) [ Silence ] [BLANK_AUDIO]