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[ Silence ] [ Music ] >> We'll sing the-- [ Music ]

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We'll sing the first and second stanzas. I am weak and I need thy strength and power to help me over my weakest hour. ♪ Let me through the darkness ♪ ♪ My face to see ♪

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♪ Lead me, O Lord, lead me ♪ ♪ Lead me, guide me along the way ♪ ♪ For if you lead me I cannot stray ♪ ♪ Your let me walk each day with thee ♪

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♪ Lead me O Lord, lead me ♪ ♪ Help me tread in the paths of my faith ♪ ♪ Be my aid when said on and sin oppressed ♪ ♪ I am putting all of my trust in thee ♪

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♪ Lead me, O Lord, lead me ♪ Lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with thee.

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Lead me, O Lord, lead me. For passing through this world of sin, ♪ And others your life shall view ♪ ♪ Be clean and pure ♪

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♪ Without heaving ♪ ♪ Let others see Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let all the sea ♪

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♪ Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let all the sea ♪ ♪ Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Be telling the story ♪

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♪ Be faithful and true ♪ ♪ Let others see Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let others see Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let all who see Jesus in you ♪

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♪ Be telling of so deeply painful and true ♪ ♪ Let all who see Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let others see Jesus in you ♪ ♪ Let others see Jesus in you ♪

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♪ Eternally prosper, keep me faithful and true ♪ ♪ And I'll always be Jesus with you ♪ - The prayer. Oh God, our help in ages past,

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our hope for years to come, protector from the storm of last in our eternal home. We come on this 45th Woman's Day to say thank you. To say thank you for the diversities of gift

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that you have sent into our individual lives and for many other things that we can't think of. But we thank you, oh Father in heaven, that you have fulfilled our individual needs

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for health and for happiness. We thank you that you have given us protection from the forces of evil that would interrupt our lives. We thank you that you have enabled us to withstand the many blows and rebuffs that have come

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our way. And above all, we thank you that you have given us your darling son Jesus, who gave his life that we might have a right to the tree of life. But we come this morning acknowledging our unworthiness of such generous blessings and

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to ask forgiveness for our many sins. Some of us are guilty of cruel gossip, our words spoken thoughtlessly. Please forgive us. Some of us have held back a word of kindness, our word in defense of others.

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Forgive us, we pray. We have both denied and betrayed you in so many ways, knowingly and unknowingly. Forgive us, Lord. And please, dear God, give us a closer walk with thee.

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On this blessed privilege of another woman's day, let us rededicate our lives for kingdom brought. Don't let us merely go through the motion today and later go on our way without realizing the spiritual possibilities this day holds.

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Stab our hearts with spiritual awareness, dear God, that we may look on the fields for their white already to harvest. Bless us with your spirit, oh God. those of us who are dejected and depressed today. Oh God, help us to know that you are the healer

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of all spirits, that you, oh Father, are that divine power that can send light into darkness. Grant us that today and oh Father, when we will have gone from this place, help us to go with a feeling of acute awareness and love for our fellow man, a desire, oh Father, in heaven to do what we can for that drug-ridden life.

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Oh God, have mercy, we pray, for we need thee. And we ask these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave his life that we might have a right to the tree of life. Amen.

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[laughter] [MUSIC PLAYING] (bells ringing) (bells ringing)

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(bells ringing) (bells ringing) (bells ringing) (bells ringing)

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(bells ringing) (bells ringing) (bells ringing) [Music]

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[Music] (bells ringing) (bells ringing) (bells ringing)

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[Music] [Music] [ Music ] [ Music ]

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[MUSIC] ♪ To this day I'll honor all the days ♪ ♪ And the chorus I hear ♪ ♪ Going on my ear ♪

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♪ The song of God is glorious ♪ ♪ I'll honor my dreams ♪ ♪ With me at his boss ♪ ♪ With me at his belt ♪

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♪ With I at his throne ♪ ♪ And joyous cheers ♪ ♪ As to every laugh ♪ ♪ None of them ♪

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♪ As the first snow ♪ ♪ These scenes have lost some of its voice ♪ ♪ It's so sweet the birds are singing ♪ ♪ And the memories they gave to me ♪

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♪ Faithfully within my heart is he here ♪ ♪ God he walks with me and he talks with me ♪ ♪ And he tells me I am his own ♪ ♪ And joy we share ♪

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♪ As we gladly bear ♪ ♪ None other ♪ ♪ As ever ♪ ♪ Long ♪

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[MUSIC] To read the scripture, which is the basis of our text, using William Barclay's translation, Revelation 2nd chapter verses 8 through 11.

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And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, "These things says the first and the last, who passed through death and who came to life again." I know the affliction and the poverty you endure.

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You're rich in spite of it. And I know the slanders which proceed from those who call themselves Jews, and who are not, but who are a synagogue of Satan.

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Have no fear of what you will have to go through. Behold, the devil is going to take some of you into prison in order to test you. And you will have a time of affliction which will last for ten days. Show yourselves loyal to death, and I will give you a crown of life.

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Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. Take a trip with me to fairyland as one sits before the mirror with this searching and penetrating question. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

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The answer comes, "The queen was fairest yesterday, Snow White is fairest now," they say. This has served as a means of the subject of this message. Who's the fairest of them all? I think this is a question that concerns every woman.

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It's based on the desire to look your best, to be beautiful, to be lovely. This particular word that surrounds our message

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has to do with a letter which was written to the people of God in Smyrna. Smyrna is the second of the seven churches of Asia Minor and of all the cities of Asia, Smyrna was the loveliest.

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Lukian said that it was the fairest of the cities of Iona. Smyrna was beautiful and bright, possessing a radiance like that of a rainbow. It was a city magnificently situated

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and recognized as a great trading center. Smyrna was one of the few well-planned cities of ancient times. It was built with straight, broad, sweeping streets.

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It had in it a street that was named the Street of Gold, which was like a necklace around the hill connecting the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Sibyl. Smyrna was indeed considered the fairest of all cities.

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Now we know what makes for a beautiful woman according to popular standards. There is the emphasis which has to do with cosmetics. Then of course we have beauty shops that specialize in making one beautiful. [audience laughter]

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We think of a certain size being the right size, having the right physical physique, having desirable hairstyle, good selection of your wardrobe, of course, having good care taken of the fingernails

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as well as the toenails. And when all of this is said and done, the question remains, who's the fairest of them all? There was another question that is related to beauty.

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where lies the beauty in the object being beheld or in the beholder. So let's look again at this letter to the family of God at Smyrna. The fairest of them all, the city of Smyrna. This particular church has no word of condemnation or criticism as is the case of the church in Ephesus and most of the other

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churches. Here is a church that possesses beauty without blemish, kind of beauty that is more than skin deep. It does not wane with the years. This beauty does not fade in time. It grows brighter and more pronounced in the course of time. It is It's beauty that thrives in the midst of adverse circumstances, beauty that develops in the

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midst of ugly surroundings like a lily that grows and glistens in the midst of a foul and filthy atmosphere. It's the kind of beauty that causes the Church of Smyrna to be singled out for congratulations. the kind of beauty that thrives in the midst of afflictions. Some think that

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they must have favorable circumstances in order to have a lovely life, but here is beauty that is not marred by disappointment. It does not disappear in the face of defeat. This beauty remains when things go against the grain." And here is the word, listen again, "I know your affliction. You have endured, but it has

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not changed you." You see, you've endured hardship. You've had a rough time. You faced many of the adversities of life, but you have remained beautiful in the midst of your afflictions. I know your affliction. Then he goes on to say I know your poverty. You know we talk about a certain group maybe the Jets set us on

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and we say all those beautiful people but here is a reference to beauty that has to do with that which is lasting, that which is significant in life, that which contributes to the kind of world that follows the divine design. I know your affliction in the midst of all of your hardships you have remained

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beautiful. Then he says I know your poverty, I know you're poor. We like to think about beauty being associated with wealth, having a certain amount of the comforts and the conveniences of this world, but here is a church in the midst of all of the affluence of Ephesus, here is a church made up of suffering people who have

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the burden of poverty. And he says, "I know your poverty." It's the kind of life where if you may not have a penny, you can still be rich. Rich in spirit, you know, rich in your vision of life.

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"I know your poverty, but in spite of it," he says, "you're rich." Rich in spirit, you know, rich in your vision of life. I know you're poverty, but in spite of it, he says you're rich, you're rich.

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So there's a kind of beauty which the ugliness of this world cannot destroy. And though we find ourselves in the midst of such a situation where we have to stretch

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to make ends meet, you know what that's like. Do you have to go without something you need? Say, I know you've endured poverty in the midst of plenty. I know you're poor, but you're rich,

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and this is the kind of beauty that does not fade. Then he says something else. I know not only your affliction and your poverty, But he says, "I know how you have endured slander."

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And you know how that is, ladies. You know, that's just idle gossip. Malicious slander designed to tear down rather than to build up.

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And here, this struggling community of faith in the midst of Smyrna, the people of God made up of poor people, made up of people who were having a hard time, and there were

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a whole lot of people going around bad-mouthing them. Saying everything they could to tear them up. And he said, I know this, I know how you have endured slandered. Then he says, I know also how you have withstood the synagogue of

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Satan. The synagogue of Satan. Synagogue means where you gather together. Here are evil people who are gathering themselves together against you and yet you have stood and you have remained beautiful in the midst of it all. Ancestors and brothers, you know that's pretty hard to do when you're having a hard time still be lovely in the midst of afflictions. When you find yourself very poor without many of the things that you need to still be lovely.

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And when you are up against slander, still have a lovely spirit. And when you know that there are many people galloping against you seeking to do everything they can to destroy you and still have a lovely spirit. No wonder when he was writing this letter

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that he said the most complimentary things about this group, because this church is the fairest of them all. And so, if we would be beautiful,

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if we would have that lasting loveliness that somehow we must identify with the kind of model that is given by this church of Smyrna. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

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Well, the queen was fairest yesterday. Snow White is fairest now, they say. There's a kind of beauty that fades. It goes with yesterday.

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Queen had it yesterday, but Snow White has it today. The kind of beauty that one has to be, the kind of beauty that is lasting, the kind of beauty that is the manifestation of the eternal.

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It's the kind of beauty that possesses love that will not let go. It's the kind of beauty that has patience, patience, yes, to hold on to that which is meaningful,

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to that which is true. It's the kind of beauty that endures afflictions, kind of beauty that can embrace poverty and still be rich. It's the kind of beauty that can somehow accept slander and still be strong. It's the kind of beauty that can endure the synagogue of Satan. And so he says to them, you're gonna be tested.

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You're going to be cast into the prison by the devil for 10 days. But he said, be faithful. So that that's the word that's addressed to the faithful. That's the word that I would communicate to you as,

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as the beautiful woman of our time to be faithful. That's where the beauty really is in being faithful and being faithful to God in being faithful to the one who comes to us as the fairest of 10,000, fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature, be faithful.

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Well I think history shows that Smyrna was the fairest of them all, amidst of all the persecution. That was Polycarp, who was Bishop of Smyrna. And they were persecuting the church,

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and they said, "Of all the people that we must destroy, "we must get Polycarp. "He's a strong influence." So they came to get him.

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The policeman who was carrying him to the place of execution said, "Polycarp, why not just renounce Jesus Christ? "Why not just say Caesar is Lord and live?"

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And even the pro consul encouraged him to do the same thing. But Polycarp said this. He said, "Eighty and six years have I served him "and he has never wronged me."

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He said, "How can I blaspheme my Lord and my King?" And so they took him and they burned him alive. And in burning him alive, it seems that those who saw him as he was reaching out, and it seems as if he were reaching

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for his crown, so be faithful. Be faithful in the midst of all of the difficulties of this life, in the midst of all of the adversities we may encounter, be faithful because at the end of the way there is a crown.

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We shall all wear, and there is nothing that can compare with the radiance and the beauty that is ours when we are faithful even unto death, for we receive the crown of eternal life. I surrender.

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I surrender all. That's the invitation. That's the challenge. That's the invitation, that's the challenge, that's the commitment in order

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to enter into that band of beautiful people that are not only beautiful in the here and now, but are beautiful throughout the ages. As we sing this hymn we extend the privilege of the church to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life to seek, to follow in his train.

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I invite you to come. Oh, yes! Yes! I invite you to come.

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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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I invite you to come. [MUSIC] ♪ Give my freely dear ♪ ♪ I will ever love and trust Him ♪

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♪ In His presence may he live ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪ ♪ All to thee my blessed Savior ♪

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♪ I surrender all ♪ ♪ All to Jesus I surrender ♪ ♪ Humbly at his feet I bow ♪ ♪ Worthy, precious, all forsaken ♪

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♪ Take me, Jesus, take me now ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪ I surrender all. All the days I've wasted, Savior, I surrender all.

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[MUSIC PLAYING] (piano music) ♪ May it's my faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh Lord my Father ♪

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♪ There is no shepherd ♪ ♪ Learning with thee ♪ ♪ How great is God ♪ ♪ For compassion's ♪

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♪ Great value ♪ ♪ As ever has been ♪ ♪ And forever will be ♪ ♪ Great is thy great command ♪

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♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I am need ♪

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♪ Is thy hand that hath grown higher ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ [ Music ] ♪ Color and winter and springtime and harvest ♪

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♪ Sun, moon and stars in their four cells of gold ♪ ♪ Joy with all nature in gladness, hope with rest ♪ ♪ To thy great faithfulness ♪ ♪ Mercy and love ♪

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♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New blessings I see ♪

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♪ For I am living ♪ ♪ And have no idea ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Moral to me ♪

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♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New mercies I see ♪

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♪ All I have need ♪ ♪ In the hand that thou hast provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ [MUSIC]

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>> Bow your heads with me in prayer. [BLANK_AUDIO] Most gracious and merciful God our Father, We come thanking Thee, dear Heavenly Father, first of all for life.

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How wonderful it is to be alive and in your loving and watchful care. Even though the week may have had hard times, pain, we know, dear Heavenly Father, that you were with us and you were the one that saw us through. We come, dear Father, on the special occasion of Women's Day,

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Thanking thee for your many blessings. Thank you dear Heavenly Father for friends, for family, for health, for food, for clothing, and thank you dear Heavenly Father for those things

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we don't even recognize as being blessings right now. We come thanking thee dear Heavenly Father for children who have been entrusted into our care, even if it's just for an hour or two at a youth meeting. youth meeting. We ask dear Heavenly Father that you will guide us in our interactions

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with them, that we be encouraging and friendly, that we provide kind discipline. And most of all dear Father, we pray that you let our lives be an example for them, for we know that our evil deeds can far outweigh any flower words that we may speak. We ask dear Heavenly Heavenly Father, special blessing on women who may have a particular need for your love

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at this time. For the widow, for the prostitute, for the single parent, for the woman behind prison walls. We pray to Heavenly Father that at this time we remember them in a special way, that we

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not become callous to their plight. And finally to Heavenly Father we ask forgiveness for our sins, for they are so many. And Father, we seem to stumble on the same ones over and over and over again. We come asking that you will strengthen us.

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And we know, dear Heavenly Father, that you being the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God, that you can fill any void in our lives and build us up in any way that we're torn down. These blessings we ask in thy darling Son Jesus' name.

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Amen. >> Amen. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]

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♪ Joyful, be joyful, in spirit belong ♪ ♪ It's time for rejoicing, be grateful, sing out ♪ ♪ Be joyful and praise him for thy sin shall all ♪ ♪ Adore him, adore him ♪

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♪ How a bunch adore ♪ ♪ Be joyful for singing ♪ ♪ Is joyful thing ♪ ♪ So turn your songs and love ♪

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♪ And then go for singing ♪ (gentle music) [ Music ] [MUSIC - "SO MAY HE REJOICE"]

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♪ Rejoice and your heart meet your course ♪ ♪ Rejoice to God, he is born ♪ ♪ So rejoice ♪ ♪ His righteousness ♪

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♪ Provides a soul to believe ♪ ♪ Salvation is theirs ♪ ♪ Who will only receive ♪ (gentle piano music)

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♪ Be joyful, exalt Him ♪ ♪ With love, song, and praise ♪ ♪ Be joyful before Him ♪ ♪ Let your fill your days ♪

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♪ Rejoice, oh rejoice ♪ ♪ His new-made to Him creed ♪ ♪ For Christ the great Savior ♪ [ Music ]

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[MUSIC] I see trouble in the air over my head. I see trouble in the air over my head. I see trouble in the air.

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There must be a God somewhere. Over my head, I hear music in the air. Over my head, I hear music in the air. Over my head, I hear music in the air.

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There must be a thorn somewhere. Over my head I see glory in the air. Over my head I see glory in the air. Over my head I see glory in the air.

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There must be a God somewhere. [MUSIC PLAYING] [ Music ] Hold up the light.

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Hold up the light. Hold up the light. Oh, ye heaven-bound soldiers, hold up the light. Hold up the light.

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Let your light shine round the world. Oh, hold up the light. Hold up the light, hold up the light, for ye heaven-bound soldiers. Hold up the light, hold up the light, let your light shine 'round the world.

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The world is so full of darkness, we have to be alive. Be alive! With a burning, burning prize, fighting the night. The night!

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Hold up the light, hold up the light, hold up the light, holy heaven-bound soldier. Hold up the light, hold up the light, let your light shine 'round the world. The world is so full of darkness, we have to take a stand. Take a stand!

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If your brother sits down and falls, give him a helping hand. A hand! Oh, hold up the light, hold up the light, hold up the light, holy heaven down soldiers.

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Hold up the light, hold up the light, let your light shine round the world. Let your light shine around the world, my brother. Let your light shine around the world, my sister.

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Let your light shine around the world, everybody. Let your light shine around the world. [Music] [ Silence ]