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We have baptisms this morning, and I'm reminded of the family that was in church

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with three young children, including a five-year-old girl.

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As was their practice, they sat in the very front row so the children could see the

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service.

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During this particular service, the priest was performing the baptism of an

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infant.

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The little five-year-old girl was well taken by this and observing that the priest

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was saying something and pouring water over the infant's head.

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With a quizzical look on her face, the little girl turned to her father and asked,

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"Daddy,

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why is he brainwashing that baby?"

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Baptism, a very simple ceremony,

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the most important sacrament.

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As water is poured over the person, a few plain words are spoken, but as ordinary

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and mundane as this is, it has a powerful effect.

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Not only at the time of baptism, but one that reverberates

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throughout our entire lives and into eternity.

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Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, and the Gospel of Mark

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records that immediately coming out of the water, he saw the heavens parting and

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the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

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And a voice came from the sky,

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"You are my beloved son,

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in whom I am well pleased."

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Jesus's baptism served to inaugurate his ministry.

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When he excuse me, when he came up out of the waters of the Jordan,

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it was a seminal moment in which all of the anticipation and hope

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surrounding his birth is in a realized epiphany in which we see

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clearly that he is the Son of God.

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God calls us to submit to His will,

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and this will was proclaimed by John the Baptist.

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Be baptized, and in so doing, God's plan for our life

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and our eternal salvation is executed and fulfilled.

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Today, as we celebrate the baptisms of Charles, George, James, and

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Hudson,

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we have the opportunity to reflect on what it means for us to be

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baptized in the name of Jesus, and you'll have the opportunity to renew your

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baptismal vows and reaffirm God's claim on your life.

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But mark this, and mark it well.

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Your baptism is the single most important event

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that will ever happen to you in your lifetime. The most important.

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Make no mistake, when you emerged from those sacred waters, your life was changed.

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And from that very moment, it was changed for all eternity.

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Your life was changed because God adopted you as His own son.

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God adopted you as His own daughter.

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Doubtless, some of you were baptized in your youth or as

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adults.

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Many of you were baptized as infants, which raises an interesting question.

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Just how can babies, perhaps just weeks old, or a young child

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barely able to read, possibly know what's going on?

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Years ago, a couple of pastors in Missouri got into a debate with a noted

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liturgical scholar named James F. White, and they asked Dr.

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White, "Well, what if the child slept through the entire service?

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Wouldn't that nullify the experience?"

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And Professor White answered, "For all I know, I may have been asleep for

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my baptism,

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but God was not."

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More often than not, God acts without our knowing it.

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God's love is in no way contingent upon our

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understanding or awareness.

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You see, baptism is not about us. It's about God's saving act

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in Jesus Christ. Every time we baptize an individual, whether it's a nine-week-old

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baby or a 90-year-old adult, we proclaim the death and

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resurrection of Jesus Christ, the resurrection by which we

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are saved. None of us can possibly comprehend the scope of God's grace or

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claim to be worthy of God's love. Yet

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God claims us anyway and invites us into a loving, trusting

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relationship with Him, not because we're deserving,

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but because that's the very nature of God.

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Think of it this way.

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You love your children and your grands.

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You loved them long before they were able to love you in return.

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Doesn't it stand to reason that God,

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being a loving parent, loves us long before we're able to love Him in return?

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Jeremiah 5 reads, "Before I formed you in the womb,

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I knew you, and before you were born,

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I consecrated you."

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Isaiah 45 at verse four reads, "I call you by name.

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I surname you, though you do not know me."

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The baptisms of Charles, George, James, and Hudson is the

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single most important event that will ever happen to them

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in their lifetimes.

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Their baptism, your baptism, matter not just for the span of our lives, it

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matters for all eternity.

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And know that infant baptism is an important symbol of our relationship to God in

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that it's not the infant who asks to be baptized, it's

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the parents who ask on behalf of their child.

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Acting in faith, they claim a place in God's eternal kingdom

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for the child, and the child is made a part of God's great family of faith,

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and it happens long before the child knows what's going on.

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And there was a time when parents would approach me and say, "Shouldn't we

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just wait and let the child grow up and decide for himself?"

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No,

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no, no, and no.

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Look, you want the very best for your child.

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You undertake to make the best decisions on their behalf.

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You attempt to instill in them beneficial habits.

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You don't let them decide what foods to eat.

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You don't let them decide what inoculations to receive.

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You don't wait until they prove to be responsible before making a place for them in

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the family. They belong from day one, and they learn to appreciate

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what that means as they get older.

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How old you are has nothing to do with receiving a gift.

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If a parent opens a bank account for their child and puts $10,000 in it,

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that gift is a good and valuable one, even though the child doesn't

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have any idea what the gift means.

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It's as the child grows older, and the parents explain to them about this

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gift, that the child comes to realize its value.

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Needless to say,

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if the parents never told the child about the treasure,

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if they didn't tell them, it would be a wasted gift.

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That leads me to say that the role of parents, godparents,

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and parishioners are very important.

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Unless we follow Christ's command to teach those who are baptized, the gift that

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God has given at baptism has become an unappreciated,

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unrealized gift.

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Experts tell us that the basic traits of children's personalities are formed by the

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time they are five years old.

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By the time they get to be teenagers, their faith or lack of faith is

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already decided, and if not by you, by someone else,

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and that should be alarming. The point is, we want our children to know from the

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very start that God loves them. That's what baptism is all about,

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to know beyond all doubt that you belong to

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God.

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And so we baptize our children at the earliest age possible.

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At the same time, we pledge to do everything within our power to help them

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grow in the knowledge of God's love,

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trusting that they will make their own profession of faith as they grow older.

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So whether you were baptized as an infant, youth, or adult, whether or not you

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remember your experience, whether or not you have a baptismal certificate to

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prove it,

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I assume most of you have been baptized.

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So the question is,

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what does it mean?

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What difference does it make whether you were baptized or not?

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Does it make a difference if these children are baptized or not?

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My friends,

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it makes all the difference in the world, not just because it's the eventual

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pathway to heaven, but because God promises to be with

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you in every situation and circumstance that you will

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face.

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Here's what God proclaimed in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, "Don't

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be afraid, for I have redeemed you.

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I have called you by name. You

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are mine.

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When you pass through the waters,

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I will be with you. And through the waters, they will

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not overflow you. For I am Yahweh, your God,

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the Holy One of Israel, your savior."

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And in Psalm 23, King David wrote in pertinent part, "The Lord is my shepherd,

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and even though I walk through the valley of the very shadow of death, I will fear

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no evil, for thou art with me."

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So to be baptized in the name of Jesus is to share his victory over sin and

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death, and to know that no matter how deep the water may get,

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He will be with you to keep you from going under.

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Because see, the waters of chaos, they continuously threaten to overwhelm us in one

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way or another throughout our lives.

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Some days we're strong and able to withstand the current.

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Other days it feels like

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we could go under at any moment.

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Now, God doesn't necessarily take the waters away, but He does give you

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a promise, "I will be with you."

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The baptism of Jesus is the key. His grace will always be

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sufficient for your every need. "When you pass through the water," says

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the Lord, "I will be with you."

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Psalm 121 gives us some assurance of God's protection, "I lift

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up my eyes to the hills.

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From where does my help come?

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My help comes from the Lord." And the Psalm continues, "The

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Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth

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and forevermore."

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Now, sisters and brothers, you are gathered here today to witness the events of

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this day.

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Shortly, you will make a promise to do all in your power to support

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Charles and George James and Hudson.

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You will do all in your power to support them in their life in Christ.

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Tell them about this day.

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Tell them what happened to them this day.

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Tell them that the Holy Spirit moved over the baptismal waters this day.

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Tell them that there was jubilation and rejoicing in the heavenly realm this day.

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Tell them the very gates of heaven were open to them this

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day, and tell them that there were witnesses to the events of this day.

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Tell them that their family was here. Tell them that their friends were here.

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Tell them brothers and sisters in Christ were here.

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Tell them that angels and archangels and the host of heavens was here.

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Tell them that the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was here, and tell

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them that God Almighty was here. Amen?

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Amen.

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Charles, George, James, and Hudson, my soon-to-be

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brothers in Christ,

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though you may not hear me now,

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your Christian family does,

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and I say to you, trust in the Lord.

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And to all of you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, I charge you to teach them

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how to rely on their Savior.

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And in the words of that blind musical theologian,

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Stevie Wonder

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"Don't you worry about a thing."

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Charles, George, James, Hudson,

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know that this day God speaks to you,

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just as He speaks to each and every one of us in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah,

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"Because you

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are so very precious in my eyes

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and I love you,

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fear not, for I have redeemed you.

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I have called you by name.

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You

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are mine."

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In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.