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Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.

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Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information.

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The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture

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to better grow in your relationship with Jesus.

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Hey everybody, welcome to the sanctuary and for those of you who are joining us for the

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first time, let me just say welcome.

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It is great to have you all with us and today we're going to talk about something that we

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all see and we all tend to participate in at church and we're going to give it a little

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bit more depth.

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All right, and this is one of those things that to a point it's kind of taken for granted.

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It's something that's become very legalistic in a sense for a lot of places of worship.

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And what I'm talking about is communion or as some refer to it, the Lord's Supper or

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the Last Supper.

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It's that time when we come together during the service and we had that little wafer and

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that little drink that we share in remembrance of Jesus.

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And believe it or not, there are those who don't know much about it beyond the couple

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of verses that may or may not be read when it's shared.

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They simply just know, hey, this is something that we're going to get and we're just going

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to hold it and we're going to wait until we're told to eat it or drink it.

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This is one of those places in which the church often fails.

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It's really because it falls into that category of things that we just assume everyone knows.

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So again, it becomes a bit of a legalistic work that many of us do.

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So we're going to take a look at that right now.

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Now before I get started here, I will say there's probably going to be a couple of things

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that I missed and it's really just because I'm trying to compress all this for time sakes.

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But really what I'm going to do is I'm going to go into the bread and the butter of it,

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the meat and potatoes you should say.

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We're going to get that cake.

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I'm not going to throw the icing on it.

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I'm going to break it down to what it is supposed to be underneath all that stuff.

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The most important parts, the parts that we should be thinking about when we participate

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in this.

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Now with that said, there are many places in the Bible where we can see Jesus instituting

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this.

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By that I mean giving us the example and telling us to do it.

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Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.

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These are three places.

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These are typically the most commonly used places that a lot of churches go to when they

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are looking at scripture that they're going to use for their time in communion.

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Just a little FYI for those of you who are taking notes, this is something that you might

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even just kind of write in a margin.

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Just the same, the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, those three books as a trio are

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also referred to as the synoptic gospels, meaning that they can be viewed and compared

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easily when placed side by side.

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These three share witness of the first communion.

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A little bit of a rabbit trail there, I know.

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Then there's 1 Corinthians chapter 11, which is the place where we will be looking at today.

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You see Corinth, it was a major city and as such it saw plenty of corruption and treachery.

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It sounds a lot like today, doesn't it?

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As such, 1 Corinthians was written to teach Christians how to live properly while trying

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to navigate their way around the corrupt society that they were a part of.

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It's really no different today.

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This includes taking corrective action to get evil out of the church, to get corruption

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out of the church, and to keep it out of the church.

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I'll remind you, the devil knows God personally.

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He knows the word very well and therefore he blends in very easily when trying to influence

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and corrupt the church himself, which is all the more reason why we should read the Bible,

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study the word, know the word so that when something isn't right, we recognize it and

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we can correct it.

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Let's get into it now, shall we?

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For those with their Bibles, those with their apps, those just taking notes, again, we're

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turning to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and we're going to be looking at verses 17 through 22

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to start.

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So, 1 Corinthians 11 verses 17 through 22.

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The Bible says, in the following directives, I have no praise for you, for your meetings

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do more harm than good.

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In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions

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among you, and to some extent, I believe it.

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No doubt, there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

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So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for when you are

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eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.

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As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

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Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

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Or do you despise the Church of God by humiliating those who have nothing?

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What shall I say to you?

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Shall I praise you?

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Certainly, this is not the matter.

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Paul's not pulling any punches here, is he?

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He goes straight into it.

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There should not be praise when the Church is being torn apart.

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He recognizes that there are differences to be had.

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That in itself is fine.

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It's going to happen.

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Nobody is going to agree with everyone and everything 100% of the time.

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We all see things differently.

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The problem, however, is when these differences are allowed to create division in the Church,

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because division leads to sin and can destroy churches.

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This is one of those things where I talk about all these places with the cliques and everything,

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whether it's the Church staff and certain people they hang out with or even just different

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groups within the Church and everything.

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This is why we talked about it before, that we need to get over it.

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We need to bring down those barriers and just be the Church.

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Literally a lot of churches, they go into their death cycle and this is a big contributor.

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That's why.

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Now, it's really easy.

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We can all say, oh, it was the devil.

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But the reality is that the fault lands directly on the Church.

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Now, here's the thing about these divisions.

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Without everything said and done, those who look to the chaos, they look forward to it,

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they start it up, they cause the dissension, for all their huff and puff, they don't even

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realize they're putting themselves in a bad light.

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People will eventually see them for who they are.

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This in itself actually puts the spotlight on the true believers, those people who are

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showing how to live out the gospel in word and action alike.

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It's a big thing, isn't it?

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Next, Paul talks about the Lord's Supper.

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Now, this is something, starting with Jesus, was celebrated regularly by the early Church

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and continues on to this day.

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And it would include basically coming together in fellowship, to have that fellowship and

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to have a small meal.

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And then afterwards, everybody would share and participate in communion.

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So literally, it started with a small meal.

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That wasn't supposed to be anything huge, just a small meal and then communion.

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So a little bit different than how we celebrate it today in churches around the world.

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However, in Corinth, things, needless to say, had gone astray.

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They'd gone so far off the beaten path that wasn't even funny.

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Instead of coming together in fellowship, it basically became a party time.

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Hang out with my homies, the cliques would break off.

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You had a time of gluttony and drunkenness.

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Think of the potluck.

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We've all been to a potluck where you have all those people at the front of the line

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and they load their plates down.

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They get more than their fair share, right?

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And they don't leave anything for the people at the back of the line.

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So by the time the people at the back get up there, there's scraps, there's crumbs,

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maybe.

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There's really nothing there for them.

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Most of us, if not all of us, have been there, right?

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And that's what was happening here.

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They'd all come together.

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You have those people who would eat in excess, even to that point where maybe they couldn't

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even finish everything that they had.

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So things were getting tossed out while other people were left to go hungry.

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And if that wasn't enough, it got worse.

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You had those who would overindulge in the wine to the point of absolute drunkenness,

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right?

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The fellowship was gone.

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The time of coming together as a church was gone.

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It was nowhere to be seen.

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That unity and love that should have been there, it was nowhere to be found.

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Let alone the consideration that the meal itself was supposed to be the small meal,

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something kind of tied people over till they get home and it was to lead into communion.

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Instead, everything was just getting thrown together and just everybody having their own

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little parties, basically.

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Kind of like people going and hanging out at the bar these days, or a lot of these other

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places.

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That's how it was treated.

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It was like, yeah, cool, we've done that.

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Let's go eat.

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Let's get drunk.

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Party time.

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Paul, he condemned these actions.

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And he was right.

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He absolutely should have condemned them.

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Correction was needed.

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One needed to be reminded of the real purpose of it all.

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Now we're getting to that.

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So let's pick back up in our reading.

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First Corinthians 11, we're now going to look at verses 23 through 26.

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First Corinthians 11, verses 23 through 26.

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The Bible says, for I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.

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The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and when he had given thanks, he

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broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.

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Do this in remembrance of me.

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In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying this cup is the new covenant in

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my blood.

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Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

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For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until

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he comes.

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That should sit really heavily.

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Now, for those who have had scripture shared during communion, this part should sound

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familiar.

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All right.

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Paul is sharing his experience of the first communion, the last supper.

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What he's also sharing is what Jesus had to say at that final meal when they were all

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together before he went to the cross.

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While different denominations have different views about the emblems themselves, we shouldn't

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place them on the altar as an idol.

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Just like anything else, it's real easy to turn things into an idol.

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Instead, we should listen to what Jesus said and remember what these items represent.

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First is the bread emblem, which is broken.

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This is important.

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The fact that they point out that the bread was broken out of all the words and all the

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ways to describe it, really, it's like, oh, he took the bread.

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Really, is there any description that's really needed there in just a general context?

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No.

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Instead, Paul took the time, and it's been used in the scripture to say the bread was

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broken.

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Why is this so important?

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Why is the emphasis here?

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Well, it's because when we think about the cross, we need to remember that was the final

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moment of what Jesus had gone through.

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We need to think of everything as a whole from when he was taken into custody.

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He was physically broken before going to the cross.

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His clothes were torn.

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He was literally whipped and beaten and had a crown of thorns pushed down onto his head.

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His flesh, his skin, it was torn.

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He was bloodied.

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He was tortured.

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And then after all of that, was still forced to carry his cross to Golgotha, knowing what

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was about to come.

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Physical and mental torture in the extreme.

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In the extreme.

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Not to even mention the torture of being on that cross and what a horrible death that

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was.

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This right here, this is what we should be keeping in mind when we take the bread emblem.

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That's what it's referring to.

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Next is the wine emblem.

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I know some places they use juice, some places use wine.

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We're not getting into that right now.

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Like I said, there's some things I'm not going to go over for today.

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So the wine is representative of Jesus' blood being poured out for us.

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His love being so great that he took on death for our sins and poured his blood out for

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us literally.

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This is of no significance either.

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This is very significant.

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This is huge.

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You see, back in those days, a blood sacrifice was nothing to be taken for granted.

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A blood sacrifice was huge.

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Exodus tells us of the sacrifice of lambs.

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Why?

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Because they were these meek, innocent animals that would be taken and slaughtered and offered

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up to God.

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And then again, still in the book of Exodus, sheep were slaughtered by the Israelites and

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their blood was used to mark the doors of their homes so that their firstborn children

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would be spared from death.

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Death was coming to take the firstborn children of everyone because of Pharaoh's refusal to

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obey and everything.

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So this is one of the curses that was poured out.

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So by marking their door, they were showing that they were God's people and so their children

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were spared.

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And then if we go to Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7.

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So Isaiah 53 verse 7, the Bible says, he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open

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his mouth.

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He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before it sheers his silence.

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So he did not open his mouth.

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It's talking about the perfect lamb sacrifice.

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Jesus, Jesus.

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Or again, here, a matter of fact, if you go to 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1.

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Let me find it here, flipping through myself.

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So 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 19, the Bible says, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb

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without blemish or defect, the perfect lamb sacrifice, that's who Jesus was for us.

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Here's how an animal or a blood sacrifice worked.

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All right.

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Some of you have heard me talk about this before.

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Some of you have not.

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So I'm just going to throw it out there for everyone.

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Basically an animal would be taken typically, you know, like a sheep, right?

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And it would be cut or torn apart and the blood left to just pour out.

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It's like a contract, right?

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It was a promise.

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And the person who was making this promise would walk around the animal and then through

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the two parts.

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And by doing this, what they were saying was basically, if I break my promise, if I go

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back on my word, if I don't do what I say I'm going to do, may I be torn apart like

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this animal.

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Now think about that in the context of Jesus.

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He was savagely beaten, tortured, and then put through a horrific death on the cross

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in which he became the sacrificial lamb for us.

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And this is what he's referring to when he said, the new covenant in my blood.

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That's what we're remembering during communion.

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What he went through, what he did for us, his promises for us, an innocent taking on

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the punishment that he didn't deserve for those he loves so much.

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That's how much you mean to him.

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That's how much he loves you.

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So when we share communion, we should be thinking about his life.

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We should think of his sacrifice.

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We should think of his resurrection.

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We should be thinking of his promises and his return to come.

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You see communion itself, it's more than just an act.

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Communion is the participation in a memorial meal.

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And this memorial meal is being taken, is being had in a holy place at a holy time.

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And to take anything away from that, to think of it as anything less than that robs it of

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its meaning and of its significance.

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This should never be just some ritualistic thing that we just do.

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This is why a lot of pastors before going into it, as they should be, say, hey, let's

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take a moment to pray and reflect.

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Because this is a time that we should be taking to prepare ourselves, which is why Paul gives

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these instructions next.

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So turning back to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 27 through 34, the Bible says, so then

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whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty

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of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

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Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

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For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and drink judgment

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on themselves.

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This is why many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep.

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But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such

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judgment.

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Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that

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we will not be finally condemned with the world.

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So then my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.

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Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home so that when you meet together, it

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may not result in judgment.

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So again, before taking communion, it's a good time to reflect, a good time to pray

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because we need to recognize that Christ died for our sins.

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We need to give this occasion the proper respect that it deserves.

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We need to search ourselves for any sins that we still need to confess, any resentment that

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we still have lingering inside that needs to be let go or dealt with.

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We need to recognize that in taking part in communion, we are doing so based on our faith

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and our belief in Christ, our love for our neighbors and the consideration for everyone

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who is present.

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We need to do things in a lovingly and orderly way that allows everyone present to participate

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as the unified body of Christ, as the church.

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This meal is meant to remove barriers and to recognize our own sin and shortcomings.

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Matter of fact, recognize our own sin and shortcomings.

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That in and of itself should push us to actually participate because in doing so, we open ourselves

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up and we confess ourselves to God.

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When we do things properly, that's what we're doing.

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If you don't honor the body and the blood of Jesus, then you're eating and drinking

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and sin.

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You're eating and drinking the Lord's judgment upon yourself.

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That is what Paul was talking about when he said this.

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He said that, matter of fact, he went on and he said, this is why so many are sick.

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This is how many have fallen asleep.

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By falling asleep, he is saying this is why so many have died.

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That people in the Corinthian church were being disciplined by God because of their

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mistreatment of this meal.

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That we need to recognize what happened to them, why people were sick, why some people

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that we know are sick today because they're not treating it properly.

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Even died because of this.

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That was a discipline that was put there because it was to serve the warning.

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Hey, you need to take this seriously.

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You need to do things right.

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The meal itself, it's not about filling up.

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It's having a little something together, a little meal together, coming together and

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fellowship with other believers, remembering and honoring everything that Jesus has done

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for us, is doing for us and will do for us.

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There is so much there.

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It's a way of bringing us together as the body of Christ.

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It's a church.

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That's what it should be.

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I know I went through a lot here.

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That's why I said I'm not going to go through every little thing.

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This in a nutshell though, when you have communion, when you participate in communion, you know

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where the Last Supper or however it's referred to, where you go, even the Lord's Supper,

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this is what it is.

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This is the meat and potatoes.

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This is the important aspect of it.

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Like I said, it should never ever be a legalistic ritual.

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Take a moment, take a few moments, reflect inwards, reflect on yourself, reflect on how

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you've done this and how you need to start doing this, what you need to change, what

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sins you have that have gone unconfessed and talk to God about those, confess them to Him.

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That's why Jesus came so that we have this open door where we can communicate directly

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with the Father.

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Remember Jesus loves you and that's why he did this.

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You are loved.

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You are blessed.

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Now go and be the Church.

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Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.

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Please like, subscribe and share our podcast on any platform it is that you tune into us

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on.

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If you do have any questions, any prayer requests, or would like to know more about our ministry,

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you can find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary.

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You can also find how to contact us there whether it's direct message or email.

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We look forward to hearing from you all.

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God bless.