Base

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

He’ll Be There for You Bible: He’ll Be There for You (Gideon) • Judges 6–8 Bottom Line: God can use you no matter what. Memory Verse: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV Life App: Confidence—Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (9:00, 10:15, 11:30) 9:00 & 11:30 Just For Fun • No supplies needed 10:15 Get Your Head in the Game • One white kitchen towel • One blue kitchen towel Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (9:10, 10:25, 11:40) • Bible Presentation in Large Group Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (9:40, 10:55, 12:10) 9:00 & 11:30 Verses to Take with You • Bibles • Five-pound bag of potatoes • One towel 10:15 Take a Snapshot • Three sticky notes for each student • Pens Prayer: Making it Personal (9:55, 11:10, 12:25) 9:00 & 11:30 • Bible 10:15 • Bible, sticky notes from “Snapshot” activity Dismiss (10:00, 11:15, 12:30)

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

He’ll Be There for You Bible: He’ll Be There for You (Gideon) • Judges 6–8 Bottom Line: God can use you no matter what. Memory Verse: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV Life App: Confidence—Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 10 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s Bible Truth. Before your kids come for Small Group, take some time to pray that they would believe that God made each one of them uniquely and has gifted each of them specifically to do what He has planned out for them to do. Pray for the students you have that lack confidence that they would begin to find their confidence in God and having been created by Him. 9:00 & 11:30 Just For Fun Made to Explore: an activity that extends learning through hands on experimentation and discovery

What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: • Ask a student to sit on the floor in the middle of the circle and close his eyes. • Snap your fingers somewhere along an imaginary arched line above the student’s head (picture the hairline of a Mohawk). With each snap, ask the student to point to where he thinks the sound of the snap is coming from. Most of the time he will get it wrong. Repeat with a few more snaps and then let everyone pair up with a friend and try the experiment on their own. Lead your group to the Large Group area.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

10:15 Get Your Head in the Game What You Need: White and Blue kitchen towels What You Do: • Divide kids into two teams. • Ask both teams to stand side-by-side in a line and hold hands with the people next to them. • Direct teams to face opposite directions so that the teams can’t see each other. • Place the towels on the floor near the players at one end of the line. (Try to put the towels an equal distance away from both team’s players to make it fair.) • Stand at the opposite end of the line from where the towels were placed. • Explain that you will silently signal the two students nearest you by squeezing their forearms one or two times. o They will then squeeze the hand of the person next to them the same number of times, and that person will do the same, and so on down the line. • Let the people at the end of the line know that one hand-squeeze means they should pick up the WHITE towel and two squeezes mean they should pick up the BLUE towel. o As soon as the person at the end of the line feels the squeeze(s), he should quickly grab the correct towel. • Award points to the team whose final person is first to grab the correct towel. • Rotate players from the end of the line to the beginning and play again until everyone has had a chance to grab a towel. Wrap Up and Say: “I bet you’re wondering how picking up towels has anything to do with today’s Bible Truth. It just so happens that God made use of something similar to a towel in a very unique way. Let’s go find out.” Lead your group to the Large Group area.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

He’ll Be There for You Bible: He’ll Be There for You (Gideon) • Judges 6–8 Bottom Line: God can use you no matter what. Memory Verse: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV Life App: Confidence—Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 30 minutes) GETTING READY 1. Opener/Closer What You Need: • • •

Host Two large boxes of bendy straws Three bottles of water

2. Bible Truth What You Need: • • • •

Communicator Host Bible Large dynamic duo flashcards/poster boards

3. Worship What You Need: •

Power Praise Team

Music and Sound Effects (SFX): • “Happy and You Know It” • “My Strength” • “Rescue Me”

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

He’ll Be There for You Bible: He’ll Be There for You (Gideon) • Judges 6–8 Bottom Line: God can use you no matter what. Memory Verse: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV Life App: Confidence—Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 30 minutes) Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible Truth, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. CG: 10-second countdown CG: AMPED Theme Slide Host enters. Welcome Host has lots of energy as he or she welcomes everyone to The Base. Host is relatable and inviting. For many, this is their first week in the Base. It is finally the first week of summer vacation. Host can welcome everyone and set the tone for the class. The Host can ask about summer plans and get kids hyped about being off from school soon. Host can talk about something that happened culturally throughout the week like a big sports game, movie opening that month (Incredibles 2 – June 15), a viral video on YouTube, etc. Host tells them how excited he or she is that they’re there and briefly runs through what they can expect. This is especially helpful for first-time guests to make them feel like they know what’s happening. Host transitions to Worship. HOST: “Alright, let’s stand and worship together!” WORSHIP SFX: “Happy and You Know It” SFX: “My Strength” SFX: “Rescue Me” Power Praise team exits as Host retakes the stage. Host transitions to the opening game.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

Opener HOST: “What’s going on, everybody! So good to see you here today! We are off to a great start of summer here in The Base. Now, have you ever had one of those moments when you get so hot running around that all you want is a nice, cold drink of water?” Host drinks from a straw in a water bottle. “Ahh . . . refreshing. So this month we are all about extreme games, and I was thinking . . . how extreme would it be to have a competition where two contestants drink water from a water bottle . . . wait for it . . . with a straw?” Host lets the confusion hang in the air (“What’s so extreme about drinking water from a water bottle?”) “Okay, okay . . . I know what you might be thinking right now: ‘What’s so extreme about drinking water from a water bottle? That doesn't seem extreme . . . at all.’ (beat) But hear me out! Just because it doesn’t seem extreme doesn’t mean it can’t be extreme! I think you’ll see what I mean. Who wants to play?! I need two sets of partners for this head-to-head challenge!” Host chooses four volunteers for an active game and introduces them to the rest of the group. He has the contestants line up at the six-foot line. Host opens a water bottle and places it on the X. “Here’s how this works. In just a second, I’ll open a water bottle for each team and place it on the X in front of them. Teams will stand behind this first tape line and drink the water from the bottle. And, yes, that water is about six feet away from you. So just how are you supposed to drink water from that water bottle? Well, here you go . . . ” Host hands a box of straws to each team. “Go ahead and put the straws together and then reach it over into the bottle. Once you finally get it into the bottle, drink! The first empty bottle wins. Get it? And GO!” Host provides commentary. If it is taking a while, let them move up to the five-foot tape line . . . then four-foot . . . then three-foot. “(After winner) That was awesome. Well done, [Winning Team]! Extreme water drinking . . . who would have thunk it?!” Host exits as Communicator enters.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

COMMUNICATOR SCRIPT INTRODUCTION COMMUNICATOR: “What’s going on? Glad to be with you today. I always look forward to being here and sharing something from God’s Word with you. But you wanna know something? When they first asked me to speak in [Name of Environment], I wasn’t too sure about it. In fact, I was quite surprised. I thought, ‘There’s probably someone better than me, right?’ I wasn’t too sure I could do it. I was afraid I would come out here and freeze . . . and then we would just be awkwardly staring at each other for 15 minutes or so—a complete nightmare.” “Have you ever felt like that? Maybe you were asked to do a solo in a choir or band concert, or you get chosen to take the penalty kick in the big soccer game, or maybe it was a speaking part in a play or being picked as the captain of your team, or the head of a project group and you found yourself thinking, ‘There’s probably somebody who would be better than me, right?’” TENSION COMMUNICATOR: “You know, it’s one thing to feel like this on our sports team or our school band, but have you ever felt like this with God? Have you ever wondered to yourself, ‘I don’t know how God can use me?’ or ‘I don’t feel like I have that much to offer God?’ Believe me. You’re not the first person to feel that way. Throughout your life, at one point or another, you’ll question whether or not God can use you to help make a difference in the world. When that happens, it’s good to remember that a lot of people throughout history have felt that way, even people who went on to do some amazing things for God! TRUTH COMMUNICATOR: “In fact, let me introduce you to someone who felt just like that. His name was Gideon. We find part of his life events in the Old Testament book of Judges. The person who wrote the book of Judges tells the stories from a pretty dark time in the nation of Israel’s history. This was a time when they often turned away from worshipping and following God and found themselves at the mercy of their surrounding enemies. The people of Israel would then cry out to God, and He would send a deliverer to rescue them. This was the cycle they faced over and over again. They’d disobey God. They’d fall into the hands of another nation. God would send someone to rescue them. They’d go back to obeying God . . . until they didn’t. And the whole thing would start over again.” “In this particular time of trouble, a powerful and wicked nation called Midian, or the Midianites, began to threaten Israel. This trouble was so bad that God’s people hid in caves and holes in the mountains. Every year, they would plant crops to grow food. But every year the Midianites would come and destroy their crops. Like I said: it was a really bad situation.” “God’s people cried out to Him for help. And God heard. He sent an angel to visit—you guessed it— Gideon, and it was quite interesting how he addressed him. Check this out: (Read directly from Judges 6:12 NIrV) ‘The angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the LORD is with you.”’” “Did you hear what the angel called Gideon? ‘Mighty warrior,’ which is kind of funny because Gideon hadn’t done anything yet. In fact, it was going to take quite a bit of convincing to get Gideon involved. I’ll show you.”

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

“Gideon asked the angel why all of this was happening with the Midianites. We can read it for ourselves in the book of Judges, (Reads directly from Judges 6:14 NIrV) ‘The LORD turned to Gideon. He said to him, “You are strong. Go and save Israel from the power of Midian. I am sending you.”’” “Gideon, you’re going to save Israel from the Midianites! Do you think Gideon was excited about this? How do you think he responded?” Allow responses. “Let’s find out if you’re right? (Read directly from Judges 6:15, NIrV) ‘“Pardon me, sir,” Gideon replied, “but how can I possibly save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I’m the least important member of my family.”’” “Did you catch that? Gideon was all, ‘Not me, God! I can’t save Israel! I’m a nobody from nowhere!’” “Gideon was basically thinking, ‘There has GOT to be somebody better cut out for this, right?’” “And in so many words God basically told Gideon, ‘Nope. You’re My guy for this. But don’t worry, I’ll be with you.’” “Now I’d like to say that from here on out Gideon was sold on this mission, buuuuuut that’s not quite the case. Gideon kept second-guessing that God really wanted to use him. In fact, there were a few different times when he asked God to prove to him that He was still with him and would still use him.” Communicator pulls out a prop box. “Okay for the next part of these events, I need a LOT of volunteers, including some small group leaders. Who can help out?” Communicator lets kids raise their hands and talks out loud while getting ready to choose. “I think I’ll choose like TWELVE people to help out . . . (looking around)” Communicator is interrupted by tech booth, a leader from the back, or the Host. LEADER: “Twelve is too many, [Communicator’s name]. Why don’t you go with six?” COMMUNICATOR: “Oh, okay sounds good. I’ll take . . . (chooses 3 kids and 3 leaders). Come on up on stage, please!” Volunteers come up on stage. “Alright, so as I was saying, our Bible Truth today is from Judges and . . .” Same leader interrupts again.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

LEADER: “Sorry to interrupt again, but you still have too many helping out on stage. Let’s get it down to three volunteers.” COMMUNICATOR: “Umm okay, I guess I can still do it with that many. Hmmm, let’s have the small group leaders take a seat. Thanks for helping out.” Small group leaders sit down. “One day, God came to Gideon. The day had arrived. It was time for Israel to defeat the Midianites. Gideon was leading Israel’s army of about 32,000 men! That is quite an army, right? Well, not compared to Midian. Israel would need every last soldier in the army! That is what makes what God said next so unbelievable . . . (Read directly from Judges 7:2-3a, NIrV) ‘The LORD said to Gideon, “I want to hand Midian over to you. But you have too many men for me to do that. Then Israel might brag, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ So here is what I want you to announce to the army. Tell them, ‘Those who tremble with fear can turn back.’”’” “Too many men?! Those who are scared can go back home?! What in the world! Let me ask you . . . how many people do you think left and went back home? (Pause for responses.) Well, the passage says that 22,000 men left, leaving an army of 10,000 men!” “Now that was still quite an army. They should have been okay, right? But God wasn’t done yet . . . (Reads directly from Judges 7:4, NIrV) “The LORD said to Gideon, ‘There are still too many men. So take them down to the water. There I will reduce the number of them for you. If I say, “This one will go with you,” he will go. But if I say, “That one will not go with you,” he will not go.’”” “Too many men! You can never have too many men in an army! Well, I guess yes you can if you’re trying to show that army where their strength and power comes from.” “God had Gideon take the men down to the water, and God had a pretty unique way of separating who was going to stay and who was going to leave. He said that some of the men would lap up water like dogs . . . in other words, they’d bring the water to their mouths in their hands and lap it up. Here, let me show you.” “(To volunteers) Hey, everyone. Put your hands out like a bowl.” Use the water bottle from the prop box to pour water into the volunteer’s hands. “Quick, lap it up before it all drips out. (Amused) And that is what a lot of the men did when they got down to the water. The others just kneeled down to drink.” “God told Gideon, ‘Take the lappers!’ Okay, so He didn’t call them the lappers, but you get the idea. The rest went home. Guess how many of the 10,000 men were left? (Pause for response.) 300! That’s it! Three hundred men against the entire Midian army. Not only was Gideon unsure about himself, but he certainly had to be unsure of his army!” “And with that, Gideon, along with 300 men, went up against the army of Midian. And once again God reassured a scared Gideon that Israel would have the victory.”

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

Communicator pulls three volunteers over. “Alright, men . . . each of you represents 100 men, and so I’m going to split you into three camps. Each of you will take this (reaches in prop box and hands each a bag of noise makers and the breakable containers with flashlights). I’ll tell you what to do in a minute.” Spread the three volunteers out around the room. They will soon get everybody else involved. “Gideon told everybody what to do. As soon as they heard him blow his trumpet, they were to blow their trumpets as well and shout a battle cry!” (Shadowing one of the volunteers) “So Gideon and 100 men snuck up to the edge of the enemy camp at night. And they blew their trumpets . . . (Volunteer takes out a noise maker and blows it) Nice trumpet . . . and they broke the jars in their hands.” Communicator instructs volunteer to break the container, revealing the flashlights. “And when every man broke his container, there were torches inside. And as soon as Gideon and his men did it, so did the other camps (encourage the two other volunteers across the room to blow their noise makers and break their containers).” “Start passing them out to everybody in the room. Everybody get a noise maker and a flashlight, and hold on!” Once everybody has one. “(Speaking quietly) Now can you imagine . . . it was late at night. The Midianites were just starting to get cozy in their beds, maybe drinking a nice mug of sleepy time tea. When all of the sudden . . . kill the lights!” Lighting: Lights in the Room go off “Trumpets and torches everyone!” The room is in chaos for a few moments. Then turn the lights back on and quiet everyone down. Lighting: Turn Lights back on “Now, what do you think the Midianites did when they looked outside of their camp and ALL around them they saw flashing lights and heard the sound of trumpets?” Allow responses. “We read in Judges that there was so much panic that the Midianites started fighting against each

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

other! And it was not long after that that the entire Midian army was defeated. Can you give it up for our volunteers?” Volunteers sit down. APPLICATION COMMUNICATOR: “Now, that Bible Truth is crazy, and you were awesome helping out at the end. You know, I think Gideon probably thought there was NO WAY things would end the way they did when God scaled his army down from 32,000 to 300. But you know what I think Gideon thought was even more unbelievable? That God would use him. Gideon was pretty unsure about God using him, and yet, remember, God called Gideon a mighty warrior before any of the rest of the events took place!” “Maybe God knew more than Gideon about how He could use him.” “Kind of like us sometimes, right? That solo in band or choir . . . when we’re thinking, ‘There are so many better choices than me!’ Or our team when we find we’ve been made captain and we don’t even think we’re the best player on the team! Or leading that project group at school . . . there are a lot of times we might feel like this.” “But you know what we might be missing in these moments? It was something that Gideon kept forgetting. God is with us. And if God is with us, He can work in and through us in ways we could never expect. Sure, we might not defeat an army with trumpets and torches, but the truth is that God may have some pretty big things He wants to do with us, but we first have to learn to trust Him and realize that it is less about us and more about Him! When we do that, we get to see more of Him in the world, today. I want us to take a look at our memory verse.” CG: Memory Verse Slide “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV LANDING COMMUNICATOR: “As you head to small groups, think about this: How could God use you?” CG: Key Question Slide “I bet some of you can already think of some examples from your lives where you’ve been a little uncertain and maybe asking ‘How’ or ‘Why me?’ But think about your strengths, what you’re good at, or what you like to do. How could God use those things in your life to help Him? And don't worry; if you’re having trouble thinking of something, your small group leader can help you. Small Group is a great place to talk about things just like this! I know you’ll have a great time in Small Group, but before we head out, let’s pray! Communicator leads group in a prayer related to what they just heard then dismisses them to small group. SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

He’ll Be There for You Bible: He’ll Be There for You (Gideon) • Judges 6–8 Bottom Line: God can use you no matter what. Memory Verse: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NIV Life App: Confidence—Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible Truth applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. 9:00 & 11:30 Verses to Take with You What You Need: Bibles, 5-pound bag of potatoes, towel What You Do: • Set out a five-pound bag of potatoes and let each student take one potato. • Give them a couple of minutes to “get to know” their potatoes by taking note of their shapes, sizes, bruises, bumps, and anything that distinguishes them from all the other potatoes. Note: students should not mark or change the appearance of their potatoes in any way. • Mix all the potatoes together with the rest of the bag and then spread the entire bag onto a towel in front of everyone. • Let the group look through the potatoes to find the ones they had earlier. When they find their potatoes, let them show the others the unique features that helped them know that the potatoes were theirs. • Give the group 15-seconds to name as many uses as they can think of for a potato. • Remind students that God has many uses for each of us—far more than a potato! o Everyone is unique (like each potato) with different sizes, shapes, colors, strengths, weaknesses, as well as individual ways we can be used by God to accomplish His purposes. o God does great things through people who are willing to follow Him, trust His plan, and believe He is with them, no matter what. • Invite everyone to look up and read 1 Peter 4:10 then ask them: o If Gideon had been given this verse, how might it have helped him? o In what ways does this verse give you confidence? Name some things you think God might have in mind for you to do as you continue to follow Him.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

10:15 Take a Snapshot What You Need: Sticky notes, pens What You Do: • Start by asking students for examples (real or hypothetical) of things God might ask kids their age to do. They might say: o Invite a friend to church o Raise money for or give time to a cause that they care about o Take on more responsibility when a parent is stressed out o Be the only one doing the right thing in a certain situation • Give students a pen and three sticky notes. • Ask them to write an example of the following situations on their sticky notes (one response per note): o God may ask me to do this, and it will be easy. o God may ask me to do this, but it will a bit of a stretch. o God may ask me to do this, but it will be a huge challenge. • Create a “climbing wall” by letting students place their sticky notes on the wall – easy situations near the floor and the most difficult as high on the wall as they can reach. (NOTE: If a wall is not an option, use a designated area on the floor and tell students which area represents the lower part of the wall.) • Invite everyone to share what they wrote and prompt students to chime in when they resonate with one another’s challenges. • Leave the sticky notes in place for use later in “Make it Personal with Prayer.” Pro Tip: Steer this activity away from a comparison or competition. Reinforce the fact that each person is different. What is easy for some may be hard for others, but God can use us no matter what our strengths and weaknesses are.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

June 10, 2018, Week 2 Grade: 5

All Service Times

Pray and Dismiss (5 minutes) What You Need: Bible What You Do 9:00 & 11:30: • Ask students to grab the sticky notes they wrote in “Take a Snapshot” that describe things God may ask them to do in the future. • Remind them that God wants to use each of them to encourage each other to not let fear, uncertainty, or lack of confidence get in the way of doing what God has planned for them to do. • Read Isaiah 41:10 aloud then allow students to pray silently or aloud about the things they wrote on their sticky notes. • Encourage them to ask for God’s help to face the most challenging situations with the same confidence and faith as the ones that are easy Wrap up and Say: Dear Jesus, thank You for the life of Gideon. Thank You for helping us to see that our strength and confidence aren’t in ourselves but in You. It doesn’t matter what we look like in the mirror, where we live, or how cool others think we are. You’ve put a plan in motion for our lives, and we ask You to help us walk in it and bring You great glory. In your name we pray, amen. What You Do 10:15: • Ask students to grab the sticky notes they wrote in “Take a Snapshot” that describe things God may ask them to do in the future. • Remind them that God wants to use each of them to encourage each other to not let fear, uncertainty, or lack of confidence get in the way of doing what God has planned for them to do. • Read Isaiah 41:10 aloud then allow students to pray silently or aloud about the things they wrote on their sticky notes. • Encourage them to ask for God’s help to face the most challenging situations with the same confidence and faith as the ones that are easy. Wrap up and Say: Dear Jesus, thank You for the life of Gideon. Thank You for helping us to see that our strength and confidence aren’t in ourselves but in You. It doesn’t matter what we look like in the mirror, where we live, or how cool others think we are. You’ve put a plan in motion for our lives, and we ask You to help us walk in it and bring You great glory. In your name we pray, amen.

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