Getting to Know your Bible

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is Getting to Know Your Bible, a program dedicated
to the proclaiming of the good News of Jesus Christ.
Here's Billy Lambert.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hello, I'm Billy Lambert. I am the regular speaker on
Getting to Know Your Bible, and I want to welcome
you today. This may be the very first time that
you have seen this telecast. I want you to know
that the thing that we emphasize on getting to Know
your Bible is a word of God. The Bible is

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the greatest book that has ever been written. Many years ago,
there were those that wrote books that thought they would
replace the Bible. That's what Thomas Paine thought when he
wrote The Age of Reason. But the Bible continues to
live after century. Jesus said, heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my Word shall not pass away. So on getting

(01:07):
to Know your Bible, we're teaching from the timeless Word
of God. The Bible is God's book, the greatest book
that has ever been written. And today we're going to
be opening up the pages of the Word of God
and delivering a message to you from God's book. Today
we're going to be seeing a one of our classics

(01:29):
that is a production of one of our telecasts from
time in the past, and we want you to stay tuned.
We're going to be offering a free Bible Correspondence course
today and we will see information on the screen as
to how you can receive that course. And so we
want to pause at this time.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
To help you in your study of the Bible. We
want to send you this Bible Correspondence course. This course
is non denominational, it's based on the Bible, it's conducted
by mail, and it's free to receive this course. Right
to Getting to Know Your Bible po Box three one four, Summerdale,
Alabama three six five eight zero or call toll free

(02:10):
one eight seven seven seven one one five two one four.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Welcome. To be a Christian is the greatest thing I
believe that a person can be in this life. Being
a Christian gives one a new life in Jesus Christ.

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Being a Christian gives one the hope of life everlasting.
Donald In order that one might become a Christian, one
must believe that Jesus Christ is God's divine son. One
must be willing to repent of his or her sins,

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and one must be willing to confess their faith. Their
belief in Jesus as God's Son, and in order to
become a New Testament Christian, one must submit to baptism
for the remission of one's sins. And we read in
the Bible passages of scripture after passage of scripture that

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would substantiate what I have just said. For example, we
are to believe in Jesus with all of our heart.
John A twenty four, Jesus said, except you believe that
I am He, you'll die in your sins. One must
truly repent of sin. In Acts three nineteen it was
Peter who said, repent and be converted, that your sins

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may be blotted out. There can be no blotting out
of sin unless one is willing to turn away from sin,
that is repent. One should be willing to confess their
faith in Jesus, as did the man in Acts chapter
eight when he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. And then one should be baptized

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in two Christ, as were the Galatians in Galatians three
twenty seven. For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ did put on Christ. So one becomes a
Christian by obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what
is the best thing that you can say about one

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after they become a Christian? What would you suppose the
best thing that you could say about the Christians that
you know? You say, well, I think, brother Lambard, the
best thing you could say about a Christian is that
they read the Bible every day. Well, I think that
as a Christian you should read the Bible every day.
But is that the best thing that you can say?

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And someone else may think, well, the best thing you
can say about a Christian is that they are generous
with their money, They give to the Lord, and they
help people that are in need. Well, I believe that
you ought to be generous, very generous with the money
that you have. But indeed, is that the best thing
you can say about a Christian? Someone we might think, well,

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the best thing that you can say about a Christian
is that they pray a lot, and they are known
for being a person of prayer. Well, Christians should pray.
But is that the best thing that you can say
about a Christian? Someone says, well, I think brother Lamber.
The best thing you can say about a Christian is
that they have a good attitude and that they have
the mind and the attitude and the disposition of Jesus Christ.

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A Christian of all people should have a good attitude.
But in fact, is that the best thing you can say.
I believe the best thing you can say about any
person who claims to be a child of God is
that they are faithful. In First Corinthians, chapter four and
verse two, the Bible says it's required in stewards that

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a man be found faithful. So we should be faithful.
For you see, if a person is faithful, then they're
going to do these other things. If a person is faithful,
they'll read the Bible, they'll pray, they will attend the
services of the church, they will have a good attitude.
In a black being faithful in all probability is the

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best thing that you'd ever be able to say about
a Christian. And there is a great need for those
who are Christians to be faithful. All people might not
be brilliant, but they can be faithful. All may not
have wealth, but they can be faithful. All may not
be talented, but we can be faithful. And the Church

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can be hindered when we have those who are not
faithful as a child of God. But what does it
really mean when we talk about being faithful? What does
it mean for an individual being faithful? Well, let me
try to put this in as simpler terms as I
know how. Being faithful means being doing and becoming what

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God desires, and God always requires of us that which
is very reasonable. I read about a sergeant at one
of our military bases who required two hundred and eighteen
trainees to get out and do push ups on hot asphalt.

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Thirty one of them received burns too were hospitalized. Well,
you say that was a very foolish order from that sergeant,
and I would agree with that it was a very
foolish order. But the at least the men did what
he told him to do. They obeyed the order. Now,
God gives us orders, God gives us commands. God gives

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us things that He wants us to do, but they're
always for our good and they're always in our best interest.
And so we are faithful when we become when we
obey and do what God says, and by trying to
live as the New Testament would teach us to live.

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But you say, well, Brother Lambert, is it possible for
a person to be faithful today? Well, I might answer
that by saying, has anyone ever been faithful? And I
would suggest to you that yes, indeed, others have been faithful.
God is faithful in lamentation three and verse twenty three.
Now the Bible says, great is thy faithfulness. God is

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not only faithful. God is great in his faithfulness. God
is faithful to forgive us as his children when we
sin verse John chapter one and verse nine. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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So God is a god God who is a faithful God.
He is faithful to us when we are tempted. He
will not turn his back upon us, but he offers
us a helping hand. Listen to Paul in First Corinthians
ten in verse thirteen, there hath no temptation taken you,
but such as is common to man. But God is faithful.

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God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted.
Above that you're able, will do the temptation, make a
way of escape that you may be able to bary.
So what we're trying to see here is that God
is a faithful God. He's even described in One Peter
four in verse nineteen as our faithful creator. But Jesus Christ,

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God's son, is also faithful. In Revelation the third chapter
in verse fourteen, the Bible in writing the reads like this. Thus,
saith the amen, the faithful, and the true witness. The
beginning of the creation of God and Jesus there is
referred to as the faithful and true witness. Jesus Christ

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is faithful, and Jesus is faithful as our advocate. In
First John, Chapter two, verses one and two, John wrote,
my little children, these things right unto you that you
sin not. But if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, and he
is a perpetuation for our sins, and not for ours only,

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but all so for the sins of the whole world.
He is a faithful advocate. He is a faithful companion.
In Matthew twenty eight and verse twenty, Jesus said, lo,
I am with you always, even onto the end of
the world. Jesus is a faithful atoner of our sins.

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That is, when he died, he died to a tone
for sin. He tasted of death for every man Hebrews
Chapter two and verse number nine. God is faithful, Jesus
is faithful. But there are others that have been faithful.
For example, Noah is faithful Hebrews Chapter eleven and verses

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seven reads by faith, nor being warned of God of
things not seen as yet prepared an art to the
saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world and became the heir of the righteousness, which is
by faith. So you see, Noah was faithful. He was
living in a hard time. He was living in a

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day of sin that was running rampant throughout the earth,
And in spite of that, Noah remained faithful to God.
I think about Moses by faith. Moses, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should
after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out
not knowing where he went, and so he had no

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idea where God was calling him to go. But he
had faith in God. He was faithful to God, God
as a servant of God. So others have been been faithful.
And when the obituary of your life is written, will
we be able to say he or she was faithful?

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And to die the death of the faithful, you have
to live the life of the faithful. In numbers the
twenty third chapter and verse ten, there is this statement made,
let me die the death of the righteous. Now to
die the death of the righteous, you have to live

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the life of the righteous. You can't live unrighteously and
die righteously. And in order to die the death of
the faithful, you have to live the life of the faithful.
You cannot live unfaithfully to God and then die faithful death.
And so I suggest to you that in our obituaries

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written and people speak of us, may it be said
of us all he was faithful, she was faithful to
God up on what, however, does our faithfulness rest up on?
What does our faithfulness rest? Well? I want you to
try to imagine something. I want you to try to

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imagine a couple about to be married, and so they
make their vows before an audience of people, and they
pledged by the laws of heaven and earth that they're
going to be faithful and true to one another so
long as they shall live. And the years go by,
and someone inquires about that couple, how are they getting along?

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And they so you haven't heard heard what? Well they're
not together anymore. They divorced, and so the next question
is what happened to them? Well, said, you mean you didn't, Oh,
he became unfaithful to his wife. Now, when a person
would make a statement like that he became unfaithful, what

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do we understand that to mean. Well, someone says that that,
we understand that to mean that he did not keep
his viles that he made on the wedding day that
he would be faithful and true to her so long
as he should live. Evidently he found someone else that
he liked better than her that led to their divorce.

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In all probability that happened, because I know that has
happened many many times. Now, when we think about a
person being faithful to Christ or unfaithful to Christ, what
do you suppose we mean? Well, when you become a
child of God, as we mentioned earlier on the telecast,
by believing on Christ, by repenting of your sins, by

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confessing your faith in Christ, by being baptized into Christ,
you make a promise when you you make the statement,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God,
and you seal that pledge by being beed with the
Lord Jesus Christ. In the waters of baptism. You're raised
to walk a new life, the life of a child

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of God, and you're to live faithfully to him who
died for you. But unfortunately, sometimes there are those who
began to drift away from Jesus the Savior. They begin
to drift away from Jesus, who is the head of
the body of the Church, and they become unfaithful because

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they no longer are living up to the promise than
the bow they took, the pledge they made when they
confessed Jesus as a Christ, the son of God, admitting
their sin and putting the old life behind them. And
some return to that life and become unfaithful children of God.

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And I say, unfortunately, that happens many, many times, So
I would ask, have you been true? Sometimes people began
to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and they turned back.
In John six sixty six, the Bible says, from that
time many turned back and walk no more with him.
And so if that's not the first nor the last
time that that's something like that has happened. In Second Timothy,

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chapter four and verse ten, there the Bible says demons
have forsaken me having loved this present world. I don't
know what caused him to do that, but it's possible
for an individual to be faithful for a time and
then become unfaithful because they failed to keep their bows.
Hence the importance of remaining faithful. Once you become a

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child of God and continue to keep in your mind
the sacrifice that was paid for your sins, you say, well,
why should a person be faithful? Brother Lambert, can you
give me any reason why a person should be faithful?
For one reason is that God requires it. It's really
not an option. Listen to First Corinthians, chapter four, in

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verse two. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a
man be found faithful. And on the last day, when
we stand before the judge of all of the earth,
may well all be found faithful children of God found
for it's required. It's not an option. I remember when

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I was in college that we had courses that were
elective courses. Why that meant that I could take that
course if I wanted to. But there were some courses
that were required courses, and I took some of those courses.
Whether I thought I would like it or not. It
was required and there's some things in life that are

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required of us, whether we like it or not. Those
are things that we must do, and it is required
that we be faithful. That's what God says, be faithful
unto death. Then it blesses your home. If you will
be faithful, you're going to have a much happier home.
I read about the statue of a pioneer woman out

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in Oklahoma. It was twenty five feet tall, and she
had in one hand a copy of the Bible, and
in the other hand she was holding the hand of
her child. I can't think of a more beautiful picture
than that leading a child with the word of God
on one hand. And we need to have the word
of God in our hearts as we will try to

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build our homes and we try to lead our children. Today,
Joshua said, as for me and my house, we'll serve
the Lord. It was said of Abraham in Genesis chapter
eighteen and verse nineteen. I know him that it will
command his children and his household after him, that they
might walk in the way of the Lord. You see,

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it ought to be said of every father. I know him, oh,
that man, and I know that that man is going
to command his children. He's going to lead his children,
He's going to lead his wife and his household after
him in the way of the Lord. Are you doing
that today? It's going to make your home a better
home if you're faithful to the Lord. Except the Lord

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build the house. Except the Lord build the house. They
labor in vain that building, except the Lord keep the city.
The watchmuth waketh but in vain. And then you need
to be faithful in order that you might set a
good example before other people. I read about a man

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in Birmingham, Alabama. It was reported in the newspaper that
had not missed a single service on Sunday in three thousand,
six hundred and sixty two sundays. Can you imagine that
he had missed service in all of those Sundays, all
of those Lord's days. I think you'd have to say

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that man was faithful, and we need to be faithful
to save our souls. In Matthew, chapter twenty five and
verse twenty one, Jesus said, well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a few things. I will

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make you ruler over many things. Enter thou into the
joy of thy Lord. If we want our souls to
be saved, we must be faithful. You say, well, brother Lambert,
when you talk about being faithful, and what should a

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person be faithful? Well, I think we ought to be
faithful even in the small things, in the little bitty things.
I read the story once about a young boy who
applied for a job at a hardware store, and in
this store, the manager of the store told him said

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he would hire him. And his first job was to
go down into the basement of the hardware store. And
he had all kinds of bolts and nuts and screws
down there, and they're all mixed together. And he told
this young boy, he said, now your first task at
the store down in the basement is to sort out

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all of those nuts and bolts and the screws. You
put the certain size of nut here, put a certain
size of screw here, the certain size of bolt here.
And so he had bins for him to put all
those things in. And the young man labored on that
for about a week, and finally he came back upstairs
to where the man was and he says, well, I

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have finished. And the man went downstairs and inspected. He said,
you've done well, my friend. He said, as now, I'm
going to allow you to come upstairs and work in
the store. You see, he believed that if that young
boy could not be faithful in sorting out all of
those nuts and bolts and screws, that he would not

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be faithful in working in the store. Why, he said,
he had had some number of young men had come,
and they'd worked down there in the in the basement
for a day, and then they'd quit. But this young
man stayed at it until he finished the test. That
reminds me of a passage found here in Luke the
sixteenth chapter and in verse number ten. He who is

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faithful in what is least is faithful also and much
And he who is unjust in what is least is
in unjust in also in much. So, if we cannot
be faithful in the little bitty things, going to be

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faithful in the bigger things. So I suggest to you
we should be faithful even in the small things of life.
We need to be faithful in our Christian responsibility. Our
duty is a Christian I mean by that that we
should attend all of the services of the church. Hebrews
ten and verse twenty five is still in the Bible

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and it still says not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together as a manner of some is, but exhorting one another.
And so much the more as you see the day approaching,
the Bible still teaches that Christian should not wi deliberately
abset themselves from worshiping God on the Lord's Day. And

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if one Christian has the right to willfully deliberately neglect
to worship God on the Lord's Day, I want you
to answer this question, why wouldn't all of us have
that same right. If one person can miss, then why
can't all of us miss? And if all of us
can miss, why don't we just shut down the operation?

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Of course, that's what some people out in the world,
the secular world, would like for us to do to
begin with. And one of the greatest things that all
of us can be doing is to support the work
of the Lord. And we can at least attend the
services of the Church. Now I want to read a
passage to you, and this goes back to Luke the

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sixteenth chapter. And now let me read verse eleven. Therefore,
if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous, maman,
who will commit to your trust the true riches. Someone says, oh,
brother Lambert, what does that mean? Well, that just simply
means that we have not been faithful with the blessings

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that God has given in our hands. The unrighteous manment
is money, mammon is money. Then God is not going
to give us the true riches. We're not going to
have those riches untold. We will be pride though, we're
to be faithful in all things. Somebody says, well, why
do you suppose some are not faithful? Well, I suppose

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some are not faithful because they have not been taught,
and some are not faithful because they have carelessly, unconsciously
drifted away. Some may not be faithful because they do
not want to be faithful. But I believe that we
can be because God has never required of man that

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which is impossible for man to do. And God says,
I want you to be faithful, be faithful unto death.
Listen to Revelation chapter two and verse ten. Be faithful
unto death. Be faithful unto death, and I will give
you a crown of life. So how can we be well?
When we begin to waver a little bit, we ought
to ask for some help, and we ought to go

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to God in prayer and ask God for help. Secondly,
we need to commit our way unto the Lord that
will help us to be faith Make a commitment I'm
going to be faithful to God. And third, if you
have been unfaithful, if you've drifted away as a child
of God, you need to repent and you need to

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come home. And what a reward is in store for
us if we remain faithful to the end. I know
one of these days we're all going to be judged.
We're not going to be judged by our looks. We're
not going to be judged by the amount of money
that we have. We're not going to be judged by
some church board somewhere. We're not going to be judged
by some book a man has written. But we're going

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to be judged in light of the way that we
have lived our lives and in keeping with or in
harmony with the Word of God. And so I want
to be faithful, don't you. I want to encourage you,
if you've been baptized for the remission of your sins,
I want to encourage you, as a child of God,
to be faithful, never give up, never quit, keep going on.

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And you remain faithful to the end, and you will
be rewarded and you'll hear the Lord say one day,
well done, good and faithful sir. I want to thank
you for watching today, and in the closing moments, may
I give you a personal invitation to visit the Church
of Christ in your community. And I want to encourage

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you to become a faithful, dedicated member of the local
congregation of the Lord's People in your community. If you've
not obeyed the gospel, please let me encourage you to
do that, and then you began to worship and to
be involved in the work that they're doing right now.
I want to thank you for watching, and until we

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meet again, May the Lord bless you and keep you
is my prayer.

Speaker 1 (27:45):
Getting to Know Your Bible has been presented by Churches
of Christ. If you have a question about the church,
or if you would like the location of a Church
of Christ near you, or to receive the free Bible
course right to getting to Know your Bible peelbox three
one four, Summerdale, Alabama three six five eight zero or
call one eight seven seven seven one one five two

(28:07):
one four Join us next time forgetting to Know your Bible.