WEBVTT 00:05.800 --> 00:06.800 P 00:09.979 --> 00:13.220 We try that again . Merry Christmas . I 00:13.220 --> 00:15.387 am Chaplain Kerry Cash , and on behalf 00:15.387 --> 00:17.609 of Secretary Hegseth and the Department 00:17.609 --> 00:19.860 of War , Welcome to this historic 00:19.860 --> 00:22.440 Christmas service . Here we are at the 00:22.440 --> 00:24.607 heart of our nation's capital , at the 00:24.607 --> 00:26.773 home of America's fighting force , the 00:26.773 --> 00:28.829 Pentagon . To celebrate the greatest 00:28.829 --> 00:31.649 rescue operation of all time . The 00:31.649 --> 00:35.110 coming of Jesus into this world . And 00:35.110 --> 00:37.443 the scripture says that in him was life . 00:37.889 --> 00:39.833 And that life was the light of the 00:39.833 --> 00:42.669 world . We celebrate that light today . 00:43.169 --> 00:44.836 Would you join me in prayer ? 00:47.430 --> 00:49.597 Heavenly Father , we thank you for the 00:49.597 --> 00:51.430 great love you poured out in the 00:51.430 --> 00:53.597 sending of your Son Jesus , to save us 00:53.597 --> 00:55.970 from our sins . It's in his name and 00:55.970 --> 00:58.169 under the banner of His love that we 00:58.169 --> 01:01.110 gather today . Help us even now to open 01:01.110 --> 01:02.909 our hearts and receive the most 01:02.909 --> 01:06.230 indescribable gift ever given . Oh Lord , 01:06.279 --> 01:09.069 your word teaches us that Jesus did not 01:09.069 --> 01:11.180 count equality with God a thing to be 01:11.180 --> 01:14.230 grasped , but emptied Himself and 01:14.230 --> 01:16.510 taking the form of a servant and being 01:16.510 --> 01:18.830 born in the likeness of men , he 01:18.830 --> 01:21.430 humbled Himself by becoming obedient to 01:21.430 --> 01:23.709 the point of death , even death upon a 01:23.709 --> 01:27.519 cross . May we hasten to welcome him 01:27.519 --> 01:30.300 into our lives , to make room for his 01:30.300 --> 01:32.959 Holy Spirit , that every shadow and 01:32.959 --> 01:35.360 every corner might be filled with his 01:35.360 --> 01:39.180 light and touched by his life . For we 01:39.180 --> 01:41.402 know the light shines in the darkness , 01:41.580 --> 01:43.980 and the darkness has not overcome it . 01:45.220 --> 01:47.540 Bless our leaders , oh God , and all 01:47.540 --> 01:49.762 who have come here today to acknowledge 01:49.762 --> 01:52.750 you . And may the words of our mouths 01:53.230 --> 01:55.489 and the meditations of our hearts be 01:55.489 --> 01:58.519 always acceptable in thy sight , O Lord , 01:58.569 --> 02:01.550 our strength and our redeemer . Amen . 02:03.349 --> 02:04.905 Please join me in welcoming 02:04.905 --> 02:06.738 award-winning recording artist , 02:06.750 --> 02:07.709 Matthew West . 02:25.050 --> 02:28.820 Merry Christmas , everyone . It is an 02:28.820 --> 02:31.042 honor to be here with you , and I wanna 02:31.042 --> 02:33.153 invite you all to sing with me , even 02:33.153 --> 02:35.264 if you can't carry a tune . The Bible 02:35.264 --> 02:37.376 says to make a joyful noise . Can you 02:37.376 --> 02:39.979 do that with me today ? Joy to the 02:39.979 --> 02:43.179 world . The Lord is come . 02:44.210 --> 02:47.940 Let earth receive her King . Why don't 02:47.940 --> 02:50.130 we stand and sing ? Let every 02:52.490 --> 02:56.449 heart . and heaven and 02:56.449 --> 02:58.860 nature sing . And heaven and sing 03:01.570 --> 03:04.250 and Heaven and heaven and sing and 03:07.240 --> 03:10.289 joy to the world , the 03:10.289 --> 03:12.350 savior reigns . 03:13.940 --> 03:15.369 their songs . 03:18.350 --> 03:22.000 our fields in floods , rocks . 03:22.669 --> 03:24.002 And repeat the sounding 03:25.910 --> 03:29.710 joy , repeat the sounding joy , 03:30.410 --> 03:33.470 repeat , repeat the 03:33.470 --> 03:37.009 sounding joy , and he 03:37.009 --> 03:40.539 rules the world with truth and 03:40.539 --> 03:43.630 grace and makes the 03:43.630 --> 03:44.960 nation . 03:47.520 --> 03:50.949 The glories of his 03:50.949 --> 03:54.630 righteousness and wonders 03:54.630 --> 03:57.350 of His love and wonders of love 04:00.009 --> 04:00.850 and Wonders of 04:04.190 --> 04:07.210 his love . Can we sing that again and 04:07.210 --> 04:10.419 wonders and wonders of love 04:13.490 --> 04:16.109 and . of 04:17.820 --> 04:21.700 his love . Amen . Amen . You can 04:21.700 --> 04:25.339 be seated . Well , Merry Christmas 04:25.339 --> 04:27.450 everybody . It is such an honor to be 04:27.450 --> 04:29.728 here . I wanna thank Secretary and Mrs . 04:29.728 --> 04:31.839 Hegseth for the invitation to be part 04:31.839 --> 04:33.895 of this special ceremony and what an 04:33.895 --> 04:36.250 honor it is to be able to in person 04:36.390 --> 04:39.070 express my family , the West family's 04:39.070 --> 04:41.014 deepest gratitude for every single 04:41.014 --> 04:43.260 person here , for your leadership , for 04:43.260 --> 04:45.619 your love , uh , for your sacrifice , 04:45.630 --> 04:47.797 and for all that you do to protect the 04:47.797 --> 04:50.019 freedoms that we enjoy . We do not take 04:50.019 --> 04:52.186 that . For granted and we thank you so 04:52.186 --> 04:54.297 much . It is an honor to be here this 04:54.297 --> 04:56.352 Christmas time . I have a song about 04:56.352 --> 04:58.408 the power of prayer that I'd like to 04:58.408 --> 05:00.574 sing for you today . The Bible says if 05:00.574 --> 05:02.574 my people who are called by my name 05:02.574 --> 05:04.574 will humble themselves and pray and 05:04.574 --> 05:04.285 turn from their wicked ways , God 05:04.285 --> 05:07.359 promises I will hear from heaven . I 05:07.359 --> 05:09.440 will forgive their sins , and I will 05:09.440 --> 05:11.607 heal their land . Does anybody believe 05:11.607 --> 05:14.130 those words are true ? I know every 05:14.130 --> 05:16.529 single day you face unthinkable and 05:16.529 --> 05:18.329 maybe even seemingly impossible 05:18.329 --> 05:20.440 obstacles as you protect the freedoms 05:20.440 --> 05:22.607 that we enjoy , and I just want you to 05:22.607 --> 05:24.551 know that there are so many people 05:24.551 --> 05:26.773 lifting you up in prayer and committing 05:26.773 --> 05:28.885 to pray for each and every one of you 05:28.885 --> 05:31.051 daily . This song is called Don't Stop 05:31.051 --> 05:33.218 Praying , and we will not stop praying 05:33.218 --> 05:33.170 for you and for our great country , the 05:33.170 --> 05:35.730 United States of America . What's your 05:35.730 --> 05:39.049 impossible ? I need a 05:39.049 --> 05:42.760 miracle . What's got you barely 05:42.760 --> 05:46.570 hanging by a single thread ? What 05:47.200 --> 05:50.679 looks so hopeless now , what fills your 05:50.679 --> 05:53.760 heart with doubt , you beg for a 05:53.760 --> 05:55.920 breakthrough , but no sign of 05:55.920 --> 05:58.440 breakthrough yet . When you've cried 05:58.440 --> 06:00.496 and you've cried till your tears run 06:00.496 --> 06:02.519 dry , the answer won't come and you 06:02.519 --> 06:05.200 don't know why , and you wonder if you 06:05.200 --> 06:08.200 can bow your head even one more time . 06:08.570 --> 06:12.470 Don't stop . Don't 06:12.470 --> 06:15.760 stop calling on Jesus' name . Keep on 06:15.760 --> 06:18.739 pounding on heaven's door . Let your 06:18.739 --> 06:21.709 knees wear out the floor . Don't stop . 06:23.309 --> 06:25.709 Because mountains move with just a 06:25.709 --> 06:28.820 little faith and your father's heard 06:28.820 --> 06:31.519 every single word . so don't 06:33.420 --> 06:37.369 stop . And don't stop praying for 06:37.369 --> 06:40.209 the prodigal . Don't stop praying for 06:40.209 --> 06:42.970 the miracle . Hallelujah , 06:43.279 --> 06:47.059 hallelujah and amen . Don't 06:47.980 --> 06:49.924 stop praying that addiction's in . 06:50.200 --> 06:52.929 Don't stop praying for deliverance . 06:53.230 --> 06:56.709 Hallelujah , hallelujah and amen . 06:58.209 --> 07:00.209 Oh , don't stop praying for the 07:00.209 --> 07:02.829 sickness healed . Don't stop praying 07:02.850 --> 07:04.250 for his power revealed . 07:10.130 --> 07:12.329 Don't stop praying for the kingdom . 07:14.260 --> 07:17.119 That as well be you . 07:20.910 --> 07:24.630 And don't stop . Don't 07:25.200 --> 07:28.160 stop calling on Jesus' name . Just keep 07:28.160 --> 07:31.959 on . on heaven's door , let your knees 07:31.959 --> 07:33.126 wear out the floor . 07:36.859 --> 07:39.959 mountains move with just a little . And 07:39.959 --> 07:41.792 your father's heart ever since . 07:45.750 --> 07:46.750 Do . 07:59.269 --> 08:01.436 Well , thank you so much . I wonder if 08:01.436 --> 08:03.547 you'd join me and sing this Christmas 08:03.547 --> 08:05.880 carol before I introduce our next guest . 08:05.880 --> 08:08.158 Would you sing your sing with me today ? 08:08.158 --> 08:10.609 Oh , come , let us adore 08:12.290 --> 08:14.859 him . Oh , come , let us 08:17.049 --> 08:20.459 adore him . Oh , come 08:21.640 --> 08:23.429 let us adore . 08:26.399 --> 08:30.309 cry the Lord , we 08:30.309 --> 08:33.510 sing it one more time . Oh , come , let 08:34.340 --> 08:35.340 us . 08:38.148 --> 08:39.189 Oh . 08:47.260 --> 08:50.489 Let us adore . 08:52.119 --> 08:55.710 cry the 08:57.679 --> 08:59.790 Amen . Turn to the person next to you 08:59.790 --> 09:01.957 and wish him a Merry Christmas today . 09:02.179 --> 09:03.320 This is incredible 09:09.880 --> 09:12.280 What an honor to be here with you today 09:12.280 --> 09:14.447 for this special event . And now I get 09:14.447 --> 09:17.200 the honor of introducing a very special 09:17.200 --> 09:20.070 guest . She is a Grammy nominated 09:20.070 --> 09:22.520 artist , a Dove Award winning artist . 09:22.840 --> 09:25.679 She's only 23 years old . She has a 09:25.679 --> 09:27.919 powerful testimony of what God has done 09:27.919 --> 09:30.086 in her life , and she has a . Powerful 09:30.086 --> 09:31.975 voice and she's chosen to use her 09:31.975 --> 09:34.265 musical gifts to travel all around the 09:34.265 --> 09:36.321 country and all around the world and 09:36.321 --> 09:38.344 let people know where they can find 09:38.344 --> 09:40.945 hope and she came all the way to DC to 09:40.945 --> 09:43.112 tell you that same thing . So I wonder 09:43.112 --> 09:45.278 if you'll give her a huge warm welcome 09:45.278 --> 09:47.389 from Lexington , Kentucky , Ms . Anne 09:47.389 --> 09:48.389 Wilson . 09:58.469 --> 10:02.260 Merry Christmas , everyone . I am 10:02.260 --> 10:04.260 so honored to be here with you guys 10:04.260 --> 10:06.427 today . What an incredible honor to be 10:06.479 --> 10:08.701 here with you all and to get the chance 10:08.701 --> 10:10.923 to , uh , sing you guys some songs . So 10:10.923 --> 10:12.868 this first song I'm gonna play for 10:12.868 --> 10:15.090 y'all is an original I wrote , um , and 10:15.090 --> 10:14.520 it's called I Still Believe in 10:14.520 --> 10:15.520 Christmas . 10:28.500 --> 10:32.099 The choir singing bells are 10:32.099 --> 10:35.450 ringing , streets are bright . It's 10:35.450 --> 10:38.609 Christmas all around me , so why is 10:38.609 --> 10:42.409 Christmas hard to find ? December 10:43.400 --> 10:47.080 snow is far . to my knees . 10:48.080 --> 10:50.840 And I could use some hope right now 10:51.309 --> 10:53.960 because right now hope is hard to see . 10:55.510 --> 10:57.650 He still 11:01.239 --> 11:04.450 And for broken 11:07.340 --> 11:08.340 I always . 11:11.200 --> 11:12.200 Teenage girl . 11:25.500 --> 11:29.429 And I Rome down 11:29.429 --> 11:30.530 here . heart . 11:33.830 --> 11:36.989 But I still believe in Christmas . 11:47.700 --> 11:50.659 In the It's so 11:51.630 --> 11:54.469 divided . P 12:00.929 --> 12:01.299 To 12:12.409 --> 12:13.409 Well 12:49.510 --> 12:50.510 Bye . 12:58.369 --> 13:01.020 I still believe in Jesus . 13:05.020 --> 13:08.849 And a and a 13:08.849 --> 13:10.869 star that leads the way . 13:18.489 --> 13:21.940 And for God so love's broken world . 13:23.440 --> 13:25.859 Only son To a 13:52.609 --> 13:55.750 But I still Christmas 13:59.609 --> 14:02.849 Who are still Christmas 14:10.799 --> 14:11.799 Thank you . 14:31.679 --> 14:32.790 Hello , everybody . 14:36.090 --> 14:38.312 Merry Christmas . I'm so excited to see 14:38.312 --> 14:40.423 y'all out here , and you are in for a 14:40.423 --> 14:42.423 treat . Can we give it up again for 14:42.423 --> 14:45.229 Matthew and Ann , please ? And the band 14:49.280 --> 14:51.391 We're so grateful for them to join us 14:51.391 --> 14:53.613 and help us celebrate here today , um , 14:53.613 --> 14:55.780 and so grateful for you all to join us 14:55.780 --> 14:58.979 too . Sorry . um , 14:59.340 --> 15:01.780 unfortunately , my husband , I'm hoping 15:01.780 --> 15:04.840 we'll make it here by the end . He is 15:05.299 --> 15:07.299 currently with the president at the 15:07.299 --> 15:09.355 dignified transfer of the remains of 15:09.355 --> 15:11.466 our fallen service members in Syria , 15:11.466 --> 15:13.780 Sergeant Edgar Tar and Sergeant William 15:13.780 --> 15:15.891 Howard from the Iowa National Guard . 15:16.260 --> 15:19.010 So God rest their souls . And while we 15:19.010 --> 15:21.177 are here to celebrate the birth of our 15:21.177 --> 15:23.232 Savior , we remember that he is also 15:23.232 --> 15:25.343 our healer and comforter , and we ask 15:25.343 --> 15:27.566 that he be with them and their families 15:27.566 --> 15:31.340 right now . And then we know he will 15:31.340 --> 15:33.673 be a great comfort for them this season , 15:33.673 --> 15:36.049 and that's why we're here . I wanna , 15:36.059 --> 15:38.570 uh , welcome some of our special guests 15:38.909 --> 15:40.965 from our cabinet . We have Secretary 15:40.965 --> 15:41.965 Brooke Rollins . 15:47.299 --> 15:49.650 And Secretary Laurie Chavez Dereamer . 15:53.580 --> 15:55.413 And a fun fact on both of them , 15:55.413 --> 15:58.299 Secretary Dereamer was here a couple 15:58.299 --> 16:00.077 months ago to one of our prayer 16:00.077 --> 16:02.299 services , and she decided to start her 16:02.299 --> 16:04.355 own at the Department of Labor , and 16:04.355 --> 16:06.355 that kicked off this month . Amen . 16:09.590 --> 16:11.830 And Secretary Rollins runs a , a Bible 16:11.830 --> 16:13.941 study for cabinet members out of hers 16:13.941 --> 16:16.052 every week . So , gospel is alive and 16:16.052 --> 16:18.229 well in DC . Thank you , ladies . 16:20.789 --> 16:22.940 To the service members , the National 16:22.940 --> 16:25.299 Guardsmen , I know we have some maybe 16:25.299 --> 16:28.429 West Virginia , Louisiana , Mississippi , 16:29.179 --> 16:31.290 maybe some more out there , thank you 16:31.290 --> 16:33.457 for coming , the civilian staff of the 16:33.457 --> 16:35.623 Pentagon and all our guests , we thank 16:35.623 --> 16:37.846 you for being here and we thank you for 16:37.846 --> 16:39.846 your service . And as my my husband 16:39.846 --> 16:42.123 always says , we are here to serve you , 16:42.123 --> 16:45.969 make your jobs easier , safer , and we 16:45.969 --> 16:48.191 want to do that also by celebrating the 16:48.191 --> 16:50.302 foundation of everything . And that's 16:50.302 --> 16:52.191 why we're here today . We're also 16:52.191 --> 16:54.302 joined by the one and only , Franklin 16:54.302 --> 16:54.150 Graham . 16:58.250 --> 17:01.429 It's the president and CEO . Uh , Billy 17:01.429 --> 17:03.669 Graham Evangelistic Association , and 17:03.669 --> 17:05.558 international relief organization 17:05.750 --> 17:09.369 Samaritan's Purse . He continues the 17:09.369 --> 17:11.718 legacy of his father Billy Graham by 17:11.718 --> 17:13.940 spreading the gospel and serving as the 17:13.940 --> 17:16.759 hands and feet of Christ . For 45 years , 17:16.769 --> 17:18.991 he's been instrumental in providing aid 17:18.991 --> 17:21.609 to people impacted by major crises such 17:21.609 --> 17:24.198 as war , famine , and natural disaster 17:24.198 --> 17:27.338 across the globe . We're also joined by 17:27.338 --> 17:30.199 his son Edward Graham . The chief 17:30.199 --> 17:32.560 operating officer of Samaritan's Purse . 17:33.640 --> 17:35.989 Edwards served 16 years in the Army , 17:36.449 --> 17:38.449 including special operations in the 17:38.449 --> 17:40.393 75th Ranger Regiment , and we were 17:40.393 --> 17:42.393 honored to have Edward speak at the 17:42.393 --> 17:44.505 July prayer service here a few months 17:44.505 --> 17:46.459 ago . So there's a lot of words 17:46.459 --> 17:48.570 describing what they do , but I think 17:48.570 --> 17:50.792 they're basically the special forces of 17:50.792 --> 17:53.229 Jesus . They go into places nobody else 17:53.229 --> 17:55.650 wants to go . They do the hard things , 17:56.270 --> 17:59.250 and they even show up here . On a 17:59.390 --> 18:01.869 Wednesday in December to help pray with 18:01.869 --> 18:05.209 us , and we are so grateful . We're 18:05.209 --> 18:07.431 also excited as you saw to be joined by 18:07.431 --> 18:09.750 the incredible Christian music artists 18:09.969 --> 18:12.569 Anne Wilson and Matthew West . Their 18:12.569 --> 18:14.680 music is a staple in our home , and I 18:14.680 --> 18:16.847 highly recommend you adding it to your 18:16.847 --> 18:19.069 playlist if you don't have it already . 18:19.069 --> 18:21.125 So thank you guys for being here and 18:21.125 --> 18:23.069 using your amazing talents for the 18:23.069 --> 18:25.239 glory of God . So in this 3rd week of 18:25.239 --> 18:27.406 Advent , we celebrate the joy God gave 18:27.406 --> 18:31.260 us as a gift . Isaiah 9:6 reads , For 18:31.260 --> 18:34.099 to us a child is born , to us a son is 18:34.099 --> 18:36.099 given , and the government shall be 18:36.099 --> 18:38.359 upon his shoulder , and in his name 18:38.569 --> 18:40.729 shall be called Wonderful counselor , 18:40.979 --> 18:43.050 Mighty God , everlasting Father , 18:43.380 --> 18:47.319 Prince of Peace . As we remember that . 18:48.469 --> 18:50.459 And think about that , I'd like to 18:50.459 --> 18:53.140 invite up a warm welcome for Mr . 18:53.150 --> 18:55.510 Graham . To take us through this prayer 18:55.510 --> 18:56.510 service . 19:16.119 --> 19:18.230 Thank you and Merry Christmas to each 19:18.230 --> 19:21.099 and every one . Let's , uh , take a 19:21.099 --> 19:22.988 moment and open up with a word of 19:22.988 --> 19:25.043 prayer . Father in heaven , we thank 19:25.043 --> 19:27.989 you . For this nation And Father , we 19:27.989 --> 19:30.869 thank you for the men and women that 19:30.869 --> 19:33.510 serve in uniform that protect . This 19:33.510 --> 19:36.589 nation And to fight our wars against 19:36.589 --> 19:38.700 our enemies that want to destroy this 19:38.700 --> 19:41.069 country . Father , we thank you for 19:41.069 --> 19:43.236 sending Your Son out of heaven to this 19:43.236 --> 19:46.150 earth to take our sins . By dying on a 19:46.150 --> 19:48.489 cross , and that you raised to life . 19:48.589 --> 19:51.229 So Father , this Christmas we say thank 19:51.229 --> 19:53.719 you , and we pray this in Jesus' name . 19:53.900 --> 19:57.790 Amen . Want to 19:58.640 --> 20:02.609 thank Secretary Pete Heeth for this 20:02.609 --> 20:05.290 invitation . Thank you , Jennifer , and 20:05.290 --> 20:07.670 we appreciate it so very much . 20:11.270 --> 20:14.500 Admiral Cash , thank you , sir . Want 20:14.500 --> 20:18.250 to um You know , we think about You 20:18.250 --> 20:20.306 know , God is a God of love , and we 20:20.306 --> 20:22.689 know that God so loved the world that 20:22.689 --> 20:24.633 He gave His only begotten Son that 20:24.633 --> 20:26.522 whosoever believeth in Him should 20:26.522 --> 20:28.856 perish but should have everlasting life . 20:28.856 --> 20:31.770 Uh , we know that God loves . But did 20:31.770 --> 20:35.500 you know that God also Hate . 20:36.890 --> 20:39.001 Do you know that God also is a God of 20:39.001 --> 20:42.739 war ? And , um , and people , 20:42.900 --> 20:45.011 many people don't want to think about 20:45.011 --> 20:47.930 that or forget that . But I want to 20:47.930 --> 20:50.609 look at a passage of scripture in the 20:50.609 --> 20:52.720 Old Testament before I get to the New 20:52.720 --> 20:54.831 Testament because this is all part of 20:54.831 --> 20:56.665 the Easter , I'm excuse me , the 20:56.665 --> 21:00.160 Christmas message . Um And it's a 21:00.160 --> 21:02.510 and want to look at um 21:04.380 --> 21:06.650 Exodus chapter 17 . 21:08.170 --> 21:10.059 Moses was leading the children of 21:10.059 --> 21:13.849 Israel out of Egypt . To the promised 21:13.849 --> 21:17.550 land And the Amlekites 21:17.849 --> 21:21.300 laid an ambush . And attacked 21:21.300 --> 21:25.180 Israel . And we're defeating Israel and 21:25.189 --> 21:28.630 and Moses went up on a hill . 21:29.949 --> 21:32.869 And he raised his rod , and as long as 21:32.869 --> 21:35.479 his rod was in the air , the , the 21:35.479 --> 21:37.479 children of Israel were winning the 21:37.479 --> 21:40.709 battle . And as he got weary and Rod 21:40.709 --> 21:43.109 began to come down , the children of 21:43.109 --> 21:46.829 Israel began to lose the battle . So 21:46.829 --> 21:49.270 Aaron and Joshua put a stone under . 21:50.770 --> 21:52.881 Moses so he could sit , and then they 21:52.881 --> 21:55.159 got on either side to hold up his arms . 21:55.719 --> 21:59.510 And Israel won the battle . But God 21:59.510 --> 22:01.566 didn't forget he told Moses to write 22:01.566 --> 22:05.530 that down . Now 400 years or 22:05.530 --> 22:09.079 so later . God remembers , OK ? You 22:09.079 --> 22:11.135 think , well , I've gone a couple of 22:11.135 --> 22:13.760 years and I must be OK . He's forgotten . 22:14.199 --> 22:16.421 No , he doesn't forget , doesn't forget 22:16.421 --> 22:18.588 for one second , and I want to look at 22:18.588 --> 22:21.239 a passage of scripture , and now this 22:21.239 --> 22:25.160 is in 2nd or 1 Samuel and it's 22:25.160 --> 22:27.439 chapter 15 . 22:28.750 --> 22:31.420 And Samuel is now going to Saul . 22:32.530 --> 22:36.130 He said , now go and attack Amlek . 22:37.680 --> 22:40.459 And utterly destroy all that they have . 22:41.069 --> 22:44.609 Don't spare them . Don't spare them 22:49.140 --> 22:52.300 I will punish Amlech for what he did to 22:52.300 --> 22:54.699 Israel and how he ambushed him on the 22:54.699 --> 22:58.349 way when they came up from Egypt . Now 22:58.349 --> 23:00.571 go and attack Amlek and utterly destroy 23:00.571 --> 23:03.979 them . And don't spare them , but kill 23:03.979 --> 23:05.923 them , both man , woman , infant , 23:05.923 --> 23:07.979 nursing child , ox , sheep , camel , 23:07.979 --> 23:11.339 and donkey . So Samuel . 23:12.219 --> 23:14.650 Gave the instructions for the mission . 23:15.910 --> 23:17.966 Now people will say , but Franklin , 23:17.966 --> 23:20.280 that is so hard . That's not the God I 23:20.280 --> 23:22.113 believe in . Well , you'd better 23:22.113 --> 23:25.880 believe in Him . Saul 23:25.880 --> 23:28.280 gathered together 100,000 ft soldiers , 23:28.400 --> 23:32.150 200,000 ft soldiers , and he had 10,000 23:32.150 --> 23:35.839 men of Judah , 210,000 , and they 23:35.839 --> 23:39.339 went . To attack the Amalekites . 23:40.560 --> 23:43.660 and to destroy them . And so 23:46.400 --> 23:49.770 Saul did it . But he did it 23:50.459 --> 23:54.010 partly . He saved the life of the 23:54.010 --> 23:56.839 king . Agag saved his life . 23:58.400 --> 24:01.010 Samuel didn't say saved his life . He 24:01.010 --> 24:03.569 said , destroy all the animals . They 24:03.569 --> 24:05.680 didn't destroy all the animals . They 24:05.680 --> 24:07.791 kept the best for themselves . They , 24:07.791 --> 24:10.420 they plundered the best and kept it . 24:11.359 --> 24:15.020 So Samuel went to go see Saul . 24:15.969 --> 24:19.849 And Saul is Set up a 24:19.849 --> 24:23.410 monument on Carmel to himself . And he 24:23.410 --> 24:26.729 was going down to Gabboy and Samuel 24:26.729 --> 24:27.840 finally meets him . 24:30.560 --> 24:33.319 And Saul says , I carried out the 24:33.319 --> 24:35.699 mission . I carried out the word of the 24:35.699 --> 24:39.619 Lord . And Samuel says , what 24:39.619 --> 24:43.489 is the Bleeding of the , of the 24:43.489 --> 24:46.500 sheep . What is that ? And the loin of 24:46.500 --> 24:48.667 the cows . What , who , where did that 24:48.667 --> 24:51.380 come from ? Well , we , we killed them 24:51.380 --> 24:53.324 all , but we saved the best of the 24:53.324 --> 24:55.436 sheep and the goats and everything so 24:55.436 --> 24:57.269 we could sacrifice them to you . 25:00.010 --> 25:03.589 Is that what God said ? And so he 25:03.589 --> 25:07.089 confronted And 25:09.540 --> 25:13.280 Samuel . was distressed , but God 25:13.280 --> 25:15.819 said , Saul isn't going to be the king 25:15.819 --> 25:17.979 anymore . I'm gonna choose another . 25:19.680 --> 25:21.849 And Samuel says to him , 25:23.739 --> 25:27.060 How come You didn't 25:27.060 --> 25:30.489 destroy The sinners of the Am , 25:30.689 --> 25:32.578 and this is the word he used , he 25:32.578 --> 25:34.689 called them sinners , the Amlekites , 25:34.689 --> 25:37.910 the sinners . And this is a biblical 25:37.910 --> 25:40.630 principle you need to understand . The 25:40.630 --> 25:42.630 Bible says we've all sinned to come 25:42.630 --> 25:45.079 short of God's glory . All of us are 25:45.079 --> 25:47.246 sinners just like the Amalekites , and 25:47.246 --> 25:50.119 God is going to destroy sinners . He's 25:50.119 --> 25:54.010 going to destroy sin . But this is 25:54.010 --> 25:56.290 what Christmas is all about . God sent 25:56.290 --> 26:00.079 His Son . God so loved the world that 26:00.079 --> 26:02.023 He gave His only begotten Son that 26:02.023 --> 26:04.810 whosoever believeth in Him is by faith , 26:04.910 --> 26:07.050 you , you by believing . Jesus said , 26:07.130 --> 26:09.297 I'm the way , the truth and the life . 26:09.297 --> 26:11.463 No man comes to the Father but by me . 26:11.463 --> 26:13.910 There's not many roads to God . Many 26:13.910 --> 26:16.589 paths . There's only one path , only 26:16.589 --> 26:19.030 one road , and that goes through the 26:19.030 --> 26:21.150 Lord Jesus Christ . Why ? Because the 26:21.150 --> 26:23.317 Lord Jesus Christ took the sins of the 26:23.317 --> 26:25.810 world , and he died and shed his blood 26:25.949 --> 26:28.750 on a cross for the sins , everyone's 26:28.750 --> 26:32.030 sin , your sin , my sin . And if we're 26:32.030 --> 26:34.550 willing to accept that by faith , if 26:34.550 --> 26:36.772 we're willing to accept it by faith and 26:36.772 --> 26:39.150 simply believe , God will forgive us 26:39.390 --> 26:42.670 and cleanse us and heal us , but we 26:42.670 --> 26:45.589 have to accept it by faith . 26:46.479 --> 26:50.369 And so God ordered Saul 26:50.369 --> 26:53.310 to destroy the Amalekites . He did , 26:53.430 --> 26:56.329 but he spared the king . God said 26:56.329 --> 26:58.385 destroy their animals . I don't want 26:58.385 --> 27:00.599 them . I don't want . Any of that 27:00.599 --> 27:02.766 remaining , but he didn't do that . He 27:02.766 --> 27:06.439 disobeyed . And so Samuel confronted 27:06.439 --> 27:09.069 Saul and Saul said , You're right , I 27:09.069 --> 27:12.500 have sinned . And then Samuel said , 27:12.589 --> 27:14.811 God has taken the kingdom away from you 27:14.811 --> 27:17.060 and given it to another . And God 27:17.060 --> 27:20.160 withdrew his hand from Saul . Remember , 27:20.260 --> 27:22.540 this was a 400 year old . 27:24.790 --> 27:27.920 Debt And God waited 400 years to 27:27.920 --> 27:30.160 collect , to destroy the Amalekites for 27:30.160 --> 27:32.319 what they did . 400 years he waited . 27:33.890 --> 27:36.449 God remembers , and I think of the sins 27:36.449 --> 27:39.229 of our country . And I pray that God 27:39.449 --> 27:41.616 will forgive the sins of our country . 27:41.616 --> 27:43.727 When you think of all the things that 27:43.727 --> 27:47.300 we do . And the mistakes that we make . 27:49.550 --> 27:53.030 Pray that God will heal our land and 27:53.030 --> 27:55.086 that America once again will turn to 27:55.086 --> 27:58.270 the God of our fathers and serve Him . 28:01.199 --> 28:03.143 It's a privilege to be here at the 28:03.143 --> 28:05.500 Pentagon . This is a great , great 28:05.500 --> 28:08.400 facility . Men and women . 28:09.619 --> 28:11.341 From all across this country . 28:11.810 --> 28:13.921 Representing the people of this great 28:13.921 --> 28:16.170 nation , and I'm grateful that the 28:16.170 --> 28:19.780 Secretary has Supporting our chaplains 28:20.319 --> 28:22.263 and backing our chaplains , I'm so 28:22.263 --> 28:24.486 grateful for that because this is the , 28:24.486 --> 28:27.239 the bedrock of our country . There is 28:27.239 --> 28:29.760 not a community that you don't go into 28:30.079 --> 28:31.780 where there isn't a church . 28:34.000 --> 28:37.239 House of worship Nowhere 28:37.949 --> 28:40.060 I work in Alaska and some of the most 28:40.060 --> 28:42.116 rural villages that are almost third 28:42.116 --> 28:44.338 world type villages . And there'll be a 28:44.338 --> 28:46.349 church . They may be meeting in 28:46.349 --> 28:48.660 somebody's home , but there's a church . 28:49.609 --> 28:51.910 Our faith is our bedrock , and , and 28:51.910 --> 28:55.510 whether it's A mosque , whether it's 28:56.229 --> 29:00.219 A temple But you see , the faith 29:00.219 --> 29:03.270 of our nation . And our chaplains 29:03.270 --> 29:05.270 represent the men and women of this 29:05.270 --> 29:07.159 nation and the faith which is our 29:07.159 --> 29:10.719 bedrock . So Want to look at just one 29:10.719 --> 29:13.439 passage of scripture from now the New 29:13.439 --> 29:15.920 Testament . This is I told you I was 29:15.920 --> 29:18.031 going to get to the Easter , I mean , 29:18.119 --> 29:20.397 not Easter , sorry , I'm jumping ahead , 29:20.397 --> 29:23.709 but Christmas , Easter's coming . And I 29:23.709 --> 29:27.459 love Easter , um , and this is in , um . 29:28.380 --> 29:30.602 I've , I've got it marked in my Bible , 29:30.602 --> 29:32.769 but my , the print is so small in this 29:32.769 --> 29:34.547 Bible , I'm gonna read it on my 29:34.547 --> 29:36.658 telephone if I can do that , um , and 29:36.658 --> 29:38.824 that is in , in Matthew , uh , chapter 29:38.824 --> 29:40.530 one . And um 29:45.079 --> 29:46.119 This is um 29:51.839 --> 29:55.619 When Joseph . was engaged 29:56.160 --> 30:00.050 to Mary . And he discovered that she 30:00.050 --> 30:03.660 was pregnant . And the Bible 30:03.660 --> 30:06.979 says , Now the birth of Jesus Christ 30:06.979 --> 30:09.035 was as follows after his mother Mary 30:09.035 --> 30:11.719 was Betrothed to Joseph before they 30:11.719 --> 30:14.000 came together , she was found to be a 30:14.000 --> 30:16.560 child of the Holy Spirit . Then Joseph , 30:16.640 --> 30:19.239 her husband , being a just man and not 30:19.239 --> 30:23.000 wanting to make a public example , was 30:23.000 --> 30:25.160 minded to put her away secretly . 30:27.550 --> 30:29.883 But while he thought about these things , 30:29.883 --> 30:32.050 behold , an angel of the Lord appeared 30:32.050 --> 30:34.161 to him in a dream , saying , Joseph , 30:34.161 --> 30:36.439 son of David , don't be afraid to take . 30:36.439 --> 30:39.469 Do you marry your wife ? For that which 30:39.469 --> 30:41.589 she has is conceived in her is of the 30:41.589 --> 30:44.270 Holy Spirit , and she will bring forth 30:44.270 --> 30:47.699 a son . You should call his name Jesus , 30:48.189 --> 30:51.949 for he will save his people . From 30:51.949 --> 30:55.020 their sins And that's what Jesus came 30:55.020 --> 30:58.689 not to condemn us . He came to save us . 30:59.609 --> 31:01.720 That was his purpose for going to the 31:01.720 --> 31:04.140 cross . Cause when he was nailed to the 31:04.140 --> 31:07.790 cross . God poured on him , His 31:07.790 --> 31:10.670 Son , all the sins of mankind , all 31:10.670 --> 31:14.579 sins past . All sins , present , 31:14.680 --> 31:17.180 all sins , future . Jesus Christ hung 31:17.180 --> 31:20.020 on that cross , and he took the sins of 31:20.020 --> 31:23.270 the world and he became . So and so 31:23.270 --> 31:25.270 ugly at that moment that God had to 31:25.270 --> 31:27.619 turn his back for a brief moment , turn 31:27.619 --> 31:31.380 his back on His Son . But Jesus took 31:31.380 --> 31:34.699 our shame . And he died in our place . 31:35.890 --> 31:38.630 And he rose again And this is why we 31:38.630 --> 31:41.560 celebrate Christmas . It's not a Jesus 31:41.560 --> 31:45.339 Christ is a a a babe in a manger . He's 31:45.339 --> 31:47.395 living , he's alive , he's in heaven 31:47.395 --> 31:49.450 and he's coming back and he's coming 31:49.450 --> 31:52.599 back someday soon , so . I'm 31:52.599 --> 31:55.920 grateful for this great opportunity and 31:55.920 --> 31:58.520 what I'd like to do is lead us now in 31:58.520 --> 32:02.060 the Lord's prayer . And uh so 32:03.069 --> 32:06.540 if you know it . Good 32:07.359 --> 32:10.689 If you don't know it , listen . And but 32:10.689 --> 32:14.489 let us pray . Our Father , which art in 32:14.489 --> 32:17.569 heaven . Hallowed be thy name . 32:18.839 --> 32:22.000 Thy kingdom come . Thou will be done in 32:22.000 --> 32:25.650 earth as it is in heaven . Give us this 32:25.650 --> 32:29.329 day our daily bread and forgive us our 32:29.329 --> 32:31.218 trespasses . We forgive those who 32:31.218 --> 32:34.550 trespass against us . And lead us not 32:34.550 --> 32:36.949 into temptation but deliver us from 32:36.949 --> 32:40.189 evil , for thine is the kingdom and the 32:40.189 --> 32:43.630 power and the glory forever . 32:44.550 --> 32:47.989 And ever amen . Glory to his name . 32:48.569 --> 32:51.890 God bless you and a merry Christmas to 32:51.890 --> 32:53.834 each and every one to you and your 32:53.834 --> 32:55.569 families , and uh . 32:57.770 --> 33:00.000 He's coming back . Make sure you're 33:00.000 --> 33:01.670 ready . God bless . 33:20.170 --> 33:22.689 That was a beautiful message . I just 33:22.689 --> 33:24.800 want to say what an honor it is to be 33:24.800 --> 33:26.911 here with you all today , and I wanna 33:26.911 --> 33:29.078 thank Secretary Hexeth for inviting me 33:29.078 --> 33:31.300 to be here . What an absolute honor . I 33:31.300 --> 33:33.467 also just wanna take a second to thank 33:33.467 --> 33:35.411 each and every one of you for your 33:35.411 --> 33:37.745 service and what you do for our country . 33:37.745 --> 33:39.745 I'm so grateful to God for each and 33:39.745 --> 33:41.800 every one of you and so grateful for 33:41.800 --> 33:43.911 the sacrifices that you make . I know 33:43.911 --> 33:46.022 that Christmas time is a hard time of 33:46.022 --> 33:48.133 year for a lot of people , maybe even 33:48.133 --> 33:50.300 most of us here today . Um , Christmas 33:50.300 --> 33:52.300 is a hard time for me and my family 33:52.300 --> 33:54.280 because in 2017 , my older brother 33:54.280 --> 33:56.479 Jacob was tragically killed in a car 33:56.479 --> 34:00.170 accident when he was 23 years old . And 34:00.310 --> 34:02.670 that was a hard time in my life . Jacob 34:02.670 --> 34:04.614 was my best friend . He was my big 34:04.614 --> 34:06.819 brother . He was at the prime of his 34:06.819 --> 34:09.510 life at 23 years old and had so much 34:09.510 --> 34:11.189 life ahead of him . And as a 34:11.189 --> 34:13.245 15-year-old little girl , it was the 34:13.245 --> 34:15.245 hardest thing ever wrapping my head 34:15.245 --> 34:17.411 around the fact that I wasn't going to 34:17.411 --> 34:19.522 see my brother again until heaven one 34:19.522 --> 34:21.879 day . And every day after that time of 34:21.879 --> 34:24.040 finding out he had passed was so much 34:24.040 --> 34:26.780 heartache and loss and suffering and 34:27.239 --> 34:29.461 depression and all the things that came 34:29.461 --> 34:31.461 after that . But one thing that was 34:31.461 --> 34:33.572 consistent and so steady was the Lord 34:33.572 --> 34:35.795 and His goodness and his faithfulness . 34:35.795 --> 34:37.961 God was so good to me and my family to 34:37.961 --> 34:40.072 get us through that time and to bring 34:40.072 --> 34:42.239 us where we are today . And uh through 34:42.239 --> 34:44.406 the loss of my brother is actually how 34:44.406 --> 34:46.295 I got into music um before that I 34:46.295 --> 34:48.517 wanted to be an astronaut . I wanted to 34:48.517 --> 34:50.908 work for NASA and I had so many other 34:50.908 --> 34:53.075 dreams and then through the loss of my 34:53.075 --> 34:55.130 brother God called me to music and I 34:55.130 --> 34:57.948 began to write songs and began to just 34:57.948 --> 35:00.115 follow the Lord's calling in my life . 35:00.899 --> 35:03.520 And so I'm now 23 years old . I've been 35:03.820 --> 35:06.042 traveling the country for about 5 years 35:06.042 --> 35:08.153 now , getting to share the gospel and 35:08.153 --> 35:10.487 my testimony , and it's been incredible , 35:10.487 --> 35:12.653 but one thing that has still been hard 35:12.653 --> 35:14.542 for my family is the holidays and 35:14.542 --> 35:16.709 Christmas . So when I was beginning to 35:16.709 --> 35:18.820 write music , I wanted to write songs 35:18.820 --> 35:20.987 that people could listen to during the 35:20.987 --> 35:20.419 holidays that would give them a little 35:20.419 --> 35:22.641 bit of comfort , a little bit of hope , 35:22.641 --> 35:24.863 and something to hold to . So I'm gonna 35:24.863 --> 35:27.086 play you guys one of those today . This 35:27.086 --> 35:29.252 is another original song . It's called 35:29.252 --> 35:30.919 Just Because It's Christmas . 35:40.719 --> 35:43.639 Just because it's Christmas doesn't . 35:44.929 --> 35:48.379 Your heart don't hurt . And just 35:48.379 --> 35:50.580 because it's Christmas doesn't . 35:51.389 --> 35:55.270 There's peace on Joy to 35:55.270 --> 35:58.750 all the world can be the hardest 35:58.750 --> 36:01.919 time . But see 36:02.790 --> 36:03.500 the stars 36:20.100 --> 36:21.100 Of the 36:31.459 --> 36:32.239 Have to be 36:35.620 --> 36:36.969 it's 36:45.020 --> 36:48.909 Broken Oh Lord 36:55.020 --> 36:57.479 for So 37:02.360 --> 37:02.760 so 37:22.899 --> 37:23.899 the 38:06.189 --> 38:07.189 Oh . 38:23.870 --> 38:24.870 all 38:35.439 --> 38:36.439 the 38:45.909 --> 38:49.429 Don't have to be OK . Just 38:50.520 --> 38:51.909 because it's Christmas . 39:02.570 --> 39:05.629 Thank you so much . Whenever I was 39:05.629 --> 39:07.740 starting to write music , um , one of 39:07.740 --> 39:11.389 my main goals was I want to write songs 39:11.389 --> 39:13.611 that glorify Jesus and I want to spread 39:13.611 --> 39:15.778 the gospel through my music . And as a 39:15.778 --> 39:17.945 17 year old , eighteen-year-old little 39:17.945 --> 39:20.167 girl writing songs , um , there were so 39:20.167 --> 39:22.389 many times where I was like , how can I 39:22.389 --> 39:24.445 capture the heart of the gospel in a 39:24.445 --> 39:26.445 song ? How can I have one song if I 39:26.445 --> 39:28.556 could boil it down into a song that I 39:28.556 --> 39:30.722 could give a message of hope to people 39:30.722 --> 39:32.909 all across the country . And a few 39:32.909 --> 39:35.076 years into writing , I wrote this next 39:35.076 --> 39:37.409 song that we're going to play for y'all . 39:37.409 --> 39:39.409 I put this song , this was my first 39:39.409 --> 39:41.409 song I ever released . I put it out 39:41.409 --> 39:43.465 when I was 19 and I could have never 39:43.465 --> 39:43.229 dreamed of all God was going to do with 39:43.229 --> 39:45.396 this song , how he was going to use it 39:45.396 --> 39:47.507 to impact people , but it has been so 39:47.507 --> 39:49.618 special to hear the stories that have 39:49.618 --> 39:51.729 come from it and just how many people 39:51.729 --> 39:53.951 have resonated with it . I just want to 39:53.951 --> 39:56.007 say I hope that if you take away one 39:56.007 --> 39:58.007 thing from today , it's the hope of 39:58.007 --> 40:00.007 Jesus , that Jesus is the way , the 40:00.007 --> 40:02.118 truth and the life , and that you can 40:02.118 --> 40:04.340 have a personal relationship with him . 40:04.340 --> 40:06.340 He loves you . He died for you . He 40:06.340 --> 40:05.729 gave up his life so you could have 40:05.729 --> 40:07.850 everlasting life . And I think this 40:07.850 --> 40:10.072 song captures the message of the gospel 40:10.072 --> 40:12.239 in a really sweet way . This is called 40:12.239 --> 40:13.239 My Jesus . 40:31.040 --> 40:34.570 Are you past the point of weary , and 40:34.570 --> 40:38.239 is your burden weighing ? Is it 40:38.239 --> 40:41.919 all too much to carry ? Well , let me 40:41.919 --> 40:43.363 tell you about my jeans . 40:48.459 --> 40:51.370 shame's on its stealing and you're 40:51.370 --> 40:55.330 desperate for some heat . Well , let me 40:55.330 --> 40:57.810 tell you about my Jesus . 41:00.929 --> 41:01.580 And he 41:09.750 --> 41:10.310 he can . 41:15.969 --> 41:19.449 In his graces . I know 41:26.209 --> 41:27.209 to 41:44.500 --> 41:48.290 I . Dreams 41:48.290 --> 41:52.250 and wasted . disappear . 41:53.689 --> 41:56.179 Well , let me tell you about Jesus 42:01.929 --> 42:03.649 You Who 42:25.669 --> 42:28.520 bra I I 42:56.669 --> 42:57.669 Calvary and the 43:01.510 --> 43:02.080 guilty 43:07.419 --> 43:09.419 about let me tell you about Jesus . 43:21.320 --> 43:22.320 He 44:20.090 --> 44:22.257 We're gonna play one more song for you 44:22.257 --> 44:24.879 all today . Um , Secretary Hegseth 44:24.879 --> 44:27.260 asked for us to do this song , and it's 44:27.260 --> 44:29.770 such a special one to me . I love the 44:29.770 --> 44:31.937 song because it captures the beauty of 44:31.937 --> 44:34.330 the night that Jesus came in the world . 44:34.459 --> 44:36.681 Um , it's such a humble and sweet way , 44:36.681 --> 44:38.792 and it's one of my favorites . It's a 44:38.792 --> 44:40.626 Christmas classic . You guys are 44:40.626 --> 44:40.570 welcome to sing along if you know it . 44:40.810 --> 44:42.310 It's called O Holy Night . 45:00.659 --> 45:01.590 The star 45:07.149 --> 45:10.030 The night of our dear 45:11.709 --> 45:12.709 Rose burn 45:15.820 --> 45:16.219 long 45:19.449 --> 45:19.870 and 45:24.639 --> 45:28.149 to Up here and the 45:28.149 --> 45:28.850 soul its . 45:33.919 --> 45:36.699 A thrill of hope . 45:38.100 --> 45:41.219 The weary world rejoices 45:43.229 --> 45:44.229 for you . 45:47.889 --> 45:48.889 is more 45:55.010 --> 45:57.649 You Oh , 46:01.729 --> 46:02.929 The angel . 46:18.270 --> 46:20.159 When Christ was born . 46:35.270 --> 46:36.270 Right 46:43.320 --> 46:47.159 And He taught us 46:47.600 --> 46:48.469 to love . 46:53.000 --> 46:56.409 His law is . And go . 46:57.780 --> 47:01.370 is And 47:03.149 --> 47:06.280 Shall he break for the slave . 47:07.520 --> 47:08.080 is all . 47:19.879 --> 47:22.409 sweet . of joy . 47:23.929 --> 47:26.199 In grateful chorus we 47:28.909 --> 47:29.909 all 47:32.310 --> 47:33.419 praises . 47:36.360 --> 47:39.629 C is 47:40.459 --> 47:41.459 the 47:46.770 --> 47:47.989 is named for . 48:02.909 --> 48:03.909 The 48:21.020 --> 48:24.500 are And 48:48.709 --> 48:50.780 not . When Christ was 48:52.699 --> 48:53.090 born . 49:23.489 --> 49:24.600 Thank you so much . 49:41.889 --> 49:43.445 Merry Christmas everybody . 49:46.159 --> 49:48.437 Wow , what a blessing it is to be here . 49:48.437 --> 49:50.159 Uh , we barely made it . 49:52.560 --> 49:55.760 We made it Jennifer , thank you so much 49:55.760 --> 49:58.038 for taking the helm . We appreciate it . 49:58.560 --> 50:00.780 Um , Ann Wilson , what a beautiful 50:00.780 --> 50:03.060 rendition of my favorite song . 50:04.879 --> 50:08.820 Thank you . I 50:08.820 --> 50:11.042 know Matthew West was here as well . He 50:11.042 --> 50:13.264 had to take off to a live event over at 50:13.264 --> 50:16.949 the Kennedy Center and Reverend . Thank 50:16.949 --> 50:18.949 you . I didn't get a I didn't get a 50:18.949 --> 50:21.171 chance to catch the whole thing , but I 50:21.171 --> 50:23.338 watched what I could online on the way 50:23.338 --> 50:25.560 over here . I appreciate your message , 50:25.560 --> 50:27.727 your faith , your steadfastness , your 50:27.727 --> 50:30.050 courage , your boldness . In a world of 50:30.050 --> 50:31.883 shifting sands , you have always 50:31.883 --> 50:34.050 charted the course straight and true . 50:34.189 --> 50:36.245 And for that we are grateful . Thank 50:36.245 --> 50:38.467 you for joining us today . I appreciate 50:38.467 --> 50:40.899 it . Edward , thank you as well . Babe , 50:41.000 --> 50:43.111 I like your line , the special forces 50:43.111 --> 50:45.699 for Jesus . That's a good line . 50:47.489 --> 50:49.939 I am absolutely honored to be here and 50:49.939 --> 50:52.449 I , I am late because , as my wife 50:52.449 --> 50:55.729 mentioned , I just got back from , from 50:55.729 --> 50:59.129 Dover for a dignified transfer for 50:59.129 --> 51:01.689 three great Americans . Um , I will 51:01.689 --> 51:04.070 read their names , Sergeant Edgar 51:04.280 --> 51:08.179 Torres Tover . Has left behind a father 51:08.179 --> 51:10.350 and a mother . Sergeant William 51:10.350 --> 51:13.439 Nathaniel Howard . Left behind a spouse 51:13.530 --> 51:15.641 and of course a father and a mother . 51:15.919 --> 51:18.080 And Mr . Ayed Sadat , otherwise known 51:18.080 --> 51:21.229 as Eddie . A translator for those two 51:21.229 --> 51:24.149 troops from the Red Bulls out of Iowa . 51:26.129 --> 51:28.240 There's no way to , to manage what to 51:28.240 --> 51:30.462 say when you're in that room with those 51:30.462 --> 51:33.100 families . Uh , what do you tell great 51:33.100 --> 51:35.340 Americans who've lost the greatest gift 51:35.340 --> 51:37.959 they could possibly give . There's no 51:37.959 --> 51:39.792 words for the grief . There's no 51:39.792 --> 51:41.737 condolences . The president does a 51:41.737 --> 51:43.792 phenomenal job . You do the best you 51:43.792 --> 51:45.848 can . Um , they've lost the one they 51:45.848 --> 51:48.239 love the most , uh , and have a lot of 51:48.239 --> 51:52.169 questions . But almost to 51:52.169 --> 51:54.169 a man and to a woman , you see them 51:54.169 --> 51:57.649 start to find hope . In that there is 51:58.189 --> 52:01.250 something bigger . A place where they 52:01.250 --> 52:04.169 know their loved ones are . Yes , they 52:04.169 --> 52:06.169 served our nation , they put on the 52:06.169 --> 52:08.391 cloth of our uniform , served all of us 52:08.391 --> 52:10.613 on behalf of all of us . But they serve 52:10.613 --> 52:13.949 a bigger and greater God . And we know 52:13.949 --> 52:16.116 where they are and we pray with them , 52:16.116 --> 52:18.116 we pray for them , we think of them 52:18.116 --> 52:20.060 today . We're honored to gather on 52:20.060 --> 52:22.282 their behalf to remember them and their 52:22.282 --> 52:24.282 families , and all those around the 52:24.282 --> 52:26.393 world this Christmas season . Because 52:26.393 --> 52:30.219 the Bible foretold . This gift The Book 52:30.219 --> 52:32.989 of Isaiah Behold , a virgin shall 52:32.989 --> 52:36.350 conceive and bear a son . Two chapters 52:36.350 --> 52:38.461 later , for unto us a child is born , 52:38.461 --> 52:41.100 and onto us a son is given . 52:42.370 --> 52:44.219 The first book of John , or John 52:44.219 --> 52:46.386 chapter one , excuse me , and the word 52:46.386 --> 52:50.159 was made flesh . and dwelt among us . 52:51.449 --> 52:55.120 Born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago . 52:55.840 --> 52:59.320 The greatest story ever told . And the 52:59.320 --> 53:01.800 best part about it is , it's a true 53:01.800 --> 53:05.679 story . It's a true story of a king 53:06.379 --> 53:08.435 who arrived not on a throne but in a 53:08.435 --> 53:11.340 humble manger . Became 53:12.040 --> 53:15.280 man , but yet lived . Perfectly 53:16.070 --> 53:19.860 And all he asked of us is to believe 53:20.899 --> 53:23.540 It's to honor him with who we are and 53:23.540 --> 53:26.000 what we do . And so we rejoice today . 53:27.409 --> 53:30.540 In this place at this time , 2000 years 53:30.540 --> 53:32.484 ago , grateful for this incredible 53:32.484 --> 53:35.340 republic for a savior . 53:36.949 --> 53:39.469 There is a God , and it is not us . And 53:39.469 --> 53:41.636 if our good works would save us , none 53:41.636 --> 53:43.820 of us will pass those pearly gates . 53:43.939 --> 53:46.229 Only through the redemptive grace and 53:46.229 --> 53:49.709 the blood of Jesus Christ . Born 53:49.709 --> 53:52.810 2000 years ago , lived a perfect life , 53:52.850 --> 53:55.510 sinless , died on a cross for all of us . 53:55.629 --> 53:58.020 So , May the Lord watch over . 53:59.800 --> 54:02.199 This building , our president , our 54:02.199 --> 54:04.255 cabinet , thank you for joining us . 54:04.439 --> 54:06.495 Our elected leaders in the House and 54:06.495 --> 54:08.550 the Senate , our local leaders , our 54:08.550 --> 54:10.661 state leaders , those all magistrates 54:10.661 --> 54:13.229 across the country . Watch over Our 54:13.229 --> 54:15.285 troops deployed right now all around 54:15.285 --> 54:18.189 the world , their families , guide them 54:18.189 --> 54:21.560 and keep them and watch over them . So 54:21.560 --> 54:23.616 I wanna thank you all for sharing in 54:23.616 --> 54:25.760 this first Christmas worship service 54:25.760 --> 54:27.038 here at the Pentagon . 54:35.689 --> 54:37.633 It's the least we could do in this 54:37.633 --> 54:39.745 season . We do it monthly as well , a 54:39.745 --> 54:41.856 prayer service which we will continue 54:41.856 --> 54:44.929 to do . Because as George Washington 54:44.929 --> 54:47.290 did that first year , he went on bended 54:47.290 --> 54:50.330 knee for Providence in impossible tasks . 54:50.379 --> 54:52.601 And I look out , I see , I know so many 54:52.601 --> 54:54.712 of you . You each day are asked to do 54:54.712 --> 54:56.712 impossible things , work impossible 54:56.712 --> 55:00.090 hours at impossible odds , which mere 55:00.090 --> 55:02.760 men and women could not do . And that's 55:02.760 --> 55:04.927 why we bend the knee , because we know 55:04.927 --> 55:07.093 where our strength comes from . And we 55:07.093 --> 55:09.149 need that wisdom and that guidance , 55:09.149 --> 55:11.093 that providential guide in our own 55:11.093 --> 55:14.169 lives as we try to act on behalf of our 55:14.169 --> 55:16.370 nation . So Reverend , thank you so 55:16.370 --> 55:18.639 much for being here . Thank you , Ann . 55:18.929 --> 55:21.096 Thank you , Matt . Thank you , Jenny . 55:21.209 --> 55:23.153 Thank you to all those who I get a 55:23.153 --> 55:25.376 chance to serve with on a daily basis . 55:25.376 --> 55:27.459 Thanks to all you who serve . We are 55:27.459 --> 55:30.260 here to serve you . This Christmas 55:30.260 --> 55:32.860 season is a reminder of why we serve 55:33.060 --> 55:36.320 and who we serve . So thank you for 55:36.320 --> 55:38.542 being here and I'm not a reverend , but 55:38.542 --> 55:40.764 I will give the benediction . How about 55:40.764 --> 55:44.620 that ? The Lord bless you . And 55:44.620 --> 55:47.129 keep you May the Lord make His face 55:47.129 --> 55:50.159 shine upon you and be gracious upon you . 55:50.800 --> 55:53.149 The Lord lift up His countenance upon 55:53.149 --> 55:56.280 you and give you peace . 55:57.370 --> 56:00.350 And amen . Thank you all and Merry 56:00.350 --> 56:00.870 Christmas .