December 24th Christmas Eve Candlight - 4:30pm

December 24, 2023

Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 8:12 Jesus declares himself the light of the world, quoted twice during the service

12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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Isaiah 7:14

prophecy of the virgin bearing a son named Emmanuel, read as Old Testament lesson

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

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Isaiah 9:6-7

child born to us, son given, government on his shoulders, names including Prince of Peace

6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

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Micah 5:2

Bethlehem too little among clans of Judah, one will go forth to be ruler in Israel

2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

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Matthew 1:18-25

Joseph's betrothal to Mary, angel's announcement, naming of Jesus as Emmanuel

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.

20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”

24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;

25 and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

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Luke 2:1-20

census, journey to Bethlehem, birth of Jesus, shepherds and the angels

1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.

7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”

15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.

17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

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Matthew 2:1-11

Magi arrive seeking the king of the Jews, Herod's reaction, gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

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Micah 5:2

quoted by chief priests to Herod identifying Bethlehem as birthplace of the Messiah

2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

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John 1:5

the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.

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John 1:12

all who believe and receive him he gives the right to become children of God

12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:

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Matthew 5:14-16

you are the light of the world, let your light shine before others that they may glorify your Father

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.

15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.

16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

The Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Jackson walked through the full nativity story, from the Old Testament prophecies through the visit of the Magi, with Pastor Nick reading the narrative and weaving in his own commentary along the way. The thread running through it all was the invitation to respond to Jesus the way the characters in the story did: with trust and immediate action.

What was said

He opened by pointing out the four hundred years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. Theologians call it the intertestamental period, and during that silence the quibbling over details multiplied. When God finally spoke again, he did so directly to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, in the temple. Zechariah doubted him and was struck mute until the baby was born. When his tongue was finally loosed, the first thing he said called back to a prophecy from Malachi. Pastor Nick's point was that God tied it all together with precision, and that "all the hopes and fears of all the years" landed on that one night.

Moving into the nativity itself, he stayed close to the text. Joseph heard a word from the Lord in a dream and acted on it without hesitation. The shepherds, the first to receive the good news, did the same thing: they went straight to Bethlehem. That pattern of hearing and acting became the quiet theme running underneath the story.

When he reached the angels' announcement to the shepherds, he paused on the phrase "peace among men with whom he is pleased," noting that some translations read "peace on earth, goodwill towards men." He said the distinction has two schools of thought and he planned to address it the following morning. Either way, he said, God was extending an open invitation through the sending of Christ, and when people receive Christ, that favor rests on them.

The Magi section brought a different kind of contrast. The chief priests and scribes knew exactly where the Messiah was to be born, they told Herod without hesitation, and then they simply did not go. The Magi traveled from the East, followed the star, found the child, fell down and worshiped him. Pastor Nick let that contrast sit without belaboring it.

He closed by connecting Jesus's words in John 8, "I am the light of the world," to the candle lighting. The elders lit their candles from the Christ candle, the light passed through the congregation, and he read from John 1 that the darkness has never overcome the light. When he asked everyone to blow out their candles, he said plainly that nothing can extinguish the true light of Christ. He then moved to Matthew 5, where Jesus tells his followers, "you are the light of the world," and sent the congregation out with "Go Tell It on the Mountain."

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Nick talked about 400 years of intertestamental silence before God spoke again, and how people used that time to quibble over details and form factions. Where do you see that same tendency showing up in the church today, and what do you think it costs us?
When the angel spoke to Joseph and when the angels appeared to the shepherds, both Joseph and the shepherds heard a word from God and acted on it immediately. What makes that kind of immediate obedience hard for us, and what would it look like in your own life right now?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Hey, everybody. Can you hear me? So we're getting started soon. You'll see that the countdown is happening. But if there are any seats anywhere near you and you can kind of collapse in, we'd appreciate it.

This being a Baptist church, I see a couple up front. That's normal. But if you want to, you can go down the hall. There's an overflow. Kinda see it on a screen from down the hall if you'd like to do that.

Standing room only is fine with us. 06:00 is another option too. But this is, we're glad to do this. I'm so so excited for this evening. But if you want to look around and see and we'll collapse into these open seats and try to make the best space we can and then enjoy everything together.

We'll see you in two and a half minutes.

Well, hello and welcome everyone. Hey, Merry Christmas. It is very good to see you. We are a full house. It's great.

And we're glad you're here to worship with us. Couple things before we get started. Everybody get a candle. Fantastic. And if you didn't get one, please raise your hand, and somebody can bring one to you.

Also, there is overflow down the hall. So if we're just too crowded in here or you feel like you need to step out for a moment, the service is livestreamed down the hall there to the left. And there's also a nursery downstairs. There are no nursery workers, but the room is available. So if you have a a kid that says, I'm not having it, there's a room downstairs, and the service is livestreamed in there as well.

So that being said, tonight is just meant to be a fun, reflective, worshipful night. We're here to celebrate the Christ in Christmas. We'll read the nativity story. We'll sing some Christmas songs. We'll close in a traditional candle lighting.

So to begin, I'd like to invite up the Eon family, Florine, Violetta, Andrea, Brianna, Melissa, and they're gonna light the much anticipated Christ candle on the advent wreath. And at the end of the service, not quite yet, we're gonna use that candle to light ours. And thank you, Eons, for the Advent reading tonight.

Today marks the end of our advent journey. We've prepared our hearts, our minds, and our spirits for the celebration of Christ's entrance into the world. As we light the Christ candle, may we devote our lives to reflecting his light. He is the light of the world.

In John eight twelve, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

We are thankful to be here. We are thankful that we can celebrate Jesus today. Amen? Amen. Would you please remember this?

The joy comes in our lives from God, and it doesn't have to do anything with our circumstances. It's a gift from Almighty God, amen? Nick trained me to do this. It's coming.

Hey, can we stand together? I'd love to to sing, as you're standing, I'd also like to pray. Lord, we thank you for the gift of Jesus. That is why we're here. Your reason for this season in light of the world.

And as we gather here this evening to hear the story, to sing the songs, may we open our hearts to you and give you praise. Amen. Hey. That's kinda fun to sing together, isn't it? Joy to the world, the Lord has come.

Let earth receive our king. Let every heart prepare him room. Lord, that that would be us. Every heart preparing room. Amen.

You can have a seat here for a little

a little bit. Therefore, the Lord himself will give

you a sign.

Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. That's Isaiah seven fourteen. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. And there will be no end to the increase of his government or of his peace, and on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. From Micah. But as for you, Bethlehem Ephesians, too little to be among the clans of Judah, for from you, one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel, and his goings forth are from long ago and from the days of eternity.

Amen. You can remain seated, but would you sing with us? It's it's always best to be able to sing these songs together.

Excuse me. Between these, the last things that I read were all in the Old Testament. It was Isaiah and Micah and different stuff in the Old Testament. Now we're getting to the New Testament. Before this little story right here.

There have been four hundred years. Four hundred years what the theologians call an intertestamental silence before the between the Old Testament and the New. And it's interesting that God having been silent for those years as far as his authoritative word, people were quibbling over the details of it. Do people quibble over the details? Do theologians quibble over the details?

Are there factions that get created? Yes. There are. And so that was happening in four hundred years of different kinds of thought and different kinds of interpretation. It's interesting that when God started speaking again in an authoritative way in the temple to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist.

And when he starts, he speaks to him and at first, this guy who is the priest on duty for that time, he doubted him. First time God says anything authoritative in four hundred years, openly, directly. And the guy's like, Uh-uh. And he laughed about it. And God said, Okay, you're going be mute until the baby's born.

Can you imagine? In his old age, got great news to tell, and he's mute until the baby is born. It's so interesting that when he when the baby is born, John the Baptist, and when he's able to start telling the story, he says his name is John and his tongue is loosed, and the first thing he says calls back to Malachi from a prophecy about Jesus from Malachi. It's pretty neat. Now having gone through all of that, that intertestamental silence, and then when God speaks, he does so and just ties it together so nicely, And all the hopes and fears of all the years are met in this one, this night.

Now I'll go forward from there. This is now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, he planned to send her away secretly, quietly. But when he considered this, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who's been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

And she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us. And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. Isn't that just great if you could just awake from your sleep and do as God commanded you?

And he took Mary as his wife. Amen. Emily Feeser, would you come forward?

She's here.

She's here. Oh, gracious. I get more nervous on this night than any other night. I'm glad you're here. Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all inhabited earth.

This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Aren't you glad we don't have to do that? Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and the family of David. In order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region, there were some shepherds. They were staying out in the fields and they were keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them and glory of the Lord shown round about them and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

Might I say all the peoples? Yeah. It's gonna extend from here, but the first people to get this news are this lowly set of shepherds. It's gonna reach the other side of the world. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly, there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace among men with whom he is pleased. Now, how does that sound funny to any of y'all? If you've heard it from songs and you've heard it from King James, it says, peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

Right? So there is some discussion, quibbling over the details, we'll say. Tomorrow I'm going to cover that. Okay? It can be either.

It can be either one. Some people fall in one school of thought or other, but there is an open invitation. God is extending his favor towards men in sending Christ. And then when they accept him, it completes the purpose for which he was sent, and then his favor rests on them. It's an amazing thing.

Glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace among men with whom he is pleased. Now when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let's go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. Kinda like Joseph. Joseph heard a word from the Lord.

He believed it and he acted on it. And these guys did too. Straight away from Bethlehem, they got up to see what this Lord had done, what he had made known to us. And so they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told to them about this child.

What great confirmation that must have been for Mary and Joseph. I mean, everybody loves their baby. This was a miracle child and all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds but Mary treasured up all of these things pondering them in her heart And the shepherds went back, back to work, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as that had been told to them. Now pray right here. Lord God, I pray that the message of this night that we're just sharing the straight simple truth of the gospel story, the our incarnation story.

May we be moved by it to action, like all of these characters were. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.

You join and and sing us for this one? Yeah.

Y'all can have a seat. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Now we do this story every year. Right? I tell this same story every year because it is the story, and we're not going to change it.

We're not going to add characters. I say this every year. And when I get to this part right here, the fellow who usually runs a sound booth says, insert joke about Herod right here because he's used to hearing this over and over. Herod was a bad dude, a lot worse than you probably know. Herod, by the time Jesus was born, had already killed three of his own family members.

Augustus Caesar was said to have said I don't I'm not sure he said it, but Macrobius said that he said it. He said that it would be better to be a pig in Herod's household because he was the king of the Jews. He's not supposed to kill pigs or eat pigs or even have pigs. But it would be better to be Herod's pig than his son. He'd be safer.

That's a bad dude. He's a bad guy. And even though he was the king of the Jews, the Magi come to him because they're in his territory, and that's what you need to do. We saw his star in the East, and we have come to worship him. And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.

Well, would be because he's a bad guy. He's paranoid and he's got a lot of power. Gathering together all of the chief priests and the scribes of the people, Herod inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, in Bethlehem, we know this, this is the city of David, in Bethlehem of Judea for it, what has been written by the prophet, and you Bethlehem, land of Judah, you by no means are least among the leaders of Judah for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. So Herod calls together this group, and they know where he's supposed to be born, And they don't go with the wise men?

That's interesting. Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you found him, report back to me so that I too may come and worship him. After hearing the king, they went their way and they saw the star which they had seen in the east and it went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And after coming into the house, they saw the child and Mary, his mother, and they fell to the ground and they worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

We're gonna pause there just for a moment here. And in the spirit of giving with joy and generosity like the the Magi in that story, We too have an opportunity to give this evening, and I'll I'll invite the ushers and Rachel Galbraith to to come on up. And and while they're coming forward, I I want you to know this. You are not obligated to give. Not at all.

That's not why we hold this service. But if you feel compelled to give, I want you to know what you're giving too. At First p, we have a local benevolence fund, and it is one of our greatest and most used, ministry here. And because of your generosity, we get to help people in their time of need, and it is just a huge blessing, to be able to say yes. And as a staff, we are absolutely amazed and grateful how God provides the resources, to meet the needs.

So if that sounds like something you'd like to give to, great. If not, that's that's fine. And we're gonna pause for a moment and reflect and give thanks. And Ray, may I ask you to pray?

Sure. God, thank you for all who've gathered here, Lord, tonight in your name. I thank you for every soul present in the room, every family that they represent, and I ask you to bless them, Lord, with with a divine message, with a divine message of comfort and peace and joy. And I pray, Lord, that we'd be faithful with all that is ever given anytime to do, Lord, your will and your way. Would you just show us and give us direction so that we might do that.

In Jesus name, leaning forward with favor towards the people in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

So as Jesus grew and he began his public ministry in John eight twelve, he said, I am the light of the world. And if you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you have the light that leads to life. And tonight, I I really want for you to hear this very real invitation to you to trust and follow Jesus. That that's really what he's asking for is is our trust, our faith, our belief. Whom God sent is the light of the world to rescue us from the power of sin and darkness and give us light that leads to life, abundant life now and life eternal, like real life.

And in response to this invitation, we're going to close in a candle lighting. And so can I invite you to stand up with your candle? And while you're standing, I'll invite the elders to come forward. And our elders are going to light their candles from our Christ candle that the Eons led earlier. That candle representing Jesus as the light of life.

And then we'll pass that light to one another representing our task to let that light of Christ shine through us and to the world. So when your candle is lit, please be sure to hold it straight up, all right? Let that person next to you with their unlit candle tip theirs toward yours. Watch those eyebrows, watch those eyelashes. They're going to look good in pictures tomorrow if you keep them.

And while we're lighting the candles, I'll invite you just to sing a couple of songs with us. We're going to sing Away in a Manger and Silent Night. And may I also ask one of our elders or just somebody toward the back there to turn off these sanctuary lights during the candle lighting. Wait just one minute. Could we start with Yes.

So wait a minute. You got it. And would you join us in silent night tea, please? They're so pretty. I almost hate to ask you to blow them out.

But I will. I will ask you to blow those out. And as you do as you do, please hear this, that we blow out these candles. Yeah. But there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can extinguish the true light of Christ.

I wanna share a verse from with share a verse from John one. It says this, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it or overcome it. And be encouraged by that, that the light of Christ cannot be overcome by darkness. Jesus is that true light who gives light to everyone. And John goes on to say, all who believe and receive him, he gives the right to become children of God.

That's good news, isn't it, church? That we're light bearers, children of God through belief. Through belief. And that's why in Matthew five, Jesus says, you are the light of the world. So in John eight, he goes, I'm the light of the world.

And now he goes, you're the light of the world. A town built on a hill can't be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp or put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way. Catch this.

Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. That's what this last song is about. I encourage you to sing out and sing loud. We're gonna sing, go tell it on the mountain. Merry Christmas, everybody.

Enjoy Jesus as the reason for the season and love one

Amen. That's good. That's good. If

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Advent Candle Christmas Nativity Following God Hope In Silence Light Of The World

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