(gentle music)

- Well, Merry Christmas

and welcome to the special
edition of The 700 Club.

Today we celebrate the
birth of our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ.

- Well, we begin by taking you

to the little town of Bethlehem,

the birthplace of the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Here's Chris Mitchell
with the story.

- Welcome to where
Christmas began.

Welcome to Bethlehem.

I'm standing not far
from Manger Square

here in the heart of the city

and right next to the
Church of the Nativity.

It's the oldest church
in all of Christianity

that's been in continuous
use about 1700 years

back to the 4th century.

While not everyone agrees,
there's powerful evidence

that this place was the
family home of Joseph

and the birthplace of Jesus.

Here's why.

First of all, 100 years
after Jesus was born,

a church father named Justin
Martyr came to Bethlehem

and he asked the local people,
"Where was Jesus born?"

And this is where they took him.

Then 100 years later,

another church father named
Origen came to Bethlehem.

And again, he asked,
"Where was Jesus born?"

And the locals brought
him to the same place

where they showed Justin Martyr.

Fast forward another 100 years

when Emperor Constantine
sent his mother Queen Helena

to find the holy sights
from the life of Jesus.

And again, this is the
place where she was led.

And that's why they
built the church here.

First of all, to
get into the church,

you have to go through here,

which is called the
door of humility

because you have to
stoop down to get inside.

In the heart of the
church is a grotto.

And inside the grotto is a spot

where some people
believe was the manger

where Jesus was born.

The story of the birth of
Jesus lives on 2000 years later

and the Gospel of Luke
tells the timeless story.

"In those days, Caesar
Augustus issued a decree

that a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world

and everyone went to their
own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee

to Bethlehem in Judea,

the town of David, where
he belonged to the house

and the line of David.

He went there to
register with Mary,

who was pledged to
be married to him

and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time
came for the baby to be born

and she gave birth to
her firstborn, a son.

She wrapped him in cloths
and placed them in a manger

because there was no guest
room available for them.

And there were shepherds living
out in the fields nearby,

keeping watch over
their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord
appeared to them

and the glory of the
Lord shown around them

and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid, I
bring you good news

that will cause great
joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David, a
savior has been born to you.

He is the messiah, the Lord.

And this will be
assigned to you.

You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths

and lying in a manger."

We may not know exactly
where X marks the spot,

but we do know that somewhere
near here, Jesus was born.

And after 2000 years, the
good news of great joy

is still being told
around the world

of what happened here in this
little town of Bethlehem.

Merry Christmas.

- It's a wonderful story.

If you ever get a chance
to go to Bethlehem

and see the church
and the Nativity.

It is the oldest continuously
used church in in the world.

There's some earlier chapels
from the Roman catacombs,

but it's wonderful to see this.

There's also the
house in Capernaum

that was turned into a church
where the house of Peter.

And these are wonderful things
to do and to and to visit.

This Christmas with
Israel engulfed by war,

you know, trying
to go to Bethlehem

would be absolutely difficult.

And and trying to be
anywhere in Israel right now

with the rocket attacks
would be very difficult.

But we can still remember
and we can still say,

yes, this is the spot.

This is the day that we
celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Ashley, you've been to Israel?

- I have, yes.
- What was it like?

- Oh my goodness, it
was absolutely amazing.

Even watching that piece back,

I feel a little like homesick.

It's like I wanna go back and
I have such a heart for it.

And I think as
believers, once you go

and you get to see all
of these different sites,

but you get to experience
what life is like in Israel,

you are amongst your Jewish
brothers and sisters,

your Christian, your Arab
brothers and sisters.

It really is eye-opening.

It really is.

And you know, my
heart is for Israel.

I'm continuously
praying for Israel.

And I hope that our
hearts don't become numb

to everything that's happening,

especially during
this holiday season.

Let's continue to
pray for Israel

and the peace of Jerusalem.

- It's wonderful that
you said you're homesick

because that is how the
Jewish people describe

the love of the land.

- Yeah.

- That you fall in
love with the land.

- You do.
- And you feel homesick.

- Yeah.

- I had this
experience with my son

when we were in Jerusalem.

We'd just been at the
Western Wall praying

and we walked out
the gate and he said,

"Dad, I can't explain it,
but I feel like I'm home."

And it's that love
of the land that,

yes, this is the place
that God has chosen

and his people
that he has chosen.

And when you go there, you
get it and you understand.

Ashley.

- Well for many people watching
a Charlie Brown Christmas

is a rite of passage
into the holiday season.

Since 1965, it's delighted
children of all ages.

Mark Martin brings us this look

at the worldwide
impact of the special

and the faith of the
man who created it.

- Isn't there anyone who knows
what Christmas is all about?

- Sure, Charlie Brown.

I can tell you what
Christmas is all about.

- [Mark] In a simple
yet powerful way,

Linus then proceeds to share
the story of Jesus' birth

from the Gospel of Luke.

- "For unto you is born this
day in the city of David,

a savior, which
is Christ's Lord."

- [Mark] Being its
creator, Charles Schultz

insisted the special include
the true meaning of Christmas

in response to hesitancy

on the part of the
producer and animator.

He said, "If we don't
do it, who will?"

Dr. Stephen Lind, author of
a "Charlie Brown Religion,"

exploring the spiritual life

and work of Charles M. Schultz
says, "Schultz stood firm."

- There were actually quite
a few things in the special

that the executives and some
of his creative partners

were not too sure about,

from the jazz music,

to the children, voice actors,

and including the
religious reference

that got quite a
bit of pushback.

Charles Schultz really
planted his feet

on a lot of those
creative decisions.

And at the end of the day

when the studio executives
viewed the special,

even though they were
very wary about it,

as it turns out they did
not have a lot of time

to come up with a new special.

And they had already
advertised for it.

So because of the scheduling,
they were kind of stuck

to go with Schultz's
creative vision.

And as it turns out,
the public loved it.

- [Mark] The show debuted
in December of 1965,

with rave reviews

and went on to win
a primetime Emmy

for outstanding
children's program.

- In the 1960s when
it first aired,

there were lots of
letters sent into Schultz

and the sponsor, Coca-Cola,

telling them that the
viewers were so gratified

to see a substantive
reference to religion on TV.

Some of those letters
from the 1960s

sound like they could
have been written today.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

is still quite the
beloved classic.

- [Mark] Paul Batura
focus on the family

describes Schultz
as "Frozen in time,

not woke and oh so wonderful."

- And I think people look
forward to it every year.

I think it's centers people.

You know, our first impressions
make a big impression.

And for most of us, we saw
Charlie Brown Christmas

when we were 3, 4, 5 years old.

And that sticks with us.

And it we're reminded
when we hear that voice,

when we hear the reading
of the Gospel of Luke,

we're reminded why we
celebrate Christmas.

And so I think it
has had a very much

a net positive
impact on the world.

- [Mark] The faith of Schultz

has been scrutinized
over the years.

He's been called a
fundamentalist Christian,
a universalist,

an atheist, and
reportedly called himself
a secular humanist

in the latter part of his life.

Lind says Schultz's faith
was very personal to him.

- Schultz had a biblical faith

that was maybe more nuanced

than some of the
denominational dogma

that some of his
peers would have.

But it was a personal
biblical faith

that he would talk to post
confidants about over the years

and include in his trips,

even if it was a little
bit more nuanced and broad

than some of the
traditional teachings.

- Some have tried
to sanctify him

and some have tried
to vilify him,

even accusing him of
some heretical beliefs.

I think the reality is he
was somewhere in the middle.

And I say that because look
at the fruit of his work.

Look at what he produced

and look at what we
still enjoy today.

And I have a very,
very good feeling

about where Charles Schultz
was with his Christian faith.

- [Mark] Regent University
Dean of Divinity,

Dr. Corne Bekker also says

it's important to look
at Schultz's work.

- I think Schultz would want us

to judge his legacy and
the person that he is

based on the material
that he put out there.

And when we look
at the comic strip,

when we look at peanuts,

when we look at the
Christmas special,

what an extraordinary
legacy of not only faith,

but also the meaning
of community.

We are stronger when
we come together.

- [Mark] Only God truly knows

the heart and faith
of Charles Schultz.

What we do know, however,

is year after year a
little boy he created

tells the world
about Jesus Christ.

- That's what Christmas is
all about, Charlie Brown.

- [Mark] Mark Martin, CBN News.

- Well you can watch
this holiday classic,

"A Charlie Brown
Christmas" on Apple TV.

And actually Gordon
gave me a good idea

to watch it with my niece and
nephew, Charlotte and Hudson.

They're nine and seven,

so I think they would appreciat
"A Charlie Brown Christmas."

- Yeah, just full disclosure,
Ashley has never seen it.

- I've never seen it.

- I mean, I'm going,
wait a minute,

I saw it all the
way back in 1965,

I was just seven years old

and we all gathered
around, we gotta see this.

And Charlie Brown
was such a huge part

of every single Christmas.

They kept broadcasting and my
generation grew up with this.

And to sit next to someone
that says, I've never seen it.

- I've never seen it, but
I know the Christmas song.

It's on my playlist.

I love that song.

My parents obviously grew up
with a Charlie Brown Christmas,

so I'm aware of it
and I appreciate it.

I really do.

I'm the generation
that grew up with like

Home Alone, Elf, those
Christmas movies.

But a Charlie Brown Christmas
really is a classic.

- I've seen those too.

- You have, well, good.

I'm proud of you.
- But this one's better.

This one's better.

I know, I do plan on watching it

with my niece and nephew.

I think that's a great idea.

- So all right, shout
out to Charlotte.

- Yeah.

- Well Christmas can be a time
of great sadness for people,

especially those who have
had broken marriages.

It's also a time of miracles.

Just ask Ben and Tammy Stahl.

Their marriage was dead and
buried for four long years

until they received a
Christmas Eve miracle.

- I could feel the stillness
in the peace of Christmas

and I knew it was a
miracle when had happened.

- [Narrator] Christmas
holds a special meaning

for Ben and Tammy Stahl.

For them, it marks the
time nearly a decade ago

when they were blessed
with a wonderful reunion

they thought could never happen.

Before then back in 2008,

Ben and Tammy decided
they were ready to marry

after dating for four years.

They were excited
for the bright future

they'd planned together in
their home state of Michigan.

But then the bottom fell
out of the housing market

and the financial
turmoil that followed

quickly began tearing
their relationship apart.

- It was a nightmare.

I had been a realtor
for about 10 years.

Lost my house that I built
basically with my own hands.

I did have to make
the choice between,

you know, paying bills and
putting food on the table.

There's a lot of pressure
there and a lot of tension.

And so there was a lot of
arguments and fighting.

- That was my introduction
to being married

when it should
have been peaceful,

it should have been happy.

It was absolutely devastating.

It got so bad, we sold
our stove to pay the rent.

Our power got shut off.

I just expected
him to fix it all.

And that's when the
real fighting began.

Yelling, shouting,
screaming, slamming the door.

- [Narrator] Ben applied
to more than 100 jobs

during that time, but he
never received a callback.

Desperate, he started
competing in poker tournaments,

hoping to make enough money

to get by until he
found steady work.

He did well for a while.

- I actually borrowed
money from Tammy

and I said, I'll
have it back to you.

I'll have it back to you
by the end of the night

and I'll have a bunch more.

And I lost it.

That's when, you
know, she moved out.

- I said, I don't
wanna be here anymore,

I wanna go to Nashville.

'Cause I had been there
before and I was a singer.

I'm the one that
filed for divorce.

And the reason I did that
was, again, out of pride.

We were very much in
love with each other.

But I did it to show
him that I'm serious

and he better listen to me.

Honestly didn't think the
divorce would go through.

I went to the courthouse

and I was positive
he was gonna show up

and save the day and
tell me to not to do it.

And he never showed up.

And that's what devastated me.

That's what broke my heart.

- [Narrator] Ben
enrolled in college

while Tammy took their son Tony

and moved to Tennessee to
pursue a career in music.

Ben was hurt that Tammy
left, but he stayed in touch

and sent money to
them when he could.

While Tammy fell
into depression, she
grew up a Christian.

So in her grief, she sought
out God at a local church,

eventually joining
the worship service.

Then nearly four years
after the divorce,

God showed her something.

- So one day I was on
stage and I was singing.

All of a sudden, I just
felt the biggest burst

of God's presence I've
ever felt in my life.

And I literally saw
a vision of Ben and I

holding hands at an altar.

The Lord wanted us
to come back together

and in his eyes we
were still married.

So I went home that day

and immediately called
Ben on the phone.

And you know, I told him, I
told him what happened to me

and he was thinking about it.

He was contemplating
what I said.

- I've sensed this
peace with her

that I never noticed
with her before.

And I was like,
what's going on here?

I started thinking,
hey, this is real.

You know, this is a
real change with her.

I want to be around this.

And I don't know,
there was like,

it was like, the faith
was coming off of her.

The more we were communicating,
the more I was realizing,

you know, we might
have a chance.

- [Narrator] Tammy
continued to pray

throughout the next few months

that there would be
able to reconcile.

And then it happened.

Ben hopped on his motorcycle

and drove from
Michigan to Tennessee,

getting a speeding
ticket along the way

to surprise Tammy
and ask her back.

- And I was like, what?

And I couldn't
believe it was Ben.

And he came in and the
first thing he just did is

grab me and kiss me.

He was basically like,
you wanna get married

and come back home

'cause I wanna be with
you the rest of my life.

And it just melted me.

And I was like, yes.

- [Narrator] Tammy packed up

and moved her and
Tony back to Michigan,

officially rejoining
Ben on Christmas Eve.

- It was just God's
way of showing us,

you know that he still answers
prayers and he's around

and that he loves us.

- [Narrator] Ben
and Tammy remarried

and have since had
two more children,

Gwendolyn and Benjamin.

They're now
financially prosperous,

operating a business together.

They say the key to the loving
marriage they have today

was deciding to put
God's will first.

- I needed to change
my expectations to
more what God wanted

and not so much what Ben wants.

I love Tammy so much, I wouldn't
be complete without her.

God's brought her into my
life and we are inseparable.

That's how much I love her.

- It's really not what
we did to make it work,

it's really having
Jesus at the center

because the days that
aren't perfect now,

if I don't have him to
cry out to or pray to,

I would just take it out on Ben.

I'm so grateful to the Lord
that he reconciled or marriage

because I can't even think
of what my life would be like

if I wouldn't have got
back with my husband.

He's an amazing
father, great leader.

Immerse yourself with God

because if you
stay on that track,

it'll be worth it in the end

and you can spend the rest
of your life together.

- Tammy found the key,
immerse yourself in God.

And that's not just on
one partner in a marriage,

it's on both.

The husband and wife
putting God first

and saying, I commit
to live a godly life.

I want things God's way.

I don't want to let hurt, I
don't want to let offense,

I don't wanna let rejection.

I don't want let
any of these things

interfere with my
relationship with him.

And when you get
that full immersion,

well, then wonderful
things can happen.

And yes, you can be reunited.

I've seen couples that were
divorced for seven years

when they decided to
say, let's put God first.

And it was amazing, it
was a complete miracle.

They were separated
for that period,

divorced for that
period of time.

And each one was called
by God to say, I turn,

I want to put God
first in my life.

And when they found that,
well then they reunited,

then they had to
make some changes,

then they had to say, well,
if we're putting God first,

let's pray together.

Let's not hold onto offenses.

Let's forgive one another.

Let's walk in unity,
let's walk in love.

Let's be completely
immersed in him.

If you want this
for your marriage,

this Christmas, if you're
separated, if you're divorced

and you want this, the
best life forward for you

is to say, God, I'm
all in with you.

I want to be completely
immersed in you.

And when you make that decision,

well then you'll
find he's working

all things together
for your good.

Even a motorcycle speeding
ticket that ends up in a kiss.

I want you with me for
the rest of my life.

When when you have these
incredible miracles,

when you see 'em,

realize that's what God
wants to do for you.

He wants incredible
miracles for you.

You are his child and
he wants to pour out

his abundant love on you.

If you wanna put God first
this Christmas, give us a call.

Just say, I wanna pray,

can you pray with me?

I wanna receive
Jesus into my heart.

Maybe you've made this before,

but for whatever reason
you've drifted away.

Let this Christmas be the day

that Jesus gets
birthed in your heart

that he becomes a
vibrant reality for you.

Call us 1-800-700-7000.

- Have you ever wondered
why the angels appeared

to shepherds in their
fields 2000 years ago?

Well, CBN's Chris Mitchell
asked a pastor from Bethlehem

that very question and he
received an amazing answer.

(gentle music)

- Hello, this is Chris Mitchell

and I'm standing in one of
the fields near Bethlehem,

known as the Shepherd's Field.

The reason for that is that
the gospel of Luke tells us

2000 years ago the
angel of the Lord

appeared before the shepherds

and told them about the
birth of a newborn king

in the city of David.

I talked about that with
Pastor Steven Khoury

who was raised in Bethlehem

and we met in one of the caves

that might have been used by
those shepherds 2000 years ago.

Pastor Steven Khoury
great to be with you here

and this is an amazing place.

Tell us where we are right now.

- I wanna start by
saying Merry Christmas.

We're in the Shepherd's Fields

where many in the
middle of the fields

of what we call the Boaz fields
where Ruth would've come.

- So multiple things
happened here,

not just what happened on a
Christmas day or Christmas Eve.

- Three things come to mind
when I think of this area.

First thing is
obviously Ruth and Boaz.

Another story is King David.

This is the area he would've
been come as a young child.

This is the area, the
region of Bethlehem

and shepherds fields where he
would've been born at as well.

Of course, the third
thing comes to mind is

the birth of our King Yeshua.

We're in the middle
of the shepherd's area

where we know that
the general area

is where the angels
appeared at shepherds

and gave them the
good news of Luke 2.

- That good news that
Pastor Khoury talked about

is found in Luke chapter
2 is what Luke wrote.

"Now they were in the
same country, shepherds

living out in the fields,

keeping watch over
their flock by night

and behold, an angel of
the Lord stood before them

and the glory of the
Lord shone around them

and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid

for behold I bring you
good tidings of great joy,

which will be to all people.

For there is born to you this
day in the city of David,

a savior who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be
the sign to you.

You will find a babe
wracked and swaddling cloths

lying in a manger."

- I call this area,
brother Chris,

I call the genesis.

The genesis of our
story starts right here

in the Shepherd's Field

where the angels
decided to appear

and to declare the good news
of the coming born king.

- Why would the angels
appear to the shepherds?

Why were they so
important to the story?

- One thing that comes to
my heart and comes to mind

is the very strong possibility

that this is the region,
this is the area,

this is the shepherd's fields,

the grotto were standing
in the middle of,

this could have been
very strongly the area

where they would've prepared
the sheep for the slaughter,

for the sacrifice for the
first temple, Solomon Temple

and King Herod's temple,
the second temple.

So if this is the place
that would've been prepared,

this is a place we would've
been raised the sheep

in a kosher way,
in a kosher manner.

This is the area

that they will prepare the
sheep for the sacrifice.

Then it would make sense

for the angels to
appear to the shepherds

and to tell them the good news
in which we see in Luke 2.

- Luke tells us more about
this amazing appearance.

"And suddenly there
was with the angel,

a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God and saying:

Glory to God in the
highest and on earth,

peace, goodwill to amen.

So it was when the
angels had gone away

from them into heaven

that the shepherds
said to one another,

let us now go to Bethlehem

and see this thing
that has come to pass,

which the Lord has
made known to us."

- And what is the
significance of that?

The significance of that is
that you've been preparing

to prepare sheep
for the sacrifice.

And now coming to
you is a born king.

This born king will
be the last sacrifice

for the salvation and the
redemption of mankind.

If that's the case,

then that's puts a
significant mark right here

where we're standing.

Te conclusion is
salvation of mankind

is sealed through the blood
of King Yeshua, the land.

- And Luke tells us the rest
of the story of the shepherds.

"And they came with haste
and found Mary and Joseph

and the Babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen Him,

they made widely known the
saying which was told them

concerning this Child.

And all those who heard it
marveled at those things

which were told him
by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things

and pondered them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God

for all the things that
they had heard and seen,

as it was told them."

- We need to glorify
God everywhere we go

for his salvation, his
redemption, and his grace

in this Christmas
festive season.

So Merry Christmas,
God bless you

from the Shepherd's Field,

the place with a genesis
where our faith began.

(uplifting music)

- I love that piece.

Such a beautiful depiction.

Jesus is the lamb of God.

And how amazing that
the good shepherd

declared the good news
to actual shepherds.

It's just amazing.

Well, only 12 days
until Christmas

and Darren and Kristen
were in the ER,

watching their
five-year-old flat line.

90 minutes later
doctors had done

everything they
could to revive Owen.

Everything but one long shot.

And here's how that long shot
led to a Christmas miracle.

- It's gonna be okay sweetheart.

(soft music)

Owen, stay with me.

(heart rate monitor beeping)

- Come back, Owen.

(heart rate monitor beeping)

Owen! Owen!

- Our son Owen
wasn't feeling good

and when I touched
him, he was ice cold.

Be like, should we go
to the ER now or wait?

- He also turned pale white.

We noticed his ankles were
turning slightly purplish

and at that time,

Darren and I just sort
of looked at each other

and we said, let's go.

- As we were driving,

Owen started throwing up
in the back of my truck.

That was when the
prayer started,

you know, just praying that
everything was gonna be okay.

- I had suspicions
that obviously

this was more serious
than your typical flu.

I had no idea that
it would turn into

the next most traumatic
24 hours of our life.

- We get in the ER,

we were there maybe 10
minutes and then he said,

"Dad, I gotta go
to the bathroom."

- He said it again, "Mommy, I
have to go to the bathroom."

At that time I looked
up at the monitor

and there was just a flat line.

Everything stopped.

I didn't hear anything,
I didn't see anything.

I almost felt like I went numb.

- And then he would
get a heartbeat back

and we'd see it on there,
you know, strong and regular

and then it would just be like
boom, boom, boom, boom, boom

and back to CPR again.

- I fell to my knees and
I completely surrendered

and I began to pray.

- 45 minutes went
by then 59 minutes,

the doctors with me and he goes,

you know, and I go, man, I know,

I know you guys did
everything you guys could.

- At that point,

we have one last
sort of ditch effort.

Another physician
joins the care team

and he suggests this life
support machine called an ECMO.

- Essentially he's
doing the functions

of the heart and the lungs.

So that allows to
stabilize the body.

It lets the heart rest.

We're putting a cannula,

a tube in the artery
and on the vein.

- We're already
at an hour of CPR

and then 30 more minutes of
CPR to get the ECMO put on.

- After the surgery
had been completed,

the diagnosis is myocarditis,

which is a type of virus

that basically attacked
his muscular system

and attacked his heart.

- He's stable at the moment.

We don't know what
kind of damage he has.

Everything is basically failed.

He's on a ventilator.

His kidneys have failed,
his heart is pumping,

but very minimal.

- Our main concern because
of the length of CPR

was that he would
have a massive stroke.

Within five minutes the
brain cells will start dying.

- The doctors were just saying,

you know, after
90 minutes of CPR,

we've seen a spectrum
of he's a vegetable

or you know, there'll
be some deficits.

So what version of our
son are we gonna have?

- We were really, really
intentional from day one

that we were going to rally
as many people as we could

to pray for Owen

and pray for the physicians and
the care team there at Dell.

- But by day five

took him off the ECMO machine.

He was stable, his
heart was pumping

as best as it could.

If God got us through
this right here,

we're praying for
a hundred percent

that he's gonna walk
out of this hospital.

And they said, you know what?

Let's see what he does
without the ventilator.

- Darren stayed in
the room with Owen

and I went down to the
healing garden to pray.

And Darren said,

"He's asking for you, Kristen.

He's breathing on his own

and he's asking for
mommy right now."

That was one of the best text
messages I've ever received.

- To know that he recognized
us was such a huge win.

We both broke down
in tears of joy.

He's gonna be good, you know?

- Our five-year-old
Owen walked out

fully healed February 7th.

God answered our prayers, he did

- That he was basically
dead for 90 minutes

and that he was able to
recover to the extent

that he recovered.

And he's basically
a normal child.

I think that's amazing.

- My heart is strong.

Jesus just saved me.

- Every day is a day
of praise, you know?

That the Lord has
given us a miracle.

It's like, man, we
got our own back.

- Oh, I love that one.

Yeah, do that one. I love that.

When I prayed to the Lord that
day, please give me my Owen,

he gave me Owen and more.

I am looking forward
to a Christmas

where we are all together.

Being able to not only
celebrate Jesus' birth,

but to be able to
celebrate a second chance

that Owen has been
given and gifted.

- Absolutely amazing.

Such a beautiful story.

It brought tears to my eyes.

I'm sure a lot of people
watching at home right now

brought tears to
your eyes as well.

God is amazing and you know,
so many people say that

the holiday season can
actually bring a lot of

anxiety and depression.

But let's,

I wanna encourage everyone,

let's change the
way we're thinking

and let's believe that
this is actually a season

where miracles are abounding
all over the place.

If you are watching this and
you need a miracle in your life

and your finances and
your relationships,

in your marriages, in your
body, we're gonna pray for you

and we are going to believe

that God is going to move
mightily in your life

this Christmas day.

Before we do, we're actually
gonna read some prayer requests

that people actually send
us in on these ornaments.

I'm gonna read a few
and I think Gordon,

you have some as
well before we pray.

So this one,

somebody is asking to be
healed of Alzheimer's disease.

Healing from stage
four kidney disease.

A job that will
provide enough income

to provide for my family.

Salvation for my family,
children, grandchildren,

and great-grandchildren.

Gordon, what do you have?

- That God would heal
and restore my hearing

to be healed of stage
four colon cancer.

Protection of all our military
troops around the world.

And then for a closer
relationship with
my heavenly Father.

If you want a close
relationship with God,

draw close to him and he
will draw close to you.

Let's do that right now.

This Christmas, let Emmanuel,

that's his name, Emmanuel,

God with us, let
Jesus be with you,

birthed again in your heart,
in your life, in your soul.

As you watched Owen's
testimony, here's a great truth.

You could never be too dead
for a resurrection here.

He was dead 90 minutes,

but God is able, let him
be able for you right now.

Let's pray.

Lord, we lift all of these
requests to you right now

for those who want a closer
relationship with you,

for those who want restoration
and their families,

for those who want
healing in their bodies,

for those who want
provision in their finances,

Lord, for all of these requests,
we lift them all to you,

to your throne of grace.

We don't deserve
anything from you

but because of your great love,

you sent your only begotten son.

So Lord, we believe in that.

We believe in the
message of Christmas.

We believe in the message
of the resurrection.

We believe.

And in that belief
we now receive all
that you have for us.

Stretch forth your
hand to deliver us,

to heal us, to forgive us, to
restore us, to provide for us.

You do all of this because
of your great love.

and we thank you for.

Ashley, God's given
you something.

- I just believe the Holy Spirit

is literally like
energizing people.

It's almost like just
a revitalization.

I don't even know if
that's a real word,

but God is reinvigorating
your spirit right now.

You've been hopeless,
you've been foggy,

you've been down and depressed,

and I just believe
God is bringing hope

and joy to you right now.

People watching
in hospital rooms

all around this nation
and around the world.

I believe God is going
to move mightily.

Just stand firm and believe
in the name of Jesus.

- Just lift your hands
to 'em right now.

Receive that great
joy outpouring.

He wants to pour out joy.

He wants peace on earth,
goodwill to all people.

He wants to bring you joy,
unspeakable and full of glory.

Let his joy energize you
and be your strength.

We ask for it all now.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

And amen.

If you've been touched,
if you've been healed,

we're here for you and we want
to share your good reports.

So call us 1-800-700-7000.

If you need prayer,
we're here for you.

All you have to do is pick
up the phone and call.

Again, 1-800-700-7000

Well, we wish you
and your family the
meriest of Christmases

and great joy in
the coming New Year,

and we leave you today with
a medley of Christmas music

from concert pianist,
Jade Simmons.

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