1 Cor 1:10-14 @ 2025-10-18
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@@ -33,18 +33,24 @@ likes of John Piper.
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I know the teaching of John Piper and trust him.
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I know the teaching of John Piper and trust him.
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They listen to other people who I am not familiar with, and I have to
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They listen to other people who I am not familiar with, and I have to
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investigate.
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investigate.
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Do these teachers faithfully proclaim the Gospel?
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Do they faithfully teach God's Word?
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Do these teachers faithfully proclaim the gospel?
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Do they faithfully teach God's Word?
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If the answer to that is yes, then we have unity and should act accordingly.
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If the answer to that is yes, then we have unity and should act accordingly.
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## Christ Is Not Divided
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## Christ Is Not Divided
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Look at verse 13 - in response to the teacher oriented factions of the
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Look at verse 13 - in response to the teacher oriented factions of the
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Corinthians, Paul asks, "Is Christ divided?"
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Corinthians, Paul asks, "Is Christ divided?"
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If someone is claimed by Christ and commissioned by Christ, if they teach
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I'm going to go ahead and say that Paul is asking a rhetorical question and
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Christ faithfully, then to set him against another that teaches Christ
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that it should be obvious that the answer is 'no'.
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faithfully is to divide Christ.
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Paul is not truly telling us to become united.
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Paul is telling us to act according to a unity that we already have.
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If someone is claimed by Christ and commissioned by Christ and they teach
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Christ faithfully, then to set that teacher against another that teaches Christ
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faithfully is to set Christ against Himself.
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And of course, the people saying that they follow Paul or Peter or Apollos are
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And of course, the people saying that they follow Paul or Peter or Apollos are
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missing the point.
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missing the point.
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@@ -56,28 +62,34 @@ against His own.
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By saying I follow Christ and I do not follow Paul, we set Christ against Paul.
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By saying I follow Christ and I do not follow Paul, we set Christ against Paul.
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We set the Head against the Body.
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We set the Head against the Body.
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Saying that you learned from a particular teacher as opposed to another is
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Saying that we learned from a particular teachers as opposed to other teachers
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fine.
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is fine.
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We all have teachers who have influenced us more than others, but if we
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We all have teachers who have influenced us more than others.
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faithfully follow faithful teachers, we are united in the truth of the gospel.
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If we are faithful in following faithful teachers, then we are united in the
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truth of the gospel with those who follow other faithful teachers.
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Like most members of this church, I would not say that I follow Josh Hayward.
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Like most members of this church, I would not say that I follow Josh Hayward.
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He just hasn't had much influence in my life and I've spent very little time
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I would not say that I have really learned from him.
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listening to him.
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But if he proclaims Christ faithfully, if he proclaims the gospel faithfully,
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With that said, he seems to be a faithful teacher and we would not have any beef
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then we must regard him and those who do follow him as being of the same body
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with the members of Kinney Avenue Baptist Church over the fact that they follow
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as us.
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him.
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We do not follow the man Josh Hayward, but we do follow his teaching because it
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We should and generally do recognize Josh Hayward, and happily greet those who
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is the same teaching that we have here.
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sit under his teaching, because he teaches and they receive Christ.
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We should happily commend him and Kinney to our visitors.
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Where we lack unity in under-shepherds, we are united in the Great Shepherd.
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Where we lack unity in under-shepherds, we are united in the Great Shepherd.
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We have unity with them, and we should regard one another accordingly.
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## Christ Defines the Church
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## Christ Defines the Church
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In verse 13, Paul asks, "Was Paul crucified for you?"
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Look again at Paul's question in verse 13, "Is Christ divided?"
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Paul does not ask, "Is Cephas divided?"
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Peter is in no way a uniting head of the Church.
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Paul and Apollos and Peter are members of Christ - and no other.
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Christ is the one of whom these others are members.
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Continuing verse 13, Paul asks, "Was Paul crucified for you?"
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By the time of this writing, many martyrs had already been minted for the sake
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By the time of this writing, many martyrs had already been minted for the sake
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of the spread of the Gospel.
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of the spread of the gospel.
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Opposition to God's Word spilled the blood of many prophets before Christ came.
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Opposition to God's Word spilled the blood of many prophets before Christ came.
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In that sense, we could say that many faithful believers have died for us, but
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In that sense, we could say that many faithful believers have died for us, but
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Christ stands alone in having a death that appeases the wrath of God.
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Christ stands alone in having a death that appeases the wrath of God.
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@@ -88,14 +100,16 @@ Is it by the name of Paul that you entered the church?
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No.
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No.
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We have one baptism, which is in Christ, regardless of whether we were baptized
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We have one baptism, which is in Christ, regardless of whether we were baptized
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here or 2000 years ago by an apostle.
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2000 years ago by an apostle or here by Samuel - or by the next Senior Pastor.
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It is by professing the name of Christ that we enter the church.
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It is by professing the name of Christ that we enter the church.
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And notice verse 14.
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And notice verse 14.
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Paul is grateful that he baptized only a few of them, thinking that they might
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Paul is grateful that he baptized only a few of them, thinking that they might
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cling to him as the grounding of their baptism.
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cling to him as the grounding of their baptism.
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Our faith is in no way defined by our baptizer.
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Our faith is in no way defined by our baptizer.
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Our baptism and the faith expressed in it are grounded in Christ.
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Both our baptism and the faith expressed in it are grounded in Christ.
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### Christ Is More Than A Teacher
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Christ is more than merely the pedagogical ancestor of all other faithful
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Christ is more than merely the pedagogical ancestor of all other faithful
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teachers.
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teachers.
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@@ -105,6 +119,9 @@ Christ did not come proclaiming a system that can exist apart from Him.
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We do not put our faith in a system named Christianity.
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We do not put our faith in a system named Christianity.
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We put our faith in the person of Christ.
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We put our faith in the person of Christ.
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He died for us in a way that no one else could and we are called to be baptized
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in His name, expressing our trust in the significance of His death for us.
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Christ did tell us how we should live, but we do not derive our life from these
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Christ did tell us how we should live, but we do not derive our life from these
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things.
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things.
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Christ taught more than mere principles by which we should live.
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Christ taught more than mere principles by which we should live.
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@@ -122,11 +139,33 @@ Marxism could be conceived of apart from Marx.
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But there is no Christianity without Christ.
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But there is no Christianity without Christ.
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And if we truly have Christ, we have Christianity.
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And if we truly have Christ, we have Christianity.
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No teacher has brought anything of worth to the table that he has not received.
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Christianity is not incomplete without any particular teacher, other than
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Christianity is not incomplete without any particular teacher, other than
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Christ Himself, who is the teaching.
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Christ Himself, who is the teaching.
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( reference 4:7 here? )
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## Ending
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I chose this passage months ago.
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In the time since I chose it, we have become a people for whom this passage has
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become increasingly relevant.
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While we do quarrel over teachers at times, I believe that we generally do so
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with lightheartedness.
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But in the coming year, we will be called to receive a new voice in our pulpit.
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A new baptizer.
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I miss the voice of Ryan and will miss the voice of Samuel, but the Christ that
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they proclaimed will continue be heralded here.
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God used them to build up this church.
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They carried the torch to here, and now Russ carries it forward.
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Though we love the voices that we have lost and are losing, the true value that
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they provided came not from them, but from God's Word.
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Samuel's work here will continue, because it is not ultimately his work.
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God will continue His work here.
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### Comment on Samuel's Mission
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### Comment on Samuel's Mission
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As I reflect on how we are thinking that we must release Samuel to go and do
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As I reflect on how we are thinking that we must release Samuel to go and do
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@@ -135,15 +174,14 @@ part of me wants to say, "He is going to spread the 9Marks way."
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"Go forth make disciples of the Park Hills way of all nations."
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"Go forth make disciples of the Park Hills way of all nations."
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But other resources exist to convey the ecclesiological teachings of 9Marks.
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But other resources exist to convey the ecclesiological teachings of 9Marks.
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There is nothing truly unique to Samuel or to the 9Marks ecosystem that Romania
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There is nothing truly unique about our teachers or the 9Marks ecosystem that
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needs.
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Romania needs.
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In truth, God could have called anyone from any multitude of schools of thought
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In truth, God could have called anyone from any multitude of schools of thought
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to this task.
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to this task.
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What is required is the faithful proclaim of God's Word.
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What is required is the faithful proclaim of God's Word.
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### Ending
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As I close here, I want to note that wrote what I am about to say in the last
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As I close here, I want to note that I wrote what I am about to say in the last
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hours of August.
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hours of August.
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I had no idea when writing this how prescient this sentiment would be for us
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I had no idea when writing this how prescient this sentiment would be for us
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now.
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now.
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