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Praise God for ‘God with Us!’

Today Abby and I shared praises about one of the greatest themes of Christmas, Immanuel, “God with Us.”

The word Immanuel means, as we learn in Matthew 1:23, “God with us.”  The coming of the Christ child fulfilled what Isaiah wrote in chapter 7, verse 14: “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

In his book Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller shares that for centuries, the Jewish religious leaders and scholars had known that prophecy, but did not think that it should be taken literally. They thought it was simply predicting the coming or arrival of some great leader through whose work, God would be present with his people.

However, Matthew writes that this promise is greater than anyone imagined!  It did not come true figuratively, but literally. Jesus Christ is “God with us” because the human life in Mary’s womb was a miracle performed by God himself.  Then Jesus, with his life, his claims and his resurrection, convinced his closest followers that he was not just a prophet telling them how to find God, but God himself coming to find us.

Keller writes that this claim, that Jesus is God, gives us the greatest possible hope.  Why?  Because it means this world is not all that there is…it means that there is life and love after death and it means that evil and suffering will one day end.

And it is not just hope for the world, but hope for you and me personally. A God who was only holy would have not come to us in Jesus.  He would have just demanded that we pull ourselves together and be moral and holy enough to be worthy of relationship with him. But our God is fully holy and fully human – so he doesn’t send someone else – he comes himself!  Jesus is one of us – and that should give us all hope!

Today’s winners:

Brad from Bellville – Hillsong United Limited Edition White Album (yes, it’s vinyl)
David from Mount Vernon – Who Knew? book bundle pack

We played “One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas” from the Muppets. Congratulations to Asher from Fredericktown, who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

More Christmas Fun Facts, too!

  • ‘Jingle Bells’ was originally a Thanksgiving song. 
    • “Jingle Bells” was written by James Lord Piermont in 1857 for his church’s Thanksgiving concert. However, over the years, it became more closely associated with Christmas and is now one of the most popular holiday songs! 
  • ‘The Grinch’ is the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time. 
    • The 2018 computer-animated film brought in $512,858,819 worldwide. The runner-up? Home Alone, the Christmas classic from 1990. 
  • ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was a box-office flop. 
    • Believe it or not, the enduring Christmas classic initially bombed at the box office. It wasn’t until 1974, when its copyright expired and television networks could air it for free, that it cemented its place as one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. 

Thanks for listening!
– Joe and Abby

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Food For The Hungry Total Recap and Mary Poppins!

Hi,

Today on the show we talked about everything that happened with Food For The Hungry. We gave some total updates from the drives around Knox County. We also shared our updated total of $263,502.08! We are so thankful for your support year in and year out to this organization! You can visit our website wnzr.fm to view all of the latest updated totals from Food For The Hungry. Just click on the Food For The Hungry Banner on the main screen.

Congratulations to Jackie of Mount Vernon for winning a For King & Country: What Are We Waiting For CD.

And

Congratulations to Bob of Howard for winning a Starting Point Goodie Bag.

  • I was born on December 13th, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri.
  • I left during my senior year of high school to join the U.S. Army Air Forces to become a pilot in WWII but I was denied several times.
  • Eventually, I became a radio announcer for the Special Forces to entertain them.
  • I started my career as a radio DJ before I ended up on Broadway.
  • I am known for being in Mary Poppins. I was also Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie.
  • I am still living at 98 years young.

…..I am Dick Van Dyke

Congratulations to Jackie of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer! She wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.

Thanks for listening!

-Dylan

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Short and Sweet

Today Abby had a shortened version of the show! She shared about Michael Tait’s upcoming debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, where he will be performing some Christmas classics from his recently released holiday project– I Believe in Christmas. Read more here.

This night we pray

Our lives will show

This dream He had

Each child still knows

…And this week was a stumper! That means next time will be worth TWO gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant in Utica.

Shout out to Paul, though, for winning our Christmas Gift Exchange!

Thanks for listening,

Abby Almodovar

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God is Enough in EVERY Circumstance!

Today’s Monday Motivational from Our Daily Bread focused on the story of God’s amazing provision in the life of Naomi. When she thought she had lost everything, God provided Ruth and Boaz with a son who would eventually lead to the family line of David… who would be the ancestor to the Messiah! Even when we feel like we have nothing, God will always have His hand over us. Read the entire story here.

If Santa’s sleigh broke down, name another form of transportation he might try.

The top two answers? Airplane and Car. Shout out to Kristi for calling in and being spot on with the answer! She will receive a $5 gift card to Watt’s Restaurant in Utica.

Thanks for listening!

-Mike and Abby

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Appetite For Distraction

Hi!

Today on the show I shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread. We also mentioned how tomorrow is Food For The Hungry Drive Day! We are so excited to be able to broadcast this event! You can find the event on https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mvnuadmin/. This link will take you right to the page where the broadcast will be streamed. Also, don’t forget to listen on 90.9 FM, WNZR as we will be having special interviews with different people involved with Food For The Hungry. We hope that you will listen in!

Here is my devotional from Our Daily Bread titled, “Appetite For Distraction.” You can find the link here.

Congratulations to Bonnie of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer which was Ryan Ellis’ song Heart of the Father. She wins TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant!

Thanks for listening!

-Dylan

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Austin Swallow FFTH Board President and Otto Graham!

Hi,

Today on the show we talked with Austin Swallow who is the Food For The Hungry Board President. We also had our weekly Who am I? trivia question where one lucky person has a chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant. Make sure to visit https://www.foodforthehungrycares.org/ to find out more information on the drive as well as how to make a donation to Food For The Hungry.

Here is our conversation with Austin:

  • I was born on December 6th, 1921, in Waukegan, Illinois.
  • I was one of four boys and I also set the first state record at birth weighing 14 lbs. 12 oz.
  • I attended the University of Northwestern on a college basketball scholarship in 1940.
  • I didn’t take up football until my sophomore year of college.
  • I played quarterback for 9 years with the Cleveland Browns from 1946 until 1955.
  • I was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
  • I died on December 17th, 2003, at the age of 82.

….I am Otto Graham

Congratulations to Joseph of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer! He wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.

Thanks for listening!

-Dylan

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Christmas Music and Casting Crowns!

We are celebrating Christmas in full swing here at WNZR with the Holly Jolly 25, which means 25 days packed full of holiday tunes!

One of the new Christmas songs added to our playlist this year is We The Kingdom’s “Christmas in Hawaii,” which Abby shared the story behind for today’s artist news. Although the group had no plans to release this song initially, the tragic fires occurring in Maui this year changed that plan. Now, a portion of all proceeds for this song will go to a nonprofit organization dedicated to education for children living on the island of Maui. Read more here.

The music video for this track has just been released, featuring a stop-motion animation style and a fun Santa story set in Hawaii!

In other news, Mike talked about the recently announced extension to the Casting Crowns 20th Anniversary Tour: A Live Anniversary Experience. They will be adding a spring leg to this tour, a celebration of the band’s 20 years together with a live orchestra. To read more about the live show as well as Casting Crown’s new feature film, click here!

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

Congratulations to Chris for guessing it! Today’s song was O Holy Night, and Chris will be receiving TWO gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant after last week’s stumper.

Thanks for listening!

-Mike and Abby

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Blessed to be a Blessing III

This is our third week of sharing ideas of how you can bless others during this Christmas season. This was inspired by a list shared with our church family a few weeks back.

  1. Leave a basket of muffins/cookies on someone’s doorstep. This can be someone in your neighborhood or someone at work!
  2. Buy someone a coffee or their favorite drink and drop it off to them at work.
  3. Say thank you to your cashier – give them a smile, especially when they are doing an amazing job handling numerous requests. On Saturday, I did this with a cashier who was simultaneously running two lines!
  4. Stay calm, have patience, and be positive when a frustrating situation arises.
  5. Call your parents or a current/former mentor or teacher, and let them know how much you appreciate them.

Name a gift that kids DON’T want to open on Christmas morning.

  1. Underwear (31 votes)
  2. Socks (27)
  3. Hygiene Products (12)
  4. Books (8)
  5. Sweater/scarf (6)
  6. Puzzles (2)

Congratulations to Laura from Pataskala, who guessed those top two answers and wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica.

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

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Food for the Hungry with Shawn Dugan on Praise Thursday

For Praise Thursday, Mike and Abby shared encouragement and talked about the upcoming Fredericktown Christmas Walk! They also talked to Shawn Dugan, the Collections Coordinator who focuses on collecting donations from high schools in the county.

Mike shared Hebrews 12:3, which says, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” He talked about how even when it can be hard to stay motivated in our daily lives, we can look to God as our source of motivation!

Abby shared a similar message from Isaiah 40:28-29– “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” It’s so comforting to know that we have a mighty God on our side, who will strengthen us when we feel weak or weary.

Today’s Name That Tune was a stumper! So… next week’s will be worth TWO gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant.

The annual high school collection for Food For The Hungry is underway. WNZR’s Alyssa Sidle talked with Collection Coordinator, Shawn Dugan. He shared the collection dates for all the Knox County high schools. He also shared some of the special challenges that are helping to motivate our local students to get involved. Shawn told us how the outstanding students and classes will be recognized on the annual broadcast on 12/8. He also shared the exciting news about a new partnership with the Mount Vernon Rotary Club. Check out our conversation with Shawn on Soundcloud below!

For more information on how to get involved go to – https://www.foodforthehungrycares.org/about-6-1

Thanks for listening!

-Mike and Abby

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