Harmony Christian Church

OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

I remember the day I became a father for the first time.  

Jenni had been in labor for quite a while.  The monitor on Peter kept showing his heart rate drop to almost nothing, they would roll Jenni over on her side to get it to come back up.  What we didn’t know was that the umbilical cord had been around his neck.  We would find out soon.  As he came out, his body was blue and limp.  I will never forget the doctor pulling him out and holding his little body.  It was that moment I became a father, because in that moment I felt a wave of fierce pulse through my body I had never felt.  It took everything in me to hold me back from grabbing that doctor, shaking him, and forcing him to fix this.  That’s all that kept running through my head, “fix this, fix this…”

From the earliest moments in the story of God there has been a voice whispering, “Fix This, Fix This…”

We’ve heard the echos of this throughout the story, whether it’s Adam and Eve eating the fruit and God sacrificing an animal to cloth them or it’s God calling to Abram to be a blessing to all Mankind or God reaching back out to humanity through Moses and the Jewish people.  

Over and over again God has been rumbling towards humanity and over and over again humanities heart beat drops as we turn away from God.

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And God has been whispering “Fix This, Fix This…”

Listen, I know for some of you the idea of a good Father is a messed up idea

But surely you knew someone who had a Father that you wished was your Father.  

The kind of person who was fun, loving, kind, fiercely strong, but unyieldingly gracious.

Good Fathers will do anything to rescue their children…

Can I read to you the Father’s rescue story for us?

[shut off all lights in the room except a very soft spot light on Kent in center of stage - almost no light]

John 1:1-18 (NIV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

John looks at the story of humanity and he takes us back to where it all started

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“In the beginning…”

This is how the book of Genesis starts “In the beginning the earth was void and formless and the spirit of God hovered over the waters…”

John says at the beginning, the creative force of God was His word and that word was God and was with God.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…

ILLUSTRATION:

I love going to tour caves.  Jenni and I went and did the underground kayaking

The Cost of Being a Disciple

Luke 14:25-33 (NIV)

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

What kind of person do we want to be in this tumultuous world? Join us as Kent dives into Daniel's resilience and courage. Tune in for a challenging sermon. EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

Have you ever heard the saying, “you’re gonna have to hang in there like a hair in a biscuit…”  Lol, I had a buddy say that the other day and it cracked me up.  What he meant was sometimes in life you have to hang on hard to make it through.  

We’ve all ben there right?  When life feels like it’s thrown a wrench at you and you weren’t able to dodge…

WE:

-The moment when the divorce settled in and the night felt darker than it’s ever felt sitting alone in your living room

-The way it takes everything you’ve got to make it through a day to look normal to everyone else since returning from deployment

-Or that time when every day it was literally “which bill do we not pay right  now…”

We’ve all had those moments where you are holding on by the skin of your teeth..

US:

I believe we are in a moment in history where for Christians, you following Jesus is not going to be easy…

ILLUSTRATION:

I was invited recently by a missionary to Pakistan to give a devotion to some people who had converted from Islam to Christianity there.  I wasn’t able to do it, but before I knew that, I asked him what he wanted me to say to them - if anything.  Here’s what he told me.  He said, “Can you encourage them, many of them have lost family, jobs, etc. to follow Christ.  It has cost them everything.”  Then he said something that has been challenging me ever since, “But also encourage them to be bold in their faith and to not be afraid, the world they live in it’s dangerous to be a Christian and they need to know not to be afraid…” 

Reminded me of something Jesus said, 

Matthew 10:28

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Today in the Story of God we are at a place where those who are left have to hold one with everything they’ve got - like a hair in a biscuit…

I think for us as Christians there is a lot to learn from the guy we are going to look at today…

SCRIPTURE:

The Kingdom of Israel has been split, the Northern tribes have been swept off into Assyria and one will ever hear from those people again…  Now the Southern Kingdom is being attacked by the Babylonians - They will take the entire nation into exile in Babylon.  Much of the rest of the bible - the prophets Jeremiah, Lamentations, Isaiah, and minor prophets - Malachi, etc. either take place during this time frame or right after.  

This moment in history will change the Jewish people forever.  They will move from being a religious group centered around worship at their temple to a group that is dedicate

? Tune in to Kent's sermon this Sunday! We dive into the twists of ancient Israel's story and the domino effect of selfish choices. Can't miss this! ?️✨ Listen in to ponder, "When faced with power, do we serve or seek self-gratification?" ? EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

My wife loves watching survivor… One of the classics of survivor is “Previously on Survivor”…

PREVIOUSLY on THE STORY OF GOD:

I want to remind you of the highlights so far because we took a hiatus to talk about some books and not the stories…

God created all things, people walked out of the story of God to create their own story - God pursued them, calling to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Joseph will come into the story and rescue all of Egypt as well as his own family from famine.  The Hebrew people will settle in Egypt and eventually become an enslaved people.  God will again reach out and raise up Moses to lead the people out of slavery.  They will come into the desert and as quickly as God reduces they too will walk out of God’s story to create their own - they will create a golden calf while Moses is away listening to God and say, “this golden calf is the god that brought you out of Egypt”…  The people will wander around for 40yrs, God will raise up Joshua and judges like Gideon and Deborah.  Eventually He will raise up Samuel and the people will reject God as King and choose their own, Saul, David, and Solomon…  

This is where we enter into the story…

ILLUSTRATION:

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was to set up a domino chain.  My buddies and I would set up a chain of dominos all over tables for a week or more at indoor recess. We’d work on it all till the day we’d get a chance to knock it down.  That chain reaction of a domino to make the last one fall of the table is sooo cool to watch.  This week is the beginning a domino that will fall that will cause a chain reaction in the life of Israel.  We will watch it unfold… till it all ends with one domino falling - the last in the series that will be the most spectacular of all…

It all started with the death of Solomon.  During his life, he had spent time repairing the walls of Jerusalem that his father David had built.  During that time he saw a young man named Jeroboam who was a hard and diligent worker.  Solomon saw something in him and put him in charge of the labor force for the tribes of Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim.  

At this same time, Solomon had turned his heart away from God after other gods… God raised up a prophet named Ahijah to go to Jeroboam, this young man, and tell him that God was going to take most of the Kingdom away from Solomon’s son and give it to Jeroboam.  Ahijah took off his coat and ripped it into 12 pieces and gave Jerry 10 of them and told him he would rule over 10 of the tribes of Israel.  If he would remain faithful to Yahweh, God would establish his kingdom like He had promised to do with David.  

What do you do if you are a young man and you have something like that told to you?  I’ll tell you what you do, you run for your life…

That’s exactly what Jerry

What are you doing to protect, pursue, and grow in commitment in your relationships like God intends? Tune in to Kent's sermon on the Song of Songs for insights. ?? EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

As a kid, I remember walking in the kitchen quite often and seeing my mom and dad kissing.  I also remember wanting to puke when I saw it.  Lol.  

My parents were really good at expressing their love for each other.  they also were a great example of sticking with one another.

As I’ve aged, I’ve learned a good percentage of people haven’t had the best examples of what love should look like in a relationship.

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and the pool for what a marriage based on Christ should look like is even smaller…

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Today, in the story of God, we are talking about the “Song of Songs”, sometimes referred to as “the Song of Solomon” - it’s the equivalent of an ancient Jewish Romance Novel…

Some people have tried to spiritualize this book and make it an allegory for our relationship with Jesus…

-It might be, but I have a hard time with how sexual it is and applying that to my relationship with Jesus…  Just saying

The Song of Songs is a reminder that God desires your relationship with your spouse to be protected, passionate, romantic, and committed…

Some people think Christians are prudes - that we don’t like sex…

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Actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth - sex is celebrated in the scripture.  But it’s celebrated when it’s in the right context…

ILLUSTRATION:

Sex is a little like fire.  Fire is an amazing thing when it’s in the right context.  Have a fire in a fireplace or fire ring and you can warm yourself with it, you can enjoy it.  Have a fire on your couch in your living room and it’s a disaster waiting to happen.  

Sex, in the context of a committed married relationship, is meant to be enjoyed.

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Christian ethics on sex are not about limiting your joy, but maximizing it!

Learning Protection, Passion, Romance, and Commitment in Relationships from the Song of Songs…

(if you are single or past this point in your life, or too young, listen, take notes, share with others…)

ILLUSTRATION:

Let me tell you a secret that’s not much of a secret.  I love eating Oreos…  I love them!  No joke!  But I don’t need any more Oreos in my life.  Let me ask you a question.  Where does my keeping Oreos out of my mouth start? 

? Have you ever felt like your prayers were too "vanilla"? ? Wondered why bad things happen to good people? ? Let's explore Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job together. ? It's time to align our hearts and find answers in God's Word. Don't miss out! ?  ? EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

I remember coming home from college.  My parents kept getting into these massive fights.  It was really messing with me, I thought, “Man, I leave for college and my family falls apart.”  It wasn’t till I started paying more attention to what was going on.  Here’s how just about every fight would start.  My dad would ask my mom about something, “Did you pay these bills?”  My mom would say, “What?”  My dad would say, “I said did these bills get paid?”  My mom would say, “Did I see the Bills Play?”  “NO, DID YOU PAY THE BILLS OR NOT!”  to which my mom would yell back, “I ALREADY PAID THE BILLS, IF YOU DON’T WANT ME PAYING THEM, THEN YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF!”  It hit me, it wasn’t that my parents were mad, it was that my mom couldn’t hear my dad and when he finally got loud enough for her to hear, they both ramped up into a fight.  My mom got hearing aids and it fixed a ton of their issues…

I want today to attempt to give you hearing aids for a few books in the bible that you may or may not be listening to right now that could seriously impact your life!

This sermon is going to be a little different today…. Here’s how it will work…

I will give you information about the book(s)

Then I will give you a way it’s personally impacted my life…

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The Psalms

The Psalms taught me to pray with honesty…

ILLUSTRATION:

If I’m really honest, my prayers used to be pretty vanilla… “God, help me with this, God thank you for that.  I was afraid to really open up and reveal my heart.  I was afraid to say, “God, what the heck!”  Until the psalms. I used to not get them.  I honestly at one point in bible college tried to make an argument that we should take them out of the bible :).  But it is the psalms that give words to the feelings we have

The Psalmists are raw.  the Psalmists do not hide even the worst o

FACEBOOK COPY: ? Life's like riding a bike - sometimes we're cruising along going good, but if you turn the handlebars too quickly, you crash. Today we examine what turns our hearts from Jesus? Tune in and dial in your heart to todays message! ? EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

Was anyone into BMX bikes back in the day?  I had a sweet ride!  It was a Haro bike with mag wheels and pegs on the front and the back.  It was literally rad…

This is what it looked like [show bike on screen]

can you picture little chubby Kent with a sweet mullet riding that thing?

One time I was riding that bike and my little sister was standing on the front pegs holding onto the handlebars and facing me.  We were cruising down the road when all of the sudden she made the decision to turn the handlebars to a 90 degree angle.  You know what happens when you are going straight and someone turns the handlebars of a bike?  That’s right, you stop going forward…  lol

We both bit it hard, flew off the bike and landed hard on the asphault.

I think about that story a lot when I think about what I see in peoples lives.  

I’ve seen over and over again people who seem to be moving forward with Jesus until their not…

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What is up with that?

have you ever wondered?

Maybe that’s been you? 

-Maybe you grew up going to church and went off to college and started partying and Jesus just became a background image of your life

-maybe you lost someone close to you and as you raised your fist to heaven you decided you were done and as quickly as you were moving forward, you were stopped

-or maybe, just maybe, the worries of this life grabbed ahold of you and you ran off…

You are not alone.  I’d say more people understand what that feels like than not…

As a matter of fact as we jump into the story of God I want you to get a picture of the son of David - Solomon and understand who he is and I want you to see his moment where he flips over the handle bars.  Then I want to look at what we do to prevent this…

Solomon

Solomon’s story starts in a pretty dark place.  He is the child of a woman that his father the King - David seduced and plotted the murder of her husband.  David will stay home when kings and their men go to war, he will watch as one of his trusted warriors wife goes to take her ceremonial bath - mikveh (you did this naked).  I’ve stood where they think David’s palace was and where Bathsheba would have been taking this bath.  David, is watching from up above like a wolf salivating over his prey.  It is a dark and terrible story…  Out of this David will repent, he will eventually marry Bathsheba and eventually Solomon will be born.  

Through a series of painful events Solomon will become the son

The central question of Christianity is why does someone dying 2,000 years ago and rising from the dead matter to you? If the answer to that question is "it doesn't" then it's all meaningless, but what if it's real?  What if God came to do something bigger than you can imagine?. Join us Sunday to dive in! EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). Get the fill-in-the-blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.

OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

Did you guys know there is a proper way to fold a towel?  

Look all the women are like, “Of course there is” All the men are like, “You fold towels?”

It’s really true.  The other day I was folding towels when I was done I came back in and my beautiful wife was refolding the towels, I was like, “What are you doing?”  She, with a kind look on her face said, “I appreciate you trying…”  

Lol…

I wasn’t mad though - it just means I don’t have to fold towels anymore… :)

Some of you are like, “No, it means you need to learn to fold towels correctly…”

One of the worst feelings in the world is to put your energy into something that ends up being worthless…

The other day I was having a conversation with someone who said he didn’t believe Jesus died and rose from the dead.  What he said was he couldn’t understand how someone dying 2,000 years ago and rising from the dead would do anything for anyone.

It’s a good question, right?  How does someone dying 2,000 years ago and then raising from the dead do anything for you?

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What if you put all this energy into Christianity and it all ended up being worthless?

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The even better question is, what if it’s real?

I wanted to share with you a historical account from the Story of God - if you don’t know we’ve been in a series on this looking at how God’s interaction in the world has worked.  I want to show you a story today that I think will help make sense of why Jesus’ death on the cross makes a difference for us… and then hopefully help you see that it’s worth investigating…

DAVID:

Probably one of the most famous people from the bible is King David.  David did not start off as King.  He was a shepherd boy, he’d spend his days in a field, all by himself watching over flocks and caring for these animals.  He would lay on rocks some days and other days watch as a wolf or bear prowled on his sheep and would have to fight them off.  He was a musician and a warrior - actually, he was one of the fiercest men in the scripture.  He did a lot of good things and did some hideously bad things…

One time when he was older, while all the kings normally went off to war - meaning he was home in his Kingdom with most of the women - He took for himself one of his key men's wives and hatched a murderous plot to kill her husband - one of his friends…

David did plenty wrong - but what he got right was he had a heart for what God’s heart beat for.