Harmony Christian Church

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Harmony Christian Church episodes

April 12, 2022Week 2 – The Two Jesus
Ever had to make a difficult decision? The people of Jerusalem were faced with a decision that seemed really easy, should they release Jesus, a peaceful suffering servant, or Barabbas, a violent revolutionary. It may seem like an easy decision, but it may be a more difficult decision to make than it first seems. When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"
All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted
Bold = Slide text
Bold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)
“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slide
Bold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored
[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
[Intro]
(FAS) - Let’s Make a Deal
We’re in our series called "The Road to Redemption" as we prepare for Easter. Last week we took a look at Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem. Today we’re looking at another story that takes place a bit after that one before Jesus went to the cross.
Have you ever thought about the sheer amount of decisions you have to make every day? You have to decide when to wake up, what to wear, what to eat, to wash your hair, to wear deodorant (the answer to that is always yes, btw), and on and on and that is only the start of your day. I’m not a big fan of making decisions, which is unfortunate because my wife also doesn’t like to make decisions. Guess which one of us always chooses where we eat. I’ve found that people generally don’t like making decisions, especially when they don’t feel like they have enough information to make a good one, which is why it’s strange that one of the most popular and longest-running game shows in America is all about making decisions without knowing the outcome, Let’s Make a Deal. Instead of telling you all about it, why don’t we play Let’s Make a Deal right now!(Plays Let’s Make a Deal Game)When the choices are that obvious, it’s easy to make a good decision, right? Well, that’s not entirely the case.
(Linking Statement)
Tonight we’re going to look at a story where a crowd clearly made the wrong decision and how we can make the right one.
[Body]
(Proof 1) - The choice between imprisonment and freedom
(Explanation)
Before we jump into the story, I need to set a few things up. So at this point Jesus has been arrested by the Jewish authorities and they’ve handed him over to the Roman ruler of Jerusalem, Pilate. They asked Pilate to crucify Jesus. The problem was that Pilate didn’t think Jesus was guilty, so he didn’t want to kill him. He was kinda in a hard place. He wanted to find a way to please the Jews by declaring Jesus guilty but not punishing him, and he thought he had the perfect plan. The Jewish festival of Passover was happening in Jerusalem. During Passover, the Romans would release one prisoner who was on death row. This is where our story starts. I’m going to read it here so you can follow along on the screen behind me.
Mark 15:6–15 CSBAt the festival Pilate used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. There was
26 min
April 12, 2022Week 1 – Lord Almighty?
"Hosanna, Hosanna" is what the people cried as Jesus made his entrance into Jerusalem. It looked like a parade, but to Jesus it was a funeral march. He knew that those same cries of "hosanna" would soon turn to "crucify him." This same pattern can even happen to us today. Do you shout "Hosanna," only to later say "crucify him," when it's convenient or is Jesus really Lord Almighty? When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"
All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted
Bold = Slide text
Bold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)
“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slide
Bold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored
[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
I grew up in a fairly contemporary and modern church. Our worship center looked a lot like this one. We had the lights like we do in here. Instead of pews, there were chairs. The worship songs we sang were similar to the ones we sing here. It was your standard modern sort of church. When I went off to college, though, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to multiple different ways of having church. There were people at my school from all different backgrounds. One of my roommates actually grew up with the total opposite church experience. He was episcopal. For those that are not familiar, the episcopal church is what we often consider “high church.” This is a church experience that is much more “classical” if that makes sense. It’s the stained glass, wooden pews, hymnals, and stuff. People might consider that “old school.” I was actually invited a few times to attend service with him and it was so wild seeing how they do church. I knew what hymns were and all that stuff, but there was an entirely other level To their services that they called “liturgy.” The liturgy was just the way that they had service. It was always the same. Every week they said the same prayers, said the same words before communion, and there was this call and response part. They would say stuff like, “May the Lord be with you,” and the people would respond, “and also with you.” There was what they called “pew aerobics” where they do things like stand, they may kneel for a part of service, and then stand again, they might sit for a while, but it was just constant movement.
Now I am not going to be running off and joining an Episcopal church any time soon. It was cool but it still wasn’t my thing, but there were a few things that they did that I thought were just awesome. One of them is what they call a liturgical calendar. Their entire denomination keeps the same calendar. This means that if you were traveling away from your home church, you could stop by any episcopal church on a Sunday morning and basically have the same service you’d have at home. You’d sing the same hymns, in the same order, with the same prayers, and the sermon would even be based on the same themes and Bible verses. It was crazy to me! The liturgical calendar also has it’s very own seasons. This was the coolest part for me. My roommate would share with us what season we were in. The neat thing is that the seasons come with special emphasis so it tells you how you should prepare your hearts and minds as you live through the year with Christ. For example, near Chris
30 min
March 28, 2022 Week 4 – Listening Better
Does it matter what we put into our minds and hearts? How do you determine if what you're listening to is worth listening to? Tune in to get some insight and be challenged. When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
Joshua 3:12-1712 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Your greatest barrier may be God’s greatest opportunity
The Israelites knew they had to get to the other side. they knew that their destiny was over thereBut the Jordan was in their way…
What they didn’t know is that God had a way…
It wasn’t till their faith made its way into their feet that they found the miracle
What is it that’s in your way?What’s the obstacle keeping you from the blessing?
Did you see verses 15 & 16?15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away The Jordan river can get a mile wide in some places when it floods…
What should have swept them away became the story they toldBBut it took them stepping…BWhat’s keeping you from stepping?
What’s keeping you from taking that job, from moving on from that broken relationship, from starting that company,
What’s keeping you from finding your blessing in your barrier?
[Pause sermon…]Alright, Let’s stop the sermon right there and push pause on it…That’s version one of this sermon, now let me preach it a different way…
Joshua 3:12-1712 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
God will carry you through what He has called you to…
Listen, the Israelites are not standing on these shores by accident, this is 40 years of God bringing to fruition promises He had made to them
And now that they are he
39 min
March 22, 2022 Week 3 – God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle
Will God really never give you more than you can handle? Are there problems with this idea? Today, Kent unpacks what the scripture says in a way that you can apply into your own life, right where you are! When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise notedBold = Slide textBold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slideBold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: She lost her husband last year, she’s heartbroken, nothing seems right anymore, she tries to find joy, but can the grief is always right there at the door. She’s working two jobs, trying to care for her high school boys the best she can, she’s worn out and feels at the end of her rope…
He lost his job due to supply chain issues and was told that for now at least, his position was no longer needed. Pressure at home has left his relationship with his wife in shambles - they are sleeping in different rooms at this point and he’s pretty sure she will ask him to leave any day now. His kids aren’t talking to him because for years he put everything else above them. He’s tired of it all and can’t see any way out.
They have experienced more loss in the last year than anyone you’ve ever known. They lost a child, his mother, and her father. Then when it seemed like there couldn’t be any more, their brother and sister-in-law were in a tragic accident, and the whole family was lost. How could life be this unfair? What do you say?
That’s the question, right? What do you say?
Maybe you’ve heard someone say this one to you when you are in the middle of these kinds of moments…
You walk up to the widow, to the jobless guy, to the grief-stricken family and you say this…
“It’s gonna be ok, because… God will never give you more than you can handle"
Let’s all take a moment real quick, do me a favor…
Can I tell you something…
The bible DOESN’T say God will never give you more than you can handle.
[mind blown symbol]Actually, I would say this is one of those things that really good Christians - followers of Jesus believe that’s bad…
First, let’s talk about where the confusion comes from…
What the scripture ACTUALLY says is this…
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
What the scripture actually says is that when you are tempted, God is faithful and will provide a way out.
Paul’s point is that God is faithful.BOk, Kent, I get it, but
Why is, “God will never give you more than you can handle,” a problem?
ILLUSTRATION: I have to admit something to you, when I was growing up, I watched the movie Jaws and it ruined beaches for me. When I’m out in the ocean with my kids, I’m constantly just watching the waves looking for a giant great white shark shadow to cross through… I was starting to get over it and then we went shark fishing - they only went like 100 feet out past how far out we had been swimming and we were catching TONS of sharks…
Under the surface is where the danger lies.
God will never give you more than you can handle is kind of like God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear - but what’s under the surface is deadly…
BENEATH THE SURFACE: When we say, “God will never give you more than you can handle” we are implying that Go
45 min
March 15, 2022 Week 2 – Everything Happens for a Reason
Does God cause everything to happen for a reason? This idea has caused a lot of heartache for a lot of people, what if it's not completely the truth? Tune in today to challenge this idea and get a clearer idea of how God's plan works in our lives. When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise notedBold = Slide textBold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slideBold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING: I was sitting there preparing to work on this sermon and trying to think of all the times I’ve heard someone say this next thing that is a bad thing good Christians believe. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it thousands of times. And it’s the kind of thing that every time I hear it, I want to stop the person and have a theological conversation, but it’s always in a moment where you can’t really do that. Here’s where it happens…
You are in a car wreck and your only car is totaled, you only have liability insurance and you are talking to your friend, telling them how you don’t know what to do and they say…
Well, I just have to believe, everything happens for a reason…
Or maybe you find out that the company you work for is embezzling money, specifically the insurance premiums they take out of your paycheck. You are lit up about it and telling everyone in your bible study and some well-meaning person says,
You know, everything happens for a reason…
Now, I know some of you are sitting out there going, But Kent, Everything does happen for a reason…
Right?
You were taught this growing up, you’ve said it a million times
It helps you to feel better when everything seems senseless
The problem with this phrase is there is an underlying message that you may have never thought of, but I guarantee, the people you are saying it to are hearing.
The underlying message is that God is the cause of the pain and suffering I’m going through.
ILLUSTRATION: I have known people who have adult children who hate God, can’t stand Him because they have gone through terrible horrific things, and end up blaming God for it. Why do you think they blame God? They blame God because
The message they’ve heard all their lives is that God causes terrible things to happen in our lives as part of His plan
So, here’s the question does God have a specific plan for your life?
And if so, is He forcing that plan onto your life.
Some of you, when you heard the question does God have a specific plan for your life immediately thought of a passage out of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Boom, mic drop Kent! What’s up! That passage, clearly says that God has a plan for our lives
This is what we put on cards for people graduating high school, for people entering into the workforce, and people who are going through terrible times of suffering…
What’s crazy to me is we never read verse 10 to see whom God is talking to…
Jeremiah 29:10-11 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
So, if you are a Jewish person who has been exiled into Babylon for 70 years, turns out this passage is actually for you.
This passage isn’t for us as a promise, it was a promise to
39 min
March 08, 2022 Week 1 – Death & Dumb Things
People can say pretty dumb things when someone close to you dies, this week, Kent examines one of those things and the idea behind it to help us get a clearer picture of how Christians should view death and how to help you learn to grieve.When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise notedBold = Slide textBold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slideBold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Over the past few years, we have all been dealing with grief at extraordinary rates. I don’t know very many people who have not experienced some kind of loss. I want to pre-warn you, today's sermon is about death and grief and I want to give you permission to be sad and to let yourself grieve today as I talk. We will even keep the lights low in the audience so you don’t have to let anyone see you…
I was thinking about the first time I really experienced loss in a meaningful personal way. It was my Grandma Crockett. My grandad had been laying in bed next to her and realized that she was not responding right. I started rubbing her chest hard and calling out for her to wake up. She wouldn’t open her eyes but was breathing. He called the ambulance and the next thing I knew we were all in her room standing over her. She had an aneurysm in the brain - blood leaking out and causing swelling. My family didn’t quite know what to do, and since I was a pastor, I was put in a chair up near her to talk and pray with her. I’ve been in a lot of rooms when people have died, but this was the first one with someone I had loved deeply. Someone who had been in my life for as long as I’d been alive.
I remember that night as I watched her take her terrible last breaths and her eyes opened looking at me feeling how wretched the whole thing was. It was the first funeral I had to play any part in as a pastor. And it was terrible…
There is a period in your life - a window of sorts, where people will typically experience the grief of the loss of aging grandparents, and I was now in that window. It wouldn’t be too many years later that my Grandpa Wagner would pass away.
I was a little more aware at that moment. He had been in the hospital and been dying - as nurses and doctors tell you to go tell him goodbye. And then miraculously he came back from it. Literally, within a day they didn’t know what to do and sent him home because he seemed so strong. I’ll never forget eating a sandwich with him in those days after and telling him, “Grandpa, you’ve been such a good grandpa, thank you. I love you!” Literally, a handful of days after going home and me eating that sandwich with him, he was back in the hospital and within hours slipped from this life with the terrible breathes of death.
And this is where I remember people started talking… They probably did with my grandma, but not to me… But with my grandpa, people started saying things…People say dumb things all the time when people die - if you don’t know what to say by the way, just say, “I’m so sorry for your loss”
But one of the most insidious things people say that betray’s a bad idea about God is:
“God must have needed him more than we did”
This sermon series is called,
Bad things Good Christians Believe
because there are things you can believe as a Christian that will literally shape the way you se
48 min
March 02, 2022Week 4 – Extending Grace
"We have just grown apart..." There are so many relationships that are in this place, what if there was a different way of framing what's going on and for you to find some victory? If your relationships seems like it's at a dead-end, then today's sermon is for you!When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"
All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted
Bold = Slide text
Bold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)
“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slide
Bold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored
[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: I want to play a new game with y’all called, “woo or boo” How it works is I’ll tell say something and you have to either woo or boo it. If you’re watching on Facebook, The thumbs-up is your “woo” and the wow face is your “boo”.
For instance, let’s try this
Duke Basketball :) [all boos]
UK Basketball :) [all woo’s]
Ok, so, now I want you to know, you can woo or boo on any of these next ones, I’ll give you one example here:
Mayonaise is better than miracle whip
Now, let’s get a little more serious, are you ready for this? I need to gauge where we are at in our relationships here with some woo or boo…The louder the better
Toothpaste should always be squeezed from the middle
Untucking your sheets at night and sticking a leg out is how a person regulates temperature when they sleep
It doesn’t matter how a towel is folded as long as it gets folded
Toilet paper should always go over not under
Replacing the toilet paper roll is the next person's responsibility - not the person who used the last piece
Socks belong in a hamper, not on the floor
Put the toilet seat down, you live; leave it up… time will tell.
Ha, I can see there is tons of consensus in this room and in your relationships.
ME: For Jenni and I, one of us will be like, “where do you want to go out to eat?” the other one will be like, “I don’t care” and then as we proceed to suggest restaurants, it will become apparent just how much they actually DO care about where we go to eat… Ha, you’ve felt this before, right?
Listen, no one’s relationship fails over how someone squeezes the toothpaste-what happens is the wonder of the relationship dies out and the toothpaste or the toilet paper becomes one more place where the two realize they don’t fit.
So, what do you do? Our culture says, you just give up and try to find someone who you are more compatible with.
Now, I need to be cautious and careful here, and so do you, because if you are in an abusive relationship, or your spouse is cheating on you or has abandoned you, what I’m going to talk about here is not for you, you need to make a different decision, but what I’m talking about
36 min
February 22, 2022Week 3 – Divorce-Proof Your Marriage
Marriage is TOUGH. So many people are on the edge of giving up, tune in this week to learn a different way and to find hope in the middle of your marriage. Not married? This is a great message to think through in anticipation of getting into a relationship. When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"
All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted
Bold = Slide text
Bold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)
“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slide
Bold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored
[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: My wife and I are madly in love with each other, but I have to tell you, not everything’s perfect. I’m reminded of this almost every single night. See we have this HUGE disagreement. She thinks the sheets should be tucked in at the bottom of the bed, and I think this is an abomination! Everyone knows that your leg is the temperature modulator of the body. I get in bed and I have to do the bicycle kick to get those wretched covers to unleash their grip - I’m pretty sure she’s started using velcro to keep them tucked.
Ha, now let me tell you something - I’m using the tuck vs. untuck as an example because honestly, it doesn’t expose too much of me to you. But I want to tell you something you all know
Little issues in a marriage get multiplied when big issues of broken communication, broken trust, and lack of care take front and center.
What I mean is this. Jen & I can joke and live with the tuck tension in our marriage without resolving it. But
If we allow too many issues, especially the big ones, to remain unresolved, eventually, even the little issues will be multiplied into big issues.
You’ve all seen this happen, right? -you used to love his sense of humor, now it drives you nuts he can’t take anything seriously -you’re so tired of everything she does - even the way she chews her food is pretentious -You’re tired of being his doormat, always in 2nd place to his friends, his truck, his hunting - you’ve picked up his socks for years and you're done!
Here’s the question…
How do you divorce-proof your marriage?
ILLUSTRATION: Years ago I did a sermon for my youth group using this title. I was talking about how most of my youth group had grown up with pictures of marriage that were less than ideal. It seems strange to teach a bunch of unmarried teens ideas to help them have successful marriages, but I thought, “what if they could learn a better way, now?”
So, I started talking and teaching. I was talking about how hard divorce is for them. I talked about parents fighting over which house the kids were going to be at for Christmas. The pain of feeling like your parents divorced because of you, etc. In the middle of preaching, my heart broke, because this poor girl, that everyone else thought “had it all,” got up from her chair, tears streaming from her face, and she ran out of the room… I asked an adult lady from our church to go after her and talk. But I had to ask the question
Why is divorce so painful? When most people in our world see it as a
40 min
February 15, 2022Week 2 – The Implications – Why Sex? Part 2
This is part 2 about the implications of having a biblical theology about sex. This week, Kent covers how we relate to each other and how we relate to our own identity. If you've ever struggled with sexual sin, you need to tune in today! When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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Sermon Notes Slide Key:
Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"
All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted
Bold = Slide text
Bold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e. - underlines, italics, etc.)
“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slide
Bold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored
[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to
OPENING: Previously on: “Kent preaches a sermon on sex” last week, if you were here, we talked about how God created sex to be something that united us to one another in one flesh. We talked about how this is actually the point biblically where you become married.
Genesis 2:23-24 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
We talked about how even science backs this up - brain scientists have studied what happens to our brains when we have sex. Our brains release a cocktail of hormones that make us feel good and feel connected to one another.
If you missed the sermon, you should really grab the podcast and give it a listen…
Sermon Part 2What does this mean for us? (The Implications of a biblical concept of sex)
Implication 1: The demotion of Sex by the world where God elevates
ILLUSTRATION: About 10 years ago I started to notice a trend when people came to me to get married. Most of them had had more than one sexual partner and all of them (except for one couple) were already living together and already having sex with one another. As a matter of fact, for some of them, they had been in this arrangement for a long time and had been having sex for the majority of their relationship..
This is a complete cultural shift from say 20-30 years ago. My guess is, most of you if you are under 45 - this is how you did it. You didn’t even know there might be reasons to do it any other way…
Let’s ignore for a moment the biblical idea that when you’ve had sex with a person, you have united yourself with them.
Let’s just think about it rationally.
If you have had sex with someone, let’s say after the 3rd or 4th date, or maybe even a couple of months in. You like them, they seem nice. They make you feel good and you decide to have sex. Now your brain is flooding itself with chemicals that are designed to cause you to want to recreate the act and specifically recreate it with that person. You have unintentionally flooded your brain with chemicals that are designed to help you desire and want your spouse.
Sex was meant to be God’s gift in the married life
It was meant to be the thing that draws a man and woman together and highlights their two fleshes becoming one.
But what happens instead? We become roommates who share our beds, a dog, and a washer and dr
53 min
February 07, 2022Week 1 – God’s Intention – Why Sex? Part 1
Our world is hyper-sexualized, why is that? This week, Kent looks at the created order when it comes to sex and helps us explore a theological way of understanding our experience that makes sense of both the science and the spirit.When you give at Harmony, you are investing in life change and are Advancing the Kingdom! GIVE TODAY, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give .
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OPENING ILLUSTRATION: When I was in middle school was the first time I had a friend that told me he had had sex. I remember it pretty vividly because none of us knew anything about that world and he told us everything there was to know. He told us that this girl had spent the night and they had sex…. He said, “she slept on the top bunk and slept on the bottom bunk, it was pretty awesome” Ha…
For a long time, I thought sex meant you were just sleeping in bunk beds…
It’s kind of funny, but I have a feeling that more of us have messed-up ideas about sex than we know.
Today, I want to take a stab at what sex is and what it was designed for and I want to do it in a different way
Normally, I build an argument in my sermon and then try and give you some kind of answer/resolution.
Today, I want to come more direct and break it into two parts. This is my Ted Talk on Sex…
Part IThe Creators Intention - Why Sex
[Next Week] Part 2What does this mean for us? - The Implications
so, let’s jump into this. I know some of you may not believe in a creator - you may believe we just evolved over time to be the way we are, but just for argument's sake, let’s look at what has been the traditional idea of Christianity and Judaism and see how it lines up with our actual science of physicality
In the book of Genesis, there is this description of God creating our physical reality
God creates man - Adam the first man- God forms together some clay into the shape of a man and breathes into it- muscles and sinew form, tendons and bones, brain matter fires up and man is born- God sends Adam on this safari to name animals and to allow him to see if there is any kinship between them- but it’s found that none of the animals can end the loneliness of Adam- Genesis 2 tells us the story of what God does next
Genesis 2:21-24 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[a] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[b] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
I want you to notice something, there is no marriage ceremony mentioned here, there is no “vow” taken
The created order was that man would leave his family of origin and unite in one flesh with a woman - what we would call a wife
44 min

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