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Harmony Christian Church episodes

February 01, 2022Week 5 – Dealing with Anger
If you've ever struggled with anger, then today's message is for you, tune in for the next hour to be encouraged and grow in your relationship with Jesus. 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: It was a few months after my dad had died suddenly - an event that rocked my world. Two weeks after his death we had our third child - Parker - who brought a lot of joy into our lives, but I was still deeply grieving my dad’s loss and didn’t know how to express it. I was getting angry at stuff all the time. Finally, it came to a head. I was trying to feed Peter and Piper who were like 3 & 2 at the time. Parker was crying and Jenni was out grocery shopping or something. I was trying to get Piper to eat her sandwich I had made for her and she wasn’t having any of it - which is fine - she was just a baby. But I was so angry on the inside, and thankfully had the presence of mind to leave the situation. I went into the kid's bedroom and punched the floor 3 or 4 times as hard as I could and I just stood there and wept…
Some of you know this level of anger. For me it was a new experience, I was typically a pretty calm level headed guy - but that loss triggered something in me
WE: We all experience anger at some point…-It may be anger over injustice-Anger over a spouse that broke your confidence and trust-Anger over being bullied at school
Anger is not a wrong or bad emotion, persistent unresolved anger is deadly.
ILLUSTRATION: 2 Samuel 2 & 3 tell a deadly story about persistent anger. It was during the time that King David from Israel’s history was establishing his Kingdom. The nation of Israel had divided over whether to follow David or not. David’s men were in pursuit of Abner (Saul’s head general) his men. There were three brothers who were the leaders of David’s army. Joab, Abashai, and Asahel.
David’s men had Saul’s men on the run. Asahel was chasing Abner. Abner kept warning him that if he kept trying to catch him that he would regret it. Finally, in a deft move, Abner thrust the end of his spear through Asahel and killed him. Everyone in David’s army walked by Asahael's body and stopped at it. Joab, Asahel's brother was infuriated.
Time passed and Abner’s started to realize that he was on the wrong side of history trying to stay loyal to Saul’s family. He made a plan to throw his weight behind David’s bid for kingship and essentially give him the throne. Abner had a meeting with David while Joab was away. Joab’s anger had been seething now for some time over the death of his brother. So, when he found out what had happened, he called Abner back for a secret meeting. In the room, all by themselves, Joab brought Abner near and stabbed him in the belly with a knife to be left to die
We don’t know exactly how this went down, but we do know from another incident in Joab’s life what it might have
47 min
January 19, 2022Week 3 – Forgiveness, Asking for it
Jesus says some shocking things, one of them has to do with people who are angry with you. Tune in to learn why He says what He says and how it can affect eternity. 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: In the late '80s early '90s there was this weird period where silk shirts were cool. My brother was in high school at the time and he had saved up money to buy a silk shirt. He would tuck it in and be all poofy with feathered hair. He was cool. He’s 4 years older than me and I must have been in 6th grade. Because I remember him sitting on the couch watching TV and eating spaghetti. He said something to me that set me off… Have you ever had one of those moments where you “broke?” I broke. I was like, “I’ve had all I can take and I can’t take no more!” I walked straight over to him, grabbed the plate of spaghetti he was eating, and flipped it up onto his brand new silk shirt. Lol. Have you ever seen the fires of hell? I saw them that day in my brother’s eyes. I took off running outside because I knew my life was over…
Ha! And Jesus says this…
Mt 5:21-22a 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment.
Lol, wish I’d have known to throw that one in his face! “in your face!”
Jesus said being angry with your brother is the same as murder…
If you read this section of the scripture, Jesus is saying this about a lot of things…
You think adultery is bad - if you lust after someone you’ve already committed it in your heart
You’ve heard take revenge - an eye for an eye, I’m telling you, let people slap you around
Jesus is illustrating how people who live in the Kingdom of God will live and operate differently from those in the Kingdom of the world.
Now, we’ll come back to this particular passage about Anger in a minute, but I need to give you a quick primer on this whole section:
We call this
The sermon on the mount
Jesus started preaching the good news
Good News: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near”-could literally have a whole sermon series on this
and now he’s initiating the Kingdom-He calls disciples - starts calling followers-He enacts the Kingdom - starts healing people, casting out demons - He is showing the Kingdom of God has come down to earth
It is in this context of the Kingdom that Jesus teaches the sermon on
41 min
January 12, 2022Week 2 – Forgiving
How in the world do you forgive when someone has hurt you so bad? If you've ever struggled with that, tune in to learn some very helpful practical things to put you on a path towards freedom in forgiveness. 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
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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:
Man, a few years back, I got really sick - like, carry a bowl or a trashcan with you everywhere you go sick. I was just miserable, ready to try anything. Jenni had posted on Facebook and some sick individual out to get me told her about some essential oil that was supposed to help people when they had nausea. I really think it was Eucalyptus oil. They told Jen to put a few drops in some water and have me drink it. I was delirious at this point and was willing to try whatever witches brew concoction these people had dreamed up. Jenni made me a batch of it and I drank it all, it was TERRIBLE! The whole time I was like, what am I doing…. You can tell I’m not bitter, right :). I down this stuff and Jen is like, [pats hands together] “that’s that, you should be better now…”. Ha. I was. not. Better! All of the sudden, I felt my stomach muscles tighten. I grabbed my bowl. I’m not joking, for the rest of the day, every time I would wretch all I could taste was that terrible essential oil coming back up through my throat, mouth, and nose. It had literally flavored my entire experience…Isn’t that exactly what carrying unforgiveness is like? Every time anyone even gets close to whatever it is that you are unwilling to forgive that you spew a little something that’s flavored with that unforgiveness?
-Your mom has ALWAYS belittled you and then expected you to take care of her and now anyone has any kind of expectation of you - you either want to run or explode
-Your boss you can’t stand him simply because he reminds you too much of your father
-Your wife is vacant and unavailable and you turn to other things just to try and punish her in your mind
-You have been used up by men, men you’ve been close to and now you see every advance as a means to manipulate you and won’t allow anyone to get close I could keep going if you’d like…Unforgiveness is a toxin to the soul it poisons and taints the waters of relationships and keeps us from finding healing and restoration. How to know if you are carrying unforgiveness? Look for these signposts in your life
Anger
Indifference - “I don’t care what happens to me or anyone else”
Resignation - giving up
Bitter
If you find these and probably others in your life - you
46 min
January 04, 2022 January 2, 2022 – Brian Stubenrauch
Join us as we hear an amazing sermon from our guest speaker, missionary Brian Stubenrauch. 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 .
35 min
January 04, 2022 December 26, 2021 – Dean Rase
Do you like to Golf? Join us this morning as Dean Rase brings a very unique lesson on Jesus and golf. 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
39 min
December 21, 2021Week 3 – God Working Christmas for You
God went through more than most of us know to work Christmas in you. Tune in today to see the Christmas story through a whole new lens! 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: One of my favorite parts of getting new glasses is bringing things into focus.
I can remember as a kid the first time I got glasses I was riding in the back of our station wagon, looking out the window. I could see for the first time what the street signs said, I could see every detail in the leaves, the veins, and the colors. I could read the stop signs. It was incredible. It was before seat belts and I just laid down and looked out the windows being amazed at the world I saw for the first time.
I would like to try, today, to bring Christmas into focus in a way you may have never seen it before.
Paul makes this statement in the book of Galatians
Galatians 4:4-7 (ESV)4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
When the fullness of time had come…
ILLUSTRATION: We never had the experience with any of our kids of having Jenni’s water break and us having to rush to the hospital to have them. All of them she was induced - we chose the time and day. But I still remember when those days came. I can remember walking into the hospital to fire alarms going off and no one acting like anything was happening. I can remember driving through a blizzard just to get to the hospital. I can remember so many details from each of their births. I remember the night before, the anxiety of everything changing, and the moment they entered the world that all the anxiety disappeared as you held this beautiful life in your arms.
That’s what the fullness of time is like. Everything in all of history, ready for God to enter the world.
“oh really Kent, like what?”
Well, I’m glad you asked… Let me just tell you a few of the things that were poised for this moment in history…
The Pax Romana
September 2, 31 BC Octavian - who would become the emperor of Rome and assume the name of Augustus. On that date, he won a decade-long rivalry with Mark Antony & Cleopatra.
From this point on Rome begins to move towards an unheard of 200-year long peace that officially begins in 27BC
For 200 years before this period - the Romans had constantly been at war.
Now, as all of history turns towards this one moment - Peace rules…
The Viae Romanae
Have you ever heard the phrase,
36 min
December 14, 2021Week 2 – The Great Enemy of the Spiritual Life
Christmas season is in full swing - sometimes it's more hustle than bustle. This week Kent talks about the danger of a hurried life and invites us all to lay down what we are carrying. If you need encouragement, be sure to tune in and get it! 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 noticed something this year and last - people getting ready for Christmas before Thanksgiving…
What’s that about?
I have a suspicion of what it’s about
We all want joy in our lives
We are dying for joy
We are worn out, stressed out, anxiety-ridden, end of our ropes tired!
You know what TIRED stands for don’t you?
Take Inventory, Re-evaluate Everything, Dummy!
Ok, I made that up… Ha, and I couldn’t think of a “D” Ha!
-it might not be the most encouraging thing in the world
But I think it’s why we are all craving Christmas-because Christmas is a time when we all pretend everything is ok
-We manipulate our kids into being nice
-We put up fake trees that will never turn brown-
We put lights up everywhere to brighten every corner-and we listen to nostalgic songs that make us forget we are living in the middle of the great depression
Do you know the problem with the joy or rest we long for with Christmas?
We settle for fake rest over true rest.
and I think it’s because none of us really know how to get rest-Our marriage is hanging on by a thread
-Our kids are out of control normally
-Our internal world is fried
What’s the answer?
ILLUSTRATION:John Orteberg who is an author and Pastor tells a story about a conversation he had with a guy named Dallas Willard - whom I’ve quoted before.
Orteberg had just taken a job at a large well-known church that was known for working its people hard.
Orteberg asked Willard if there was anything he should do as he took the job.
Willard paused after the question, thought, and then said these words, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry, hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life of today” -Dallas Willard
did you hear his response? It wasn’t you need to do more, be more, give more, it was your need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry.
Reminds me of a story from the Gospels
Luke 10:38-42 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has l
33 min
December 07, 2021Week 1 – What Matters Most to You?
Life at Christmas is crazy, this week Kent helps us look at what matters most to us and reorganize around that. 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: Life at Christmas time is crazy. Because we are all being pulled in a million directions. I mean you’ve got Christmas parties to go to, Christmas concerts to attend, and Hallmark movies to watch…
Ha
But seriously, don’t you sometimes feel like you’re like one of those stretchy sticky hands getting pulled back and at some point, you end up snapping?
What’s going on with that? Why do we all let ourselves get wagged around by the craziness of this season?
I can’t prove it, but I think it’s because a lot of us have this feeling that we “have” to.
I have to be ____________ for my kids
I have to be ____________ for my spouse
I have to be ____________ for my work
I have to be ____________ for my friends
And all that “have to” is driving you crazy…You’re gonna have to be committed if you’re not careful :)
Can I implore you as we get started this season, to figure out a way to find some slow in the crazy that is Christmas?
‘But Kent, how could I do that?’“I’m already booked out through to next year…”
Let me show you, the problem is not with your kids, spouse, work, friends, or anyone else, the problem is with the expectation you’re placing on yourself.
Let me ask you this one thing
What does God need from you this season?
Seriously, I want you to slow down enough to ask that question. Actually, we are going to pause for a moment, I’ve asked Tony to come out with a guitar and just play some music under this part of the sermon. I want you to pray.
I want you to take EVERYTHING that is stressing you out and bring it to God. List it for Him. When you feel like you’ve hit the end, turn your palms over to signify that you’ve given it to him and then ask Him, “God, what do you need from me this season?”
Let me ask you a question, if the people who are closest to you were to write a paragraph about the activity of your life, would it reflect the kind of pause and peace you just found by releasing what’s going on in your life to Jesus?
It’s so easy to let the “have to’s” drive our behavior - but those things are not God.
-You have responsibilities, don’t hear me saying don’t take care of responsibility.
What I’m saying is we all need to change the voice that is driving us.
SCRIPTURE: I want to read you a paragraph that was written about a guy in the bible who had chosen a different voice to follow. Listen as Paul talks about one of his closest
28 min
December 01, 2021Week 4 – Getting Practical About Being Generous
This week Kent gets practical about being Generous and shares three steps you can take to reshape your finances and put yourself in a position to Give, Save, & Spend. Get free budgeting and financial help by visiting harmonychurch.cc/resources/#finance. 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:
Years ago Jenni and I were at this conference. I had woke up early in the morning and was spending time with Jesus. I was sitting in this hotel room and something I read, I can’t remember what, hit me. I remember what hit me even though I can’t remember the passage. It was this idea:
We were so busy funding the kingdom of MasterCard and Visa that we had nothing left to fund the Kingdom of God...
See, we had talked about how we felt called by God to do some things, but they seemed impossible - how do you do that?
Maybe you're there with me? Jenni and I decided that day to take drastic action. We literally went home, we sold our house (moved into a dump), started paying off student loan debt and credit cards. We were ruthlessly eliminating debt.
Here’s my guess, throughout this series, my guess is that there are a lot of you who are sitting there going, “Kent, I’d like to be more generous, but when it gets to the end of the month, we’ve got nothing left.”
I get it. How do you be generous when you feel like you're on financial life support?
Proverbs 13:1616 All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.
My worst fear would be for you to talk into the act of being generous in a foolish way. So,
Today, I want to give you practical steps to help you get on a path to Generosity
The first step on the path to generosity is to get your mindset about money right.
Money is a tool, not the goal. Getting this straight in your thinking makes ALL the difference
It’s why Jesus said Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
This is why I, personally, have never known a wealthy person who is not also a generous person.-because for these people money is a tool to be used to live for God rather than living for the money.
That’s the first step to generosity because if you don’t get your mindset right, you can easily get the wrong priorities in life.
The second step on the path to generosity is to make a plan and plan how to use what you make.
The author of Proverbs says Proverbs 24:27 27 Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.
The point is get the right things in the right order.
Imagine a homesteader out on the prairies in the Spring, the time to be planting their crops. The proverb is saying, get yo
45 min
November 22, 2021Week 3 – Measuring Cups
Thanksgiving is this week, what are you thankful for? This week we explore how our input and output can affect one another as we measure what we give in this life. 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:
Several years back we were at Jenni’s family for Thanksgiving. It was a big year because it was the first year Jenni’s mom really started entrusting others to do some of the cooking. Jenni comes from a family of 6 kids and when you start adding grandkids in, it’s like feeding an army. So, her mom had finally given up trying to do it all herself. The men took on one of the turkeys, Jenni baked some delicious pies and her sisters said they would make the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole (both of which things they had no clue how to make).
Now here’s the deal there are 2 important things to know about this: 1. I can be pretty convincing when I want to be and 2. I don’t like either of those two things. So, of course, I did what everyone would do in that situation. I started telling them how much of everything to put in. I kept being like, “oh yeah, add more of that…” “Put a little cinnamon in”. I had no clue what I was saying… it was terrible… The sweet potato casserole tasted like sugary gooey goodness to me and was overflowing out of the pan… The green beans were an oniony mess
I was like, “maybe next time ask someone who likes those things!”
Here was the problem, my measurements were all wrong… It’s one thing to get your measurements wrong with something like green bean casserole - no one's going to eat it anyway :)
But what about with things that matter?
The question is, what happens when your inputs and outputs get all messed up?
WE:-You’ve seen this happen with all kinds of things- You’ve seen when a teacher gets tired of putting in the extra and just does the bare minimum -you’ve had those times when you get home from work and just don’t want to give to your kids - don’t want to play catch, or get down and wrestle on the floor
These are all those points where our inputs and outputs, our measurements, get messed up.
I want to take you into a passage from the Old Testament where God is going to address an input & output issue
I want you to pay attention to 2 things
How important God makes this issue
Why He thinks it so important
Malachi 3:6-10 6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
I love this, it takes a little bit of parsing, but God is saying, the reason that Jacob (this means the Israelites - God is using Jacob’s fleshly name, I think to signify how far they have retreated from what they were supposed to be). He’s saying, “the only reason y'all are still around
49 min

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