Harmony Christian Church Harmony Christian Church

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.



----------------



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 dedicated to the Torah (the Old Testament).



b



Rabbis and Synagogues will become a thing.  Judaism as we know it finds its root in the Babylonian exile.



b



The people finally are met with the dilemma, do we obey the covenant with God, or disappear from history? 



b



They seek to obey the  covenant



But even this will become corrupt with rule-following to abandon the God of the covenant…



This moment in history - terrible moment…



Imagine it.  One night you are sleeping in your beds, you’ve been comforting your children all night long telling them it will be alright, the city walls of Jerusalem are strong.  They finally went to sleep but you have stayed up all night listening to the fighting men whispering in the streets as the Babylonian fires grow outside the walls.  The next day attack occurs.  and by

📣 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.



------



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 does.  He runs to Egypt to hide from Solomon…  He leaves everything behind….



Solomon will die…  His son Rehoboam we will call him Reh…  He will go up to Schechum (this is about halfway up Israel - if your arm is Israel it’s your elbow pit).  All the people of Israel will come to hear from him and anoint him as King.  They send Jeroboam who they have called back from Egypt to go speak to Rehoboam.  Listen to what they say to him…



1 Kings 12:3-4



3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:&nb

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.



----------------



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.



b



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



b



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…



b



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.



b



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…)




Protecting your relationship by guarding your heart…




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?  does it start when I open the package of Oreos? is it when I see the Oreos in my pantry?  Is it when I unpackage the Oreos from the grocery bags?  Does it start when I stand in front of them in the grocery store?  



Protect your relationship by not arousing or awakening love



Song of Songs 2:7 (3:5, 8:4)



7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you



    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:



Do not arouse or awaken love



    until it so desires. 



The speaker is saying “Don’t allow yourself to go there…”



It reminds me of what James says…



James 1:14-15



14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.



ILLUSTRATION:



Let’s be honest, you have grown up in a world that does not honor protecting your eyes, your heart, and your relationship.  Most of you were likely exposed to pornography at a young age, and many of you might allow your mind to stray into seriously dangerous waters fantasizing about people who are not your spouse. 



You are opening a can of worms

🙏 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.



-------------



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…



b



The Psalms




150 poetic songs and prayers traditionally attributed to King David and other authors.



It covers a wide range of emotions and themes, including praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, and wisdom.



Divided into five main sections, each concluding with a doxology or a hymn of praise.



Many psalms are written in response to specific situations or events, such as battles, illness, persecution, or times of national crisis.



Key themes: the sovereignty of God, importance of worship, nature of righteousness, need for repentance, and the hope of salvation.



Genre: praise, lament (sadness), royal psalms, thanksgiving, imprecatory (asking for God’s judgment), and wisdom.




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 of their emotions.



b



In general, the Psalms are where human emotions are brought before God.  The rest of the Bible is God being brought before us…



It is a psalm that Jesus cries out on the cross…



Psalm 22:1



1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?



    Why are you so far from saving me,



    so far from my cries of anguish?



It is the Psalms that teach us that even in our dark moments God is close to us…



Psalm 23:1



The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.



These two Psalms are positioned right back to back and are almost a cry and an answer…



I find myself quoting this passage over and over again, the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing…  I lack nothing…



The Psalms can give you words to bring your heart to God.



b



Proverbs & Ecclesiastes



Proverbs: