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📣 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 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.



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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…)




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.



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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




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.



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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.



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Proverbs & Ecclesiastes



Proverbs:

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 that David anoints as King…



as David is nearing death he gave this challenge to Solomon, I want you to listen to it…



1 Kings 2:2-3



2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go



David is reminding Solomon of the covenant - live for God, He will bless you.  Don’t life for Him and you are cursed already…



Solomon will start out well.  One of the early things he will do is go to Gibson and present 1,000 burnt offerings to God.  This is 1,000 different sacrifices - -animals burnt.  We’re talking a major operation to slaughter so many animas.  You are talking hundreds of people putting

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.  



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Even when he messed up, David would turn back to God…



one of the most famous stories of David was from when he was a young man before he had blood on his hands and before he’d seen enough life to know better…



You have probably heard this story before.  



David was delivering food to his brothers who were fighting in the then King's army, Saul…



Israel had drawn up battle lines with their foes, the Philistines.



You HAVE to get your mind out of the little kid books you've seen about these stories.  These fierce battles warn men.  There is dust in the air, the stench of sweat and campfires.  



One minute these guys are prodding one another on, the next they are talking about back home.  Picture any movie you’ve seen with military men waiting…  They are waiting because neither army wants to go out and attack.  The Philistines keep sending out their champion, a giant of a man - Goliath -