In Case You Missed It: August 3, 2025 Sermon
The Weight of More
Series: What Moves You?
Gospel Reading: Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
1. Introduction – The Weight We Carry
We all carry weight in our lives. Some of it is necessary—the weight of love, of caring for family, of daily responsibility. And some of it… we choose.
Pause for a moment. What weight are you holding today?
There are things we grip because we hope they will keep us safe. There are things we reach for because we think they will make us whole.
Into that weight, Jesus speaks today—not with condemnation, but with love that sees the heart. A man steps out of the crowd: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” His words are urgent. Perhaps aching with hurt.
And Jesus turns the moment into an invitation: Do you trust me for what I give, or for who I am?
2. The Weight Jesus Saw
In Jesus’ world, inheritance carried more than money. It held family, covenant, and survival. The eldest son’s share was meant to sustain the household and keep the promise alive. This man asks not about covenant or family, only his share.
And Jesus gently hears beneath the words a heart burdened by weight.
“Watch out. Be on guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Greed is not simply wanting more. Greed bends our love until we hold too tightly. And Jesus names it—not to shame, but to free.
3. The Parable – The Weight of More
A rich person’s land produces abundantly. The barns cannot hold it. “Soul, you have plenty. Eat. Drink. Be merry.” But in that speech—no friends. No neighbors. No Kin-dom. Only self, building a small empire where safety comes from storage.
And God’s voice comes, not with anger, but with truth: “This very night your soul is required of you. Then who will own all this?”
The weight of more cannot hold a soul. Abundance without grace only grows heavier.
4. Our Own Barns
It is easy to see the rich fool and forget our own hearts. But we all build barns. Barns of savings and plans. Closets and storage. Reputation and success. Some of these are good. Many are needed. But when what we hold begins to hold us, the heart grows heavy.
When security becomes what we trust most, we quietly forget: it is God who holds our present and leads our future.
What if the barns we build are not just about things, but about where we place our trust? When we cling to wealth as safety, are we not longing for a promise that only God can give?
And even churches can feel this weight. Budgets, buildings, traditions—gifts when they serve the mission of God. But even good things can grow heavy when fear makes us grip too tightly.
And yet, grace is at work here among us.
When you give so a child can start the school year with a backpack, or offer your time and prayers for the Vermont mission, you show what happens when barns open and become tables. These are quiet but clear signs that God’s abundant grace is flowing outward in this community.
5. Grace and Release
The gospel is not “have less.” The gospel is “live free.”
Wesley called it justifying grace: the love of God that resets the center of the heart. When grace works in us, the heart grows simple. Not life without things, but life without the weight of things. Grace does not pry open our hands; it fills them with love until we can release.
Surplus becomes seed. Wealth becomes gift. Our barns become tables. Being rich toward God is not about how much we keep. It is about how much of us belongs to God.
6. The Kin-dom at the Table
When life offers the choice between the wealth of this world and the Kin-dom of God, grace invites us to choose the Kin-dom. This is not a single moment but a daily rhythm—in our homes, in our work, in the life we share as a church.
Here, at this table, we see the answer. This bread and cup are not treasures to store, but gifts to receive. Here the weight of more is lifted. Here grace becomes enough.
And here we are reminded: our barns cannot save us. Not the ones in our houses. Not the ones in our churches. This table teaches us to trust God more than storage, to build the Kin-dom more than our barns. Not out of fear of losing, but out of joy in sharing.
Live lightly. Live generously. Live rich toward God.
Reflection Questions
1. What weight am I carrying today—and how is it shaping the way I live, love, or trust?
Jesus doesn’t simply challenge our possessions, but the burden they place on the heart.
What are you holding onto, and how is it holding you?
2. Where have I built “barns” in my life—and what promise am I hoping they will keep?
We all store something—plans, savings, reputations.
What are you relying on to secure your future? Can only God truly offer that promise?
3. How might grace be inviting me to loosen my grip and live more freely?
John Wesley described justifying grace as the love that re-centers our hearts.
Where might God’s grace be shifting your trust, your habits, or your hopes?
4. How can I help my church become a place that opens barns and builds tables?
Every church carries its own forms of storage—budgets, buildings, traditions.
How can you be part of turning those into open, generous spaces of grace?
5. What does this table (communion) teach me about living “rich toward God”?
The table of Christ is not for storing, but for sharing.
How does this bread and cup invite you to live with less fear and more joy?