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The Rich Fool

8/5/2025

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Text: Luke 12:13-21
Service Date: 8.3.25
Sermon:

They say money doesn’t buy happiness. Even so, it seems that money is often the driving force of our passions and our careers. Money seems to be our primary motivator in life. We need money therefore we chase money. We need money therefore it seems that we devote ourselves to our money.
In today’s passage Jesus shares the parable of the rich fool. On the surface of this parable, we see a very rich man storing up his treasure into large barns. I believe that this indicates the fear that money can cause in us. Even though the subject of the story had plenty of money, he feared what his life would be like without the money. This is why he is storing up the wealth that he has.
When we look at the story a little further, the rich man in Jesus’ story died before he could spend what was stored in his big barns. The man never got to experience a life of peace even though he had enough money to bring peace to his mind.
They say that money doesn’t buy happiness. What should our source of happiness be? According to the Dalai Lama, “The basic source of all happiness is a sense of kindness and warm-heartedness towards others.” The Dalai Lama continues, “The key to happiness is peace of mind.”
The truth is: we are called to care for our community.
Jesus challenges us to think beyond earthbound goals and to use what we have been given for his kingdom. Faith, service, and obedience are the ways to grow rich according to God’s kingdom values.
We are meant to use our resources to provide for our families while at the same time using our resources to improve the lives of the community around us.
While planning for retirement is wise but neglecting life after death is disastrous. If you accumulate wealth only to enrich yourself, with no concern for helping others, you will enter eternity empty handed.
I believe that everyone in this room would agree on the principle of being compassionate for other’s needs, this way of thinking is not shared by a large portion of our society, especially the extremely rich. Often, those holding majority of our country’s wealth seem to believe that the more money that they have the happier they will be. It seems that they equate wealth with value.
Does our wealth add to our value? Or does our compassion and tender-heartedness towards others display our value?
I believe that when we focus on developing our relationship with God, we show that we value the lives of our neighbors more than we hold on to the wealth that we have accumulated. Referring to the parable, Jesus taught that our relationship with God was far more important than the wealth that had been stored.
Our faith will be on display when we are tender-hearted and compassionate toward those that need love and compassion. We are called to serve God by serving others. We are not called to serve God through storing up wealth and keeping it to ourselves.
While storing up wealth was seen as the rich man fearing going without, I believe that showing empathy and compassion displays the value that we hold for all human beings.
That is what God has called us to: showing empathy, love and compassion to all human beings. We are called to value people over they we value the wealth that we could accumulate.
Let us be people who value people over profit.
Let us pray:

Conclusion: Let us be people who value people over profit.

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Spiritual Fullness in Christ

8/5/2025

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Text: Colossians 2: 6-15
Service Date: 7.27.25
Sermon:

If our current situation has taught us anything, it’s that people are searching for something to give their lives meaning, purpose, and direction. Every person that we encounter, every person that we meet, all of them are looking for purpose and meaning.
It seems that our collective spirit is crying for connection and love. Our collective spirit seems to be trying to find hope in a time of turmoil.
In our passage for this service, we see the writer of Colossians reminding the congregation that their purpose, hope and meaning lies within the spiritual fullness that we have in Christ.
Let us remember that the Colossian church began to believe that God would not have come to earth as Jesus, a true human being in bodily form, because they believed that only what is spiritual is good and all matter, including the body, is evil. This is why it was so important for the author of this letter to remind the church of Jesus’ deity.
I believe that it is also important for us to evaluate our beliefs and hang on to the beliefs that we are fully convinced of. When we evaluate our beliefs, we are also contextualizing our personal experiences within our faith. We are trying to figure out where it all fits together.
While I believe that it is highly valuable to evaluate our faith from a variety of viewpoints and perspectives, after we evaluate our faith to our fullest extent, we must hang on to what we believe to be true. We must hang on to the beliefs that support our purpose and meaning. We must hang on to our hope.
Looking at today’s scripture, the author asks us to remain rooted and strengthened in our faith while we overflow with thankfulness. My question is: What does it look like to overflow with thankfulness, especially in times such as these? To answer this, we must look to Jesus.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, it seemed that he overflows with thankfulness. We can make that assumption that he cared for those that needed it. Looking through scripture, it’s evident that Jesus was fully connected to his heavenly father. I believe that it is through this spiritual fullness that Jesus’ expresses his thankfulness.
It is through our love and care that we express to those around us that we express our thankfulness to God, the Father. When we show love and care to all people, we show our thankfulness to the God who created all people.
We are often called to evaluate our faith and consider our beliefs from a variety of points of views, but one thing that we can truly hold on to: Jesus loved all people, and he asks us to do the same. It is through the love that Jesus shows that he was able to express his thankfulness to his heavenly father. It through that same love that we can show our thankfulness to God, the Father.
Let us pray:

Conclusion: Let us be people who remain connected to the Holy Spirit through our loving actions and acceptance of all people.

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The Rich Fool

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

Anthony K. Giesick

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