Weapons Formed Against Us - 1 - Greed

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13–21 NIV

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

8/3/2025

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Communion

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Week 1: Communion

Back to School Prayer for Students and School Workers during Kid’s Time

Opening Prayer:

Generous God,

in abundance you give us things both spiritual and physical.

Help us to hold lightly the fading things of this earth

and grasp tightly the lasting things of your kingdom,

so that what we are and do and say

may be our gifts to you

through Christ, who beckons all to seek the things above,

where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Greed

Praying for a Miracle

I've been praying for a lot of miracles lately. Last month, we learned about disciples going and seeing Jesus' work, listening to him, and learning not just to pray, but to live a life transformed by our time, surrendering our lives to Jesus. It would be easy to go back to those scriptures and teachings and think that the biggest part of being a disciple of Jesus is not in what we do, but in how we perceive and experience what Jesus does in the world around us and in our own lives. There is both truth and wisdom in that. But I can tell you from experience... that sounds a lot easier than it is. Discipleship sounds simple, but living it is costly.

Playing follow the leader with Jesus is not just taking a stroll through the park. He picks up his cross, seeks after the lost, serves them, suffers with them, and oftentimes, fights their battles for them. So when we are truly going and seeing and listening and praying with Jesus, we will find ourselves in over our heads, given more than we can handle on a regular basis.

So I find myself praying for miracles every day. Sometimes I don't even know specifically what kind of miracle to pray for. I just know. I can't see in the darkness. I can't breathe underwater. And it looks like the light is going out and the tide is coming in. And even as I'm praying for miracles for myself, I know there are so many other people, so many of you, that have found yourselves even further from the light, and already struggling to keep your head above water. Many of those miracles I'm praying for are not even for me.

With all the schooling and training, the internships, and experience of pastoring churches for 20 years, I'd have things figured out a little bit better by now. Yes, the world might be a little bit crazier than it was all those years ago. Or maybe I'm just more aware. But my skills and knowledge have not grown to meet each new challenge. It's not more difficult than it was in the past. I've become more aware of all the weapons the enemy has forged against me. Those weapons used to knock me over and make me a stumbling block, to trip myself and others up, and to stop God's grace flowing through me.

In Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah told the people of Israel that they were under God's protection, no weapons formed against them would prosper. And if we can claim that same protection, which I believe we can, based on how Jesus taught us to pray, then that proves there are weapons that are formed against us. As we seek to follow Jesus faithfully, we have the choice to let them run and ruin our lives, or to live free of their power and persuasion.

And while I’ve prayed for many miracles—strength, healing, peace—there’s one silent battle that creeps in and quietly wages war against my soul: greed. Not always for money, but for control, for security, for more than I need. Greed isn’t always obvious. It isn’t just about bank accounts. It’s about how we cling to certainty, safety, or status instead of Jesus. Jesus echoes Isaiah’s promise, not with swords or shields, but with a prayer that reorients our desires: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Not abundance. Not barns. Just what we need.

Our scripture today tells us that greed is a weapon of the enemy that keeps us from following Jesus faithfully. Today, Jesus tells a story not just about a man with barns—but about all of us, when we trade dependence for control, and true treasure for trust.

Blessing

Luke tells us that a comment from the crowd prompted Jesus' teaching. Someone wanted to use Jesus' authority to settle a family dispute over inheritance between brothers. We could discuss Biblical laws about inheritance and the changing contexts as societies transitioned from tribal countryside to more urban and trade-based settings. However, Luke doesn't provide any context about this specific family, so we don't know if there was a valid reason for the request.

Jesus responds, "Who appointed me to be the judge between you and your brother?" While we know that one day Jesus will be the judge over everyone, as He evaluates our lives, issues like the one this man had with his brother may seem insignificant compared to everything else. He recognizes that the real danger isn’t just an unfair division of money. It’s the soul-destroying effect that wanting more can have on us. Instead of siding with one brother, He exposes the spiritual condition of both. Jesus emphasizes this point when He tells everyone, "Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Your life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

We need to recognize that the challenge of greed exists because God blesses us and gives us more than we deserve. The inheritance in dispute is not something the family worked for but was gifted to them. A better example of the blessing that precedes greed is found in the parable Jesus tells.

Jesus describes a rich man who had a ground yielding an abundant harvest. Most farmers don't plant significantly more than they can harvest because that would be wasted work. This man, however, had such an abundant crop that he was unprepared and had no place to store it. He was unexpectedly blessed with an abundance he did not work for or deserve. This blessing instantly changed the way he saw himself and his world. How do you respond when you receive more than you expected—money, recognition, opportunities, time? Do you turn inward to protect it, or outward to thank God and bless others?

Greed is not limited to the wealthy or those who work hard to gain as much as they can. It is an inappropriate response to God's blessing and is a temptation for anyone who receives anything from God. Greed often begins where gratitude ends. It’s the moment we stop saying, ‘Thank you, Lord,’ and start saying, ‘Now what else can I get out of this?

Planning

Greed is the wrong response to God's blessing of any kind. Greed is more than selfishness. It’s a form of functional atheism (living as though God isn’t needed). It is coming to God to get what we want and then walking away from Him. It is loving the gift more than the Giver. In the blink of an eye, we can go from surprise at a blessing to excitement about what that could mean for us. And then the feeling of our hands clenching tightly on that blessing so it doesn't slip away. We can get very creative in our plans for those blessings. Like the wealthy farmer, we may run through several designs of those bigger barns we want to build before all is said and done.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I've heard many people ask that question in casual conversation and give a lot of different answers. Many of them involve planning and the careful stewardship of that money. However, it's not often that people respond first by seeking God in prayer and in His word to find out what He desires them to do with that blessing.

And greed doesn't have to be about money. In the parable, it was crops. For some of you, there are years when you receive a blessing and abundance in your gardens. And I know for many of you, at least one of your responses of gratitude for that abundance is sharing that overflow with your friends, family, and neighbors. Some people are blessed with friends and family, and greed tempts them to keep them close and not let them get away.

Our world teaches us to use our minds and our wisdom, to plan, to get ourselves ahead. Just like the farmer in the parable, it teaches us to work to a place where we can kick back and not have to work so hard, to hold onto the blessing while you got it, and squeeze as much life out of it as you can. But life is not something we work for and earn. Every day of our lives is a gift from God. And no matter how hard we hold onto it, or how greedily we try to control it, it is entirely in God's hands, when it begins and when it ends.

The Reality Check

Greed is a weapon disguised as a tool. It looks like wisdom, but it’s forged to wound your faith. It keeps reminding us that we are in charge of our own lives, ultimately responsible for the choices that will make or break us and potentially affect everyone around us. It fills our lives with worries and anxiety about things that may be beyond our control, trying to prop us up into feeling like we are finally in control.

Greed is a weapon forged against us because all of that is an illusion. Every one of us has an expiration date, and the things or people we have will not matter when we reach the end of our road. From our perspective, we leave everything behind, and the only thing that matters is if we take that last step with Jesus or not.

Greed tempts us to grip tightly what God asks us to hold loosely. It tries to convince us that we can take all the blessings from God and manage them well enough to receive some final payout in the end, as if there is a check in the mail with our name on it. But it's not a paycheck — it's a reality check. What we do with the blessings we have —money, possessions, knowledge, skills, relationships —it all matters. We need God's help to use them well, according to His will, and we will probably need His forgiveness when we fail.

In the end, God will get the right blessings to the right people because He's the source of all and ultimately in control. There's nothing wrong with asking for God's blessing, praying for miracles, or praying for yourself and others because God wants to bless us abundantly, as shown when He sent Jesus into the world.

We're reminded of that blessing in abundance as Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples, recalling the miracles God had done to set them free from Egypt and bring them into the promised land. He then showed them how He came from heaven to set us free from sin and death, bringing us into eternal life in His kingdom. Our Heavenly Father did not hold back His love but gave us Jesus, blessing us abundantly. At the table, Jesus breaks the bread of abundance and pours the cup of eternal life. We don’t hoard this gift—we receive it freely, and we share it just as He shares it with us.

As we come to the table today, we turn away from greed and embrace gratitude, allowing God to manage His blessings in our lives so that everyone around us finds themselves blessed out of the abundance God has given us. We become the disciples Jesus calls us to be, and our lives become the miracles Jesus prayed for.

What blessing or miracle are you praying for today and how has God been answering your prayers?

What blessing has God given you in abundance and what will you do with it?

Will you grip it with greed, allowing greed to grip you, or open your hands in gratitude?

Closing Prayer

Lord, we come before You today and confess our brokenness. You have given us so much more than we need, and all You desire from us is our gratitude and trust that You will continue to provide for us. We turn our struggle over to You today and surrender our blessings to You in gratitude, knowing that the blessings and miracles You have for us today are just a glimpse of the life You have prepared for us with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.