Sermon Starter: Who's That in the Spotlight?

Jesus told the parable of the rich farmer. In the all-too-familiar story, the farmer uses a bumper crop to bump God out of the spotlight. The high yield came from the soil, but the farmer takes the credit. “What shall I do?” he asks. “I have no place to store my crops.” (Luke 12:17, NIV)

With God checked into the shadows, the rich farmer famously plans to tear down his perfectly fine barns and build massive, state-of-the-art ones in their place. He smugly dreams about when he’ll “have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry.” (Luke 12:19, NIV)

Truth is, we’re all this person, too. We’re prone to making everything about ourselves—our accomplishments, our family, our wealth.

But Jesus calls us to be “rich toward God.” True wealth is making everything about God in the first place, instead of ourselves. Sound like a stretch for you? That’s because it is! But there is a person who can take everything about you and make it all about God. You know this person, too. His name is Jesus. And only He can put God in the spotlight for you.

Visit The Barnabas Foundation website for a sermon outline and summary!