This sermon was preached on Sunday 10th August 2025.

Bible Reading: Luke 12:32-34

You can tell it’s the summer holidays at the moment. There are several clues that give it away. First, people are coming and going from Sunday to Sunday, depending on who is on holiday. Second, people seem much more relaxed, indicating that the holidays have provided a break or at least eased some of the pressure from daily life. And finally, some of you have even returned from holidays looking either tanned, sun-kissed, or sunburnt. Oh, the summer holidays are truly good times.

I often recall wonderful memories from the summer holidays I had growing up. One thing I remember about the summer holidays is that, in between the weeks that my parents were off work with us for the holidays, my sister and I would spend our days at our Dadi’s house (Dadi is the Indian term for a paternal grandmother). She lived on the street behind us in Southampton.

We loved spending our holidays with Dadi. We would play in the garden, run around the house, play with toys, and most weeks, she would take us into town on the bus. We would head to the high street and catch the bus into Southampton city centre. Once we were there, we would visit all the classic Dadi shops. We would start at Marks and Spencer’s, then go to John Lewis, then Next, and maybe Debenhams if we were feeling adventurous. On a good day, we would take Dadi to Toys R Us or Sports Direct to explore more of our interests. Then we would top it off with lunch at either McDonald’s or KFC before heading home. Oh, we had such good fun with Dadi.

Now, one of the great things about going out into town with your grandmother or any grandparent is that they like to spoil you. As a kid, you quickly learn that if you go out with your grandparents, it’s like having a golden ticket. You don’t worry about how much the new toys cost or how much it costs to get an extra milkshake to go with your Happy Meal. Why? Because you are with your grandparents, and you know that you don’t have to pay for anything or worry about your parents saying it is too expensive or that you don’t need another toy. You know that your grandparents will give you anything you want as long as it’s not too ridiculous. For example, you know that you are not going to get the trampoline from the Argos catalogue, as that’s too big for the garden and you can’t take it home on the bus, but you know that you can probably get a new football, a new toy car, new shoes, and a full works trip to McDonald’s. I knew this about our trips out with Dadi, and I got plenty of new things on our trips out, and I still wear some of the clothes to this day. Going out with your grandparents is the best, and I loved our times with Dadi across the summer holidays.

Now, as an adult, my trips to the shops are very different. Instead of excitement, I feel trepidation and fear about how much everything will cost. How much will the food cost? How much petrol will £40 buy me today? How much electricity did I use this month? It’s not like the carefree days of going out with Dadi. It’s different now. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to go back to those days with Dadi? Wouldn’t it be lovely to live with that carefree attitude, knowing that everything is covered, that you can have everything?

But what if I told you that even as an adult, everything is still covered? That you don’t need to worry about anything? You can still have everything that is reasonable (e.g., no extra-large trampolines) without your grandparent needing to be there. How? Because our heavenly Father gives us everything.

In our Gospel reading from Luke 12, we join in a series of teachings that Jesus was giving to a crowd. Throughout these teachings in Luke 12, Jesus has a catchphrase he is using on repeat, and that is: ‘Do not worry.’ Jesus is telling the crowds not to worry, and he outlines many different reasons why they should not worry or fear.

Then, in verse 32, Jesus says: ‘Do not be afraid, [do not worry,] for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.’ Just before this teaching, Jesus had told the crowd not to worry about food or clothes because God is going to provide them with these things; he has these things covered. Then, Jesus goes a step further and says, ‘Do not worry, God the Father will give you more than just food and clothes; he will give you the kingdom.’

What is a kingdom? A kingdom is the dominion of a King or Queen. It encompasses everything that falls under their rule. Our monarchy no longer holds power as it once did before the advent of democratic government, but to be King of a land meant to be the absolute ruler overseeing all. Everything in the kingdom was under your jurisdiction. However, unlike the confines of an earthly kingdom such as the UK, Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of God. This is the God who is the King of Kings and King of all creation, and His kingdom covers everything.

So, when Jesus says that God is pleased to give you the kingdom, it means that God is delighted to give you everything that he has for you. And if God is giving us everything, then we don’t need to worry about providing for ourselves. It’s like going out shopping with grandma, and you know that everything is covered by grandma. Just as Dadi wanted to give us everything we wanted at the shop, God our Father is pleased to give us everything in his kingdom.

To clarify at this point, God is delighted to give us everything in his kingdom, which is different from everything that we want. We know that sometimes we want things that are not in keeping with God’s kingdom. We want the trampolines that don’t fit in the garden, so to speak. So, what is God’s kingdom, and what is in it? God’s kingdom is a reflection of who he is as King. God’s kingdom encompasses everything that reflects who God is. God’s kingdom is full of love, kindness, compassion, justice, mercy, forgiveness, abundance, and grace. When God gives us his kingdom, he is giving us the things that come from him.

Jesus said, ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.’ So, if God gives us the kingdom, we need not fear or worry about how everything will come together. That doesn’t mean we stop going to work or empty our bank accounts on a lavish spending spree. But what it means is that God will make everything work out for our good. We don’t need to depend on what we bring; we can depend on what God gives to us freely. You can trust in God like you trust a grandparent taking you out for the day.  

Furthermore, if God will give you the kingdom, Jesus says: ‘Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them. For your heart will always be where your riches are.’

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you must sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, although sometimes that is what God asks of us. The main point Jesus is trying to get across is that everything apart from God and His kingdom is not worth having because it will disappoint us or fade away in the end. Our earthly money and riches cannot provide us with everything we need. We were talking about this last week as well. We cannot expect our earthly riches to gain us the heavenly treasures that only come from God. It is only God and the things of His kingdom that will satisfy all our wants and needs forever.

The challenge Jesus presents to us is, are we going to put our hope in our earthly riches and powers, which will fade, or are we going to put our hope in God’s heavenly kingdom, which will never fade and offers us everything God has for us? We cannot take our money, clothes, or homes with us when we die. But the love we share with God and in God’s family is something that will last forever in eternity. Even if we have money and worldly riches, can we let go of their importance and live as if we have sold and given them all away? If we struggle to let go of these earthly riches, sometimes we need to cut them out of our lives completely so that we fully rely on the riches of God’s kingdom. 

Who will you trust? Where will you put your hope? If I were going to the shops with my grandmother, it would be a no-brainer for me to trust that she would get everything for me. Yet, when it comes to life with God, we still tend to rely on ourselves or other things that are not God, rather than turning to the heavenly Father who will give us everything.

Don’t miss out on what God has prepared for you. God wants to give you His kingdom, to give you his everything. You need not worry or fear about anything when we accept and receive God’s kingdom. This doesn’t mean life won’t have its challenges or that everything will be smooth sailing, but it means that God will bring everything together for us now and for all eternity. God’s kingdom is everything for us. Let Him give it to you.

Amen.