Daily Bread Luke 15
Daily Bread Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Observation:
As Jesus continues to tell parables about what the Kingdom of God looks like, in chapter 15, the focus is on things that are lost. Remember in teaching through these parables Jesus is showing the people what God values and wants to see happen on earth. If God were in control, these parables give us a glimpse of what our world might look like.
In this chapter, we see clearly that “lost people matter to God”. At a church I spent five years at in Chicago, this was the clearly communicated vision the church focused on. The mission was to find lost people that matter to God and bring them into a relationship with God through Jesus.
This church cared so much about lost people, that the whole Sunday was geared around what a lost person might need in a service, versus what those who were already found might need. The courses taught at the church were how each person could use their giftedness to help the church reach more lost people who matter to God and therefore should matter to us. There were courses that helped “the found” to share and articulate Good News that God loves everyone with lost people in a way that was natural for them based on their own experience of being found.
And guess what happened? This church reached lots of lost people. Why? Because they had the Father’s heart, the same Father who sweeps the house to find the lost coin, or goes after the 99 found sheep to find the lost one, or the Father who waits and scans the horizon until His lost Son comes home.
Application:
Since almost every mainline church (of which I am a part of) is losing members at a fairly rapid pace, it would seem to make sense for these churches to worry more about reaching lost people than always just figuring out how to keep “found” people happy. And of course the best way to do that is to help the found people have a desire to reach lost people. And for the leaders to have this same heart and demonstrate a love for reaching lost people in their own lives.
I have a pretty good idea God would honor this kind of church don’t you?
Prayer: God give us hearts like yours that beat for lost people who you sent Jesus to die for. Help us to die our self centeredness so that we can truly live for others. Help us to lead lives that draw lost people to you. Send your Spirit so we might have changed hearts that look to change lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Observation:
As Jesus continues to tell parables about what the Kingdom of God looks like, in chapter 15, the focus is on things that are lost. Remember in teaching through these parables Jesus is showing the people what God values and wants to see happen on earth. If God were in control, these parables give us a glimpse of what our world might look like.
In this chapter, we see clearly that “lost people matter to God”. At a church I spent five years at in Chicago, this was the clearly communicated vision the church focused on. The mission was to find lost people that matter to God and bring them into a relationship with God through Jesus.
This church cared so much about lost people, that the whole Sunday was geared around what a lost person might need in a service, versus what those who were already found might need. The courses taught at the church were how each person could use their giftedness to help the church reach more lost people who matter to God and therefore should matter to us. There were courses that helped “the found” to share and articulate Good News that God loves everyone with lost people in a way that was natural for them based on their own experience of being found.
And guess what happened? This church reached lots of lost people. Why? Because they had the Father’s heart, the same Father who sweeps the house to find the lost coin, or goes after the 99 found sheep to find the lost one, or the Father who waits and scans the horizon until His lost Son comes home.
Application:
Since almost every mainline church (of which I am a part of) is losing members at a fairly rapid pace, it would seem to make sense for these churches to worry more about reaching lost people than always just figuring out how to keep “found” people happy. And of course the best way to do that is to help the found people have a desire to reach lost people. And for the leaders to have this same heart and demonstrate a love for reaching lost people in their own lives.
I have a pretty good idea God would honor this kind of church don’t you?
Prayer: God give us hearts like yours that beat for lost people who you sent Jesus to die for. Help us to die our self centeredness so that we can truly live for others. Help us to lead lives that draw lost people to you. Send your Spirit so we might have changed hearts that look to change lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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