The Lost Coin

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever lost something?

Something you needed or valued?

Well, you are not alone!

According to a survey from a few years ago, Americans " spend 2.5 days a year looking for misplaced items.”

The most misplaced items are “TV remotes (45%), phones (33%), car & keys (28%), glasses (27%), shoes (24%) and wallets/purses (20%).”

Unfortunately, not all these items are found, costing a whopping $2.7 billion a year to replace.

(“Lost and Found: The Average American Spends 2.5 Days Each Year Looking for Lost Items Collectively Costing U.S. Households $2.7 Billion Annually in Replacement Costs,” PR Newswire, May 2, 2017, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lost-and-found-the-average-american-spends-25-days-each-year-looking-for-lost-items-collectively-costing-us-households-27-billion-annually-in-replacement-costs-300449305.html).

Only 2.5 days a year?

I wish!

Have you ever lost a pet?

What runs through your mind?

When you love the pet, you hurt for the lost pet, and you pray and do whatever you can to find it.

I see missing pet posts all the time on Facebook.

Why do you look so hard?

Why do you care?

There are plenty of other dogs and cats to replace the lost one with.

We know why.

We love and care for them so much!

Jesus uses this parable to continue to explain why He was eating with the dreaded tax collectors and sinners.

Also, the Parable of the Lost Coin reminds us that we are all valuable to God.

Just like the woman in the story, God searches for us when we are lost, and when we are found, He celebrates with joy.

It's easy to feel disconnected from God at times, but we must remember that He never gives up on us.

When we are lost, we can feel cold and lonely.

When we feel disconnected, it is not a good feeling.

Imagine how the God who created you and loves you feels when you are lost.

Today we will look at the Parable of the Lost Coin together.

We will study Luke 15:8-10, and we will begin with verse 8.

Luke 15:8 (NET 2nd ed.)

8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?

SERMON

I. A time to panic.

When we lose something important, it can cause us to panic and feel a sense of despair.

Years ago, I used to get our paycheck from the company, and many of us would run to Gerbes during our dinner break to cash the check.

On one occasion, I did that and lost my wallet, with my entire paycheck in cash in the wallet!

I was in a panic.

I searched high and low, hoping to find my wallet.

I did find the wallet with everything still in the wallet in the bathroom.

It had fallen out of my back pocket.

The woman in the parable loses one of her ten silver coins, causing her to panic.

Women in this region would often receive ten silver coins as a wedding gift.

For centuries, women in this region would wear these small coins as an ornamental fringe around the forehead.

Besides their monetary value, these coins held sentimental value like a wedding ring; losing one would be extremely distressing.

The coin itself was worth about one day's wage for the average laborer, or about 17 cents.

This could indicate that this woman was poor; she could not afford to lose anything she had, and she would have had very little margin in her life.

Once the panic subsides, what do you do when you lose something of value?

You begin the search.

I cannot tell you how many times I have misplaced something.

I received a leather bracelet from my Men’s Covenant group.

I wore it all the time until one day, it disappeared.

And so you know, I had a spot that I placed it when I took it off.

I was sad when I could not find it.

I searched and searched, and I still have yet to find it.

The item has value to me, so I spent much time searching for it.

Once the woman realizes she has lost her coin, she lights a candle and sweeps the house looking for the lost coin.

Even though the woman had nine more, the one that was lost mattered!

When you see the lost people in your life, what effort are you willing to expend to seek to find them and bring them to Jesus?

The parable of the lost sheep represented a scene in the country and had to do with sheep; this was especially interesting to men.

This parable is a scene in a house; the woman in the house usually kept a small treasury; hence this parable would be interesting to the women present.

A woman had lost one of her ten pieces of silver.

She lighted her candle, used her broom, and searched diligently until she found the coin.

Do we have a sense of panic over all the lost people we have around us?

Do we have a sense of urgency, a calling to try to reach them?

Reaching lost people is not easy; it takes a lot of work and prayer.

Who are you praying for and putting forth the effort to help bring them to Jesus?

Churches die when they lose their passion for reaching the lost.

When a church dies, it is not because Jesus killed it; it is because they lose their sense of mission in their comfort in doing things the way they have always done.

As FCC, our mission is Changing Lives by Connect People With Christ!

By the way, that connection does not end at the baptistry!

That is where new life begins.

Just like the woman, we may experience moments of panic and fear when we feel lost or disconnected from God.

Let’s turn to verse 9.

Luke 15:9 (NET 2nd ed.)

9 Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

II. A time to celebrate.

Just as in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, once the coin is found, the woman calls together all her friends for a celebration.

The joy of finding is so abundant that it cannot be contained; one person alone cannot adequately celebrate it; there must be a party to which others are invited.

Jesus invites even his critics to join him and all of heaven to celebrate finding the lost.

Christians should be engaging the lost in meaningful relationships.

Often in the church, however, the opposite happens.

We withdraw from the multitudes for fear of compromising our testimony.

As a result, there is no one around to testify to!

To capture the lost, evangelism requires time and energy, like the shepherd’s and woman’s search.

Some searches take years, but our Lord calls us to get out among people and build the relationships that allow us to draw others to God.

This is part of the reason we should always celebrate when one is lost, then is found!

Interestingly, this woman, who is most likely poor, would call her friends for a celebration.

She may have spent more on the party than the coin was worth.

From an economic point of view, the woman’s response is folly.

The parable is not about economics, however.

It is about God’s grace, perhaps the folly of God’s grace, that seeks the lost until they are found and, once found, celebrates their recovery.

The joy of God has no price tag.

The parable also teaches us we may not consider; the importance of community.

When the woman found the lost coin, she called her friends and neighbors to celebrate.

In the same way, we should share our joy with our fellow believers when we find our way back to God.

We need each other for encouragement and support, and we should celebrate together when we experience God's love and grace.

Let us not forget the joy of being found in God's loving arms.

When we feel lost or disconnected from God, remember that He is always searching for us.

And when we are found, let us celebrate and share our joy with our community.

Let’s turn to verse 10.

Luke 15:10 (NET 2nd ed.)

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

III. A time for joy.

The parable reminds us that God searches for us relentlessly, even when we don't realize it, and rejoices when we are found.

No matter how lost or insignificant we may feel, we are all valuable to God, and He never gives up on us.

In the parable, the woman did not give up until she found the lost coin.

Similarly, God never gives up on us.

He searches for us relentlessly, even when we don't realize it.

And when we are found, He rejoices with us.

I want us to consider something in verse 10, and what I would like us to know is a key to our walk with Jesus; the issue of repentance.

In both parables, the issue of repentance is mentioned and is prominent in the heavenly celebration and joy.

Repentance is a crucial issue in one giving their life to Jesus.

Repentance is a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.

Coming to Jesus is more than confession and baptism; it is about wanting to change and knowing that you need to be different because no matter how good you thought or were, your life was not being lived for God.

The desire for repentance comes when we realize there is a God in heaven who created us ad loves us and that we sinned against Him, and we want to change that to seek to live for Him.

We tend to emphasize faith and baptism so much that repentance gets pushed aside.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NET 2nd ed.)

10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.

Without repentance, there is no salvation.

In the previous parable, Jesus spoke of the 99 who thought they did not need repentance.

This was directed at the religious leaders, but it applies to all who think they do not need God or have not sinned against Him.

The act of repentance includes knowing you need to change and knowing you need a new direction for your life.

The joy in heaven happens when a sinner REPENTS!

When we repent, our lives can change.

It is like when one is in a bad marriage and thinks the other person is the problem, so they see no need to take responsibility.

CONCLUSION

Let us find joy in the search.

Remember that we are all valuable to God, and He never gives up on us.

May we always strive to be the lost coin that God searches for relentlessly, and may we never forget the importance of community and celebration in our faith journey.

If we are to share in God’s heart, finding joy in the repentance of those who are lost, we must facilitate a culture of rejoicing and generosity in our church.

That means pouring our lives and resources into our missions and celebrating conversion stories.

Whatever the denomination or tradition, there must be jubilation at the repentance of a sinner if we are to echo God’s heart.

Take time to reach out to the lost this week and to celebrate those who have come to faith.