Lost and Found

Luke 15:1–7

Introduction

Have you ever lost something that mattered?

Not your reading glasses. Not your keys.

I mean something that made your stomach drop the moment you realized it was gone.

A wedding ring. A child in a crowded store. A wallet with everything inside. A family photograph that cannot be replaced.

The value of something is often measured by how hard you’re willing to look for it.

If it’s a penny, you keep walking.

If it’s your wedding ring, you’ll crawl through the grass with a flashlight until midnight.

What determines the search is the value of what has been lost.

That is exactly where Jesus begins.

Luke doesn’t simply tell us another parable.

He opens a window into the very heart of God.

Luke tells us something remarkable before Jesus ever speaks.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’”

There are two crowds standing before Jesus.

One crowd knows they’re broken.

The other crowd thinks they’re fine.

One crowd is running toward Jesus.

The other is standing back criticizing Jesus.

One group sees hope.

The other sees scandal.

The Pharisees couldn’t understand why a holy man would spend time with unholy people.

To them, holiness meant separation.

To Jesus, holiness meant rescue.

So instead of arguing…

Jesus tells a story.

Actually three stories.

A lost sheep.

A lost coin.

A lost son.

Each one increases in value.

One out of a hundred.

One out of ten.

One out of two.

Each story answers one accusation:

“Why do you spend time with sinners?”

Because God searches for what is lost.

I. The Shepherd Notices One Missing Sheep

(vv. 3–4)

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them…”

The story begins with something that almost everyone else would overlook.

One sheep.

Ninety-nine are safe.

Business is still good.

Productivity remains high.

The flock is almost perfect.

Yet the shepherd immediately notices one is missing.

That tells us something about God.

He does not merely love crowds.

He loves individuals.

Every sheep matters.

Every name matters.

Every person matters.

We often measure success by numbers.

Jesus measures success by names.

The world says,

“Only one.”

Jesus says,

“Exactly.”

One.

Sheep are not intelligent animals.

They don’t wander because they’re rebellious.

They wander because they’re sheep.

A little patch of greener grass…

One distraction…

One wrong turn…

Soon they’re completely lost.

Isn’t that humanity?

Sin rarely begins with a dramatic decision.

It begins with drifting.

One neglected prayer.

One compromise.

One bitter thought.

One unchecked temptation.

One Sunday missed.

One conversation avoided.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

Before long, we’re wondering,

“How did I get here?”

Isaiah said,

“We all like sheep have gone astray.”

Not some.

All.

Every one of us has wandered.

Sermon Window

A park ranger once explained that people lost in the woods almost never realize they’re walking in circles. Even when convinced they’re moving straight ahead, subtle differences in stride and terrain cause them to loop back repeatedly. Many rescuers have found exhausted hikers only a short distance from where they first became disoriented. The greatest danger wasn’t simply being lost—it was believing they could find their own way out.

The same is true spiritually. Sin convinces us we are independent when we are actually becoming increasingly lost. Left to ourselves, we do not naturally drift toward God. We drift away from Him.

Mountain rescue training manuals and interviews with search-and-rescue personnel.

#SeekingGod #Lostness #Grace #Luke15 #Sermons/Illustrations

Notice something else.

The shepherd calls the sheep

“his.”

Ownership has never changed.

Location has.

The sheep is lost…

but it still belongs to the shepherd.

What comfort there is in knowing that God’s pursuit begins before we ever think about returning.

II. The Shepherd Pursues Until He Finds It

(v. 4)

“…he leaves the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the one that is lost, until he finds it.”

This is perhaps the most beautiful phrase in the entire story.

“Until he finds it.”

In Greek the emphasis is persistence.

Not “if.”

Not “maybe.”

Not “for a little while.”

Until.

The shepherd refuses to quit.

Imagine the terrain.

Rocky hills.

Steep ravines.

Thorn bushes.

Darkness approaching.

Predators nearby.

The sheep cannot rescue itself.

The shepherd must go where the sheep cannot come.

That is the Gospel.

Jesus didn’t wait for us to climb to heaven.

He came down.

Christmas is the Shepherd leaving heaven.

Calvary is the Shepherd entering the wilderness.

The empty tomb is the Shepherd returning victorious.

Religion says,

“Find God.”

The Gospel says,

“God came looking for you.”

That changes everything.

We are not saved because we searched well.

We are saved because Christ searches perfectly.

Sermon Window

When the crew of Apollo 13 realized an explosion had crippled their spacecraft, the mission instantly changed. The objective was no longer reaching the moon—it became bringing the astronauts safely home. Thousands of engineers, mathematicians, and technicians worked around the clock. No one said, “They got themselves into this mess.” Every available resource focused on one purpose: rescue.

That relentless determination offers a glimpse—though only a glimpse—of God’s heart. Heaven was not indifferent to humanity’s lost condition. God initiated the rescue at immeasurable cost through Jesus Christ.

NASA mission reports and accounts of the Apollo 13 rescue.

#Rescue #Persistence #Grace #TheGospel #Sermons/Illustrations

Perhaps someone listening today believes they’ve wandered too far.

Too many years.

Too much guilt.

Too many failures.

Listen carefully.

You may stop searching for God.

He never stops searching for you.

III. The Shepherd Carries the Sheep Home

(v. 5)

“And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

Notice what Jesus does not say.

He doesn’t lecture the sheep.

He doesn’t punish the sheep.

He doesn’t drag the sheep.

He carries the sheep.

A grown sheep weighs far more than most people realize.

Carrying one across rough country required tremendous strength.

The shepherd bears the burden himself.

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus has done?

He carried our sin.

He carried our shame.

He carried our judgment.

He carried our cross.

Then He carries us home.

Salvation is never described as the sheep carrying itself.

The Shepherd does the lifting.

Notice something else.

He is rejoicing before the sheep ever reaches home.

The Shepherd’s joy begins the moment the lost is found.

God delights in saving sinners.

Sometimes we imagine heaven reluctantly forgiving.

Jesus pictures heaven celebrating.

Sermon Window

Steve Hartman has spent years telling stories of ordinary people whose lives changed because someone refused to give up on them. Again and again, the common thread is persistence. Someone kept looking. Someone kept calling. Someone kept believing another chance was worth giving. Those stories resonate because they reflect something deep within us: people long to know they are worth searching for.

The Gospel declares that we are. Jesus did not wait until we became worthy. He came because we were loved.

CBS News, “On the Road.”

#Hope #Restoration #Persistence #Grace #Sermons/Illustrations

IV. Heaven Celebrates Every Repentant Sinner

(vv. 6–7)

The shepherd gathers everyone together.

Friends.

Neighbors.

Family.

Then says,

“Rejoice with me.”

Why?

Because what was lost…

has been found.

Jesus immediately explains the meaning.

Heaven erupts with joy over one sinner who repents.

One.

Not one thousand.

One.

Every conversion matters.

Every baptism matters.

Every changed life matters.

The angels are not celebrating successful church programs.

They’re celebrating redeemed people.

The Pharisees were angry.

Heaven was rejoicing.

The religious leaders complained because Jesus welcomed sinners.

Heaven applauded because Jesus welcomed sinners.

The question becomes:

Whose heart do we resemble?

Are we more bothered by sinners…

or more burdened for sinners?

Do lost people make us uncomfortable…

or compassionate?

Churches can accidentally become places where found people gather without remembering what it felt like to be lost.

Jesus never forgot.

Neither should we.

If River City Church is going to reflect the heart of Jesus, it must always have room for messy people.

Confused people.

Broken people.

Addicted people.

Skeptical people.

People who don’t yet know the songs.

People who don’t yet know the Bible.

People whose lives are still a work in progress.

Because that’s exactly who Jesus welcomed.

Conclusion

Every person in this room is somewhere in this story.

Some are still wandering.

Some have recently been found.

Some have forgotten what it felt like to be lost.

But all of us need the Shepherd.

Jesus did not come merely to teach good morals.

He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

That is why He left heaven.

That is why He walked dusty roads.

That is why He stretched out His hands on a Roman cross.

That is why the tomb is empty.

Because the Shepherd would not stop…

until He found us.

Today, perhaps you’ve been running for years.

You’ve tried success.

Relationships.

Religion.

Self-improvement.

None of it has brought you home.

The Good Shepherd is still calling your name.

His invitation has not changed.

Come home.

And for those of us who already know Christ, let us never lose the Shepherd’s heart. May we notice the missing, pursue the wandering, carry the hurting, and rejoice whenever even one person comes home.

Because what fills heaven with joy should fill the church with joy.

And there is nothing that brings greater joy to the heart of God than when one lost sheep is finally found.