Parable of the Lost Sheep 04.20.22

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Bible Text: Luke 15:1-10

Luke 15:1–10 NIV

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I 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. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Introduction

1 – Explain the Biblical Principle:

What does the bible teach us in this passage?

- What is the central idea of this text in relation to the original audience?

Lost people need a loving, personal savior.

- How can I express the central idea practically and memorably?

Jesus Christ actively came to seek you out and help you come to Him. If you are a sheep and you were lost, do you really understand the dangers of being lost as a sheep? Probably not.

How can I express the central idea of the sermon so that people remember it, and so that it applies to people today? How can I structure the sermon so that it has one main point, with (when necessary) supporting points, rather than many different points?

Jesus is seeking you out from being lost because the world is a place where we can find ourself in trouble and doing harm to ourselves without even realizing it. But Jesus Christ came to seek us because He knows we are lost even if we don’t.

- How does this apply to us in our lives?

We are called as Christians to live the same way as Jesus Christ and seek out the lost, not hide from them in comfort.

Jesus was not saying that the excitement comes from knowing those who do not need to be saved, but instead rejoicing over those who are found that need to be saved.

Do you go to your friends house when they have somethings they have had for a few months and still get excited? Yeah its cool, but its already theirs. The excitement came when they first got that item and you all were excited together.

This is how the excitement comes from Jesus Christ. During the salvation process of someone who was lost coming to Jesus who was seeking them.

(Dig into what the bible teaches regarding this topic)

2 – Consider objections:

What objections will my hearers raise? How can I express these objections well, and answer them?

- Is this a sensitive topic to your audience?

It isn’t easy going to those who need help and need to hear about Jesus Christ, because a lot of times we don’t want to seem not cool or not relative to those people. It is hard to leave those that are doing fine and your group to go out and search for the one who may be lost.

- How can you reveal God’s love through these objections?

There is rejoicing in heaven when those lost souls are found. And God loves you so much that He sent His son to come find you. He isn’t just sitting in heaven waiting for you to find Him. He actively came to find you and through our lives we are sharing this same action of bring Jesus Christ to those around us who need Him.

- How can you share the gospel truth even if they do not agree?

No matter how you feel if you are worried about going to someone and sharing the Gospel that they are lost from without knowing, it is about living it out through you and staying consistent until they do see the truth.

Jesus didn’t give people one chance. He brought them into a relationship / friendship and continued to love them over time.

- How can I answer objections before they are thought of? (i.e As Christians, we trust that God makes clear the true essentials of our faith, a principle called the perspicuity of Scripture. We also humbly admit that sometimes the Bible feels challenging because we don’t like what it says. Our problem often is less that we don’t understand what it says and more that we don’t agree or don’t want to obey.)

- How will this speak to young people specifically?

- What does this mean for them right now?

3 – Offer a defense to those objections:

What does the passage reveal about God?

- How can I articulate what the passage is saying about God?

- How can I share the good news through this passage?

- Are there any outside sources/commentaries that can help bring this passage to light?

4 - Why we can’t do it alone:

- This moral imperative always presents a crisis, for when properly understood, the practical and moral obligations of the Scripture is impossible for human beings to meet.

- Reminded of our sinful nature and who we are through the world without Jesus Christ in our lives.

5 – How Jesus changed this for us:

How does this passage reveal Jesus Christ in our lives?

- What does the passage reveal about humanity?

- How does this passage change the way we should live?

- How through faith in Jesus you should live now?

In every text of the Scripture there are imperatives, moral norms for how we should live. That norm may be seen in what we learn about the character of God or Christ, or in the good or bad example of characters in the text, or in explicit commands, warnings, and summonses.

- What does this passage look like in our world today?

- What are the implications for how we love (desires), think (mind), and live (actions) through a life with Jesus Christ through this passage?

Important: don’t overemphasize actions at the expense of desires and thoughts.

- How do I clarify what Jesus has done through this passage? (savior/rescuer/died for your sins)

6 - Provide Practical Application:

What does all of this mean for my audience?

- How does the central idea, as well as what’s revealed about God and about us, intersect with our condition today?

The more the world throws our way, the more distracted we are for what is right in front of us. The Word of God, the example of Jesus Christ are all things we have the ability to know, but the world throws things to get in our way and very successfully distracts us.

- How can I raise the need?

The sermon will address a need. If the listener is already aware of that need, how can I hook them? If they aren’t aware of the need, how can I make them aware? It’s good to show sympathy in how we raise the need. It’s not their need; it’s our need.

- How does the gospel answer this need?

- What is there in Jesus that answers this need?

- How does he become more beautiful and desirable in this passage?

7 – Closing:

Tie it all together:

- How can you sum this up for a way for the audience to leave with a “if you don’t hear anything else, hear this” type of statement?

- Is there an opportunity for repentance and acceptance in this passage?

Let’s Pray