Rejoicing in Heaven Parable 1

Rejoicing in Heaven

Luke 15:1-10

Me:

1. The Arrow Key

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a. NDCBU - Neighborhood Delivery Collection Box Unit

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i. You need an “Arrow Key” to open the door to these mailboxes

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ii. Now this Arrow Key will open every NDCBU in the area

iii. We must sign for it. Saying we are “accountable” for it.

b. I lost it once

i. I called the postmaster saying I had lost it.

ii. His response “Chris you need to find that key. This is serious!” AKA keeping you job serious

iii. I tore the car apart travelled to each unit

(iv. It was found)

(v. I was so relieved)

We:

A Good Story

a. We can put ourselves in the story

i. Jesus was a master storyteller

ii. When Jesus told a story you can imagine how people must has been captivated

iii. We read about how the disciple would ask Jesus to explain the story

iv. We see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus listening while Martha her sister prepared supper.

v. There was another group there that didn't receive the story so well.

The Pharisees

i. This was the religious elite of the day

ii. There was a need for the Jewish community to get back to the Law the God had laid in the first five books of the bible

iii. Israel had drifted away God’s commandments and had fallen into Idolatry.

iv. The Pharisees revived the law but made the mistake of adding to it.

v. Making rules that oppressed the Grace of God

vi. They would look down at people who they deemed unworthy of God’s Grace

c. The showdown

Luke 15:1–2 (NLT) — 1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

Luke 15:1–2 NLT

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

ii. Eating with sinners

iii. Kind of like going to church with them

iv. Jesus pointed his stories at them most of the time.

v. There is a lot we need to learn from these stories.

God:

Something is lost

The parable of the lost sheep

i. The shepherd leaves 99 sheep behind

ii. Shepherd where people of low class

V:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.”

iv. See what Jesus did there?

v. Rejoice with me!

The parable of the lost coin

V:8 “Or suppose a woman”

ii. Jesus did it again

iii. Woman in biblical times

iv. She finds the coin – and gathers to whole neighborhood and has a party

Rejoicing in heaven

Luke 15:10 (NIV) — 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:10 NIV

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

ii. A powerful lesson for the Pharisees

iii. A powerful lesson for us.

You:

The Joy of Grace

a. Notice the effort

i. The shepherd leaves the 99 in the open wilderness

ii. But that lost sheep is so worth the effort

iii. The woman searching for the coin (dirt floor covered in straw)

iv. But that lost coin was so worth the effort

You are of great value to God

i. God sees your worth and responds to it.

ii. Jesus doesn’t expect you to be sinless like he is

iii. Instead, he is willing to meet you where you are.

That is grace

i. It lifts people from where they are!

ii. It doesn’t crush you for not meeting standards others place on you.

It gives hope

It gives life

We:

Rejoicing in heaven

a. God wants to love you

i. There is this fun word

ii. We are lost when we turn from God to live a self-centered life.

Repent

i. Repent means a change of how we think

ii. To change how we think about our sin

iii. Most Pharisees didn’t get it – the self-righteous rarely do

iv. The sinners listening to the story did

v. When we repent and turn our hearts towards a loving God

THERE WILL BE REJOICING IN HEAVEN