Sermon: Lost Things

Scripture Text: Luke 15:1-32

Quotes for Reflection

Andrew Murray, Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness
Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature humble and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.

The Bruised Reed, Richard Sibbes
Those who feel the furthest from comfort are actually the most ready for it. Most people don't feel lost enough to truly seek a Savior. A holy despair in ourselves is the foundation of true hope. In God, the fatherless find mercy (Hos. 14:3); if people felt more like orphans, they would experience more of God's fatherly love from heaven. For God, who lives in the highest heavens, also dwells in the lowest soul. Christ's sheep are weak and lacking in one way or another; he therefore meets the needs of each sheep. In Ezekiel 34, he seeks the lost, brings back those who have strayed, binds up the broken, and strengthens the weak. His tenderest care is for the weakest.

Timothy Keller, Prodigal God
Most readings of this parable have concentrated on the flight and return of the younger brother—the ‘Prodigal Son.’ That misses the real message of the story. This parable of Jesus is actually about two sons. It’s the story of a man who had two sons, and Jesus spends nearly as much time on the elder brother as he does on the younger. The younger son represents the way of self-discovery: ‘I’m going to live how I want to live.’ But the elder brother represents the way of moral conformity: ‘I’m going to do what’s right and good and God will owe me a good life for it.’ Both sons are lost, and both represent different ways to be alienated from God. There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord: one is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good.

Application Questions

1. Why is recognizing that you are lost essential to experiencing true gospel transformation?

2. How does it reshape your view of God to know He eagerly meets you in the lowest place?

3. Each parable ends in joyful celebration. How can this shape your life in Christ this week?