Welcome to this week's posting of the Weekend Sermon. I am going to be doing something different with the posting of the sermon starting this week. If you've read the sermon before, you will know that I usually started with prayer requests and some other things. Starting this week, I am going to start with the actual sermon. The prayer requests and other matters for the week will be at the end. If you've read the sermon in the past, and you don't like the new way that I'm doing things, please let me know with a comment. Thank you.
A few months ago, we completed a series here on the blog about the parables of Jesus. When we went through that series, I did not post a message about the Parable Of The Lost Coin found in Luke 15:8-10. I would like us to focus our attention on that parable today.
Before we get into the parable, when need to look at the context in which Jesus told the parable. Luke 15:1-2 tells us that the religious leaders were gathered around Jesus and criticizing Him because they said that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. In response to this criticism, Jesus told three different parables. The first one that Jesus told was about a man who lost one out of one hundred sheep. He leaves 99 sheep in the fold, and then he goes out and searches diligently for the lost sheep until he finds it. When the sheep is found, the man's friends and neighbors rejoice with him.
The third parable in this series of three is the familiar parable of the prodigal son. We are focusing on the second parable of the three. In our parable today, Jesus says that there was a woman who had ten silver coins. She lost one of them. She got out a lamp and swept the room with the light searching diligently for the coin until she found it. When she found her coin, she called her friends and neighbors together to celebrate with her. Jesus said that the angels in Heaven rejoice when one sinner comes to repentance.
I can really understand how the woman in this parable felt. Not too long ago, I placed some money I had in a hiding place so that if a person broke into the house, they would have a hard time finding it. The problem was, when I went to get the money, I couldn't remember where I put it. I had to search all over the house until I found it. When I did, I told my friend how happy I was, and we were happy together.
Here's what I think that Jesus is saying in our parable today. There are many people in this world who are lost. That means that they don't know that Jesus has come into the world to save them from their sins. They have never given their lives over to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
These are the people that Jesus came into this world to redeem. The religious leaders of Jesus' day were critical of Him because He associated with those they called sinners. But Jesus came into this world to seek and to save those who were lost. It is God's will that not one person should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Just as the woman took the time to search diligently for the coin, the Lord Jesus comes to us and searches for all of those who are lost. Just as the coin was of great value to the woman in the parable, we are all of great value to Jesus. He loves everyone. He gave His life out of love so that anyone who believes in Him can have eternal life and forgiveness of sins.
Often times, we are like the religious leaders who were critical of Jesus. We don't think that God cares about certain types of sinners or about certain groups of people. We want to be comfortable in our own churches and forget about the fact that there is a whole world of people who need to know that Jesus loves them.
I don't believe that the Lord Jesus ever gives up on anyone. He continues to search and to seek for those who are lost. He wants those of us who are His followers to go into the world and be obedient to His Great Commission. Jesus told us to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We are to go into the highways and byways and compel them to come in the Bible says.
Jesus said that when one person comes to faith in Him, there is great rejoicing in Heaven. It is my hope that there is a lot of rejoicing in Heaven today as people come to realize how much Jesus loves them and wants them to come to Him and receive forgiveness and a new life.
Maybe you have never surrendered your life to Jesus. I hope that you will stop hiding from the seeking Lord. I hope that you will turn to Him, and let Him forgive you of your sins. I hope that you will invite Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Amen
Prayer Requests And Other Matters
This week was a good week in my writing work, and I wanted to thank the Lord for all the work that He allowed to come my way. I am going to be looking for a new part-time job, so please pray for me in this matter. Thank you for your prayers.
As we go to prayer this week, remembered to pray regarding the situation with the immigrants at the border between the US and Mexico. Pray that children will not be separated from their parents, and that all people will be treated with dignity and respect.
Let us not forget about the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Pray that they will receive all of the help and aid that they need.
Please remember to pray for those who are dealing with storm damage. There are still people west of where I live who are recovering from tornado damage.
Let us all pray for those in Congo dealing with the Ebola outbreak. Pray that those who are sick will recover, and pray that this outbreak will end.
Pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan.
Please pray for those in Venezuela who are facing hardship. Pray that there will be a peaceful resolution to the problems in that country.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Djibouti and Albania. Pray that many will hear about the love, mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus.
Thank you for reading the sermon and prayer requests this week. Next week, I will once again post the sermon on Saturday. I will post the verses on Monday. There will be a review or a poem posted on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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