PRAYER
Psalm 32:1-7, 11: Joy of Forgiveness
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silent, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
SERMON
Luke 15:1-3
Now, all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable
Sermon Points
1. Sometimes, we don’t know we are lost
2. When we know, we act
3. When we act, we change
Sometimes, we don’t know we are lost.
Luke 15:9 (NIV) - And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’
POINT: The one with the power to seek out the one who is lost, goes after the lost and rejoices when they are found.
Luke 15:13 (NRSV) - A few days later, the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living.
Luke 15:17 - But when he came to his senses…
When we know, we act.
Luke 15:17-20
But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father.
POINT: When we recognize we are lost, true restoration requires change.
Luke 15:20 - So he set off and went to his father.
Stages of Change
1. PreContemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Preparation
4. Action
POINT: Through the lens of the gospel, we see this beautiful invitation to participate. There is beauty in being found when you don’t know you need to be found; there is beauty and depth in knowing and moving toward the invitation to be restored.
“Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection.” —Brene Brown, from Shame
POINT: The father points the son toward this generous way of being, of forgiveness.
Luke 15:31-32
Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
Luke 15:20 - But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
When we act, we change.
POINT: In understanding our own story and our own identity, we embrace who we are in light of unconditional acceptance and unconditional love.
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.
Sanctification: the process of being made holy.
Matthew 9:17 - Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Lord’s Prayer