Did You Hear The One About...

Luke 15:1 (NLT)

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.

Luke 15:2 (NLT)

This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people - even eating with them!

Parable #1

The Lost Sheep

Luke 15:3-4 (NLT)  

So Jesus told them this story:“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

Luke 15:5 (NLT)

And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.

Luke 15:6 (NLT)

When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

Luke 15:7 (NLT)

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Parable #2

The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8 (NLT)

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

Luke 15:9 (NLT)

And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’

Luke 15:10 (NLT)

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Parable #3

The Two Sons

Luke 15:11 (NLT)

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story:“A man had two sons.

Luke 15:12 (NLT)

The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So the father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

Luke 15:13 (NLT)

A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.

Luke 15:14 (NLT)

About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

Luke 15:15 (NLT)

He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into the fields to feed the pigs.

Luke 15:16 (NLT)

The young man become so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

Luke 15:17 (NLT)

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!’

Luke 15:18 (NLT)

‘I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

Luke 15:19 (NLT)

And I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.’”

Luke 15:20 (NLT)

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed.

Luke 15:21 (NLT)

His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

Luke 15:22 (NLT)

“But his father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put in on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

Luke 15:23-24 (NLT)

And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was not lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began!

What about the other brother?

Luke 15:25-26 (NLT)

Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on.

Luke 15:27 (NLT)

‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

Luke 15:28 (NLT)

The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,

Luke 15:29 (NLT)

But he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to do. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.

Luke 15:30 (NLT)

Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on wild living, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

Luke 15:31-32 (NLT)

His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Everyone -

Remember the father in the story. He was filled with love and compassion. That is how God feels about us.

Parents -

Don’t let disappointment lead to condemnation. Leave the door open.

Children -

Nobody cares about you more than your parents.

When you have a choice to make, they probably have the best advice.

Bonus -

Do not be jealous of others. Want the best for them and celebrate their victories.