INTRODUCTION
• Have you ever lost something?
• Something you needed or valued?
• Well, you are not alone!
• According to a survey from a few years ago, Americans " spend 2.5 days a year looking for misplaced items.”
• The most misplaced items are “TV remotes (45%), phones (33%), car & keys (28%), glasses (27%), shoes (24%) and wallets/purses (20%).”
• Unfortunately, not all these items are found, costing a whopping $2.7 billion a year to replace.
• (“Lost and Found: The Average American Spends 2.5 Days Each Year Looking for Lost Items Collectively Costing U.S. Households $2.7 Billion Annually in Replacement Costs,” PR Newswire, May 2, 2017, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lost-and-found-the-average-american-spends-25-days-each-year-looking-for-lost-items-collectively-costing-us-households-27-billion-annually-in-replacement-costs-300449305.html).
• Only 2.5 days a year?
• I wish!
• Have you ever lost a pet?
• What runs through your mind?
• When you love the pet, you hurt for the lost pet, and you pray and do whatever you can to find it.
• I see missing pet posts all the time on Facebook.
• Why do you look so hard?
• Why do you care?
• There are plenty of other dogs and cats to replace the lost one with.
• We know why.
• We love and care for them so much!
• Jesus uses this parable to continue to explain why He was eating with the dreaded tax collectors and sinners.
• Also, the Parable of the Lost Coin reminds us that we are all valuable to God.
• Just like the woman in the story, God searches for us when we are lost, and when we are found, He celebrates with joy.
• It's easy to feel disconnected from God at times, but we must remember that He never gives up on us.
• When we are lost, we can feel cold and lonely.
• When we feel disconnected, it is not a good feeling.
• Imagine how the God who created you and loves you feels when you are lost.
• Today we will look at the Parable of the Lost Coin together.
• We will study Luke 15:8-10, and we will begin with verse 8.
Luke 15:8 (NET 2nd ed.)
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
SERMON
I. A time to panic.
• When we lose something important, it can cause us to panic and feel a sense of despair.
• Years ago, I used to get our paycheck from the company, and many of us would run to Gerbes during our dinner break to cash the check.
• On one occasion, I did that and lost my wallet, with my entire paycheck in cash in the wallet!
• I was in a panic.
• I searched high and low, hoping to find my wallet.
• I did find the wallet with everything still in the wallet in the bathroom.
• It had fallen out of my back pocket.
• The woman in the parable loses one of her ten silver coins, causing her to panic.
• Women in this region would often receive ten silver coins as a wedding gift.
• For centuries, women in this region would wear these small coins as an ornamental fringe around the forehead.
• Besides their monetary value, these coins held sentimental value like a wedding ring; losing one would be extremely distressing.
• The coin itself was worth about one day's wage for the average laborer, or about 17 cents.
• This could indicate that this woman was poor; she could not afford to lose anything she had, and she would have had very little margin in her life.
• Once the panic subsides, what do you do when you lose something of value?
• You begin the search.
• I cannot tell you how many times I have misplaced something.
• I received a leather bracelet from my Men’s Covenant group.
• I wore it all the time until one day, it disappeared.
• And so you know, I had a spot that I placed it when I took it off.
• I was sad when I could not find it.
• I searched and searched, and I still have yet to find it.
• The item has value to me, so I spent much time searching for it.
• Once the woman realizes she has lost her coin, she lights a candle and sweeps the house looking for the lost coin.
• Even though the woman had nine more, the one that was lost mattered!
• When you see the lost people in your life, what effort are you willing to expend to seek to find them and bring them to Jesus?
• The parable of the lost sheep represented a scene in the country and had to do with sheep; this was especially interesting to men.
• This parable is a scene in a house; the woman in the house usually kept a small treasury; hence this parable would be interesting to the women present.
• A woman had lost one of her ten pieces of silver.
• She lighted her candle, used her broom, and searched diligently until she found the coin.
• Do we have a sense of panic over all the lost people we have around us?
• Do we have a sense of urgency, a calling to try to reach them?
• Reaching lost people is not easy; it takes a lot of work and prayer.
• Who are you praying for and putting forth the effort to help bring them to Jesus?
• Churches die when they lose their passion for reaching the lost.
• When a church dies, it is not because Jesus killed it; it is because they lose their sense of mission in their comfort in doing things the way they have always done.
• As FCC, our mission is Changing Lives by Connect People With Christ!
• By the way, that connection does not end at the baptistry!
• That is where new life begins.
• Just like the woman, we may experience moments of panic and fear when we feel lost or disconnected from God.
• Let’s turn to verse 9.
Luke 15:9 (NET 2nd ed.)
9 Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
II. A time to celebrate.
• Just as in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, once the coin is found, the woman calls together all her friends for a celebration.
• The joy of finding is so abundant that it cannot be contained; one person alone cannot adequately celebrate it; there must be a party to which others are invited.
• Jesus invites even his critics to join him and all of heaven to celebrate finding the lost.
• Christians should be engaging the lost in meaningful relationships.
• Often in the church, however, the opposite happens.
• We withdraw from the multitudes for fear of compromising our testimony.
• As a result, there is no one around to testify to!
• To capture the lost, evangelism requires time and energy, like the shepherd’s and woman’s search.
• Some searches take years, but our Lord calls us to get out among people and build the relationships that allow us to draw others to God.
• This is part of the reason we should always celebrate when one is lost, then is found!
• Interestingly, this woman, who is most likely poor, would call her friends for a celebration.
• She may have spent more on the party than the coin was worth.
• From an economic point of view, the woman’s response is folly.
• The parable is not about economics, however.
• It is about God’s grace, perhaps the folly of God’s grace, that seeks the lost until they are found and, once found, celebrates their recovery.
• The joy of God has no price tag.
• The parable also teaches us we may not consider; the importance of community.
• When the woman found the lost coin, she called her friends and neighbors to celebrate.
• In the same way, we should share our joy with our fellow believers when we find our way back to God.
• We need each other for encouragement and support, and we should celebrate together when we experience God's love and grace.
• Let us not forget the joy of being found in God's loving arms.
• When we feel lost or disconnected from God, remember that He is always searching for us.
• And when we are found, let us celebrate and share our joy with our community.
• Let’s turn to verse 10.
Luke 15:10 (NET 2nd ed.)
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
III. A time for joy.
• The parable reminds us that God searches for us relentlessly, even when we don't realize it, and rejoices when we are found.
• No matter how lost or insignificant we may feel, we are all valuable to God, and He never gives up on us.
• In the parable, the woman did not give up until she found the lost coin.
• Similarly, God never gives up on us.
• He searches for us relentlessly, even when we don't realize it.
• And when we are found, He rejoices with us.
• I want us to consider something in verse 10, and what I would like us to know is a key to our walk with Jesus; the issue of repentance.
• In both parables, the issue of repentance is mentioned and is prominent in the heavenly celebration and joy.
• Repentance is a crucial issue in one giving their life to Jesus.
• Repentance is a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.
• Coming to Jesus is more than confession and baptism; it is about wanting to change and knowing that you need to be different because no matter how good you thought or were, your life was not being lived for God.
• The desire for repentance comes when we realize there is a God in heaven who created us ad loves us and that we sinned against Him, and we want to change that to seek to live for Him.
• We tend to emphasize faith and baptism so much that repentance gets pushed aside.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NET 2nd ed.)
10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.
• Without repentance, there is no salvation.
• In the previous parable, Jesus spoke of the 99 who thought they did not need repentance.
• This was directed at the religious leaders, but it applies to all who think they do not need God or have not sinned against Him.
• The act of repentance includes knowing you need to change and knowing you need a new direction for your life.
• The joy in heaven happens when a sinner REPENTS!
• When we repent, our lives can change.
• It is like when one is in a bad marriage and thinks the other person is the problem, so they see no need to take responsibility.
CONCLUSION
• Let us find joy in the search.
• Remember that we are all valuable to God, and He never gives up on us.
• May we always strive to be the lost coin that God searches for relentlessly, and may we never forget the importance of community and celebration in our faith journey.
• If we are to share in God’s heart, finding joy in the repentance of those who are lost, we must facilitate a culture of rejoicing and generosity in our church.
• That means pouring our lives and resources into our missions and celebrating conversion stories.
• Whatever the denomination or tradition, there must be jubilation at the repentance of a sinner if we are to echo God’s heart.
• Take time to reach out to the lost this week and to celebrate those who have come to faith.
