July 14th, 2025
By: Kara Wallis
While we were on the mission trip to South Africa Pastor Jason preached one of his sermons on the three parables in Luke 15. The first parable is about the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine to go find the one lost sheep. Luke 15:1-7 says, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The second parable is about the woman who had ten coins, but lost one, lit her lamp, and swept the whole house until it was found. Then she invited her friends to rejoice and celebrate with her that the coin was found. Luke 15:8-10 says, “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The third is the parable of the prodigal son who disrespected his father by asking for his inheritance, squandering it, and then coming back home thinking he would only be accepted as a servant, if he was accepted back at all. Luke 15:11-24 says, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
To his surprise and everyone else's, the father met him and welcomed him back with all of the full son privileges. Pastor Jason pointed out that with each parable talked about, each one grew more outlandish and challenged the current culture of the day that said these things would never be acceptable.
In the beginning of the chapter it says in Luke 15:1-2, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus heard their remarks and sought to challenge their way of thinking, social norms, and a culture full of self righteousness. They had heard similar parables before, but those stories ended very differently, with the father killing his son or dying of a broken heart. These parables were vastly different from what they knew. All three parables highlight loss and restoration, the experience of loss and the joy of finding what was lost. They emphasize God actively pursuing those who are lost. They point to the joy that God has over the return of anyone who turns back to Him and God’s love that extends to all, regardless of their background or past choices or actions. They all show God’s nature of unconditional love and His desire for reconciliation with ALL people.
I have a story that is pretty cool to me. While we were in South Africa and after Pastor Jason had preached this sermon on the parables, we moved to the second location we were staying at. We had already stayed there one night and the sweet ladies that worked there came in each day to tidy up our rooms. We had taken rand with us, which is the South African currency that is used, to give specifically at offering times each night at the crusades. I only had paper rand with me, but the next day when we got back to our room and settled in I saw a 10c rand coin laying on top of the Gideon Bible that was on our dresser. I immediately thought about the woman who swept the room clean looking for her lost coin. Where had the coin come from, we had no coins at that time in the trip, but these sweet ladies that cleaned our rooms found it and placed it so perfectly on the Bible. The Lord used that moment to remind me that He pursued me even when I didn’t realize I was lost or the times when I didn’t care that I was lost. He loved me and chased after me when I had no self worth and had nothing to offer Him. But that’s just it. He doesn't care about any of that, He just simply and purely loves us and wants us. Maybe you are at a place right now where you feel lost and alone. Maybe you are praying for a friend or loved one's salvation. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy that you are too lost or too far gone, you have a heavenly Father that is actively pursuing all of us and sees us and meets us exactly where we are.
While we were on the mission trip to South Africa Pastor Jason preached one of his sermons on the three parables in Luke 15. The first parable is about the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine to go find the one lost sheep. Luke 15:1-7 says, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The second parable is about the woman who had ten coins, but lost one, lit her lamp, and swept the whole house until it was found. Then she invited her friends to rejoice and celebrate with her that the coin was found. Luke 15:8-10 says, “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The third is the parable of the prodigal son who disrespected his father by asking for his inheritance, squandering it, and then coming back home thinking he would only be accepted as a servant, if he was accepted back at all. Luke 15:11-24 says, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
To his surprise and everyone else's, the father met him and welcomed him back with all of the full son privileges. Pastor Jason pointed out that with each parable talked about, each one grew more outlandish and challenged the current culture of the day that said these things would never be acceptable.
In the beginning of the chapter it says in Luke 15:1-2, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus heard their remarks and sought to challenge their way of thinking, social norms, and a culture full of self righteousness. They had heard similar parables before, but those stories ended very differently, with the father killing his son or dying of a broken heart. These parables were vastly different from what they knew. All three parables highlight loss and restoration, the experience of loss and the joy of finding what was lost. They emphasize God actively pursuing those who are lost. They point to the joy that God has over the return of anyone who turns back to Him and God’s love that extends to all, regardless of their background or past choices or actions. They all show God’s nature of unconditional love and His desire for reconciliation with ALL people.
I have a story that is pretty cool to me. While we were in South Africa and after Pastor Jason had preached this sermon on the parables, we moved to the second location we were staying at. We had already stayed there one night and the sweet ladies that worked there came in each day to tidy up our rooms. We had taken rand with us, which is the South African currency that is used, to give specifically at offering times each night at the crusades. I only had paper rand with me, but the next day when we got back to our room and settled in I saw a 10c rand coin laying on top of the Gideon Bible that was on our dresser. I immediately thought about the woman who swept the room clean looking for her lost coin. Where had the coin come from, we had no coins at that time in the trip, but these sweet ladies that cleaned our rooms found it and placed it so perfectly on the Bible. The Lord used that moment to remind me that He pursued me even when I didn’t realize I was lost or the times when I didn’t care that I was lost. He loved me and chased after me when I had no self worth and had nothing to offer Him. But that’s just it. He doesn't care about any of that, He just simply and purely loves us and wants us. Maybe you are at a place right now where you feel lost and alone. Maybe you are praying for a friend or loved one's salvation. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy that you are too lost or too far gone, you have a heavenly Father that is actively pursuing all of us and sees us and meets us exactly where we are.
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