Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Even though it happened years ago, many of us here this morning can still recall the tragedy as if it were yesterday. Remember the way a whole country held its breath, prayed its prayers, and sat glued to the television set? We watched, spellbound, as the Herculean efforts of hundreds of firefighters, engineers, mining experts, and emergency services specialists, labored to save the life of one tr...

2. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Now that Luke's rendition of the parable of the "Prodigal Son" has become so well-known and well-loved by the church, it is hard for us to imagine the kind of shock waves this story would have sent through the "large crowds" (Luke 14:25) that were following Jesus and listening to him preach and teach. In fact, as Luke sets the scene for this parable, it seems Jesus may purposely be testing the boi...

3. Luke 15:1-10

Luke 15:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's gospel lectionary text includes two of Luke's three "lost-and-found" parables. While a version of the "lost sheep" story is also recorded in Matthew 18:12-14, both the "lost coin" and the "lost son" are unique to Luke's gospel. Luke locates these three parables together, skillfully building in intensity and power the force of the remarkable message they convey. Part of the power these ...

4. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The parable of the prodigal son is perhaps the best-known and best-loved of all Jesus' parables. It is also best at generating seemingly infinite numbers of interpretations, understandings and themes. Start with the way we usually refer to the Luke 15:11-32 text: "The Prodigal Son." True, the behavior of the younger son plays a central role in this parable. But others have noted that an equally pr...

5. Luke 15:1-10

Luke 15:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This lectionary year the unforgettable, dramatic “Prodigal Son” parable is not read. Instead we read the two parables told just previous to the Prodigal Son narrative, stories that offer the same message of rejoicing and celebrating when something lost is found again. All three of these “lost and found” stories are Jesus’ response to criticism. The “Pharisees and scribes” were “grumbling (“diagon...

6. Compound Interest Your Life

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Albert Einstein is noted for his work in the field of physics. That’s where he got his Nobel Prize in 1921. But one of his most famous quotes is one that appears to have nothing to do with physics. Einstein is reported to have said, when asked what is the most powerful force in the universe, “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” What is “the secret of life?” When asked ...

7. I Found It!

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

Carl B. Rife

"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 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.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8-10...

8. Which Ones Were Lost?

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

Merle G. Franke

The first time I set eyes on that grand old church building was in the cool of a January evening. Since it was in a southern state, there was no chilling cold to make me hurry back into my host's car, so the two of us casually made our way around the empty building. He was a synod president, and I was a churchwide senior staff person on an official visit to his synod. The beautiful old building wa...

9. Museum or Mission?

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

An inner city church, located in an area of the downtown where there were few residents, was forced to a decision. A large corporation was offering them a great deal of money for their site, on which the corporation wanted to put a parking lot. The money would enable the church to move to another part of the inner city where they would find many more people to serve. Even though this was exciting ...

10. The Hands And Arms Of Grace

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

There is a wonderful story out of the Middle Ages that goes something like this. It seems people were putting pressure on the Pope, saying to him, "Your Holiness, this is the capital of Christendom. There ought to be only Christians in Rome. Let's get rid of the Jews." The Pope however, replied, "I don't know. Before I do anything, I will have a theological discussion with the chief rabbi of Rome....

11. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A group of boys and girls were trying to find a game to play. “Why don’t we play Hide and Seek?” asked Billy. “No way,” said Sally. “I’m afraid I’ll get hid and nobody will be able to find me. Then everybody will go home and I will be lost.” “Lost and Found.” It’s such a common predicament that the classifieds run a special section for it each day. In Nashville this weekend somebody lost a small,...

12. Seeker-Friendly

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus came to seek and save ... those who are lost. A family that wasn't in the practice of going to church attended the large, formal wedding of a friend. The family's youngest child, age three, sat perched on his father's knee watching all the comings and goings with great interest. There came a time in the service when a hymn was to be sung, and the organist crashed confidently into the openin...

13. Finder's Keepers

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old, old story, that I think is still funny. The phone rings and a little boy answers in a whisper: "Hello?" The caller says: "Hi, is your Mommy there? "Yes!" "Can I talk to her?" "No!" "Why not?" "She's busy." "What about your Daddy, can I talk to him?" "No! He's busy." "Well, is there anyone else there?" "My little sister." "Is there anyone else there? Another adult?" "Uh, ...

14. To Hell and Back

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Visitors to Michigan never fail to be amused when they discover that our state contains both a Hell and a Paradise, Michigan. Paradise is in the Upper Peninsula, and Hell is not too far from Ann Arbor. I have no idea what that means. The first week I arrived in Ann Arbor, I recall reading a startling headline in the Ann Arbor News. I kid you not, this is what it said: “Dam water recedes; Hell ...

15. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (19:10). Understanding the Text After the scene at a Pharisee’s table in 14:1–24 (cf. 7:36–50; 11:37–54), the focus turns to the much less conventional meals that Jesus enjoyed with social and religious outsiders. This theme was earlier raised by the meal in Levi’s house (5:27–39) and by the “sinful woman” who disrupted another mo...

16. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The setting for all of the “lost” parables in chapter 15 is the Pharisaic complaint that Jesus associates and eats with tax collectors and sinners (15:1–2). By eating with defiled people, Jesus himself would contract uncleanness. Thus these parables all emerge from a controversial setting and need to be interpreted as parables in which Jesus defends his ministry to the “lost.” Three different para...

17. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

This section contains three parables that return to the theme of the inclusion of the lowly and the outcast in the kingdom of God: (1) the Parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 1–7); (2) the Parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8–10); and (3) the Parable of the Lost Son (vv. 11–32). These parables more or less pick up where the Parable of the Great Banquet (14:15–24) left off. The Parable of the Great Banquet t...

18. The Other Ninety-nine

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

John G. Lynn

A few years ago on a small farm in Ohio, a young woman waited anxiously for her husband to come home. Usually he returned about 5:30 for supper, but not this day. Linda called his place of business. He had left at the regular hour. Six thirty came. Still no husband. At 7:30 she put her two small children to bed. As she peered through the window toward the setting sun, the fields were rich with bud...

19. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

It is one of the great adventure stories of all time. A man named Thor Heyerdahl wanted to test the theory that people from South America could have settled the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific long before Columbus sailed to the New World. So Heyerdahl took a small team of men to Peru, where they constructed a raft out of balsa logs. These logs were tied together with rope much as a group ...

20. Lost, But Not the TV Show!

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

A marine tells about a field exercise he was participating in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His squad was on a night patrol making their way through some thick brush. Halfway through, they realized they’d lost their map. The patrol navigator informed the rest of the squad that their odds were 1 in 359 that they’d succeed in getting back to their base of operations. “How did you come up with that figure?”...

21. He Left Them Where?

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Kent Crockett, in his book, I Once Was Blind, but Now I Squint includes A Pessimist's Commentary on Psalm 23. The author is listed as "Ima Whiner." It is admittedly a spoof. But it is a good way for us to begin our thinking about today's text. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. "Shall not want?" Says Ima Whiner. "Give me a break. I want lots of things. I'd like to have a nicer house, a b...

22. Why The British Coast Guard Doesn't Like Eric, But God Does

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Last year, newspapers around the world carried the story of Eric Abbott, a British sailor who makes a habit of getting lost. On August 10, 2000, the British coast guard rescued Eric Abbott for the sixth time after he sailed off course and ran aground. You would think after all these mishaps, he would give up sailing. No way. Abbott plans on hitting the water again soon. Some would admire Abbott fo...

23. The God of Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

As most of you know, actor Paul Newman started a food company several years ago. Many products now bear the name, "Newman’s Own." With profits from this business, Newman helped build a camp for critically ill children. It’s called the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. The name was taken from his film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Newman was sitting at a table one day with a camper who asked him wh...

24. Where's George?

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

In the early 1930s, George Burns and Gracie Allen were enjoying moderate success with their new television show, but they weren't drawing in the audiences like they wanted to. They needed some way to get people interested in the show. The solution came, improbably enough, from one of Gracie's scatterbrained comedy routines. George knew that one way to get the comedic juices flowing was to ask Grac...

25. About Unclaimed Luggage

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been on a flight where the airline lost your luggage? It’s a helpless feeling. In most cases, the lost piece of luggage is returned . . . eventually. But every year, thousands of items are lost or left behind on America’s airlines and never claimed. Eventually, all those lost items end up in the small town of Scottsboro, Alabama, at a store called the Unclaimed Baggage Center. Th...

Showing 1 to 25 of 137 results