Luke 15:1-7 · The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 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.

Lost and Found
Luke 15:1-7
Sermon
by Leonard Sweet
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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 trapped child. As we watched and prayed, this little girl became everyone's child.

This child was Baby Jessica, as the media dubbed her, a tiny two year old who somehow managed to fall down an abandoned well-pipe with an unbelievably narrow diameter, which made sending anyone or any equipment in after her impossible. The little girl's body was wedged tight, bent in two at the waist, dozens of feet be…

ChristianGlobe Networks, Collected Sermons, by Leonard Sweet