Good Stories

May 20, 2019 (Monday)
My sermons this year, at Bethel Baptist Church in Ingleside, have been based on the Gospel of Luke. I love all the books of the Bible for various reasons; I love Luke because of its many stories: stories about what Jesus did and/or said, and stories Jesus told. The stories told by Jesus are known as “parables,” which are “earthly stories with heavenly meanings.”
Three of those stories are found in chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel. All three stories are about something or someone who was lost and later was found.
Jesus began the first of the three stories with one about a lost sheep, saying, “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?” He went on to describe the determined search and the great joy when the sheep was found. He told the story because some of his hearers were criticizing his acceptance of people they condemned as “outcasts.”
The second story was about a lady who lost a small amount of money that was all she had. She relentlessly searched for it until she found it. She was so happy that she invited her neighbors to celebrate with her and share her joy.
The third was about a thankless son who demanded his inheritance ahead of time, left home and wasted it all in sinful living. Penniless and ashamed, he came back home with the hope that his father would hire him as a common worker. When his father saw him, he ran to him, embraced him, and made a feast to honor him. His older brother was very unhappy about that, but his father invited him to share his joy over the return of his son who had been lost but was found.
All three of these stories are about the same thing: God’s love for the world and His determination to save all who will accept His offer of mercy and salvation.
One thing should be clear to us all. God loves us. All of us are sinners (Romans 3:23). Eternal justice demands punishment (Romans 6:23), but God loves us and will forgive us if we turn away from our sin and accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Savior (Romans 10:9-10).

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ ”
(Romans 10:9-13 NIV).