Coming Back, Week 1: The Lost

Goals of Coming Back Series:   1.    To see you invite 2 people each week to church.   2.    To see those you invited give their hearts to Jesus.   We’ve always belonged to Jesus.    (Ephesians 1:4) (NLT) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.   (Jeremiah 3:22) (NLT) “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.   Title of my message:  The Lost   o   I hate to admit it.  o   I want to be found.   (Luke 15:1-2) (NLT) Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!   (Luke 15:3-7) (NLT) So Jesus told them this story:  “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!   Lost people, like sheep are:   1.    Prone to wander off.   (Isaiah 53:6) (NLT) All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.   2.    Vulnerable when separated from the Shepherd.   (1 Peter 5:8) (NLT) Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.   3.    Unaware they are lost.     (Ezekiel 34:16) (NIV84) I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak,   (Jeremiah 3:22) (NLT) “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.