Lost and Found

[0:00] Well, if we could, boys and girls, young and old, if we could turn back to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15, and I just want to read one verse to you.

[0:15] Luke chapter 15, and it's the last verse. Page 1054 in the Pew Bible. Luke 15, verse 32.

[0:27] It was fitting to celebrate and be glad. For this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.

[0:38] He was lost and is found. Now, I'm sure that you can all see that I took something with me this morning. It's a box full of different things.

[0:53] Lots and lots of different things inside this box. And the reason why there are lots and lots of different things inside this box is because this box is full of things that were once lost but have now been found.

[1:05] They were once lost but have now been found. Inside this box there's a scarf. And there's things like a hat. Hats that are lost. And there was gloves inside this box.

[1:19] And there's a shoe. Somebody's missing a shoe. And somebody's lost car keys. And they've all been put inside this box.

[1:29] All these things were inside this lost and found box. Because they all belong to someone. They all belong to someone. And whoever they belong to, they've left them behind. And, well, they had to be put into this box.

[1:43] This lost and found box. And as you can see, that's what it's called. Lost and found. Lost and found box.

[1:55] Okay? Because everything in it, it was lost by someone. But found by somebody else. And we're waiting for the owners to come and collect whatever they have lost.

[2:06] Whatever belongs to them. But until then, all the gloves and the hats and the scarves and the keys and the shoes, they'll all stay inside this box until they come and collect it. Until the owners come and collect whatever belongs to them.

[2:20] Whatever they have lost and has been found. And that's what Jesus was talking about in this chapter. In Luke chapter 15. Because Jesus was talking about being lost and being found.

[2:34] Talking about being lost and being found. And Jesus was talking to men who are called Pharisees. And the Pharisees, they were men who taught about God.

[2:46] But they were very serious men. They never smiled. You never saw them smiling. They always had a grumpy face. Always the grumpy face.

[2:57] And they were always unhappy. Always unhappy, especially when they saw Jesus. Because they were always trying to catch Jesus out. Always trying to catch him out. And say that Jesus was a bad man.

[3:10] And not God's son. But what Jesus wanted to explain to the Pharisees. Is how wonderful salvation is. Jesus wanted to explain how wonderful it is.

[3:22] To trust in God. And to follow Jesus. Because trusting in God and following Jesus. It isn't to make us grumpy and unhappy. It's... No, says Jesus.

[3:33] Jesus says it should make us happy. It should make us smile. It should make us rejoice. It should make us sing. We should be singing. Because when someone is lost.

[3:44] And they are found again. It's the best thing that could ever happen to them. The best thing that could ever happen. And we should be rejoicing with them.

[3:54] That's what Jesus says. But the Pharisees. They were complaining. And they were grumbling. And they were so unhappy about all these people who were following Jesus. And so Jesus decides to tell the Pharisees a parable.

[4:07] He tells them a parable. And the parable which Jesus tells the Pharisees has three stories in it. It had three stories in it. But all three stories, they have the same meaning.

[4:19] Because they're all talking about rejoicing over something that was lost. And something that was found. And I want us to listen carefully to these three stories. Because Jesus tells us three stories.

[4:32] The three stories are the story of a lost sheep. A story of a lost coin. And the story of a lost son. A lost sheep. A lost coin.

[4:42] And a lost son. And so the first story which Jesus tells is the story about a lost sheep. Which is a lost sheep. And Jesus says that there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep.

[4:57] I wonder if you can count to 100. I'm sure you can. This shepherd had 100 sheep. He owned 100 sheep. They all belonged to him. And one day this shepherd, he went out into the field.

[5:10] He went out into the field to see his sheep. To see if all his sheep were okay. And that they were eating the grass happily. And that they were all safe. But just to make sure that all the sheep were in the field.

[5:21] The shepherd started to count them. And he went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. And then a wee while later, the shepherd was counting 95, 96, 97, 98, 99.

[5:36] What? Oh. Oh. There's one missing. There's one sheep missing. And the shepherd said, well what do I do? What do I do? I have to go and look for my lost sheep.

[5:48] I can't leave my sheep. It's out there on its own. It'll be scared. It'll be in danger. And it won't be getting fed. And it wouldn't know how to get home. And that's what can often happen to sheep.

[6:01] I'm sure you've seen that before. They can wander away from where they're not meant to be. And they can get out of the field that they're meant to be in. And sometimes, I'm sure you've come across it.

[6:13] You've found sheep walking along the road. They've all been walking along the road. And they're lost sheep. And they're in danger of being knocked down by a car. And they don't know how to get home. But this shepherd, he was really worried about his one lost sheep.

[6:27] His one lost sheep. So he went to look for it. He left the other 99 sheep in the field, probably with another shepherd. And this shepherd, he set out on his journey, looking for his lost sheep.

[6:39] And he went everywhere. Went everywhere looking for it. He went over the hills. Went through all the roads looking for it. And every time he passed someone, have you seen my lost sheep?

[6:50] Have you seen my lost sheep? He was asking everyone. But no one had seen it. No one had come across his lost sheep. And he was calling his lost sheep. Where are you? Where are you?

[7:01] And the shepherd was hoping that the sheep would hear him. And they would come back. The shepherd was looking everywhere. But after all his searching and calling his lost sheep, the shepherd finally found his sheep.

[7:15] And when he found him, he would have said, Oh, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. And Jesus says that the shepherd would have put the sheep over his shoulder.

[7:28] And he would have carried the sheep home. Probably because he was hungry and tired. And the shepherd would have carried the sheep back home to be with all the other sheep in the field.

[7:40] But when the shepherd got home, after finding this precious lost sheep, he called all his family, all his friends, all his neighbours. He called them all together. And the shepherd says, Rejoice with me.

[7:52] Rejoice with me. Because I have found my sheep that was lost. I found my sheep that was lost. And Jesus, he explains the story then by saying that there's more joy in heaven when one lost sinner is saved than 99 people who are already saved.

[8:11] And what Jesus was talking about is that we are like lost sheep. We're like the sheep who have wandered away from all the other sheep. And we've wandered away from our shepherd.

[8:25] But what's amazing is that the Bible says that Jesus is the good shepherd. And he's the good shepherd who came down from heaven in order to search for the lost sheep.

[8:37] He came to search for sinners. He came to die for sinners in order that lost sinners could be saved. And that's what we are. We are sinners. We're lost.

[8:47] We are not where we should be. We're out of place. We are in need of God. But Jesus says that when we follow Jesus, we are found.

[8:58] We are found. And being found, it's the best thing ever. Because when we're found, we're safe. And we're saved from danger. And saved from going to hell.

[9:09] And that should make us rejoice. That should make us sing and smile and be so happy. Because when someone is lost and they are found again, it's the best thing that could ever happen to them.

[9:23] And that's what Jesus is telling us. That's what Jesus is telling us. Because he's telling us that following him is the best thing we can ever do. The best thing. So I hope we won't be lost sheep.

[9:36] But found sheep. And we'll follow the good shepherd, Jesus Christ. So Jesus told the story of a lost sheep. He told the story of a lost sheep.

[9:47] But then he went on to tell another story. The story of a lost coin. Some lost coins. And in the story, the second story, Jesus tells us that there was a woman who had ten silver coins.

[10:01] She had ten silver coins. And the coins were all very precious and valuable. And they were worth a lot of money. Very precious to this woman. And one day, this woman was counting her special coins.

[10:15] She was going, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight, nine, oh.

[10:27] There was one missing. It was lost. And it made her really upset. She didn't know where she had lost it or what had happened to the coin. And she started looking for this lost coin in her house.

[10:40] She was looking everywhere for it. She searched high and low. And she lit a lamp. And she was wandering around the house and all the dark places. But she couldn't find it. Now, I'm sure you've lost things before.

[10:53] I'm sure you've lost things too. That you've maybe lost a favourite teddy. A favourite toy. Maybe you've lost that. Maybe some of you have lost a remote control for the TV.

[11:04] That's always a favourite to go missing. Or you lose your phone or your watch. You lose something. There's a number of things that we can lose. And we lose them all the time. But as you begin to look for what you've lost.

[11:18] You have to retrace your steps. And think, well, where did I see this last? Where was I when I last had this? And you think about what you've been doing. And in your search, you often search the cupboards.

[11:30] That's the first thing. Open all the cupboards. And have a look for what's inside them. And then you maybe go into the toy box. And you start digging really, really deep. Digging down. And then you look under the couch.

[11:41] And you can't find it under your bed. You open the wardrobe. You check your pockets. You check your jacket. You look in the car. You look everywhere. You search high and low.

[11:52] And sometimes you even have to check in the bin. And that's when you know it's really bad. That you have to check the bin. But when you find it. When you find what you've been looking for.

[12:03] And what you've lost. Does it not make you really happy? Because you're delighted to find what you lost. And after spending all that time and energy searching for it.

[12:15] There's joy and there's relief. When you've found what you've been looking for. And Jesus says. That's what this woman was like when she found her lost coin.

[12:26] She was so happy and so relieved to find her lost coin. After sweeping the whole house. And looking for it. And lighting the lamp. And wandering around the house. Pulling everything out.

[12:39] She found it. She found the coin. Finally found it. Found what you've been looking for. And something that was so precious to her. And so valuable to her. And just like the shepherd.

[12:52] Jesus says. That this woman. After she had found her coin. She called all her family. And all her friends. And all her neighbours. She called them all together. And she says. Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me.

[13:03] I have found the coin that I had lost. And we might think. Well that's a bit much. That's a bit much. Going to the extreme of rejoicing.

[13:14] Because you've found your coin. But Jesus wants to explain to us in the story. That the coin was precious to her. The coin was dear to her. That's why she rejoiced when she found it.

[13:27] And you know boys and girls. That's what God thinks of us too. We are precious. We are precious.

[13:38] Yes we are lost. And we are sinners. We have sinned against God. But God still views us as precious. We are precious. Do you know that?

[13:49] Do you know that you're precious? So precious. You're loved by God. Cared for by God. Precious to God. Doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about you. You're precious to God.

[14:01] And you're loved. That's why Jesus came into the world. That's why Jesus was born. That's why Jesus died on the cross. Because Jesus said. I have come to seek and to save the lost.

[14:16] I have come to seek and to save the lost. That's why Jesus came. We're so precious to him. That he came to seek us and find us and save us. By dying on the cross to take away our sins.

[14:28] And he rose again so that we'd be in heaven with him. And when we come to follow Jesus. Jesus reminds us again in this story. That there is rejoicing in heaven.

[14:39] Over one person. One person. Just one. Who turns from their sin. Turns from their sin. And turns to God. Doesn't matter how young we are.

[14:51] How old we are. Doesn't matter who we are. We're never too young. Never too old to trust in Jesus. And to start following him.

[15:01] And that's what I hope and pray that we'll all do. I hope and pray that we'll trust in Jesus. And follow him. Because being found and following Jesus. Is the best thing ever.

[15:13] The best thing ever. So Jesus told us two stories. A story about the lost sheep. And the lost coin. But the last story Jesus tells us about. Is the story of a lost son.

[15:26] A lost son. Now I'm sure you wonder what's going to come up next. But this is. This is my lost son. And you all know this is fireman's son. But I want you to pretend that this is a bad son.

[15:37] Okay. This is a bad son who was a really bad boy. And Jesus uses the story of a bad boy. Not because. It's just boys that are bad.

[15:49] Because girls are bad too. In fact everyone is bad. That's what the Bible says. Everyone's a sinner. But this bad boy that Jesus was speaking about. He was old enough to leave home.

[16:01] And he went. And when he was old enough to leave home. He went to his father. And he asked his father for half of his money. He asked his dad to empty half of his bank account.

[16:12] And give it to him. And his father gave it to him. His father gave half of his money to his bad son. And this bad son he left home. And he ran far far away from home.

[16:24] He ran away from his father and his brother. And all the work that he had to do for his father. He went to live far far away. And this bad son he began to spend all the money that he had.

[16:35] All the money that his father had given to him. Began to spend it all. He didn't look after his money. He didn't save his money. He didn't put his money in the bank. He just wasted his money.

[16:46] Just wasted it. Because he bought lots and lots of different things. And he wasted his money on things that wouldn't last. And things that would break. And things that were rubbish.

[16:57] He just wasted his money. And eventually this bad son had no money left. He had nothing left. And he ran out of money. He had nowhere to stay. And he had spent everything.

[17:09] And one day. He got a job feeding pigs. But when he was feeding the pigs. He was so hungry. This bad son.

[17:20] He was so hungry. So dirty. That he was working with all these smelly pigs. And he was seeing what they were eating. And he was so hungry. That he wanted to eat what they were eating.

[17:30] And I think if he had eaten what they were eating. It would have been like eating dog food. But much worse than that probably. But it was after running far, far away.

[17:43] And spending all his father's money. The money that the father had given to him. Wasting everything he had. And being hungry. And sitting with pigs. It was then that the bad son realized.

[17:55] That he was a lost son. He was a lost son. He realized that he had been bad. He had sinned. And because of his sin. He ended up far, far away from his father.

[18:07] And he was in need of help. He was in need of so much help. But what did the lost son do? What did he do? He decided that it's better for him to turn around.

[18:18] And to come back to his father's house. He thought that it was better for him. To go back to his father. And say sorry. For all that he'd done. So the lost son.

[18:30] Traveled all the way home. He traveled the long distance back. To his father. And on his journey. The lost son was planning what he'd say to his father. After running away. And spending all his money.

[18:42] And wasting it. And becoming filthy. And dirty. And hungry. He thought that the father would be angry. With him. Because he was a lost son. And he thought the father would punish him.

[18:54] Give him a big row. But when the lost son was approaching home. The father saw his son. He saw him. And what's amazing is that. Jesus doesn't say that the father was angry.

[19:07] Or that the father. Wanted to punish his son. Jesus tells us that the father. Ran to meet his son. He ran to meet him. And he reached out for him.

[19:17] And he cuddled him. And he kissed him. The father wasn't angry with his son. He was so happy to see him. And he rejoiced to see his son again.

[19:27] And when the lost son was in his father's arms. The lost son said. Sorry to his father. For all that he had done. But the father was so happy to see his lost son.

[19:39] And to see that he'd been found. He was so happy that. He cleaned him up. And he dressed him up like a king. Put a ring on his finger. Shoes on his feet. And then he had a big celebration.

[19:51] And he said. Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me. My son was dead. He's alive again. He was lost. And is found. And Jesus told the lost.

[20:03] The story about the lost son. Because. That's what we are like. That's what we are like. We. When we sin against God. We go very far away from him. And we can waste many years.

[20:15] Running away from our heavenly father. And I hope that. When you grow up. Boys and girls. I hope. That you will not run away from God.

[20:27] But that you'll come to him. When you're young. I hope you'll listen. To what your Sunday school teachers. Teach you. And tell you. Every week. About God. And about Jesus. Because like this.

[20:39] Lost son. We have to come to our heavenly father. And say sorry. For all the bad things. We've done. And to trust in him. Because when we come to God. And say that we're sorry.

[20:50] To him for our sin. He isn't angry with us. He doesn't want to punish us. No. The bible says. He loves us. He loves us. And because he loves us. He wants us. To have the best.

[21:02] He wants to give us. The best. He wants to give us. The greatest gift. And the greatest gift. When we come to our heavenly father. Is to be made.

[21:13] A son. Or a daughter. Of our heavenly father. We can be called. The children of God. When we trust in Jesus. Because trusting in Jesus.

[21:24] Is the best thing. We can ever do. And that's what Jesus. Is telling us today. Trusting in him. Is the best thing. We can ever do. Trusting and following in Jesus.

[21:36] Is the reason. Why we can rejoice. And be glad. Because that's what happened. To the lost sheep. There was rejoicing. When the lost sheep. Was found.

[21:47] That's what happened. With the lost coin. There was rejoicing. When the lost coin. Was found. That's what happened. With the lost son. There was rejoicing. When the lost son.

[21:59] Was found. And you know. I hope. There will be rejoicing. Today. I really do. Above all else.

[22:11] That there will be rejoicing. In heaven. Because the boys. And the girls. The mummies. And the daddies. The grannies. And the shenners. The aunties. And the uncles. That they have come.

[22:22] To trust in Jesus. They've come. To follow him. And I hope. That we'll all be able. To say. The words. That you often sing. In school. When I go to the school.

[22:34] Assembly. Most weeks. They often sing. Amazing grace. How sweet. The sound. That saved. A wretch like me.

[22:44] Then he says. I once was lost. But now I'm found. Was blind. But now I see. So I hope.

[22:55] That will be our experience. Thank you so much. For listening. Okay. We'll just bow our heads. In prayer. Let us pray. Heavenly Father. We give thanks. For. The greatest gift.

[23:07] The gift. Of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. Help us. Lord. We pray. To see. That we are lost. Help us. To see. That we can be found. By coming. To Jesus.

[23:18] Oh bless us. Lord. Together. Bind us together. Help us. To give thanks. To thee. A God. Who is faithful. A God. Who has done. All things well.

[23:29] Bless us. Lord. We pray. And go before us. For Jesus sake. Amen. We can sing again. This time in Psalm 23. Psalm 23.

[23:43] In the Scottish Psalter. Page 229. Psalm 23. In the Scottish Psalter. And we'll sing the whole psalm.

[23:59] And we'll stand to sing. And then I'll pronounce the benediction. And then we'll begin the prize giving. For all the children. So Psalm 23.

[24:11] We'll sing the whole psalm. The Lord's my shepherd. I'll not want. He makes me down to lie. In pastures green he leadeth me. The quiet waters by.

[24:23] Down to the end of the psalm. Goodness and mercy all my life. Shall surely follow me. And in God's house forevermore. My dwelling place shall be. These verses to God's praise.

[24:34] Let's start this out. The Lord's my shepherd. I'm not want.

[24:47] He makes me down to lie. And pastures green he leadeth me.

[25:04] A quiet water by. My soul. My soul.

[25:15] My soul. He done. He done. He's done. Again. And me.

[25:26] To walk. And live. Within. The. Path.

[25:37] Of. Righteousness. He. For. His. For. His. For. His. Own. His.

[25:48] Save. He. In. He. He. He.

[25:59] He. Yet will I fear none, for thou art with me and thy role, and shalt become for still.

[26:30] My dimly love, my glory shed, in presence of my foes, my hand perders with oil anoint.

[27:00] I might uphold the cross. Who blest and lest be all my life, shall truly follow me.

[27:27] And in your stars forevermore, my dwelling place shall be.

[27:47] Amen. Amen. Praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen. Amen.