"Worth the Search?" Luke 15: 1-10; psalm 147

Two familiar parables -- the lost coin and lost sheep as we typically title them.

Initial thoughts that have not formed a sermon yet.

1.  What did the other 99 sheep think when the shepherd left them to chase the one sheep?

2.  The use of a woman as the protagonist in the parable is rather striking given the role of women in their world.

3.  The parables are told in the context of sinners repenting.

4.  The value of the coin and the sheep is defined by the concern of the woman and the shepherd.  Our value comes from God's concern for us.

5.  The summary phrases of both parables is about the joy in heaven when one sinner repents.  Interesting to note that those phrases suggest the sinner acting to repent, but in both parables the story focuses on the person doing the searching.  Does that mean that God searches us out, but we still have to repent?  Does the shepherd arrive at the lost sheep and wait for it to jump into his arms?  Certainly a coin has no ability to choose whether to repent or not.

Any good stories about looking for something you have lost?  Or choosing not to look?  Or giving up the search?

peace,

Richard