DAY 16
Marc Turnage
Scripture
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
“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? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
In today’s video, Marc explains that Jesus belonged to a stream of piety within ancient Judaism that saw the value of a single individual to God, illustrating this idea with two little parables in Luke 15 of the lost sheep and the lost coin.
Marc tells a story of watching a shepherd in Israel stop and wait for a lamb to catch up to the flock when separated from them by a group of tourists! Just as this shepherd values that one sheep, so indeed does our Father value even one lost person.
Marc challenges us to be honest about how we view these two parables. We love to think about ourselves being the one that God values and goes after. But what if you were part of the 99, and your neighbor, or coworker, or someone you may not like is the person God sees as the one?
Question: Are you the 99, or are you the one? If you are not confident in your relationship with God, text NEXT to 88000. We would love to help you take your next step with Jesus!
Family Chat: What does it feel like to lose something important? Tell your kids the story of the Lost Coin, and remind them that is how Jesus feels about them and about people.
Take Action: If you answered you are the 99 in that question, ask the Holy Spirit to create a divine appointment or two for you this week, so that you can boldly share with others what God has done for you.
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