prepared by Chris Hancock – 14th September 2025
Hymn: Praise my soul 83
Prayers and the Lord’s prayer.
Lord Jesus, we thank you that your word brought forth life. The life that we share in your awesome creation. We praise you for your words of love to us throughout our lives – many of them spoken through the life of your son. So, we thank you for the gift of Jesus – who you sent to bring us back to you, to bridge the gap between heaven and earth, and to show us the way to you by his living, loving and dying for us. Amen
And yet Lord, we continue to misuse the world that you created. We have damaged it almost beyond repair, and we have made it unsustainable for so many. We are sorry for the way we have used it so selfishly, never thinking of the long-term effects. We are also sorry for the way in which we hurt people – with our actions and our words. Forgive us Lord and help us to hear the words that you utter readily to us when we confess our wrongdoings – ‘Your sins are forgiven’ as we respond, Thanks be to God. Amen
Let’s share in the Lord’s prayer as we say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Reading Luke 15, 1-10
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4“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? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I 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
8 “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? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Hymn: Come let us sing 443
| 1 Come, let us sing of a wonderful love, tender and true; out of the heart of the Father above, streaming to me and to you: wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above. 2 Jesus, the Saviour, this gospel to tell, joyfully came; came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell, sharing their sorrow and shame; seeking the lost, saving, redeeming at measureless cost. | 3 Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet; why do they roam? Love only waits to forgive and forget; home, weary wanderer, home! Wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above. 4 Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love, come and abide, lifting my life, till it rises above envy and falsehood and pride; seeking to be lowly and humble, a learner of thee. Robert Walmsley (1831–1905) |
Reflection
Today’s reading speaks of God’s love, compassion and forgiveness, and showing concern for the outcast or lost.
Who are the lost? In these stories that Jesus tells- he is clearly referring to those who are eager to hear his words, which included the tax collectors. Jesus understood sin as a state of alienation from God, in which all people live. So who does that mean? It means us all- we are all sinners and as such are all lost, but because God has searched us out, we are now found and restored.
The lost in our society today are all who need God. Those sleeping rough because of mental health issues and or family break up, those without jobs or any way of feeling useful in their lives, those with no sense of purpose, children or adults with no-one to care whether they live or die. Many of these people could be living apparently normal lives- getting by, just about coping, but lost just the same.
We all go through periods in our lives when we feel lost- many have been rejected by a partner or a family member, many have suffered the indignity of losing our job, or falling ill and being unable to work. Many have been depressed and unable to know where to turn to for help. Like the Pharisees, many don’t know they are lost, and even if they do, there seems to be nothing they can do about it.
So, God goes to great effort to seek the lost. He takes the initiative- even when people don’t know they are lost He never stops looking for them- he never gives up.
In our two parables the lost sheep and the lost coin are both completely passive- they are only found due to the diligent effort on the part of the shepherd and the woman. They make no effort to get found. The shepherd had to give up his time, his rest and would have had to endure exposure to the weather and the wilderness, risking attacks from wild animals, and yet he searched on. The woman had to set all else aside until the coin was found- no shopping or cooking, no fetching water from the well or chatting with friends in the marketplace, and no washing or other tasks were undertaken. She also had to use up a good supply of oil in her lamp in order to give her enough light to search, as most middle eastern houses at that time had no windows and only earthenware floors, so sweeping too would have been a back-breaking task. Likewise, God undertakes the personal cost of searching for lost souls. His ultimate cost was the life of his son- Jesus Christ.
The word used in these stories for repentance, is the Greek word metanoia, which, rather than being contrition and remorse (rather a negative feeling) means more a change of mind and purpose- a shift in how we perceive and respond to life; which is a much more positive response. Jesus seeks to bring sinners to repentance, but not once does he scold or condemn them, and never does he comment on their behaviour…. He sits down and eats with them.
Then God… rejoices greatly when a lost soul is found.
Both stories go on to tell us how the finder rejoices. The shepherd and the woman both call their friends to share in their happiness, and in the both cases, a comparison is made with the rejoicing in heaven over a sinner who repents.
There is a question, of course about the ninety nine sheep that are left on the hillside. The fact is that they are already safe, so although the shepherd cares greatly for each of the hundred, his rejoicing is with the one who was lost. Imagine you had seven children!! Not much of a leap for me, as I have five, but a bigger leap for most of you I expect! Then imagine one of them became very ill for a period of time. Would you not all rejoice greatly when that child recovered? It doesn’t mean you loved the other six any the less- just that you were relieved and happy that the one so ill was restored to you.
Jesus embraces the very people that the rest of the religious society of the time rejected. Is our church today any different? Do we join with God in his search for the lost? Can we join in with God’s joy when a sinner repents?
We do have a mission to seek the lost, to help God in his search?
Jesus said this was a mission issue- and mission means reaching out for those who have not been touched by the gospel. We need to reach out to those who need mercy, whatever the reason. We need to give our attention, like Jesus did, to those lost from the comfortable life of a caring, family community like the church. This is why the church exists- to be a living, breathing demonstration of the kiss of God; to care enough to go out and seek the lost and restore them to God.
We need our churches to be places of unconditional acceptance and equal opportunity where diversity is celebrated and everyone can feel at home in the love of God. However, no matter how welcoming we might be to those who do come through the door, most people don’t come of their own accord. We need to go out and seek the lost.
Prayers
Almighty God, we pray for your churches throughout the world, and particularly for those of our Circuit. We pray for your guidance on the things that you are calling us to as church communities and as individuals.
We pray for the world especially for those places shattered by conflict and war. Those places decimated by the climate crisis. We pray for all who are struggling with the economic problems where each day is a battle to feed and clothe themselves and their families. We pray for all those working to address these issues and pray wisdom on the leaders of the world as they seek to address these complicated issues. Take a little time in silence, to pray for any country that is on your mind today.
Loving God, we pray for all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit. We pray for all those who mourn the loss of a loved one. We pray that they will feel the comfort of your presence holding them tight. Take a little time in silence, to pray for those you know who needs God’s healing power today.
Loving God, we thank you for all that you do in our lives. We look back and see the times when you have held us tight and answered our prayers and we are humbled by your presence in our lives. We offer you all of our prayers though the powerful name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
Hymn: Lord for the years 470
| 1 Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way, sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided, Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today. 2 Lord, for that word, the Word of life which fires us, speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze, teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us, Lord of the word, receive your people’s praise. 3 Lord, for our land, in this our generation, spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care; for young and old, for commonwealth and nation, Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer. | 4 Lord, for our world; when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain; hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him, Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign. 5 Lord, for ourselves; in living power remake us, self on the cross and Christ upon the throne; past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone. Timothy Dudley-Smith (b.1926) |
Blessing
As we leave this time of worship. We go in peace, joy and love. As we meet others in our daily lives, help us be ready and willing to share the good news of the salvation Jesus brings. Help us to be searchers for the lost and give us the words to encourage them to once again come into your presence. Amen.
