God's Lost And Found Department

Transcripts for Dr. Wiersbe's sermons are forthcoming. Below is an outline of his message.

Prodigal means wasteful.

All three stories in Luke 15 make up one story about Christian living.

Discoveries from the parable of the prodigal son:

• There is only one message of salvation.
  • Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
  • Jesus attracted sinners, but the pharisees repelled them.
  • The more we become like Jesus, the more we attract the people that need what we have.
  • Being separate from the world does not mean isolated.
  • Jesus understood sinners, but the pharisees criticized them.
  • Jesus loved and forgave sinners, but the pharisees condemned them.
  • Our mission is to share the message of Jesus Christ, not judge others.
• There are two aspects of salvation.
  • God searches for us and finds us where we are because He values us.
  • It’s God who makes the Gospel possible, but we must respond.
  • The goodness of God leads us to repentance.
• There are three pictures of salvation.
  • Luke 15 shares the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son.
  • These stories answer the questions, “What is man?” and “What is sin?”
  • Sin puts man in danger, makes man useless, and puts man outside the love of the Father.
  • The sheep was lost because of stupidity. The coin was lost because of carelessness. The son was lost because of willfulness.
  • God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all in the business of seeking and saving the lost.
• There are four joys of salvation.
  • The joy of the finder.
  • The joy of the found.
  • The joy of the friends.
  • The joy in heaven.
  • The angels rejoice when any sinner gets saved because they know what we were created for, what we are saved from, and what we are saved to.
  • The only person in this chapter who isn’t happy is the older brother.

There is great joy in being found!

The joy of the saved person lasts for all of eternity.