A sermon that James preached on 20th March at The Meeting Place
Luke 15:8-10
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? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’
(1)Theme: Who likes a party?
I’m an introvert so my idea of a party isn’t perhaps the same as yours. Its quiet, there’s a cup of tea involved. God likes a party, the angels like parties I wonder whether they are noisy, I wonder if there’s a cup of tea and some pastries available at God’s parties?
(2) Why does God rejoice?
Because One person repents, turns over a new leaf, starts a new life. ?How – we’ve all said New Years Resolutions, even Lenten Vows, I think it starts with being honest to yourself and to God that – I can’t keep doing this, not in my own strength, I’m on a spiral of self-destruction, I’m struggling, and I need help, I’ve messed up.
God help me! Restore me and Call me!
Today’s talk is sponsored by Lucy. She wrote it and was going to preach it but then Covid and she had a ?? test today.
She made some silver coins but then lost them – can you help me find my silver coins? [look for coins bring them up]
(3) COIN I think that’s how it starts. When one person. We love numbers and statistics and we love it when our numbers are big – but God says I will throw a party for one person.
That’s how precious you and I are to him. You realise that in the story, you and I are the coin? But instead of the woman saying Oh never mind I’ve got 9 others, or like the shepherd saying never mind I’ve got 99 other sheep, they don’t. The woman stops everything because of this one coin – you are precious to God. We forget that -I don’t know why, perhaps because God has a big planet to look after and I’m just one. But that’s not how God sees it, sees you.
(4) Did you notice how the woman, that’s God!?
He/she sees you, and you are that precious that He will stop what she’s doing to look for you.
(5) One –God believes in the power of one. LOTR – even the smallest people can change the course of the future.
We’ve looked at the Climate Crisis and said What can little me do on such a big planet. But we’ve seen that when one of us does a little thing, then it’s a start,
Maybe more of us will follow and maybe this planet will last a little bit longer because each one of us did a little something.
We can’t do much for the war in Ukraine but we’re slowly finding little things that we can do. Perhaps in hosting, perhaps in giving. Its only small but it’s like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains (also LOTR).
So Jesus calls us to be like the woman – to look for people who feel lost, disconnected from life, from God, from themselves – Be like Jesus – Because God rejoices, and the Angels rejoice, (sign) when one person says Dear God help me, I want to be on the same page that you are on, I need you to restore me from my sins and mistakes,
and I need you to call me to be part of restoring others. AMEN.