Luke Part 2 Week 29

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 15:6-7 

⁶ “When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” 

Jesus continued to tell the story about the lost sheep and the joy when it was found. He was stressing to the religious leaders criticizing Him for associating and eating with sinners that each one who comes to Jesus would be rejoiced over. The religious leaders were like the ninety-nine and did not think they needed His rescuing.  

REFLECT 

Imagine the joy in heaven over each sinner who trusts in Jesus as Savior! 

RESPOND 

Join with a friend and try to remember people who have turned to Jesus in the last six months or during the past year. Rejoice over their salvation with the heavenly hosts who rejoiced over them. 

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 15:8-10 

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” 

Jesus now tells the story of the lost coin. Again the story emphasized the joy after it was found. Not only did the owner rejoice, but she also called in her friends and neighbors so they could rejoice with her. Notice the application: “In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” It is not a group that causes them to rejoice; it is just one sinner who repents and turns to God in faith. 

REFLECT 

Do you realize the miracle and joy of even one person repenting of sin and turning to God in faith for salvation? That person is changed forever. 

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about the clear message in John 3:16-18. Believing in Jesus for salvation changes one’s eternal destiny from hell to heaven. Join in praising God for what He has done in your life. 

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 15:11-12 

¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.” 

After telling the story about the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus then told a story about a lost son. The younger son wanted his inheritance then and not wait until his father died. The father agreed to his son’s request and divided his estate between his two sons. The older son had not requested this, but he benefitted from the decision. 

REFLECT 

Does the selfishness of the younger son remind you of anyone? Some people are anxious to get their hands on any inheritance immediately and do not want to wait until a parent dies. 

RESPOND 

The Bible speaks about those who have a love for money. See passages such as Exodus 20:17; Matthew 6:24 and 1 Timothy 6:6-7. Talk about how these verses apply to your life today. 

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 15:13-16 

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.” 

In Jesus’ story, He told about the younger son leaving home with his wealth. Sadly, “he wasted all his money in wild living.” In addition, famine swept over the land. As he began to starve he was hired to feed the pigs—unclean animals in Jewish culture. He was sinking lower and lower. No one gave him anything so even the feed for the pigs looked good to him.  

REFLECT 

Have you ever had a time of running from the Lord and sinking lower and lower? What was it like when you confessed your sin and returned to fellowship with Him? 

RESPOND  

Join with a friend and read what the Bible says occurs for the sinner who repents and turns to God in faith. See passages such as Romans 5:1 and Romans 8:1. Rejoice that there is no condemnation for the person who has trusted in Jesus for salvation. 

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 15:17-19 

¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’” 

The younger son finally comes to his senses. He realized he would be better off with his father working as a hired hand. He had gone from wanting the wealth in his inheritance to being willing to work as a servant with no rights of his own. He knew that his father’s servants had more than enough to eat. 

REFLECT 

Have you ever had a major turnaround in your thinking about something like this younger son had? 

RESPOND 

Are you thinking about what the lesson was in Jesus’ story and what it is for today? Does the younger son refer to a believer out of fellowship with the heavenly Father or does it refer to a lost person coming to Jesus? Perhaps it will become clearer as we approach the end of the story, also called a “parable.”