When Philip realized that he had found the Savior, he wanted to tell someone. He told a friend whose name was Nathanael. He said, "Come and see!" "Come and see the Savior!" Nathanael did that. He came to see Jesus––and he came to love Jesus too.
Jesus went on to explain that God doesn’t want any of us to be lost either. He said that there will be more joy in heaven over one person who repents than over 99 who don’t need to repent. That is because he loves us so much. He doesn’t want any of us to be lost. Like Kyle, who searched and searched for the lost puppy. In his house there were five puppies, but that one little one was lost. So Kyle searched until he found it. That same way, God cares for us and does not want even one of us to be lost. Aren’t you glad that God loves us like that?
The Church is made up of people who acknowledge their need for God. When a person realizes that they need God and asks to join His kingdom it is as if that person has been found. When that happens, the Bible tells us that, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God…" (15:10)
Today's lesson is about being lost. Jesus was criticized for being with sinners (people who have not accepted God's love). Jesus told stories to help people understand that there are many people who have accepted God's love, but none will take the place of a lost sinner - they are like lost keys. The Bible tells us that Jesus wants everyone, every sinner, to feel the joy of God's love.
I’ll tell you a secret. The father in Jesus’ story is God. The son is all those people who do not pay attention to God and do not live the way God taught them. How does God feel about them when they come back to him? God throws a party —because even when we mess up, God loves us and just wants us back. Now I think that’s a great thing to know, don’t you? Here, take a party horn and celebrate God’s love with me.[ Let the kids blow the party horns for a minute. Then collect the horns!
When your beloved object is found and returned to you, I imagine you would feel very happy and excited. Perhaps that is what the father in this story felt when his youngest son, who had definitely made mistakes, returned home. In the story that Jesus tells, the father says this to his oldest son: "Son, you are always with me…,(15:31) but it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother was … lost, and is found" (15:32).
Jesus was a man who did many good things; he taught, healed, and fed others. He was a very good man, but he was so much more than that. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the Son of God. He was given special power to perform miracles and offer God's love to each one of us. We all can understand that Jesus was a very good man, but Christians worship Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior of the World.
The lesson for us is that when we sin (make a big mistake) we can come back to our Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness. We can also go to the people we have hurt, tell them that we are sorry, and try to make things better. Curve your life so you know how to come back and say, "I'm sorry."
Jesus preformed miracles such as healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and feeding five thousand people with a little boy's basket of seven loaves and fishes. The greatest of all miracles happened after Jesus died when he appeared again to his disciples and then ascended into heaven to be with God. Today we are a part of this story. We see all around us the beautiful trees and things of nature that God has provided, but "greater things than these" is that God loves us and cares for us. We are his children.
Jesus talks about responsibility. He says, "Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple" (14:27). In saying this he means that when you decide to accept God's love and be a follower of Jesus you must think about what is required - consider the cost. You must be willing to do what is necessary to make sure you are putting God first in your life. Be a responsible Christian - be willing everyday to serve God and serve others with God's love.