Lost and Found
Worship
Bright Intervals
40 Brief Worship Services and Meditations for Any Occasion
Object:
Greeting and Call To Worship
Jesus said: I have come to seek and to save the lost. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance!
Opening Prayer
God of grace and forgiveness, we come to you like the prodigal son to his father, knowing that we have no righteousness within ourselves and trusting in your mercy to restore us to your family. Cleanse our lives, and renew our spirits that we may once more be the sons and daughters of the Living God. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"Make Me A Captive, Lord"
The opening line of this hymn may at first seem very puzzling: "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free." How can one be a captive and yet be free? George Matheson, the writer of this hymn, is describing something important that happened to him in his life. Matheson was a brilliant young theologian with a promising career as a Christian scholar. But as a young man, he lost his eyesight completely. It meant giving up his love of research and scholarship. However, George Matheson said, "When I became blind, I really began to see." What he meant by that was that in his utter dependence on God, he learned to read the hearts of people and to live closer to God than ever before.
Scripture Reading
Luke 15:1-24
Meditation
Can you think back to a time in your life when you were lost? I am sure you would agree that being lost is a terrible experience. As a boy, I was attending a county fair one evening when I became separated from my parents. I stopped to look at something and, the next moment, I realized that nothing around me looked familiar. Fighting back the tears, I began to run. I could hear the crowd ahead laughing, and the music was blaring, but there was no sign of my father or mother. I was lost and very frightened. Then I felt a touch on my shoulder and, turning around, there was my father. I learned that night that being lost is terrible, but being found is absolutely wonderful!
Sometimes people lose their way spiritually as well. They get out-of-touch with God, estranged from the church, and even alienated from family and friends. Jesus once told three simple stories about what it is like to be lost and then found. The first story was about a lost sheep who carelessly wandered off from the rest of the flock. The little lamb in the story did not intend to get lost, but it was enjoying nibbling away on some green grass and, when it looked up, the rest of the flock was nowhere to be seen. The same thing can happen in our relationship with God. We never intend to wander off, but days go by without saying our prayers; we get busy with other things and, before we know it, God seems very far away.
Tragically, some people do not even know they are lost until they are found. The security force in a large shopping mall found a little boy who was lost. They took him to their office and paged his parents over the intercom. While they waited, one of the officers gave the boy a big ice cream cone to eat. He was all smiles until his parents arrived, and then he burst into tears. One of the security men said, "I guess that little fellow didn't even know he was lost until he was found!" Like the lost sheep in Jesus' story, we can so easily become lost when we let other things get in the way of our relationship with God.
Jesus told a second story, this one about a lost coin and a woman who had to sweep her whole house to find it. Sometimes people get lost because others are careless or lead them astray. The coin in Jesus' story did not lose itself. It was the woman of the house who had lost the coin. Sometimes we forget how much our behavior and our attitude influence those around us. At any moment our tone of voice, our mood, or the look on our face can either draw people to Jesus Christ or turn them away from God altogether. There's an old story about a little boy who did not want to go to Sunday School. His mother said, "But, son, your father always went to Sunday School as a boy." The little boy looked up and said, "That's what I mean, Mom, it won't do me any good either!"
Then Jesus told a third story, this time about a lost son. All of us remember this story about a headstrong son who demanded his share of the inheritance, and then went off to the far country until he had wasted everything. But the point of all three of these stories is not being lost, but the joy that takes place when the lost is found. God is like the shepherd who searches for the lost lamb; God is like the woman who cleans her house to find the coin; and God is like the father who welcomes home his wayward son.
A priest was summoned for a woman dying from AIDS. "I am lost," she said, "I have ruined my life, and now I am going to hell." The priest noticed a picture on the woman's dresser. The woman said, "That is my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my life." The priest asked, "If your daughter had made a mess of her life, would you still love her?" "Of course!" said the woman. "How can you ask such a question?" "Because," said the priest, "God has a picture of you on his dresser, and God loves you just as much!"
Benediction
To God be the glory, both now and forevermore.
Jesus said: I have come to seek and to save the lost. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance!
Opening Prayer
God of grace and forgiveness, we come to you like the prodigal son to his father, knowing that we have no righteousness within ourselves and trusting in your mercy to restore us to your family. Cleanse our lives, and renew our spirits that we may once more be the sons and daughters of the Living God. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"Make Me A Captive, Lord"
The opening line of this hymn may at first seem very puzzling: "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free." How can one be a captive and yet be free? George Matheson, the writer of this hymn, is describing something important that happened to him in his life. Matheson was a brilliant young theologian with a promising career as a Christian scholar. But as a young man, he lost his eyesight completely. It meant giving up his love of research and scholarship. However, George Matheson said, "When I became blind, I really began to see." What he meant by that was that in his utter dependence on God, he learned to read the hearts of people and to live closer to God than ever before.
Scripture Reading
Luke 15:1-24
Meditation
Can you think back to a time in your life when you were lost? I am sure you would agree that being lost is a terrible experience. As a boy, I was attending a county fair one evening when I became separated from my parents. I stopped to look at something and, the next moment, I realized that nothing around me looked familiar. Fighting back the tears, I began to run. I could hear the crowd ahead laughing, and the music was blaring, but there was no sign of my father or mother. I was lost and very frightened. Then I felt a touch on my shoulder and, turning around, there was my father. I learned that night that being lost is terrible, but being found is absolutely wonderful!
Sometimes people lose their way spiritually as well. They get out-of-touch with God, estranged from the church, and even alienated from family and friends. Jesus once told three simple stories about what it is like to be lost and then found. The first story was about a lost sheep who carelessly wandered off from the rest of the flock. The little lamb in the story did not intend to get lost, but it was enjoying nibbling away on some green grass and, when it looked up, the rest of the flock was nowhere to be seen. The same thing can happen in our relationship with God. We never intend to wander off, but days go by without saying our prayers; we get busy with other things and, before we know it, God seems very far away.
Tragically, some people do not even know they are lost until they are found. The security force in a large shopping mall found a little boy who was lost. They took him to their office and paged his parents over the intercom. While they waited, one of the officers gave the boy a big ice cream cone to eat. He was all smiles until his parents arrived, and then he burst into tears. One of the security men said, "I guess that little fellow didn't even know he was lost until he was found!" Like the lost sheep in Jesus' story, we can so easily become lost when we let other things get in the way of our relationship with God.
Jesus told a second story, this one about a lost coin and a woman who had to sweep her whole house to find it. Sometimes people get lost because others are careless or lead them astray. The coin in Jesus' story did not lose itself. It was the woman of the house who had lost the coin. Sometimes we forget how much our behavior and our attitude influence those around us. At any moment our tone of voice, our mood, or the look on our face can either draw people to Jesus Christ or turn them away from God altogether. There's an old story about a little boy who did not want to go to Sunday School. His mother said, "But, son, your father always went to Sunday School as a boy." The little boy looked up and said, "That's what I mean, Mom, it won't do me any good either!"
Then Jesus told a third story, this time about a lost son. All of us remember this story about a headstrong son who demanded his share of the inheritance, and then went off to the far country until he had wasted everything. But the point of all three of these stories is not being lost, but the joy that takes place when the lost is found. God is like the shepherd who searches for the lost lamb; God is like the woman who cleans her house to find the coin; and God is like the father who welcomes home his wayward son.
A priest was summoned for a woman dying from AIDS. "I am lost," she said, "I have ruined my life, and now I am going to hell." The priest noticed a picture on the woman's dresser. The woman said, "That is my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my life." The priest asked, "If your daughter had made a mess of her life, would you still love her?" "Of course!" said the woman. "How can you ask such a question?" "Because," said the priest, "God has a picture of you on his dresser, and God loves you just as much!"
Benediction
To God be the glory, both now and forevermore.
