Luke 15:4
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?"
Today's Prayer Focus
- For God to give us the heart of Jesus for the lost, and for this love to compel us as we pursue the lost sheep.
- For many future occasions when we will celebrate the finding of lost sheep. Pray for people to come to know the Savior through the grace of the gospel.
- For upcoming bridge events to connect us meaningfully to the lost sheep, including the Ken Sande event (Oct 9-10) on the common ground topic of relationships.
- For new move-ins in Baldwin Park, for spiritual receptivity. Pray in advance for the many who will move into the new apartments being built at Harbor Park.
"The Lost Sheep"
Mike Tilley
Some years ago our family was enjoying a day at Disney World, when we looked around and did not see our youngest daughter. She was too young to find her way back to us, so we were concerned! She mattered so much to us that we dropped everything we were doing to find her. When we found our lost daughter, we were so relieved and so happy!
All of us were like our lost daughter at one point, spiritually. We were lost and without hope, and we didn’t know how to find our way to God. But we matter to God, so Jesus left the glories of heaven to come and pursue the lost sheep. In Luke 15, the Pharisees complained that Jesus was making friends with “sinners.” But Jesus replied that there was more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons.
Perhaps this is a good pattern for us, as we pray and relate to people who are not yet followers of Jesus. Who knows what God might do as we pray for and become friends with people who matter greatly to him?
Mike Tilley is the senior pastor of Lake Baldwin Church, and has lived in Orlando since 1994. He and his wife, Molly, worked with a core group from the Baldwin Park community to plant Lake Baldwin Church in 2006. Mike loves teaching the Bible in a way that relates to real life. In his spare time, Mike enjoys good movies, long dinner with friends, snow skiing, hanging out with his kids and two granddaughters, and travel.