What was the last thing that you lost? Maybe you lost your car keys, wallet, jewelry, or something else valuable to you. The feeling of panic and concern that we feel when we realize that we have lost something is not fun. While losing these items is not fun, the Bible teaches that far more significant and valuable than our lost belongings are lost people who are far from Christ and in desperate need of Him. The good news is we serve a God who is in the business of finding and restoring what is lost.
BREAK THE ICE
What is the most valuable thing you have lost? Did you ever find it?
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Bible Study Questions
1. What things today distract people and cause them to wander?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2. Read 2 Kings 6:1-5. Describe Elisha’s fellow prophet’s situation in this passage of Scripture.
2 Kings 6:1-5
"One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. 2 Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.” “All right,” he told them, “go ahead.” 3 “Please come with us,” someone suggested. “I will,” he said. 4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. 5 But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!”
"One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. 2 Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.”
“All right,” he told them, “go ahead.”
3 “Please come with us,” someone suggested.
“I will,” he said. 4 So he went with them.
When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. 5 But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!”
3. Read 2 Kings 6:6-7. What stands out about how God helped the prophet retrieve his lost ax?
2 Kings 6:6-7
“Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. 7 “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.
4. Read Luke 19:10. What was Jesus’ mission on earth, according to this verse?
Luke 19:10
"For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Application
1. What things often cause you to become distracted and wander from God?
2. How has God personally pursued you when you were wandering?
3. Who do you know who is lost and far from Christ? How can you reach out to them this week?
MOVING FORWARD
One of the ways we can play a part in reaching the lost for Christ is by inviting them to church. Who can you plan to invite to church with you this weekend? Please share with your group the person you want to invite to attend one of our weekend services. Then, pray together. Pray that they would be receptive to your invitation and that God would work in their hearts and bring them close to Him.
GOING DEEPER
Jesus told many stories to illustrate the point that God searches out those who are lost. Luke 15 records three stories Jesus told to demonstrate how God goes to great lengths to rescue the lost. Spend the next few minutes reading these three stories and discussing them with your group.
The Lost Sheep:
The first story Jesus told in Luke 15 was about a lost sheep. A shepherd left all of his sheep behind to search for his lost sheep. This story is a reminder of the incredible lengths that God the Father goes to in order to reach the lost.
Read Luke 15:1-7.
Luke 15:1-7
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 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!
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 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!
The Lost Coin:
The second story Jesus told was about a lost coin. A woman had ten silver coins and lost one. So she searched her entire house until she found it.
Read Luke 15:8-10.
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.”
The Lost Sons:
The final story Jesus told was about a man with two sons; both were lost in different ways. The younger son ran away from home. The oldest stayed home but was lost in a completely different way. The Father pursued both sons and called them to come back to Him.
Read Luke 15:11-32.
Luke 15:11-32
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. 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. 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.” ’ 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ”
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.
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.
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.” ’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ”
Reflect:
Take a few moments to reflect on the stories that Jesus told. Then, as a group, talk about God’s relentless pursuit of those who are lost and the celebration that takes place when those who are lost are found.
1. What has stood out to you about how God searches for the lost after reading these three parables from Jesus?
2. How are you searching out those who are lost? What is going well? What needs improvement?
3. Who is one person you know who is lost whom you are praying for?
Don’t forget about the celebration that took place when what was lost was finally found! As a group, take some time to celebrate. Who have you seen come to know Christ or take dramatic steps in their faith? Share these people with your group. Spend the next few moments celebrating what God has done in these people’s lives. End your time praying to God, thanking Him for working in these people’s lives. Thank Him that He searches out those who are lost.
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 1 Peter 1:8
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