The Seeking, Rejoicing Father
Month 6: Stories Jesus Told · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 15:1-10, 20-24
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. 2 So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. 8 Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” … 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Memory Verse
“I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.”— Luke 15:7 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Psalms 77-79
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 171 of 365 — Asaph remembering God's mighty works when the present feels dark.)The Heart of It
Today we gather the whole chapter into one act of worship. is really one story told three times. A shepherd loses one sheep out of a hundred. He leaves the rest and searches until he finds it. A woman loses one coin out of ten. She sweeps the whole house by lamplight until it is found. A father loses one son to a far country. He watches the road until the boy comes home. Three losses. Three searches. And three explosions of joy. "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep… my coin… my son who was lost." Jesus is hammering one truth from every angle so we can't miss it. God is a seeking God. God is a rejoicing God. He doesn't shrug over the one who wanders. He searches. He waits. He runs. And when the lost are found, heaven throws a party.
As a family, let's let this land. Every one of us, at some point, is the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. And here is the good news of these three stories. You are worth searching for. God came after you in Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (). He is the Father who runs down the road with His arms open. This is the heart of the whole Bible, and it is the heart of our home. We are a found people, and found people go looking for others. So we worship a God who didn't leave us in the far country. And we ask Him to make our family people who watch the road for the wanderer. We light the lamp for the lost. And we throw the party when even one comes home.
Around the Table
God is like a shepherd who looks and looks for one lost sheep. He is like a daddy who runs to hug a lost boy. He never stops looking for the ones He loves, and that means YOU!
Let's do it: Hide a small toy "sheep" and let the littlest one search for it. When it's found, everyone cheers, "Found it! Rejoice with me!"
Jesus told the same kind of story three times. He told it about a sheep, a coin, and a son. He wanted to make sure we got the point. God seeks the lost, and He celebrates when they are found.
Let's talk: Why do you think Jesus told it three times instead of just once? What is the one big thing He really wanted us to remember?
All three stories answer the same complaint. People grumbled, "This Man receives sinners." Jesus' reply is basically, "Yes, and so does heaven, with joy." The seeking love of God is the thread that ties the whole chapter together.
Let's go deeper: If God is a seeking God, what does that mean for how our family treats people who feel far from Him?
💬 Conversation Starter
Go around the table. When have you felt most "found," most known and most loved? Let's thank God for being a Father who comes looking.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Some imagine that God leaves it up to us to find Him on our own. But shows the opposite. God is the Seeker who comes after the lost. The whole gospel is the story of a God who takes the first step toward us in Jesus (). So be ready to tell that hope to anyone who asks.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Note carefully how God seeks in these three pictures. It guards our theological lane. The shepherd carries the sheep. The woman sweeps for the coin. The father runs to the son. In each case the divine initiative is overwhelming and goes first. This is prevenient grace. God always moves toward us before we move toward Him, seeking, drawing, enabling. Yet the climax of all three is repentance (). That is a real human turning that God's seeking grace makes possible but does not bypass. The sheep is carried, but the son must rise and come. Hold these together and you have the Arminian-Wesleyan gospel in miniature. Grace initiates, woos, and enables, and it is met by a free and responsible human "yes." Lead your family worship out of that wonder. You are not merely teaching your kids rules. You are introducing them, again and again, to a Father already running toward them. This week, be a small picture of that seeking love. Pursue the distracted child. Light the lamp for the discouraged one. And make sure the party is loud when one of yours comes home.
Draws on: Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You always come looking for us. You are the Shepherd who searches, and the Father who runs to His child. Thank You for coming after each of us in Jesus. Help our family go looking for the lost. And help us rejoice when they're found. In Jesus' name, amen."
Ours is a seeking, rejoicing God. We are found people who go looking for others.