Well, good morning, everybody. It's lovely to be together to worship God. I'm glad that Rocky is with us, that he was able to open us in prayer today. It's good, isn't it, that we are part of a kingdom of believers all around this world. And every time we get a reminder of that, we should be rejoicing. Can I ask you, please, to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 15? Luke chapter 15. This morning we're going to focus on just three verses, a very familiar parable of Jesus on the lost coin. But to remind us of the context, I want to read from verse 1. So can I ask you to stand please as we read Luke chapter 15 from verse 1.
“Now, the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “this man receives sinners and eats with them.” So, he told them this parable. “What man, if you having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “rejoice with me. For I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, “rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I have lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.””
Let's take a moment and pray.
[Prayer] Our Heavenly Father, we love how clearly this particular parable communicates Your care, Your affection, Your insistence on finding the lost. And we thank You that many in this room are able to rejoice that when we were dead in our sins and transgressions, Lord, You sought us out. You opened those eyes that were blind. You granted us sight that we could behold the beauty of Jesus Christ, and we thank you that in Him we have been able to find forgiveness of sins and relationship with yourself. We ask now as we come to what is a familiar passage in Scripture, Lord, that you would allow the sentiment, the true sentiment of these verses to penetrate the very fabric of our being, that we would rejoice in the mercy that you have shown and the magnitude of your great love for us. So, minister amongst us, for we are a people who need this oasis experience of being washed in the word. And we do pray for those who are lost. And we ask, Lord, as the earnest nature of your chasing love for lost people is heard, Lord, that you would do a work in them. and draw them even now to yourself, that they too would know the sweetness of being found by the Spirit and drawn into relationship with the Almighty. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. [End]
Have a seat. Well, this morning we are thinking about a common coin, a little coin. And in order to help me this morning, I need some help. I need a helper in particular. I know this is not normal. Normally, whenever the pastor comes up on the platform, everybody else settles into their seat, but I need a helper this morning. Okay, someone who's brave. I see some very generous older men. I'm looking for somebody youthful. It's much cuter if we get somebody youthful up to the front. Let me see, who would be good? Who would be good? You. Not you, you would be good. Up you come. That's good. They never applaud me when I come up. That's impressive. I just want you to stand here, okay? Now, you tell everybody your name. Okay, James Kitchen, okay? Do you all know James? Well, you're about to get to know James if you don't, okay? Let me tell you a little bit about the impressive specimen that stands before you.
In this head, I believe, is a brain, and that brain is more efficient and sharper than any computer around today. These eyes, assisted by the glasses, are able to see objects six trillion miles away. This particular nose, when his finger isn't in it, is able to smell over 10,000 different smells. Those teeth, yeah, you're smiling. Those teeth are as strong as shark's teeth. I want you to stick out your tongue at every...in church. This tongue is able to taste over 10,000 different tastes. This body is made up of a skeleton of bones that weight for weight is five times stronger than steel. Very impressive, James. 600 muscles are in this particular body. The heart will beat over 100,000 times over the course of this year. Inside this chest are two lungs that, if you were so inclined, you could take out and carry about in a Kroger grocery bag. Not advised. But through those lungs, the oxygen passes into the bloodstream. And if you took out those lungs and spread the surface area of transfer from the air into the bloodstream, it would cover a tennis court. This is an impressive creature.
Now, here's the important question. How much would you pay for your very own James? Now, I know there are some rude people here, maybe siblings, maybe so-called friends of James that would cheekily shout out one cent or maybe a dollar, but I know there is at least two people here this morning that no matter what price you said, they would say he's worth more. To them, James is absolutely priceless. James, thank you so much for your help. You can have a seat.
We know the principle, don't we? To the parent, the child is priceless. Now, I want you to remember the context of this particular story. Do you remember verses one and two? I wonder if you ever feel worthless. I wonder if you ever feel the opposite of what we just talked about. You feel cheap. You feel out of place. You feel unwanted. You feel like a burden, maybe even to the church. Well, there is, in this particular moment in Luke 15, a group of people that had gathered near. Do you remember verse one? “The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear them.” Here was a group of people that had been marked by significant, notorious sin. But in this moment, through the ministry of Jesus, life has been granted to some. And as their hearts have been changed, their appetite for the Word of God has been ignited. And they want to come and hang on the words of Jesus, to learn from the one who has granted them life. the one who has forgiven their sin, the one who has claimed them as children of God. But look at verse 2, and the Pharisees and the scribes rejoiced that the sinner repented. No, the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “this man receives sinners and eats with them.”
There is a clear division going on. There are those at the front who are hanging on the words of Jesus, for He has granted them life and renewed appetites for true things. And there is another group that are grumbling and complaining for the very people that Jesus is engaging with, are not their sort of people. And yet, because Jesus loves these converted sinners and tax collectors, Jesus speaks to the moment. And He tells three parables, one that we heard about last week on the lost sheep, and now the second one on the lost coin. And it's exactly the same. There's no break here. There's no, let's go away for a week and come back. One story runs into the next, and there'll be a third on the lost son. And every single one of them is particularly speaking to this tension in the, I was gonna say in the room, but this is out in the open, the tension in the open.
Because here is a group that many are verbally muttering about, for they are deemed as unfit to be there. And in these parables, Jesus is revealing many things, but in particular, He is communicating his affection, His commitment to His love for these that others deemed worthless. He's letting the masses know that these sinners and tax collectors that have now drawn near to the Word of Christ are precious in His sight. And He's communicating that God, when He looks upon these individuals that cause the Pharisees to mutter, there is an incredible value that the Lord has placed upon them.
Now, it's a simple story at one level, but I have four, I think, very simple points. And the first one is this. I want you to notice that this is a story about a common coin. A common coin. Look at verse eight. Or what woman having 10 silver coins? Literally 10 drachmas. A drachma was a Greek coin. It was worth about a day's wage. You could have bought a sheep with a drachma. Often whenever a lady got married, you know the way today you would get a wedding ring, possibly? If you're, you know, marrying the right sort of guy, maybe you get an engagement ring, ladies, you know, with lots of pretty stones in that ring. Well, in that particular society, what they would often get was a headdress. A headdress that had hanging upon it 10 coins, maybe to remind the lady of the 10 commandments and the law of God. But these 10 coins were given to the lady, and just like an engagement ring, I keep telling this to Sarah, the value is not to be found in the tiny little diamond that sits within that engagement ring. The value is what it communicates about her husband's affection for her.
So too in that particular society, those ladies who had been given such a headdress on their wedding day, the headdress wasn't valuable in and of itself. It was symbolic. That's where the real value was found. It was something that had been given to her by her husband on a special day that communicated his commitment and his affection for her. The value was not in the coin itself. It's not a value that sits in the intrinsic monetary nature of the coin. Rather, it's a value that the woman ascribed to the coin. It meant more to her than the coin itself was worth. So, this was a common coin.
When we were trying to work out what to bring from Ireland to Dallas, there was lots of debates. We had a shipping container and only so much was ever going to fit in this particular shipping container. And so, everything got assessed. Do we keep it or do we get rid of it? Now, in our house, there was one thing that made it onto the container that really shouldn't have been there. And it was a table. The most grimy, scored up table you have ever seen. The kitchen table. And when we arrived, in fact, originally when we were in California, this table has moved oceans. When we were in California, it was the first table that we had. And then it came across to Ireland and it continued to be there. And if you looked at this table, it's one of those ones that no matter how many times you wipe it clean, it looks grimy and filthy. Not the ideal table to host wonderful guests from Trinity Bible Church when they come over to the house. So, at the moment it is sitting in the garage and we don't quite know what to do with it, but Sarah will not part with it.
Why? Well, particularly why the table is so grimy is one side of it, one particular spot in it is all scored up. And it's all scored up because every child, when they were in the high chair and learning to eat at the table, they sat in the same spot and they got their bowl or their cup and they, scraped it round and round and round and round, and so this one particular patch is all scratched and worn and scored. We could put it in Facebook Marketplace and put it on for free, and nobody would take it. But Sarah won't part with it. Why? Well, it's not the intrinsic value of the table, it's what the table means to her. The memories, the thoughts, the way it communicates to her, those precious moments when the children were small. The value's not so much in the table itself. It's to be found in how Sarah feels about that table.
If the ship had gone down as it brought our goods across the ocean, I would have cried about many things. She would have cried over that table that was lost because of the value she had set upon it. Well, that's the same in this particular story. The coin itself was a common coin. It wasn't that valuable. It wasn't that unusually significant. The value came because of what it meant to the woman. It spoke to her of her husband's affection, of his commitment, it was that that brought that particular coin's value into the heart of the woman. You could have replaced that coin with one exactly the same, but it wouldn't have been the same to her because it wasn't the one that her husband had given to her. The coin itself was an ordinary coin. Now, it's important to see that.
Most of us run around life thinking or claiming that we, as individuals, are the one of incredible value. But the opposite is true. If we were to be honest with ourselves, we know that there's not much that sets us apart from anybody else. We're just another common coin. It’s not the body. It's not the machinery. It's not even the personality that gives us value. Rather, each individual in this room, you have little distinctive value. The value is found in that which somebody else, the Almighty, ascribes to us.
I remember one particular evangelistic talk that was given in our youth group growing up. There was a pastor in Ireland, Billy Houston, and he was speaking. And he had this big bowl at the front, and Billy had a wicked sense of humor. And what he did was he went to the local grocery store, and he bought, before he got to the youth meeting, all of the yellow-labeled goods. Do you have yellow labels here? Well, in a shop, whenever everything starts to go out of date, they put it in the discount aisle, and they stick a yellow label on it. That's how you know in Ireland that it's cheap, but you've got to eat it fast. That sort of stuff.
Well Billy went to the grocery store and he bought all of the going out of date stuff and he brought it to the meeting and he began to throw it all into the bowl so the smelly tuna went in and the sauces that were out of date went in and eventually even dog food went in. It was awful. And you can imagine the concoction. He started waving it around, and the smell wafted out. It hit the nostril, and everybody's stomach was turned. It was horrendous. And he took a penny, the equivalent of a cent, and he threw it into the mix, and he said, “who wants to come and take the cent for themselves?” And everybody, oh, was horrified at the idea. But then he took, at the time it was a new coin, it was called a two pound coin, probably the equivalent of about five dollars, but in coin form, and he threw that into the concoction. And of course there was one overly boisterous boy, Gary McClellan, we’ll call him. And Gary knew, he quickly, he was good at sums in certain areas. And he worked out pretty quick, I could get a soda, a bag of chips, and a candy bar for that coin. And so, he ran up to the front, rolled up his sleeve, stuck the hand in, and lifted out the two-pound coin, and he was quickly escorted away by a more mature female leader to get cleaned up and to minimize the damage. Now, Billy's point was simple. Why is it we won't go for the cent, but we would go for the coin of more monetary value?
Well, that's simply how we all think. What do I get from this? What benefit does this bring to me? But that's not how our Lord works. He reached into the world for the one dead in their sins and transgressions. He reached into the world not for almighty creatures, but broken, finite creatures. He reached into the world to take to Himself that which was at best common, a common coin. He loved us, the Bible says, while we were still unlovely. Lots of people run around this world trying to give advice to those in a despairing generation. The type of advice you hear in the world is rubbish. You've got to think more of yourself. You've got to value yourself more. That doesn't work because if we're honest, we all know that there's little that sets us apart from anybody else.
In fact, many of us are very aware of our inadequacies. And often when we look around and we see others, we see them as possessing more value than us. They are smarter than us, better looking than us, more dazzling in their personality than us. Every time I try to speak, it comes out like a stuttering mess, whereas they are so eloquent. And we know when we think about it, it's not that we are the best or better than others. Actually, when we're honest, we see ourselves as common. Okay, kind of down here. But when we realize that the Lord, like Sarah loved that table, the Lord has set His affection upon us, not because of who we are, but because of His great love and commitment to us, that's where value is found. We're loved, though we are common coins, because He has loved us.
The second thing I want you to notice in the text is this was not just a common coin; it was a cherished coin. It was a cherished coin. Look at the commitment the lady had in verse 8, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” One of those common coins on maybe that headdress has gone missing. And because it means so much to the lady, because she feels so close, so precious about it, she does everything she can to find it. Now, the odds are stacked against her. This is a world before air conditioning. Can you imagine Texas before air conditioning? It's terrifying enough with it. A world before air conditioning. And those particular homes, they weren't big, but what they didn't have like ours were windows. Or if they did have windows, they were small slats. And the reason was they didn't want the light to get in because the light brought the heat.
The whole building was set up in a way to minimize trapped heat. And so, they didn't have windows. These were dark, dark quarters. That's why in the evening, when people did come into the house, a fire had to be lit, or lamps had to be lit, because the quarters themselves were naturally dark. In order to keep it bearable during the day, they were extremely dark. Not only that, but the floor itself, they didn't have wood floor, they didn't have any pretend wood floor, they didn't have carpet or tiles or whatever you have in your particular home. What they had was dirt. It was just a dirt floor, and it was trampled upon. And over time, you think about a path and maybe through a trail, over time as people walked and walked and walked on it, the dirt got trampled down and it had a certain firmness to it. But at the end of the day, it was dirt.
And the animals would have been brought in often at nighttime. It was a security thing. So, people are walking on it, animals are walking on it, animals are doing what animals do, and that all needs to be shoveled out in the morning. This is a grimy, mucky type of floor. And so, if you lost something in that particular house, it was going to be difficult to find. There's no natural light in here. And if something did fall on the floor, who knows where it is? Quickly, the dust, dirt, everything would have hidden it within seconds. As people walked past, as the children ran out to school or wherever they're going, they would have kicked the dust over the top and it would have been lost. And so, this woman, she knows the situation and she takes great pains to try and search diligently the house. Does she not light a lamp and sweep the house? She lights a lamp because how else was she going to see? And she goes to the corner and she begins with a brush to sweep, hoping that with the light and the brush, as the dirt is moved, maybe a glint, a sparkle, something that would indicate a coin could be found. The idea is, here is one who looks so carefully.
Again, verse 8, “she seeks diligently until she finds it.” And diligently, she will not miss a spot. In most homes, there are three types of looking that takes place. There is, child looking. Go and get your shoes. And they go into the room, and they come out of the room, “I don't know where the shoes are.” Then there's the second tier of looking, dad look. You know it. He goes in and if the shoe is somewhere strange, like on the bookshelf or tucked under the pillow, somehow, he finds those. But beyond that, normally dad comes out just as defeated as the child. And then there is the third tier of looking. There are the highest tier of looking, the supreme look, the mom look. And it's amazing. She goes in and within seconds, she comes out and she gives to the child the shoes. And everybody says, where were they? And she says, by the door where they're meant to be. Mom look, is diligent looking. She can find what nobody else can find.
And that's the picture here of this woman. Her look is insistent. Her look is persistent. It says in the text, until she finds it. This work is not gonna stop. There's no alternative given here. She will keep looking until she finds it. It is going to be found. It is going to be discovered. Here is a picture of one who is giving everything in this particular looking endeavor. And the woman is giving everything in the endeavor because the coin was cherished by her. In other circumstances, she would have moved on, but this coin was special. Others, like the child or the dad, would have given up long ago. But this is her coin, and it means everything to her.
Now, do you see the very clear picture? And is the application not so obvious, and yet worth dwelling on? Christian, God cherishes you. And I don't say that to puff you up. I know sometimes in a church that loves reform doctrine, which we do. Sometimes in a church like this, we can feel slightly uncomfortable when we talk about the way that God cherishes His own. Because it sounds a little too fuzzy. But remember the scene. Those tax collectors and sinners that others are grumbling against. Jesus is clearly testifying to them. God cherishes you. He values you.
Now think about that. We are talking about the Almighty. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. The one who can move in any moment the heart of the president. The one who can, in any moment, take life from the body. The one who is not simply in control of this world, but the whole universe is His. Why do we need planets and stars and all these other galaxies? It's simply a declaration of His handiwork. He spoke one phrase, and it all came into being. Just to give testimony to His greatness, His grandeur, His might, and yet that King over all, to whom everything, every molecule in this whole universe belongs, Jesus is saying, cherishes you, Christian. He has purposefully, with diligence, sought you out to bring you into His family. This is a common coin. This is a cherished coin.
Thirdly, it is a costly coin. It is a costly coin. Look at verse 9. “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, ‘rejoice with me, for I have found this coin that I had lost.’” You know what you don't do when you find a common coin? Spend more money celebrating finding it. Imagine finding in your house the excitement of finding, you know, like a spare $10 that fell down the side of the sofa. You don't go to the shop and spend $20 buying chips and sodas to celebrate. That's not how this works. But it is how the story works. This story is strange because the woman spends most likely more money celebrating what is found. She invites not, you know, her husband, but all the friends, all the neighbors to come and to celebrate with her, to have a party with her. That type of language and that type of world implied feasting, implied wine, implied all that would be associated with a party, with celebration.
And there's at least two things we can learn from this particular picture. Firstly, again, kind of like we saw last week, this is a public celebration, and that's important given the context. This lady calls together the friends and the neighbors, others who could pass on by are invited to look in. She wants them to know her delight. She wants them to know how exuberant she feels about the fact that she has found that coin that was missing. Now again, remember the context, verse 1 and 2. This is a religious community that is disgusted by the type of people that are drawing near to hear the words of Jesus. He will spend time with, he will eat with, he will feast with, he will talk to those tax collectors and sinners, known sinners. And now Jesus is once again proclaiming to that crowd with this particular tension, I love and I cherish them. It's just like the lady in verse nine, anybody who can come, anybody who can observe, let me tell you how much value I have for this coin. Jesus is saying, anybody who can look in, anybody who is here, I want you to know how much value I have placed upon these tax collectors and sinners. Publicly, he wants the community to know, I love them and I cherish them.
How important, when the world is so embarrassed by the mess of the church and the messy people that make up the church, that Jesus says all the louder, I love them. I value them. Now again, for many different reasons, in a room like this, there will be those who have come to church this morning who feel useless, who feel like they have nothing to contribute to Trinity Bible Church, who are wobbling in their walk, who are struggling with doubts, who feel almost a self-loathing. Well, listen to what Jesus is proclaiming. As we fix our eyes upon Him, He declares publicly, I love them, I value them. He proclaims publicly, child, I cherish you. He wants the world to know it.
The action is public, but it's also a costly joy. We were talking about that just a moment ago. The woman's joy is obvious. But the implication, as we said, is that there's cost involved. Food is to be eaten in this celebration. Wine is to be drunk. If we were in an Irish context, tea was being brewed so everybody could enjoy that time together. The neighbors, the friends are all invited to celebrate. And the cost of that celebration is secondary. It doesn't matter to the woman. She wants them all to come and to join in the celebration because her lost coin had been found. She retrieved back that one that she valued so much.
It reminds us that Jesus, as He has this great joy over these repentant tax collectors and sinners that have drawn near to Him. His joy came with massive cost. Yes, He celebrated them. Yes, there is rejoicing, but in that celebration, there was a commitment to pain. The pain, that price, beyond comparison. A price that was not his in and of itself, a price for them. They didn't pay it; He paid what was needed to bring those sinners into the family. It was a cost that he willingly paid out of love because He is a God who has deep pockets. Do you have that expression, deep pockets? Do you know what it means? Those who are marked by generosity, they're willing to dig deep. They're willing to pay to the utmost that which is necessary. Well, our Savior is one with deep pockets. It's Philippians chapter two, isn't it? Obedient to death, even death on a cross.
That this commitment was not just one to be joyful, it was a commitment that was marked by joy, but that cost him significantly. Every single one of those tax collectors and sinners, he was about to bear the punishment that should have been theirs. Their sin that had marked them. That had separated them from God could not be ignored. It had to be dealt with. And so, His was a costly commitment. This was a common coin. This was a cherished coin. This was a costly coin.
Lastly, and this is a weird point, okay? So, you've gotta be patient with me. I'll explain it in a second. But it's so strange, maybe it'll stick in your mind. This is a celestial coin, celestial. I know it's weird, but bear with me. I want you to look at verse 10, because Jesus pulls out of the story and he relates something of the affection the woman had for the coin to a greater affection. Look at verse 10. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Jesus takes us out of the imaginary story of a dark house with a lamp and a brush and a woman who is searching, and He takes us into heaven's throne room. And in this particular throne room, there is a jubilant party atmosphere. There is exuberant joy being expressed. And that joy is declared, is being expressed over every sinner who repents. Kind of as we saw last week, do you remember? It was the one sheep that the shepherd sought out. Here is another expression that is similar over every sinner, every singular sinner who repents. Each personal one is recognized and celebrated by the Almighty. Not generally. This isn't a general party. This isn't a general celebration. This is a personal celebration. Here is a declaration that in the throne room of heaven, Kent is celebrated. Matt is celebrated. Rocky is celebrated. Paul is celebrated. Brandon is celebrated. The people aren't lost in that general celebration. It's not a celebration over the masses. It's individual. It's specific. Just so the ladies don't feel left out. Dawn is celebrated. Becca is celebrated. They're all personally celebrated. They're in heaven's throne room. Noticed. Weighed up and jubilantly celebrated, so deep is the affection that was felt.
But here's what I want you to notice. Who's doing the celebrating? Who's doing the celebrating? I don't know if it's the same here. In Ireland, whenever there would be evangelistic meetings, many individuals would repent. and come to Christ, people would talk in excited terms afterwards, and they would often say, the angels are rejoicing tonight. The angels are rejoicing. And what they're communicating is what they think is a reference to this particular story, verse 10. But there's something wrong in what they're saying. Because it's not the angels that are celebrating. Look at verse 10. Notice where the celebration is taking place. “Just so I tell you, there is joy, look at the wording, before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Think about that word before. It means in front of. It means in the presence of. So, who's in front of the angels? Who are the angels in the presence of? And even more importantly, who therefore is the one declared as being filled with joy and expressing it so exuberantly? This is triune God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's not the angels. It's God who is expressing that jubilation. It's God who has a deep, joy-filled feeling towards every individual sinner who repents. You think about it, this morning, if you are aware that you have repented of your sin, you've acknowledged that you're a wrongdoer, and you have recognized that you can do nothing to make that right, nothing to fix that yourself, and instead you have looked to God in desperation and asked Him, declared to Him, to be merciful to me, the sinner, if you have repented, not the angels. But God Himself has celebrated that conversion.
Not celebrated conversion generally, but personally celebrated you. You may not be much in and of yourself. You aren't much in and of yourself. And yet, how cherished. How loved. How valued the repentant sinner is by God that the one in charge of the universe would take time to personally celebrate you.
Maybe this morning you haven't repented. The Bible tells us the Spirit is seeking out the lost that Christ has died for to bring them home. And the Bible calls you this morning as well to know that should you repent, acknowledge your sin, and look to God himself for mercy, knowing that that mercy is only available for Christ paid that incredible price. Should you repent and look to Christ this morning, there will be joy before the angels of God over one more sinner who repents.
Friends, our value, if you are a believer, is not in your intellect, it's not in your service, it's not found in your generous giving. It's a love that He has set upon us, His love. And in that, there is tremendous dignity, tremendous worth, and tremendous love to be known.
Let's pray and ask that the Lord would focus us on what is true.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we pray and ask that You would deceive us from the lies of this world that would imply that value is to be found in an introspective examination of who we are and how we are different from others. Lord, You know us and You know how common we are. And yet, Lord, there are many in this room who can declare today that we love You because You first loved us. And because You loved us, You sent Your Son that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life. Lord, help us to rejoice. Help us to know the dignity and the value that is to be found, not in our own self-worth, but in recognizing that the God of the universe has brought us into His family. And in that, our value is found. And in that, we rejoice.
We do pray for those, Lord, who are struggling this morning, who are looking here, there, and everywhere, trying to find some sense of purpose and worth outside of You. We pray that you would humble them, Lord. We pray that even now, You would help them to see that they are a sinner, one who has fallen short, in need of Your mercy. And Lord, yet You would draw them to yourself, you would make them alive in Christ, that they who are at this moment lost may know the joy of being found and being loved by You. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. [End]
