Pawn Stars Theme: Spiritual Focus: Biblical Text: Pastor Bob Biblical Focus: Luke 15:1 Scripture Lesson: Luke 15:1-10 Traditional Worship Service:

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1 May 25 th, 2014 R. U. Real Sermon Series: Pawn Stars Theme: Finding Lost Treasure: God desires to find us and begin a relationship. Spiritual Focus: Parable of the lost coin. Biblical Text: Luke 15:1-7 Pastor Bob Biblical Focus: Luke 15:1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Scripture Lesson: Luke 15:1-10 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. "Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Traditional Worship Service: Hymn of Praise: # 34 Count Your Many Blessings (Wildwood) Prayer Hymn: # 44 Only Trust Him (Wildwood) Hymn of Response: # 378 Amazing Grace *Laurie, we need a video to remember Memorial Day. Something soft but meaningful. Play Pawn Stars Trailer video: Laurie will find website for this. (I hope)

2 and his son Big Hoss. Chumlee, The Old Man, Rick Harrison Pawn Stars: is an American reality television series, shown on the history channel. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which is a 24-hour family business operated by patriarch Richard Old Man Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, who opened the shop with his father in 1988, Rick's son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, who has worked there since childhood, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. Folks bring in odd items to be purchased or pawned. Have you ever lost something that is really important to you? Illustration: It seems I am forever temporary losing my keys, cell phone, wallet and sometimes, God forbid, the T.V. remote control. Recently I lost my cell phone for over a week. We went through the typical places that I may have left it. I hunted everywhere, the car, the house, the office, the garage, but with no luck. We tried to call my cell number but no response. I thought for sure it was gone forever. About a week later I put a suit jacket on that I wore the week before and there in the side pocket of my suit coat was my cell phone. There was much rejoicing going on in the Vale household that day. I also realized how dependent I have become with my cell phone looking up the time, getting phone calls, text to family, calendar, s, driving directions, and my Bible and devotions are also on my phone.

3 Many times when people lose something that is important to them, they may go to a pawn store to look for something similar. You can typically buy things at a bit of a discount from regular retail stores. In our scripture lesson Jesus is talking to tax collectors and sinners. Can you imagine being part of a career that the Bible continually seems to associate with sinners? That was the tax collector in the time of Jesus. You can read in today s scripture that the religious folks muttered about Jesus hanging around with sinners again. Over and over they focused on the crowd Jesus hung around with rather than the good he was doing for those who needed help. The shepherd and the sheep: Jesus opens up with telling them about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and loses one. Some of them may have been shepherds. As I think about this story, I wonder to myself, if I had a hundred of anything, would I really go search for it? 1. A hundred quarters and lost one: Probably Not. 2. A hundred one dollar bills and lost one: Probably Not. 3. A hundred pair of pliers from my tool box: Probably Not. 4. A hundred pens or pencils from our junk drawer: Probably Not. 5. A hundred fishing lures from my tackle box: Definitely. Why the fishing lure? a. Because I am a fisherman, I love fishing and lures are very important to me if I want to catch fish. Jesus was a shepherd. We call him the good shepherd. He cares about his sheep; All 100 of them. Sheep are very important to Jesus! John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

4 The importance of the sheep: I think this tells us the importance of the sheep to the shepherd. Jesus really cares about us. John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. Jesus is telling us that He is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Which he did and it exactly tells us how important we are to him. Leave the 99 sheep: In our text the shepherd is willing to leave the 99 sheep in the open field and go hunt for the lost lamb. How odd is that? The shepherd would leave the 99 exposed to many other dangers, just to find the one lamb that is lost. (Wolves, Lions, thieves, storms, and getting lost themselves.) This tells me: God is a risk taker and really wants us to be found: II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. This is one of my favorite passages about the Good Shepherd. He is willing to go to dangerous places to find and save us! The soaring eagle represents the dangerous heights of the cliff and mountains in the back ground. Quote: God will search you out in your lowest lows and deepest places in life to bring you home.

5 Illustration: On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Ian McConnell was ordered to fly his large rescue helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to see. They were ahead of every news crew in the nation. The entire city of New Orleans was under water. On their first three missions that day they saved 89 people, three dogs and two cats. On the fourth mission, despite twelve different flights to New Orleans, he and his crew were able to save no one. None! They all refused to board the helicopter. Instead they told the Coast Guard to bring them food and water to their roof and they would wait out the rising water. Yet they were warned that this extremely dangerous. The waters were not going to go away soon, but would more than likely rise. Sadly, many of those people perished because of their refusal to be rescued. Sadly many people refuse help from God. They refuse to even get to know the Lord. They refuse to even take a chance at understanding faith. In the end, they too will perish to an eternal destiny that will be painful and lonely. New Orleans: I went down to New Orleans 5 times with mission teams to help the people rebuild their lives and homes. The first time I went down to help was only about 4 months afterwards. The devastation was more than I can imagine. I drove through neighborhood after neighborhood where 75% of the homes were just gone. All that was left was a cement pad and the trees were stripped bare of any leaves or small to medium size branches. It was very quiet to be outside, there were no animals or birds to chirp and sing in the trees. I saw a huge steel highway sign with several two foot steel beams bend in half because of the wind. In the evenings we would gather with the people of the community who were living at the church and have supper together. Most of them were waiting for a government trailer to be delivered to their home, then later have a church group rebuild them another home to live.

6 A few nights the local folks began to share their stories of survival in the midst of such a powerful storm. There was a lady who was about 40 who began to share through her tears about losing her family members. Somehow she was caught up in a flood of water that swept her out of her home and into the street at night. She floated down the street not being able to see that well towards the ocean thinking her life was certainly over. Somehow she was able to grab a hold of a telephone pole and hold on for dear life. She began to pray that God would send someone to save her life. With all the strength she had she held on to the telephone pole for hours until a rescue boat somehow saw her and picked her up. She didn t know if she was going to be able to hold on any longer. As she told us her story, she did not reflect so much on her loss, but her thankfulness for being found in the midst of the darkness. She thanked God as the Lord answered her prayer to be found in the darkness. She thanked us for coming down all the way from Indiana to help rebuild her life. Each night I heard these stories of people being found and rescued. Another story was of an 80 year old man who went to the top of the church attic with a few boys in the neighborhood. The water rose all the way up to the third floor attic of the church and they were wait deep in the water until it stopped rising and began to go down. They prayed and prayed for God to save them. I believe God is in the rescue boat trying to save those in our community who do not know him. 1. Some are just holding on. They are struggling. (They are caught up with the difficulties in life. Loneliness, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, deep debt, a marriage that is falling apart, career issues, broken relationships that hurt beyond description.) 2. Some may feel as if they are stuck in an attic and the dangerous waters of life are rising and they feel like they are going to drown.

7 3. I m here to tell you today that God is bringing the rescue boat around and says, jump in. You have been found this morning! Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The Shepherd finds the sheep: In the scripture for today, the shepherd finds the sheep and places the lamb over his shoulders to carry it. What a beautiful picture of God loving us after we are lost and eventually found. Luke 15:5-6a And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. The picture Luke is trying to tell us is that Jesus wants to get close to us when we re lost and hurting. 1. He is carrying and holding on to the lamb. 2. He talks to the lamb. 3. He comforts and pets the lamb. My dog getting loose and lost. As I was putting my sermon together I thought of how different the shepherd story is from the times when my own dog has gotten out of our fence and was lost. Of course I went on a search party for my dog, but when I found my dog, I did not put Blizzard on my shoulder to rejoice and comfort him. I typically scolded him for running away, saying bad dog! I placed the leash

8 around his neck until we got home and I could put him back in the fenced in back yard. Why didn t the shepherd scold the sheep for getting lost in the story? Perhaps the shepherd knows that getting lost is the nature of sheep. Perhaps God knows that is our nature to simply get lost in life. 4. The shepherd gets to know the lamb intimately and the lamb gets to know the shepherd intimately. 5. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us: When we are lost and broken and finally found, that is when Jesus gets the closest to us and wants to know us better, more intimately. (The Lord wants to carry us, talk to us, listen to us, comfort us and eventually rejoice when we are found and whole again.) By the way, did you notice the color of the lamb on Jesus shoulders? The black sheep represents the outcast, the stranger, and one that is different. Jesus love is open to all.

9 Luke 15:6b - 7 Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Once the lamb is found Luke tells us that two things are happening. 1. The shepherd calls his friends and neighbors and ask them to rejoice with him. 2. There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. Jesus draws the act of evangelism down to one person. There are 7 Billion people on the planet, but when just one of them repents, all of heaven rejoices. I started my sermon out talking about a pawn shop in Las Vegas that sells lost items, which people rejoice over when they find that special item they have been looking for. I finished my sermon sharing about Jesus continuing his mission statement. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." A Good Shepherd who is willing to search you out in dangerous areas and bring you home.

10 I have a few questions for you today. 1. Do you feel lost today and wish you could be found by God? 2. Is there an area of your life that is lost and needs to come home? 3. Do you feel as if you are a thousand miles away from God? 4. Do you feel the Lord has been searching for you, but you have been running in the opposite direction? 5. Do you feel like the sheep in this picture, who is at the edge of their cliff and they are just asking the Lord, please come pick me up and take me home. I have a verse for you today: Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. As we pray in silence I leave you with one important verse in the Bible. Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

11 Let s Pray. Lord we are thankful for your words of hope that you came to seek and to save what was lost. May we be honest enough to say that many of us are lost in one form or another. We know that you faithfully stand at the door of our lives and knock and ask us to open the door. May we always open the door when you knock. May we seek you while you may be found and call on you while you are near to us. Amen. Words of Wisdom: Some people ask me this question: Pastor Bob, which is more important: Faith or Works? I typically respond with, I ll answer that question if you tell me which blade in a pair of scissors is more important? Both are good and both are needed in the Christian life!!! Benediction: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ make us more gracious. May the love of Lord make us more loving. May the peace of the Father make us more peaceful and may the joy of the Lord make us more joyful. May God bless you until we meet again! Amen.