One More: The Lost (Luke 15)
The Lost Sheep (Devin H. Dunn) Luke 15:1–7
Big Idea: Jesus seeks the lost, Jesus rejoices when the lost are found, and Jesus invites us to share his heart for one more.
One year into the story of Redemption Story Church, there is much to celebrate. God has formed a new church, sustained its people, brought unbelievers to faith, seen new believers baptized, planted gospel seeds in children and teenagers, and provided a permanent home for ministry.
But an anniversary is not only an opportunity to look backward. It is an opportunity to remember why we are here.
Why plant a church? Why embrace the sacrifice, inconvenience, work, and uncertainty that come with it? Because people are lost, the gospel is good news, and Jesus has called his church to carry that good news into the world.
If God uses this church to reach just one more, it is worth it.
Luke 15 gives us the heart behind that mission. Jesus is surrounded by tax collectors and sinners who are drawing near to hear him. Meanwhile, the Pharisees and scribes—the spiritual shepherds of Israel—are grumbling: “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
In response, Jesus tells them about a shepherd, a lost sheep, and the joy of bringing that sheep home.
1. Jesus Pursues the Lost
There is deep irony in the Pharisees’ complaint. Israel’s spiritual leaders were supposed to shepherd God’s people, yet they were offended that Jesus welcomed the very people who most desperately needed God.
Centuries earlier, God had rebuked Israel’s shepherds through Ezekiel:
“The strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought.”
God then promised that he himself would come searching for his sheep and would place over them one Shepherd from the line of David. In Jesus, that promise is being fulfilled. The Good Shepherd has come, and he is doing exactly what God promised: seeking the lost.
Jesus asks what shepherd with one hundred sheep, having lost one, would not leave the ninety-nine and search for the missing sheep “until he finds it.”
The sheep cannot rescue itself. The Shepherd must go after it.
That is our story. Scripture says that all of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Christianity is not ultimately the story of lost people successfully finding their way back to God. It is the story of the Shepherd coming to find us.
2. Jesus Rejoices When the Lost Are Found
When the shepherd finds his sheep, he does something beautiful: he puts it on his shoulders rejoicing.
The shepherd bears the weight of the sheep’s wandering and carries it home. It is a powerful picture of Jesus himself. Christ does not merely search for sinners; at the cross, he bears the weight of their sin so that lost sheep can be brought home.
And he does it with joy.
God does not seek sinners with annoyance or reluctance. The heart of the Shepherd is filled with love and urgency for his lost sheep. And when one sinner repents, heaven celebrates.
Jesus says there is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
The church should share that joy. We should celebrate attendance, buildings, ministries, anniversaries, and God’s provision—but our greatest celebration should be when lost people are found. We do not simply want a bigger church. We want to see redeemed stories, transformed families, baptisms, repentance, faith, and people brought from death to life.
We want one more.
3. Jesus Invites Us to Share His Heart for One More
The shepherd says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”
Jesus does not merely invite us to understand his mission. He invites us to share his heart.
Every Christian was once the lost sheep. We wandered, and Christ sought us. We were helpless, and Christ carried us. We were lost, and Christ brought us home.
Now the people who have been found are called to care about those who are still lost.
That is the heart behind the One More initiative. Through the B.L.E.S.S. model, we want to become people who are Burdened in prayer, Learn people’s stories, Eat with others, Serve others, and Share the gospel. We want ordinary conversations to become good conversations, good conversations to become God conversations, and God conversations to become opportunities to share the good news of Jesus.
As Redemption Story Church enters its second year, the goal is not comfort. It is faithfulness. We want to look back years from now and see lives, families, children, and generations changed because God’s people continued saying yes to the mission of Jesus.
We were lost, and now we are found. But there are still sheep outside the fold.
Do not be content with the ninety-nine who are found. Be burdened in prayer for one more.
Application Questions
Who was instrumental in God seeking you when you were lost? Take time to remember how God used people, circumstances, conversations, or invitations to bring the gospel into your life.
Who is your “one more”? Who in your life is far from Jesus but close to you—a friend, neighbor, coworker, family member, or classmate?
Do you genuinely feel a burden for people who do not know Jesus? If that burden is weak, what might that reveal about how closely you are presently walking with the heart of the Good Shepherd?
What keeps you from pursuing lost people? Is it fear, busyness, comfort, uncertainty about what to say, lack of relationships with unbelievers, or something else?
What would it look like to begin with burdened prayer? Write down the name of one person and commit to praying regularly that God would seek them, soften their heart, and give you opportunities to love them.
Which part of B.L.E.S.S. could you intentionally practice with your “one more” this week? Could you learn more of their story, share a meal, serve a practical need, or begin a spiritual conversation?
What does your life currently celebrate? Does seeing a lost person repent and trust Christ excite you the way Jesus says it excites heaven?
Imagine looking back ten years from now. Whose story might be different because you faithfully said yes to Jesus’ mission today?