September 14 2025

Words can hurt. Many of God’s words hurt our pride. But that’s not bad—not if our pride is hurting us. Just as a skilled surgeon takes a deadly sharp scalpel and cuts through flesh and muscle in order to remove a cancerous tumor, so the sharp words of God are designed to cut out the cancer of sin so we can heal. After the surgery, God pours on the soothing, healing balm of the Gospel. God wounds so that He can heal us.

 “He’s lost” is something we say about someone who doesn’t know where they are, but also to refer to someone who is in a helpless, hopeless state. Mankind’s natural state is one of complete spiritual helplessness, a profound lostness. It manifests itself in countless ways. The one who simply wants God to leave him alone: lost. The one who feels she can handle life on her own: lost. The one who thinks he has the right to repent of his sins on his own timetable and terms: lost. The one who thinks God owes her in some way: lost. Wandering around physically lost can lead to winding up in bad places. Jesus’ wounding words this week teach that wandering around spiritually lost puts you in the worst place of all. Fortunately, Jesus does not leave us in our lostness. He relentlessly seeks us. He involves the rest of the Christian community in seeking the lost and rejoicing over the found.

Join us for our sermon on Luke 15:1–10

“Jesus Sinners Does Receive”