Cheryl Johnston

Summer Series at First Baptist:

The parables of Jesus from the Gospel According to Matthew.

Jesus engaged listeners with his parables. They weren’t straightforward and required reflection. Even after hearing the same story time after time, there seems to be still more. Jesus also used them to present people with a choice. Would they hear and understand? Would they listen?

Lost and Found

In Matthew 18:1-14, Jesus appears to tell a straightforward and tidy story of a lost sheep. The shepherd loses a sheep, finds it, and rejoices. However, his listeners would have understood the difficulties of finding and bringing back the lost one. In the same way, helping people who have wandered away from engaged faith is often challenging. Despite this, our Heavenly Father is unwilling to lose even one “little lamb.” As a faith community, we have a role in ensuring that everyone has a place to belong in the Kingdom of God.