Winsome – Study #3
Seeing the Savior of the Good News
Sunday’s Teaching: This week’s teaching focused on the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. In this moment, Jesus uses a story to teach an important truth, that God searches for what is lost and what is valuable. The crowd that gathered near came from all walks of life, and all of them needed to hear this truth.
Let’s get STARTED – Prepare your heart in prayer.
As a group, give God praise for his seeking and searching you out, confess your daily need for him to continue pursuing you through the presence of his Spirit, and offer yourselves as a living sacrifice so that he would use you to pursue others to himself.
Let’s Explore in the WORD – Luke 15
On Sunday, we looked at the parable of the lost sheep. This is one of three parables Jesus offers in this chapter to teach his point, God pursues the lost; and, the lost are valuable to God. As a group, read through the other two parables (the lost coin and the lost son), and study/ discuss using the following questions:
Context
What has happened so far in the narrative? Have there been any major events, characters or themes?
What has happened just prior to the section you are reading?
Observation
What do you learn about the main characters in this section?
How does the author describe them? How do they describe themselves?
Is time or place significant in the events that happen in the passage?
Is there a conflict or high point in the passage?
Do you think there is a main point or theme in this section of the story?
Meaning
Are there any ‘editorial’ comments from the author about the events in the narrative? How do these comments illuminate what is happening?
Does someone in the narrative learn something or grow in some way? How? What does this person learn?
What does the passage reveal about who Jesus is, and what he came into the world to do?
How could you sum up the meaning of this passage in your own words?
Let’s Prioritize APPLICATION
Application
How does this passage challenge (or confirm) your understanding?
Is there some attitude you need to change?
What does this passage teach you about being a disciple of Jesus?
Who is one lost person that crosses your path on a regular basis? Pray for them by name daily, and ask the God would open a door for you to share the good news with them.
Becoming more intentional about inviting people across the “welcome mat” toward Jesus can, quite frankly, be a bit frightening. It is something our spiritual enemy does not want us to do. So there is also some spiritual opposition, or “warfare,” involved. So…finish by taking some time by specifically praying for COURAGE and OPPORTUNITY to share the good news with others. Can you pray for someone who has drifted away from God.
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