Sunday May 21, 2006

Luke 15:3-4 - "So Jesus used this illustration: "If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders."

The lost was the focus this morning in our worship - the lost that do not yet know Jesus Christ but who need to. Today I preached a purposely unbalanced message, specifically focusing on our need to care for the lost and to tell them about the love of the Father. It was a tough message in that we don't nearly focus on those outside the church as much as we should, instead choosing to make those in the church comfortable and happy. Not that this isn't important, but when our comfort outshines the world's lostness, than the church has lost its ability to be light as Jesus was the Light.

But this message was also a recognition that we have gone back on our heals, allowing our space to dictate our spark - not doing church-wide outreach because it would mean adding another service. I recognized that as a leader, that's my fault as it was my decision. We won't make that same mistake again.

Today's worship was good in both services - actually, both services were good, as The Journey was ready overall to receive the word. Our attendance was 118.