Found in the Search

This Sunday’s message is called “Found in the Search.” It comes from Luke 15:1–10, two short parables that many of us know by heart. On the surface, they are simple: a shepherd carrying home his lost sheep, a woman sweeping until she finds her missing coin. We have seen them in children’s Bibles and Sunday School lessons. They are comforting, familiar, almost like something you would expect to find on a Hallmark card.

But Scripture is never just simple. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to cut through our clutter and show us what is missing and what needs to be restored. These parables are more than cozy pictures. They are mirrors. They invite us to look at our own lives and ask, “What in me has wandered? What in me has been buried?”

Here is the passage we will be reflecting on, from the New Revised Standard Version:

Luke 15:1–10 (NRSV)
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
In the sermon, I share how these stories are not only about people “out there,” but about us. They are about the parts of ourselves that wander or get buried, and about the God who refuses to shrug and settle for ninety-nine when one is missing.

I also talk about what it means to search in our own lives: to notice what is missing, to light a lamp, to sweep patiently, and to rejoice when God restores what has been lost.

You can watch the full sermon here below ⬇️
and on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawngaran/video/7550173686435728670

Wherever you are in your journey, whether weary, wandering, or feeling found, may you be encouraged. God is already searching, already sweeping, and already rejoicing over you.

Blessings, 
​Rev. Shawn