Proper 19C

“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). To deliver His flock, Jesus “will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick” (Ezek. 34:16). He sets over them one great Good Shepherd, the Son of David, who “will feed them himself and be their shepherd” (Ezek. 34:23).

For Christ Jesus is the one Man who, “if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them,” would “leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it” (Luke 15:4). When He finds the lost one and brings it home rejoicing, “the angels of God” and all the company of heaven rejoice with Him, with great joy (Luke 15:7, 10). That lost one is you.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.