15.08.2013 Views

The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Luke 14, 15<br />

down and figure out how much it will cost and if you<br />

have enough money to pay for it? 29 O<strong>the</strong>rwise, you<br />

will start building <strong>the</strong> tower, but not be able to finish.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n everyone who sees what is happening will<br />

laugh at you. 30 <strong>The</strong>y will say, “You started building,<br />

but could not finish <strong>the</strong> job.”<br />

31 What will a king do if he has only ten thousand<br />

soldiers to defend himself against a king who is<br />

about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers?<br />

Before he goes out to battle, won’t he first sit down<br />

and decide if he can win? 32 If he thinks he won’t be<br />

able to defend himself, he will send messengers and<br />

ask for peace while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r king is still a long way<br />

<strong>of</strong>f. 33 So <strong>the</strong>n, you cannot be my disciple unless you<br />

give away everything you own.<br />

Salt and Light<br />

34 Salt is good, but if it no longer tastes like salt,<br />

how can it be made to taste salty again? 35 It is no<br />

longer good for <strong>the</strong> soil or even for <strong>the</strong> manure pile.<br />

People simply throw it out. If you have ears, pay<br />

attention!<br />

THE LOST ARE FOUND<br />

One Sheep<br />

15 Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen<br />

to Jesus. 2 So <strong>the</strong> Pharisees and <strong>the</strong> teachers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Law <strong>of</strong> Moses<br />

started grumbling, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even<br />

eats with <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />

3 <strong>The</strong>n Jesus told <strong>the</strong>m this story:<br />

4 If any <strong>of</strong> you has a hundred sheep, and one <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>m gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave <strong>the</strong><br />

ninety-nine in <strong>the</strong> field and go look for <strong>the</strong> lost sheep<br />

until you find it? 5 And when you find it, you will be<br />

so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6 and<br />

carry it home. <strong>The</strong>n you will call in your friends and<br />

neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my<br />

lost sheep.”<br />

7 Jesus said, “In <strong>the</strong> same way <strong>the</strong>re is more happiness in<br />

70<br />

heaven because <strong>of</strong> one sinner who turns to God than over ninetynine<br />

good people who don’t need to.”<br />

One Coin<br />

8 Jesus told <strong>the</strong> people ano<strong>the</strong>r story:<br />

What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins<br />

and loses one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep<br />

<strong>the</strong> floor, and look carefully until she finds it? 9 <strong>The</strong>n<br />

she will call in her friends and neighbors and say,<br />

“Let’s celebrate! I’ve found <strong>the</strong> coin I lost.”<br />

10 Jesus said, “In <strong>the</strong> same way God’s angels are happy when<br />

even one person turns to him.”<br />

Two Sons<br />

11 Jesus also told <strong>the</strong>m ano<strong>the</strong>r story:<br />

Once a man had two sons. 12 <strong>The</strong> younger son<br />

said to his fa<strong>the</strong>r, “Give me my share <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> property.”<br />

So <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r divided his property between his<br />

two sons.<br />

13 Not long after that, <strong>the</strong> younger son packed<br />

up everything he owned and left for a foreign<br />

country, where he wasted all his money in wild<br />

living. 14 He had spent everything, when a bad famine<br />

spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing<br />

to eat.<br />

15 He went to work for a man in that country,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> man sent him out to take care <strong>of</strong> his pigs.<br />

16 He would have been glad to eat what <strong>the</strong> pigs were<br />

eating, but no one gave him a thing.<br />

17 Finally, he came to his senses and said, “My<br />

fa<strong>the</strong>r’s workers have plenty to eat, and here I am,<br />

starving to death! 18 I will go to my fa<strong>the</strong>r and say to<br />

him, ‘Fa<strong>the</strong>r, I have sinned against God in heaven<br />

and against you. 19 I am no longer good enough to be<br />

called your son. Treat me like one <strong>of</strong> your workers.’ ”<br />

20 <strong>The</strong> younger son got up and started back to<br />

his fa<strong>the</strong>r. But when he was still a long way <strong>of</strong>f, his<br />

fa<strong>the</strong>r saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his<br />

son and hugged and kissed him.<br />

21 <strong>The</strong> son said, “Fa<strong>the</strong>r, I have sinned against<br />

God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good<br />

71<br />

Jesus Goes to Jerusalem

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!