Rabbi Jesus: The Lost are Found by the Father, The Found are Partying with the Father

·28 min·2 clips

Why do the Pharisees grumble when tax collectors and sinners draw near to Jesus?

The episode is a sermon by Pastor Nick from Citylight Council Bluffs, focusing on Luke 15. He begins with a relatable analogy about mismatched excitement to introduce the Pharisees' grumbling over Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. Nick sets up the context: Jesus has just invited all to his table in Luke 14, and sinners are drawing near as instructed, but Pharisees disapprove. Jesus responds with three parables to correct their misunderstanding of God. The first two parables—the lost sheep and lost coin—illustrate that being lost is separation from God due to sin, being found is being received back through repentance, and God rejoices over each repentant sinner. Nick emphasizes that repentance involves seeing sin as garbage and wanting it gone, but it is God who finds and restores. He then delves into the parable of the prodigal son, reading Luke 15:11-24 aloud. The younger son squanders his inheritance, hits rock bottom with pigs, repents, and is warmly welcomed back by his father with a celebration. Nick connects this to listeners who may feel they have wasted their lives on sin. He calls the lost to return to Jesus, highlighting God's joy over repentant sinners. The sermon also addresses the older son in the parable, who represents the Pharisees—grumbling and thinking he has earned celebration, but the father reminds him he already has everything. Nick applies this to found people, urging them to celebrate their salvation and not try to earn God's acceptance. He suggests practical ways to celebrate, like sharing personal testimonies of how Jesus found them. The episode concludes with a prayer thanking God for seeking and saving the lost, reinstating them as children, and inviting celebration.

As heard by us

A local-church sermon finds its emotional center in the Father running toward the returning son.

Luke 15 is treated as a sermon about the difference between being lost and being found, with repentance framed as a return to the Father. Nick opens through ordinary family friction, where children delight in noisy objects while parents mostly hear disruption, then uses that…

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Why you'd press play

You want Luke 15, a runaway son, and a Father who runs toward him with compassion, welcome, and a feast.

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