Six Word Summary

9-11-22Sermon Notes“Six Word Summary”

Preachers have a tendency to go on and on… Can I get an “Amen?” The challenge for those of us who preach on a regular basis is often just to “get to the point.” It is not, “How am I going to fill up this time?” Instead, it is “Can I boil this down to its essence?” Jesus was a master at getting to the point. When asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” Jesus didn’t quote all 613 Old Testament laws. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind…you shall love your neighbor as yourself….on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22: 37-40) All us preachers need to follow Jesus’ lead on this (and everything else).
All of Luke chapter 15 – the chapter from which this Sunday’s gospel lesson comes – is about being lost and found. The sheep, the coin, the prodigal… It is a truly beautiful chapter, and it says so much about who we are, and about who God is. But could we boil the message down to its essence? On Sunday, we are going to look at these two parables:
15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”3 So he told them this parable: 4 “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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 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.
8 “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? 9 And 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15: 1-12 NRSV)I will do my best to summarize the essence of chapter 15 of Luke in six words. It won’t be a six-word sermon, but it will be a summary of the six key words that form the heart of the message. Let me close this devotional with the following six words:
I hope you will join us!
Pastor Sam