LOST
Pastor Erickson opens The Pathway Home series from Luke 15, teaching that the lost are those who once were where they belonged and may not even know they have drifted, using the lost sheep and the lost coin. He calls the church to come back to the fold, to keep every truth they have been taught, and to pray for God to cleanse and restore them.
The message in 6 points
The pathway home begins
He reads Luke 15:24, the key verse of the series: my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. Pastor Erickson lays out the coming weeks: the types of lost, the attitude of the return, and how the church should respond like the elder son should have.
46:20God made a pathway of redemption
Everyone will make mistakes, but when we fall we must get back up. Through Jesus, God gave a pathway of redemption, and if a righteous God can make a way back for the lost, an imperfect church should make a pathway of restoration for those who fall away.
55:38What it means to be lost
In the three parables of Luke 15, lost means something or someone that once was where it belonged but now cannot be found. He warns that a person can be lost and not even realize it, and that every detail of a parable means something.
59:00The lost sheep and the slow fade
A sheep does not run away on purpose; it wanders with its head down looking for greener grass. People drift the same way, missing church one week at a time, and like the lion that takes the animal alone, the enemy targets the one away from the fold. Sheep need a shepherd, so he urges people to welcome care group leaders who watch over them.
1:04:24The lost coin in the house
The coin is lost inside the house and still has its value. He says silver stands for truth, the beliefs we have been taught, and losing one truth, like holiness or the Holy Ghost, unsettles all the others. We must sweep the house and turn on the light of the Word, clearing out what entertainment and social media put in our minds.
1:21:27Lift your head and come home
He tells the lost sheep they have not wandered too far to come back, and that scattered coins can still be found. He leads the church in praying David's prayer from Psalm 51 for a clean heart and the joy of salvation.
1:31:28
In his words
“If a righteous God can create a pathway of restoration for the lost, how much more should we, an imperfect church, desire to create a pathway of restoration for those that fall away from the church.”
“A sheep is not a bad person, it's a good person who has made a bad decision and they've gone too far and not even realized they've gone too far.”
“Because I don't want to sin against God, if I don't keep my mind illuminated I can't find the things that I've lost.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Luke 15:24
24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
King James Version.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
King James Version.
Luke 15:1-6
1Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
King James Version.
Psalms 23:1-4
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
King James Version.
Luke 15:8-9
8Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
King James Version.
Psalms 51:1-2
1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
King James Version.
Psalms 51:6-12
6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
King James Version.
He also points to
The Pathway Home series
Message 1 of 4 on this channel.
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