Life Groups // Spring 2024 // Week 2

Posted April 12, 2024 — Lincoln Berean

Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son // Luke 15:1-32

Introduction

In this chapter, we delve into the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, each carrying invaluable lessons about finding that which has been lost. As we explore these narratives, we reflect on the question of what is valued in God’s Kingdom, and what that means for us when we become its citizens. 

To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Due to preferences over a wide range of groups, we do not expect you will cover every question each week.  

Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)

1) What is one thing you own that you couldn’t live without? 

2) How did the Personal Spiritual Exercises go for you last week? Share your insights with the group.

Getting Started

Transition into group discussion.  

Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items: 

a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth 

b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives 

c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you  

Read the full chapter together with your group. 

Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)

1) Who is present and listening to Jesus speak in this chapter? Why is that significant?  

2) There is an evident theme throughout all three parables that Jesus tells in this chapter: rejoicing when lost things are found (see verses 7, 10, and 32). What do the lessons in these parables say about the things that are prioritized in the Kingdom of God? 

What makes the first two parables in this chapter (verses 3-10) distinct from the third parable (verses 11-32)? 

3) Often when we read the parable of the lost son, we find ourselves relating to the younger brother who repented and was forgiven, but this parable also cautions us against behaving like the more self-righteous and entitled older brother. Do you ever feel or behave like the older brother in this parable? What does that look like in your life? 

Are there people in your life about whom you would feel frustrated if God decided to bless them? 

4) What does this passage say that it looks like for you to live in the Kingdom right now? 

Is there an area of your life where you are trying to do life on your own? What might you need to repent of and change your mind about? 

Personal Spiritual Exercises

Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life. 

Prayer Focus: In the same way that the parables told by Jesus in Luke 15 are full of rejoicing and celebration, we can be encouraged that our God takes great joy when we enter and interact with His Kingdom. As you make intentional time for prayer and meditation this week, ask God to reveal to you the ways that He rejoices in your life and the lives of those around you, and to help you dwell on those things in your everyday life.

Scripture Focus: This week, take ten minutes to read John 3:1-8. In this passage, Jesus explains to one of the Jewish leaders that in order to enter God’s Kingdom, people must be born a second time. Think deeply on what it means for someone to have this second birth, and how you might explain that important idea to others. 

Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)

A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together. 

Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?