Bethany Lutheran Church

Shine Bright | Beyond

October 30, 2022 Pastor Martin Danner
Bethany Lutheran Church
Shine Bright | Beyond
Show Notes

God’s word is a light. It is a light that helps us find the lost. It is the light that finds us even in our own darkness. We don’t know always what the future holds but God’s light will continue to shine and show us the way. During the reformation it was about rediscovering the purpose of the church and its message. What the next season of Bethany is about is refocusing on how we are called and what we are called to do.

Psalm 119:103-105 (ESV)
How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
    therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path.

Luke 15:1-10 (ESV)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 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.

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 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.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”