The Woman is a Symbol for God and Jesus (Luke 15:8-10)

1. Why would a story with a woman as the hero be startling, surprising, bold and daring? [In the past, Ruth, Esther, Judith, Deborah and Jael were heroes (Jud 4:4-22). But by the time of Jesus they were clearly inferior (Ben Sirach).]
2. Why would Jesus tell a similar parable when the parable of the good shepherd was already told (Gen 1:27)?
3. How would this parable reclaim the long-neglected female component in Psalm 23:5?
4. Who likely had a major influence on Jesus' attitude toward women as he grew up (Lk 1:26-38, 48)?
5. Did Jesus have women disciples (Lk 8:1-3; 10:38-39; Mt 12:48-50)? If so, did this make a difference in the content and style of his teaching (Lk 4:25-27; 5:36-39; 7:36-50; 18:1-8; 13:18-21; 20:27-36; 21:1-4; Mk 15:40-47; 16:1-8)?
6. What is significant about the coin being lost in the house in contrast to the sheep being lost in the wilderness? How might this suggest two distinct types of "lostness" as in the final parable (Lk 15:11-32)?
7. What is the worth of a drachma (Lk 15:8)? Does the value of the coin ever change?
8. What suggests that the woman is a symbol for both God and Jesus (Lk 15:6, 9)?

1. Introduction (Lk 15:8a)             Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and

2. Lost (8b)                       loses one.

3. Found (8c)           Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

4. Rejoice (Lk 15:9a)         And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me;

5. Found (Lk 15:9b)          I have found

6. Lost (9c)                       my lost coin.

7. Conclusion (Lk 15:10)               In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

I. You One 99 (Lk 15:4a)

1. Lost (Lk 15:4b)

2. Find (Lk 15:5a)

3. Rejoice (Lk 15:5b)

4. Restore (Lk 15:6a)

5. Rejoice (Lk 15:6b)

6. Found (Lk 15:6c)

7. Lost (Lk 15:6d)

III. You One 99 (Lk 15:7)

Wow!!

A Woman's Beauty (1 Peter 3:1-6)

"Your beauty ... should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit..." (1 Peter 3:3-4).

"What a beautiful woman she is! She is the kind of woman any man would want to marry!" This was my immediate thought when I heard the story on the radio years ago of how James Dobson (of Focus on the Family) came to marry his wife Shirley.

(Related posts: Marriage as Unjust Suffering, The Search for One True Love, Abraham Lincoln's Very Unhappy Marriage.)

Before marriage, Dobson and Shirley, both Christians, were dating in college with the understanding that they would marry in the future. But when Dobson had to serve in the National Guard he proposed to Shirley that they keep their options open when he was away on duty, and that they could each date other Christians if they wanted to. Because Shirley was in love with him, this shocked her. But she did not express it or react to his "hurtful" proposal. On their last date before he left, he wanted to kiss her good night as he usually does at the door of her house. But she politely refused. Rather abruptly, she went home and closed the door. This surprised Dobson. What he did not know was that after she closed the door she cried all night. But she did not reveal any of this to Dobson. Then when Dobson was away on duty, he did not date others. Instead, he kept writing her over and over, while she was quite lukewarm in her response to him. As a result, Dobson kept pursuing her until they married. Isn't Shirley the kind of woman with the poise, mystery and beauty that any man would want to marry?