When One is Missing

• Luke 15:1-10. TWO PARABLES: One point → God’s for the .(MULTILINE)

A word from the CONTEXT.

| Luke 13:22-24 | Luke 14:25-27 | Matthew 5:13, 21-22 |

• WARNING: Reaching the lost with a → but the is worth the .(MULTILINE)
• GOOD NEWS: Christianity still draws in.(MULTILINE)

How to reach lost people on the road to Easter (and every day after).

| Matthew 28:18-20 | Acts 1:8 | John 4:35 | Isaiah 6:8 | Romans 10:14-15 | 2 Corinthians 5:20 |

• Stop calling it : Rename it to people, them where they’re at, and with them.(MULTILINE)
• Start with the people you .(MULTILINE)
• If it feels a bit , you’re probably doing it .(MULTILINE)
• Be willing to them .(MULTILINE)
• REMEMBER: The job’s not done until they’re to .(MULTILINE)

Small Group Questions

What do you think?

Have someone quickly read over the main “fill-ins” or big ideas from Sunday’s message to jog everyone’s memory. From the message, what particular point challenged you, stood out to you, or raised a question for you?(MULTILINE)

The story of your life.

Pastor Kyle talked about “Reaching the lost comes with a cost—but the risk is worth the reward.” Think about your own life: can you remember a time when you took a risk or paid a significant cost for something meaningful, and in the end it was worth it? Maybe it was leaving a stable job to pursue a calling, moving somewhere new, going back to school, starting a ministry or business, repairing a broken relationship, or stepping out in faith when it felt uncertain. What happened, and why was the reward worth the risk/cost?(MULTILINE)

Digging deeper in God’s Word.

1. Continuing with the point that “reaching the lost comes with a cost, but the risk is worth the reward,” we see this lived out in the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, someone widely disliked and considered spiritually lost by many in the crowd. Yet Jesus intentionally stops, calls him by name, and chooses to spend time with him. Read Luke 19:1–10 and discuss the following prompts.
   1. Have a few members of the group recap the passage using their own words.(MULTILINE)
   2. What cost/risk does Jesus see as worth the reward?(MULTILINE)
   3. What does this story tell us about God? About faith? About people and ourselves?(MULTILINE)
2. The sermon emphasized that reaching the lost often begins simply by seeing people, caring about them, and responding with compassion. In this story of Bartimaeus, many people tried to silence Bartimaeus, a blind beggar on the roadside. But instead of ignoring him like the crowd did, Jesus stopped and gave him His attention. Read Mark 10:46–52 together and answer the following prompts.
   1. Have a few members of the group recap the passage using their own words.(MULTILINE)
   2. What does it stand out to you that Jesus stopped when everyone else tried to silence Bartimaeus?(MULTILINE)
   3. What does this story tell us about God? About faith? About people and ourselves?(MULTILINE)
3. Throughout Scripture we see that God’s heart is to seek and save the lost, and because it matters deeply to Him, it should matter to us as well. As you read the following verses together, reflect on what they reveal about God’s desire to reach people and our role in that mission.
   1. Luke 19:10.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   2. Luke 15:4–7.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   3. Matthew 9:36–38.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   4. 2 Peter 3:9.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   5. Romans 10:14–15.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   6. 1 Timothy 2:3–4.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   7. Luke 5:31–32.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)

Personal reflection and application.

1. Have everyone share one thing someone else said in this discussion that struck a chord with you.(MULTILINE)
2. Pray for one another (men with men and women with women if possible).(MULTILINE)