Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Single-minded Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA March 18, 2007 Main Scripture text: Luke 15:1-31. God is focused on one goal: the redemption of the human race. Jesus came to reclaim humanity from the clutches of demonic power. If the Lord's transforming power is to work through us, we must want what God wants. Luke 15 clearly expresses the heart of God. It contains three parables that illustrate five godly characteristics to emulate. 1) God cares about the individual. This is a big universe. God has much to be concerned about. Yet the Bible says His eye on the sparrow. If one falls to the ground, God knows it. Scripture says God has even counted the hairs on our heads. 2) God seeks out those who are apart from Him. God is not content to let us walk away or let nature take its course, but rather He takes the initiative. We need to take the initiative to reach pre-believers. That's what prayer evangelism is all about. 3) God is available to us. Not only does God know us but He can be known by us. Are we making ourselves available to those who don't yet know God? 4) God rejoices when we respond to Him. God wasn't waiting to chew us out and tell us what idiots we had been. A fatted calf and a big party awaited us! God forgives, forgets and rejoices when we respond to Him. Is that our attitude toward others? 5) God gives more than we expect. The prodigal son wanted only a place among his father's servants. But the loving father received him back as his son. Who are we in these three parables in Luke 15? > Yes, many of us were prodigal sons or daughters, going own own way, seeking all the worldly pleasures available to us. > Some of us were like lost sheep &endash; ignorant about how to get back home without some guidance. Many people today have come to hard places where need direction. They need to know God's plan and purpose for their lives. > The lost coin, as an inanimate object, is not only ignorant, it's powerless! It doesn't know there is a Father or a home and couldn't get there even if it did! There are lost coins all around us. Folks with no church experience, no concept of God. Life beats up on them they have no idea where to turn. They are so crippled by life, ignorance of or misconceptions about God, they are immobilized. > What about the older brother who stayed home and did what was right? Unfortunately, the church is filled with older brothers and sisters -- proud of themselves and terribly jealous if God shows kindness and mercy shown to the rebellious. A collective reading of these parables tells us that God has equal concern for all these kinds of people. So should we. If you were a "lost sheep" or a "lost coin," would you want someone to come in search of you? If you were a prodigal son or daughter would you want someone to find your dad has a big party planned in your honor, the minute you arrive back home? If you were the older brother would you want to know to how desperately dad wanted you to join the party? Here's the bottom line: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." God's focus must be our focus: find the lost, set the captives free, liberate the oppressed, heal the sick, comfort the broken-hearted, minister to the needs of the poor -- until the whole human race is redeemed, and the world is reconciled to God in Jesus Christ. Supporting texts: 1 John 3:8 | Matthew 10:29-31 | Luke 6:31 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (36 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio CD of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a CD by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify number 070318a: Single-Minded. © 2007 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us