Christmas Sermons (Paperback)

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1916. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... THE RECOVERY OF THE LOST THE RECOVERY OF THE LOST Luke xv. In a classic passage Charles Dickens has dwelt upon Christmas as the season of reunion, of return of wanderers, of longing for the lost who may be restored. It is indeed Christian to spend Christmas in thinking of Jesus as the Seeker for the lost. In the fifteenth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel there are stories of three merry-makings. All deal with the restoration of the lost, -- the shepherd's joy over finding a lost sheep, the woman's joy over the recovery of the lost coin, the banquet which a father gave over the return of a son. Jesus was called Jesus because He was to save from sin. He came to seek and to save the lost. We can keep close to the spirit of Christmas and understand something, though of course not all, of the Master's work as Savior by looking at the different meanings of the word "lost" suggested in Luke's pictures of rejoicing. It may be that we shall discover that the lost are not after all merely those who roam the streets on Christmas eve, vagabond and destitute. It may be that some of the most completely lost persons sit at Christmas feasts, and possibly some of these think of themselves as rightfully wearing the name of Christ. It may be well for all of us to celebrate the day of Christ by guarding against certain spiritual tendencies which make for inner lostness, and by devoting ourselves anew to seeking and saving the lost whom we do not often think of as lost. We turn to Luke's stories. 13 193 First of all the Master tells of the merrymaking over the finding of the Lost Sheep. The sheep had not come to destruction when the shepherd found it. The wolves had not yet torn it or the cold winds killed it. The sheep was lost simply because it was wandering in the wilderness without a lea...