Lost & Found

Go Deeper This Week
Scripture and Questions for Study and Reflection:
Read Luke 23: 39-43.

1. What do you think of when you hear the word “paradise”?

2. Pastor Mick said the word translated as “paradise” has its root in a Persian word that means “the king’s garden.” What garden might this be?

3. Pastor Mick talked about “paradise lost” through Adam and Eve and “paradise found” through Jesus. What did he mean by that? Do you agree?

4. Jesus spent much of his life, and his death, in the company of sinners. Why did He do this? (Hint: see Luke 19: 10 and Mark 2: 16-17)

5. Whom do you spend most of your time with? Are there “lost” people you could/should spend more time with? To whom do you feel God calling you to minister?

6. Pastor Mick said that when the criminal said, “remember me,” what he was really saying was, “deliver me.” Do you agree? Why/why not? What does it mean to be “delivered”?

7. Pastor Mick said that verse 43 is filled with “peace, power and promise.” What did he mean by that?

8. Why do you think this passage is sometime referred to as “the gospel in miniature”?

Prayer for the Week:
Almighty God, words cannot express the magnitude of our gratitude for your generous and grace-filled gift of salvation. We praise you that even on our worst days, when our faith seems as small as a mustard seed, that is enough. We rejoice in knowing that the gate to your beautiful garden paradise has been reopened to us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Paradise lost is now paradise found through Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. Help us to share this Good News with all who need to hear it by continuing Jesus’ ministry of seeking the lost and doing life together with them. Lord, you know this is not easy for us. So please remind us daily, through the power of your Holy Spirit, that we can do all things through Christ. We pray all of this in His precious, holy and strong name. Amen.