NO. LIVERMORE — At the August 27 North Livermore Baptist Church service, the congregation was welcomed  by Pastor Bonnie Higgins at 9:30 a.m. to begin the service.  The Invocation/Lord’s Prayer were recited. The hymns that were sung were “Come, Christians, Join to Sing”, “Jesus Calls Us” and “Where He Leads Me”.  The service ended with “Go Now in Peace”.  Linda Lyman is the organist and Janet Diaz is the pianist each week.  Lew Lyman leads the music for the congregation each week.

The sermon, titled “Are You Searching for the Lost” the scripture from Luke 15:1-10. Pastor Bonnie began saying that many times when we think of the lost, we think of the unbelievers. We speak of the unbelievers as the goats and the believers as sheep, following their Shepherd as it is in scriptures. Jesus has commanded His followers to go out into the world and make disciples. As Christians do as God has asked them to do, we go out in our work places, families, communities, everywhere we can and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and all that He is and what He has done for each of us.

In this scripture today, Jesus is talking to the sheep, believers that have gone astray.  Even if only one Christian backslides, Jesus will continue to seek them out to bring them back to the fold. This is where we need to step up and seek those who have fallen away and encourage them, pray for them, be with them, to bring them back to Jesus. Sometimes, a Christian will get themselves in some trouble (sin) and don’t think that God will forgive them so they walk away from the one who will forgive them. Jesus was never part of the world, even though He was out in the world doing what He could to reach the lost. Jesus wants us to bring those who are first seeking Him and for those who have backslidden in their faith. Jesus wants us to reach all of the people.

There are three things that Jesus does in these scriptures. He first goes to find the one that is lost. Secondly, He rejoices when He finds them, carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders, and lastly, He keeps those He has saved. There are people out in this world, looking for Jesus.  They have no way of finding Him and accepting Him, if they don’t find us living for Jesus. We must be the hands and feet of Christ so others can see the glory in Christ.

We know that Jesus lived and died for all the sins in the world and then was resurrected to give us eternal life through Him. This should be our message to others, some will accept Jesus while others will say no thank you. No matter what a person decides, Jesus will always be there with open arms to accept them into His family if they want Him. Jesus has promised us that once we are part of His family, He will never leave or forsake us.

Being lost is no fun, but being loved, looked for, and welcomed back makes our faith in Jesus all worth it. Jesus has asked us to go searching for the lost, those who have never accepted Him and those who have turned away. Are you searching for them and letting them know that Jesus is there for them and is willing to give them eternal life through repentance?  Even Jesus is known as the Lamb of God, and wouldn’t you want to be like Jesus?

Announcements listed in the bulletin are that the congregation will be collecting Peanut Butter for the Food Pantry in the month of September. Bible Study at 1 p.m.  The congregation is collecting for a mission project for missionary Ann Clemmer. Deacons and Trustees meetings on September 2. The AA meetings are held on Friday nights at the church.

For information, check out our website at northlivermorebaptistchurch.org. You can email the church at nlbcmaine@gmail.com. Pastor Bonnie’s office hours are Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon.