Why do we have three parables on lostness? Well, stylistically, scripture uses repetition to reinforce something that's very important, something that we need to understand. It needs we need to re we need repetition to emphasize truths. Um, something about me, I'm not very good with my hands. Uh, you know, home handiwork is is not my forte. Ask me mathematical questions, scientific questions, business questions. I'm happy to wax lyrical about those things, but give me a hammer. It's a 5050 bet I hold the right end. But I have a friend, a fellow welder, who is a builder. He's very good with his hands and I've seen him wield that hammer to great effect. And what he does is he takes the nail, he places where and he goes tap tap and then tap and it drives it home. It's not one big drive and it's not even three little taps. It's tap tap and then one big drive. And he puts that nail where it needs to go. And I think we have three parables. Two smaller ones, the little taps and then one big one to drive the message home. Pastorally, we have three parables because it also reminds us of our slowness, our dullness. As I age, it's harder to remember things, slow to learn, and we can sometimes be stubborn like nails. Maybe you've heard par uh sermons on these uh parables before. I'm sure if you've been sitting under Pastor Butler's preaching, you would have come across one of these parables. But I suspect that as we go through this today, and and I'm mindful that if you've heard this parable, you you may switch off. There's a great temptation to switch off. But there are many exhortations in the Bible that you've forgotten. You've been slow to learn. So I want to invite you if you've read this a dozen times to to to lower your barriers and to listen to these things aresh. I'm going to remind each one of you here. You might be one person of 7 billion on the planet. But God knows you. God knows your struggles. God knows your desires. He knows your dreams. He know he knows your ambition. You are not just a you may be a number to the Canadian tax uh bureau or whatever they're called. You may just be a number in your school records or university or college, but not to the true and living God. You may be near. You may be far, but God sees you. God knows you. And he wants you to hear this
