Luke 15 : 1 (ERVEN)
Many tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus.
Luke 15 : 2 (ERVEN)
Then the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain, "Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!"
Luke 15 : 3 (ERVEN)
Then Jesus told them this story:
Luke 15 : 4 (ERVEN)
"Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but one of them gets lost. What will you do? You will leave the other 99 sheep there in the field and go out and look for the lost sheep. You will continue to search for it until you find it.
Luke 15 : 5 (ERVEN)
And when you find it, you will be very happy. You will carry it
Luke 15 : 6 (ERVEN)
home, go to your friends and neighbors and say to them, 'Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!'
Luke 15 : 7 (ERVEN)
In the same way, I tell you, heaven is a happy place when one sinner decides to change. There is more joy for that one sinner than for 99 good people who don't need to change.
Luke 15 : 8 (ERVEN)
"Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, but she loses one of them. She will take a light and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it.
Luke 15 : 9 (ERVEN)
And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, 'Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!'
Luke 15 : 10 (ERVEN)
In the same way, it's a happy time for the angels of God when one sinner decides to change."
Luke 15 : 11 (ERVEN)
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons.
Luke 15 : 12 (ERVEN)
The younger son said to his father, 'Give me now the part of your property that I am supposed to receive someday.' So the father divided his wealth between his two sons.
Luke 15 : 13 (ERVEN)
"A few days later the younger son gathered up all that he had and left. He traveled far away to another country, and there he wasted his money living like a fool.
Luke 15 : 14 (ERVEN)
After he spent everything he had, there was a terrible famine throughout the country. He was hungry and needed money.
Luke 15 : 15 (ERVEN)
So he went and got a job with one of the people who lived there. The man sent him into the fields to feed pigs.
Luke 15 : 16 (ERVEN)
He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.
Luke 15 : 17 (ERVEN)
"The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, 'All my father's hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.
Luke 15 : 18 (ERVEN)
I will leave and go to my father. I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you.
Luke 15 : 19 (ERVEN)
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.'
Luke 15 : 20 (ERVEN)
So he left and went to his father. "While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and felt sorry for him. So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him.
Luke 15 : 21 (ERVEN)
The son said, 'Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
Luke 15 : 22 (ERVEN)
"But the father said to his servants, 'Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet.
Luke 15 : 23 (ERVEN)
And bring our best calf and kill it so that we can celebrate with plenty to eat.
Luke 15 : 24 (ERVEN)
My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!' So they began to have a party.
Luke 15 : 25 (ERVEN)
"The older son had been out in the field. When he came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
Luke 15 : 26 (ERVEN)
So he called to one of the servant boys and asked, 'What does all this mean?'
Luke 15 : 27 (ERVEN)
The boy said, 'Your brother has come back, and your father killed the best calf to eat. He is happy because he has his son back safe and sound.'
Luke 15 : 28 (ERVEN)
"The older son was angry and would not go in to the party. So his father went out and begged him to come in.
Luke 15 : 29 (ERVEN)
But he said to his father, 'Look, for all these years I have worked like a slave for you. I have always done what you told me to do, and you never gave me even a young goat for a party with my friends.
Luke 15 : 30 (ERVEN)
But then this son of yours comes home after wasting your money on prostitutes, and you kill the best calf for him!'
Luke 15 : 31 (ERVEN)
"His father said to him, 'Oh, my son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
Luke 15 : 32 (ERVEN)
But this was a day to be happy and celebrate. Your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.'"
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