Bishop Graham draws on Paul's Letter to the Ephesians: when we are root our lives deeply in Christ's love we can achieve more than we could ever have asked or imagined.
Paul reminds the the gentiles that Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has broken the walls of enmity and division between God and between his people. We are all, because of this, one family of God, a new creation, a new humanity.
Simeon’s contentment or Anna’s joy can only be achieved when we are humble enough to look at Jesus and see God doing things that are greater than we can ever imagine.
Jesus told this story, not to the one lost person but to the ninety-nine devout followers. He told it to illustrate to the ninety-nine where they were going wrong. If we go astray, God feels loss. When we return, God rejoices. We are irreplaceable and our personal salvation matters deeply to God.
Continuing with our Romans sermon series, David explains that if we are to be saved it cannot be through our own works. It is through God’s grace that we are saved.