Amen, we can get a blessing from this parable for the mordern church. However, i have been studying parables in my study group and have recieved such a blessing by reading the parbale in context to who Jesus was speaking to at the time.... here is my study. Parable actually means \"to place along side of\" Jesus spoke in parables to illustrate a truth. In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed that they did not need to repent... keep this in mind. Luke 15:4 \"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?\" Jesus is relating this parable to who he is speaking to, so that they will understand. Also, God sent Jesus, the great and good Shepherd to seek and save His lost sheep... {Luke 19:10 \"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost\"} God didn\'t send a servant, but His only begotten Son. 5. \"And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Rejoicing in the Greek means, to cheer and to be well off. [The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, King James Version] What stood out to me is that he actually lays the lost sheep upon his shoulders, a labour of love. (Just as Jesus carried all our sins upon His shoulders... a labour of love.) 6. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.\" The Lord takes pleasure in our return and celebrates with his friends. 7. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. The Pharisees, who Jesus was speaking to, felt they did not need to repent. Jesus illustrates the truth that God REJOICES over the one lost sheep that repented. I was blessed by this beacuse I always looked at this parable as highlighting God\'s love for us, the lost sheep, and how He searches for us. But by looking at this in the context of who it is written to, I have come to see that the truth in this parable is actually of Repentance! Love and Blessings Sarah, Australia