Life Comes From the God of Life
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
Let me begin this morning by welcoming you to Calvary Baptist Church. I am Pastor John, the senior pastor here. It is our honor to co-sponsor this rally and to help raise money for the Bedford Pregnancy Center. As many of you are already aware, we won a great spiritual and moral victory with the Supreme Courts ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization back in June. Essentially, the court ruled that it was not a Constitutional right for a woman to abort her child. Additionally, they ruled that it would be up to each individual state to decide if they would continue with the gross murder of children or not. In doing so, they placed upon each state the responsibility of making right the immoral practice of abortion. Their judgment place before this great state two very important responsibilities. First, we have the responsibility of ensuring that life is protected from conception until natural death. Second, we have the responsibility of supporting organizations such as the Bedford Pregnancy Center and others who offer support and loving alternatives to mothers face with unwanted pregnancies. That is why we are here to day. We seek to rally people all across the state of Virginia to step up and do what is right.
For many years, our church has stood for life. It has been my privilege to pastor this church for over nine years. Each year, until this year, we have actively participated in our town’s Life Chain. Life Chain was started as a passive protest of Roe vs. Wade. Each year, around the second Sunday of October, churches were invited to meet in front of our courthouse to stand by the street and pray for one hour. Our prayer was the God would work in the hearts of our government officials bringing about the end of abortion in our nation. Each year, here in Bedford, our church brought out more people than any other church in this town. We stood faithfully each year, sometimes in the bitter cold, praying for God’s hand to move. In June, God answered our prayer. We did not go this year. Why? God answered. Instead, we rejoice at God’s power. However, this year, we are doing something different. We determined to work now at seeing life protected in Virginian and to do more in support of our local Pregnancy Center. I had no idea how that would come about until I received a phone call from Pastor Carl Farmer and Sarah Mays. From that phone call, God showed me a path for our church. I knew immediately without hesitation that we, as a church, would want to be involved in this rally. I was amazed that no other church wanted to host this event. Now is the time for pastors, churches, and citizens of Virginia to stand up and be loud about protecting life. Not much can be done on a Federal level, but much can be done on the State level. Thus, we need events like this. Already, our governor and others are planning to submit a bill that allows abortion. We must not allow this to happen. Virginia has long history of leading this nation. It was Patrick Henry, a Virginian, who led this nation proclaiming give me liberty or give me death. It was Thomas Jefferson who penned a Constitution protecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness effectively leading this nation. We, as Virginians, need to lead the way again. It is time for us to get off our backsides and ensure that all lives are protected from conception to natural death.
Why is this so important?
That is a great question and an exciting question for a Baptist preacher. I am glad that you asked it.
It is important because it is all about life. You see life comes from the God of life. To understand this, we must go to God’s Word and back to the moment of creation.
Listen to the Holy Spirit’s description of God creating man.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
There are two important facts stated in these verses.
We are created by God in His Image
God created us Male and Female - there is no confusion of gender.
That last one is for another message and time.
The important one is for today. God created man in His image. Each person is special to God. Every person conceived reflects God’s image.
How is this? When God created man, He created them with a body, a soul, and a spirit.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God formed man’s body for the ground. He breathe into his nostrils giving man life. We often see imagery in Scripture that shows God breathing as related to His Spirit. The result was “man became a living soul.” All of this is important. The God of life formed man and gave man life. He later commands Adam and Even, male and female, to propagate the earth by conceiving and bearing children.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Thus, each person conceived in the womb is a person created in God’s image. They are body and soul.
Note that I left out spirit. I will circle back to that in just a moment.
My point is simply this! Every person conceived in the womb is a living soul with life given from God. Thus, every baby, no matter the circumstances under which that baby was conceived deserves to live and must be protected. Life always begins with conception.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; And in thy book all my members were written, Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Just as God gave Adam life by breathing into him, so God gives each person life at the moment of fertilization when He begins knitting them fearfully and wonderfully together. Consequently, any form of abortion is murder for it is taking the life of person fashioned by God.
Now, my time is almost gone, so let me finish with one last thought. I noted that God create man in His image with a body, a soul, and a spirit. However, I later said that each person conceived has a body and a soul, but I left out spirit. This a good reason. Here it is.
God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit. However, to be spiritual means to know and follow God. Adam was created with a spirit to follow God. He was the perfect man. However, Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden led to man’s spiritual fall. Before their sin, Adam and Even had the perfect spiritual connection with God. Unfortunately, God, who has a great love for righteousness, was forced to judge Adam for his disobedience and sin. God’s judgment was spiritual death.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The word “death” in this verse does not mean physical death. Instead, it refers to spiritual death. Death is, in simple terms, separation. Adam did not die physically the day he sinned. No, he went on to live to the ripe old age of 930. He did, however, die spiritually that day. God physically separated from Adam by throwing Adam out God’s presence and from the Garden of Eden. As the verse I just read explains, Adam’s spiritual death “passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Each person conceived is a person with a body, a soul, and in need of spiritual resurrection. It is what the Lord Jesus Christ explained to a religious ruler named Nicodemus.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Earlier I stated that each baby conceived in the womb deserves to live and must be protected. They deserve the chance be spiritually born again. In fact, all of you here are given the chance to be “born again” spiritually. You see we are all born sinners. In our sin, we are condemned to live out eternity away from God. Every person who dies physically without God spends their eternity without God in a place of judgment. Hell is that place. It was made to judge Satan, however, Satan has successfully tricked men into spending their eternity with him. God, on the other hand, loves each person and has made a way for you to be made spiritually alive assuring your future in Heaven. How did He do that?
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Here is why protecting life from conception is so vitally important! The God of Life gave life to each person so they may have the opportunity to know everlasting life.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Many of you are here today in support of life. My question for you is this? Do you have spiritual life? Do you personally have a relationship with the God of life? If not, I encourage to seek Him. If you would like to know more about spiritual life with God, please take some time to talk to me today. I will be here until the last person leaves. I would love to spend time with you sharing the good news of life.
There are many others who are going to speak today on behalf of protecting life. One of those is my Congressman Bob Good. That is he is my congressman until November. Something that I am not happy about. However, it is what it is. Congressman Bob Good is a man who understands and values life. It has been my pleasure to know him and to support him. He is no stranger to our church and to our people. We continue to pray for him and his wife. I am excited that he is here. I believe he is to speak next.
Before he comes, let me say one final thing. I am grieved that several of our “conservative” representatives in the General Assembly are compromising their stand on protecting life. There is a push at this next General Assembly to pass a bill that protects a child only after 19-20 weeks. Unfortunately, two of our representatives in our area have agreed to support this bill. Representative Kathy Byron and Senator Steve Newman must rescind their support. I publically call on them to do so or be replaced. That is the bottom line. We have a great opportunity to do what is right in God’s eyes by making all abortion illegal in the our state. Now is not the time to play politics, now is the time to stand for God by protecting the most innocent of people, our children.