Every Baby is Worthy of Our Love
Sanctity of Human Life 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsEvery Baby deserves to live. We are all precious in His sight.
Notes
Transcript
Mic
Prayer
This morning is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. For the last couple of years we have celebrated this on Mother’s Day, but this is the official day and it is worthy of recognition.
Every Baby, every child is a gift from God and worthy of our LOVE.
First of all let’s give a show of hands… How many of us here today are glad that your mother cared enough for you to keep you and not kill you?
Aren’t we glad that our mother decided to let us live!
I can remember when Alice and I brought our first baby home from the hospital. Jonathan was so small and tiny. I can remember laying little Jonathan down on our bed and pulling the blanket up over him in the bed. He hardly made a bump in the bedspread. He squeaked and sounded just like a little mouse. He was so cute under that cover.
Psalm 139 describes our development.
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13 For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
Verse 14 says I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Let me take a moment to explain how fearfully and wonderfully we are made. Did you know that our bodies are made up of 14 different, yet highly complex systems.
1) There is the Respiratory System that brings oxygen into our body through our lungs and gets rid of the carbon dioxide. God make our lungs even while we were inside the womb of our mother, And they were ready to start working at the moment we were born.
2) Then there is the digestive system which brings nutrients into our body while getting rid of the waste. It also was working, although not at full capacity when we were born. I don’t know about you, but I still enjoy my milk, but I also like a good steak and some apple pie.
3) There is the circulatory system that pumps our blood with nutrients and oxygen to every single cell in our body. Mine has been working for over 76 years and never needed a tune-up.
I wish I could say so much for my car. It constantly is in need of a trip to the dealer for maintenance or repairs.
4) Then there is the Immune system which sends white blood cells to fight off various viruses and germs and clear the body of certain toxins.
5) There is the Urinary system that cleanses our blood through our kidneys and removes waste.
6) Then there is the Endocrine system made up of glands that produce hormones to regulate our growth, sleep, reproduction, mood, and metabolism. The doctor noticed that mine seemed to need a little help regulating my blood sugar for the last few years, but it did fine on its own for over 50 years. and probably, if I changed my diet it would still do fine on its own.
7) There is the Nervous system - call it our bodies electrical system, that is divided into two parts.
Part of it we can control, and so we can choose to walk or run or sit, or when to eat.
Part of it works on it’s own and tells our heart to beat, and controls our breathing.
It also tells us if part of our body has been hurt and we need to give it some special attention.
It was Johnny on the spot, and told my lungs to start breathing the moment I was born. If it had been a day late, I would have been a gonner.
8) There is our muscular system which allows us to run, walk, sit, talk and even express emotions. If it was not for the muscular system we would not have been able to take that first breath.
9) There is the Integumentary system made up of our skin, hair, and nails. Our first line of defense against germs.
10) Our skeletal system which gives us our sturdy bones to support our body, and finally
11) Our reproductive system which enables us to produce new human beings - our sons and daughters.
Some people like to say this all happened by chance. Really?
Each one of these systems is extremely complex. Dr. Sale can tell you that our medical personal spend years just trying to understand how each of these systems work. and they can’t handle it all... so they turn it over to specialists who focus on just one or two systems .… and guess what… They were all working on the day we were born (well maybe not the reproductive system - but it was there, just not fully developed). And take away any of those systems… (except the reproductive system, and we could not live.) They all had to be working on day 1.
Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
and that is not the half of it. Did you know that our body is constantly reproducing itself. We have a built in repair shop. Almost every 10 years every cell of our body is replaced, with the exception of just a few. So for us older people… if you think the person you’re married to is not the same person you married,
you may be right.
I am told the bones that make up our skeleton are replaced every 10 years. and it is a good thing they are or our teens would be really short. Some bone cells break up and remove bone material no longer needed, other bone cells add bone structure where it needs to be stronger. This helps us to heal when we break a bone. It also meets the needs of our changing skeleton.
We get a new stomach lining every two weeks because the acid in our stomach is constantly eating away at the stomach lining.
Our liver gets replaced every 13 month.
Interesting, if only 25% of the liver is present, it can regrow itself. No other organ can do that.
As for those pesky fat cells. They are replaced every 10 years. Our top layer of skin, every month.
Our taste buds are also replaced every 10 years.
Most frequent of all is the cerebro-spinal fluid surrounding our brain and filling our spinal cord. It is replaced every 24 hours. Every day we make a fresh pint of brain fluid.
There are some parts that are not replaced like our tooth enamel, so remember to brush your teeth.
How does all this happen? This all happens because we have a wonderful God who created us, made us, and watches over us.
as it says in
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16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
And just when did God create us. He created each of us in our mother’s womb.
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You have probably heard the expression. “This is my body.”
But a baby is a precious creation of God and while for a short time the baby may reside in the womb of his or her Mommie. It is not the Mommie.
A baby has a wholly separate body of its own. It has different DNA. It may have a different blood type. It may be a different sex than the mother and have a different color of eyes or hair. It has it’s own eyes.
In some ways our son Jonathan takes after his mom. In some ways after me. and while our little baby is now a full grown man he is totally different than Alice or me.
Every baby is precious and is worthy of life. Every baby is God’s creation and is fearfully and wonderfully made.
How precious is that baby?
Our text goes on to say.
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17 How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with Thee.
Both you and I are in God’s mind all the time. He is constantly thinking about all of His children. We are the apple of His eye. and we are precious in His sight. Even a little baby still in its mother’s womb.
consider
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22 “And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide.
23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
What this text appears to be saying is that if 2 men are fighting: and as a result a pregnant woman standing by is injured…
Maybe the one man picks up a rock and throws it at the guy he is fighting with..
but he hits the woman instead… or worse He hits her with an ax head instead of a stone. Bottom line, he hits the woman.
if there is no further injury her husband can file for damages and collect whatever the court will allow.
But it does not stop there. What if there is further injury? and this would include injury to the mother or it could be injury to the baby. The injury could bring about a miscarriage and as a result of the pre-mature birth, the baby could die.
No matter if the woman dies or the baby dies, in both cases the man is guilty of “call it unintentional homicide” (because he did not intend to hit the woman… he was aiming for the man), but in this case the penalty is same, it is death.
This is how precious these little ones are in God’s eyes.
Every baby is precious in God’s eyes and is worthy of life.
The early church taught that abortion was the equivalent of murder. and according to modern day stats a number of women , even in our Wesleyan churches, have had abortions. In fact about 25% of the babies conceived in the United States are killed while still in the womb. If that is you, or your friend, or child, I do want to remind you of
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9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We can’t change the past. We all have our own sins to bear… but forgiveness is available.
With that in mind.…
let us go to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
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In Matthew 5.21
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
Now when we read this text, we can not use the 2026 definition of murder here in the United States. Nor can we use some opinion by the United States Supreme Court. We need to go back to the first century and interpret it based on how the early Christians.. the people at that time would have understood the words of Jesus.
Fortunately we have their understanding written down for us in some of the writings of the early church.
There is a letter known as the Didache or its full name ; “The Teachings of Jesus Christ by the Twelve Apostles.” It was a letter circulated by the early church. It is believed to be a sermon for new Christians given at their baptismal service. It talks about what it means to be a Christian.
How we are to live our lives now that we have become followers of Christ.
It calls this the “Way of Life.” It also talks about our sacraments - Baptism and the Lord’s supper.
Let’s step into this sermon for new Christians in the first Century and hear what it sounded like?
[Now you may note that each piece of instruction starts with a familiar passage of scripture, and then adds a little bit to it to help you apply it to your life.]
This is good stuff it is worthy of taking a few moments to listen to.
It starts.…
1 There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and great is the difference between the two ways.
[Note: the way that leads to eternal life is our new way of life as Christians.
On the other hand, The way that leads to death is the way of the world which leads to everlasting punishment in hell.
As a new Christian we are choosing the way of life.] continuing in our sermon…
2 This is the way of life: ‘First you shall love God who made you, secondly, your neighbor as yourself; and whatever you would not like done to you, do not do to another.’
3 The teaching of these words is as follows:
[‘Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you.
For what is the merit of loving those who love you? Do not even the pagans do this? But, ‘love those who hate you,’ and you will not have an enemy.
4 ‘Abstain from carnal desires.’
‘If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him,’ and you will be perfect.
‘If anyone forces you to go one mile with him, go two.’
If anyone takes your cloak, give him also your tunic.’ If anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back, for you have no power.
5 Give to everyone who asks, and ask nothing in return; for the Father wishes that a share of His own gifts be given to all. Blessed is the man who gives according to the commandment, for he is without blame.
Woe to the man who takes.
However, if the one who takes is in need, he is without blame.
But should he not be in need,
he shall give an account of the why and the wherefore of his taking it. And he will be put in prison and examined strictly about what he did, and ‘shall not go out from there until he has paid the last cent.’
But in this matter the saying also holds: ‘Let your gifts of charity to others (known as alms) sweat in your hands until you know to whom you are giving.’
Is this not good stuff? and yes we should be wise in our charitable giving.
However it also addresses the issue of abortion twice.
Our instruction as new converts continues....
The second commandment of the Teaching is:
2 You shall not commit murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not corrupt boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not practice sorcery.
and now get this:
You shall not kill an unborn child or murder a newborn infant.
Now just to be clear. What we generally refer to as an abortion is when a mother, or father, or the mother’s parents (sometimes it is against the will of the mother) chooses to kill an unborn child.
The early church had to address this issue of abortion and they understood that when Jesus said “Do not commit murder” - it also included abortion and infanticide. Infanticide occured when the husband did not want the baby, and he would take the newborn baby and set it outside in the sun to die of dehydration and be eaten by the animals.
The members of the church would often go out early in the morning and pick up those babies that had been left to die and adopted them into their own families.
Why? Because every baby is precious in God’s eyes.
The Didache goes on to describe the way of the non-christian which it describes as the way of death and I am not going to read all of it…
1 On the other hand, this is the way of death. First of all, it is evil and full of cursings, murders, adulteries, evil desires, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magical practices, sorceries, robberies, false witnessings (those who lie), hypocrisies, double-mindedness, guile, pride, malice, arrogance, covetousness, filthy talk (they liked their dirty jokes), envy, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness [and lack of fear of God].
Boy is that a mouthful. It is basically the opposite of the way of life. It continues.… and I skip down ...
They do not acknowledge their Creator, they are murderers of children .… May you be saved, children, from all these.
In chapter 5… It combines both abortion and infanticide under one heading “murderers of children.”
May you be saved, children, from all of these.
The letter of Barnabas contains a similar passage describing the way of life and the way of death including the instruction not to commit murder by means of abortion. It is attributed to Paul’s traveling companion (Barnabas). Clement of Alexandria attributed the “Letter of Barnabas” to “Paul’s Barnabas” and even quoted it as scripture. It was very highly regarded by the early church.
Finally, let us take to heart Ps 127:3.
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3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Every Baby is , every child is worthy of our love. They are a gift from the Lord, Himself.
What is the point of this? What is our take away?
1) As Christians, we should value every life. Every baby is precious in His sight.
2) If we have a friend or a family member who is considering an abortion, we need to encourage them to keep the baby. There are options other than killing the baby. Let someone else raise their baby. Put the baby up for adoption. Or you could always offer to take the baby yourself.
Alice and I would rather take the baby than for some mom to kill her baby. Now, I am 76 years old, so we are certainly not the first choice, but we are a better than killing a baby. We will probably offer him or her to Joshua and Katie who have not been able to have a baby of their own or someone younger… but we would be looking for a good Christian home which social services won’t do.
3) If we are with a group of people who are talking about abortion… or “I have a right to do with my body what I want…” Remember, we are ambassador’s for Christ. Let’s speak up for life. Let’s do it in a friendly way, but let’s stand up up for what is right and for the life of the unborn baby.
Let’ s also remember that ..… when we vote in the upcoming elections… and there is always an upcoming election. Vote for a pro-life candidate.
4) You could also talk to social services and choose to adopt an unwanted baby, or be a foster parent. If for some reason a mother cannot care of her own child, maybe you could. … and
5) We can support our local Life Choice Pregnancy Center of Western North Carolina , right here in Bryson City.
They provide assistance for mother’s to-be... and … for the first couple of years after the baby is born.
They are always in need of diapers.
I know they are in need of financial assistance. A lot of funds have dried up since the Federal government started cutting back on assistance to non-profits as they try to get their hands around out-of-control spending.
They are also in need of volunteers.
Check out the poster in the Foyer. They are hosting a Gospel Music Concert at camp living water from 2-4 on Saturday January 31st. They will be taking up a free-will offering, but the concert is free. You might want to check that out as well.
and
5) prayer - there is always a need for prayer. Do not underestimate the value of prayer. Put the Crisis Pregnancy Center on your prayer list.
Finally, maybe, as I went through the first couple of chapters of that Baptismal sermon, God spoke to your heart and you found yourself thinking I want to choose the way that leads to life. I don’t want to spend eternity in hell. I want to put my faith in Jesus and follow him.. Today is a great day for you to join us and commit your life to the Lord. The altar is open. I invite you to do so.
Let’s pray
