Sanctity of Life Sunday January 23, 2022

Introduction

Skit guys video

Roe Vs Wade Might be overturned

This year for the first time in 49 years Roe versus wade has a realistic chance of being overturned. Nearly half a century since the Supreme Court nationally legalized abortion the decision may soon be sent back to the states. There literally is a case being heard this week that could result in Roe V Wade being overturned.

And so as a result of a decision that may come any day now you and I may be engaged in discussions about life. Because life will be a polarizing topic. Because if the Supreme Court overturns this precedent then it will no longer be a national issue but it will be a state by state issue where we have to face this and talk about it and handle it in our neighborhoods and communities where we come up with ways to truly value life instead of just preventing death.

Talking about Life today

So today we're going to talk about life. The Bible has a magnificent and beautiful view of human life. Starting from the very beginning in genesis we're told that God created man in the image of God. Male and female. He breathed the breath of life... the very breath of God into mankind.

When God breathed his breath into mankind that means every man and woman born is made in the image of God. And part of what God told mankind to do was to fill the earth and subdue it. Was to rule over the earth. God didn't just create humans to be servants offering sacrifices to make him happy as some religions propose. We didn't just evolve from animals and sliming lizards. We were made in the image of God. We aren't just fighting to relieve ourselves of our karma as the Buddhist would tell you through reincarnation time after time after time. We are made in God's image.

And what's more we are not simply created as flawed human beings that have to work to make themselves good enough for Allah. We are not Muslims who are constrained to live a life of discipline under the law of Allah and hope to be good enough to walk the narrow bridge that leads to whatever they call heaven. God loved each and every human being so much he made a way for them to know him as father. Life is beautiful in God's sight from the beginning to the end.

God provides a solution for the worst of life

But you know what I love about life and what the Bible teaches about life. I love that the Bible is honest about the beauty and the ugliness of life. Because as much as you and I want to celebrate the beauty of life today we must also recognize sin and paint in the world around us. I love that the Bible provides a solution for the worst of life.

Romans 3:10 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

There is no one righteous... no not one period that means each of us are humbled and level at the foot of the cross we stand equally in God's sight we are saved from our sins by Jesus. So if we talk about abortion and that brings to mind something you've done in the past and makes you feel terribly guilty then know this as we're talking about life we are talking about a savior who gives forgiveness because there is no one righteous.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

i love that passage from pool he points that every one of us are sinners in need of the washing grace of God. No one of us can talk about abortion or talk about our view that life is valuable without recognizing that we are sinful people needing God's grace we are not better than anyone in valuing life and opposing abortion. We are sinners in need of God's grace.

Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

but what Romans teaches us as well as that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you trust it in what Jesus did for you on the cross God does not condemn you. If you celebrate life today and yet you participated in an abortion in the past God Forgives and loves you. If you have failed to value life whether it's how you treated an elderly person or disabled person God Forgives you because of what God has done through Jesus. You do not need to live with guilt and shame today because of the gospel of Jesus Christ it is so insanely freeing!!

OK So what about the value of life what are a few things the Bible teaches us?

Genesis 1:26–28 ESV

26 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

We've already talked about that passage but man I love it! We are created in God's image made by God! And here's another good one:

Psalm 139:13–16 ESV

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

we are created from the moment of conception and known by God he sees us from that moment nothing is accidental. No human being is just a collection of cells. We are seen and recognized by God. We are creatures with souls. From conception until death

What does science teach us about the beginning of human life?

I want to share 3 minutes of this video with you all.

1:55-5:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKyljukBE70&t=129s

Wow that is a moving video. You know I could talk today about different scientists and what they say about when life begins. But I thought it would be more powerful to show a video portraying the beginning of life. The reality is that life begins in the womb. I don't think a discussion over the value of life or legality of abortion is going to be won or lost on the basis of scientific facts.

Love

Christians have always and will always be those who celebrate the beauty and value of life. But Christians have always and will always be people who screw up and sin. We do not always get it right. As Gandhi said he would become a Christian if it wasn't for all the Christians he ran into. We can be all about opposing abortion but if we fail to love our neighbor as ourselves no one will listen to us. We can be all about opposing abortion but if we don't support foster families and solutions for vulnerable mothers people won't listen to us.

I'm not talking about abortion or life today because I think I or our church has everything all together. I'm talking about it because I want to celebrate life and call attention to it. I know that are vulnerable woman having a baby when she wasn't planning on it has a devastating effect on her capacity to earn a living or find her way out of poverty. I get that unwanted and unplanned pregnancies happen. I understand how even the most desired and wanted pregnancies in the world are difficult. And children are expensive and hard to raise. We talk about life and we celebrate life because that's what we see God doing.

Action

one of the biggest criticisms against Christians is that we are pro birth and then we just drop off the radar for the rest of the baby's life. We need to be pro-life in all of life.

On Wednesday I was at a pastor prayer gathering praying with a handful of other pastors for our city and I got a call from Ashley. She said this gentleman was sitting in our living room... and elderly gentleman and he couldn't talk and couldn't write easily. I came home promptly to try and figure out what was going on. It turns out with making signs and whatnot he communicated to me that he needed help with his computer at his house. So I had him head back to his house and told him I would be there shortly.

Showing up at his house I started to work on fixing his computer and that led to fixing his phone and that led to fixing his phone service and that led to driving to spectrum wireless to try to solve a billing problem only to discover that they were actually closed on Wednesdays thanks to the pandemic. And so my plans for Wednesday disappeared in two 3 1/2 hours of working with this guy. He lost his speech and much of the use of his left and right arms due to a stroke two years ago.

I realized quickly as I was helping him that there were quite a few things I could help him with, simple things that I could do insanely fast for him that he couldn't do because he could move only slowly and not talk. I also realized that I couldn't charge much at all for the help I was giving him, it wouldn't be right. I ended up spending another couple hours on Thursday finally solving all the odds and ends problems he had and I set up his phone so he could easily FaceTime me if he needed help with anything in the future because he can communicate with waves and whatnot.

The whole time I'm sitting there waiting for different things to happen there isn't that much conversation... I'm thinking about the sanctity of life. I'm thinking about the reality that my motivation for helping this guy it wasn't to make money. Honestly there's no way I was going to make that much money at all helping him because it wouldn't be right to charge him much. But instead I realized his life had value. And I was right there and I had the opportunity to solve a couple problems he had. I went out of my way to make sure I asked for his permission for anything I saw that he needed done. I didn't want to assume that I knew what was best and assumed that he was hopeless which he wasn't.

How much was I willing to let my day be totally turned upside down to value someone elses life.? Was I willing to go out of my way to respond to the need that was right in front of me. Was I willing to let his needs take precedence over the needs I had for the things I needed to get done?

If I’m going to celebrate life I need to value it from beginning to difficult, messy middle, to the end.

Conclusion

We can't celebrate life if we don't take action to value it wherever we run into it.

We can't oppose abortion if we don't Support Solutions for mothers in need.

We shouldn't talk about how we love life if we don't show compassion for those who are in need.

Let's take action in all lives. Let's pray that God gives us the courage to value all lives period to see our neighbors as created in God's image and to show compassionate love to them period to find vulnerable communities whether they're in the nursing home or a nursery. And show love to these communities.

Let us make sure we are known far more for what we support and what we value than the things we oppose.

Every day we celebrate the love of the father, the kindness of the father, the grace of the father,

From the beginning of the Bible to the end life has shown to have sacred value.

In the Old Testament we read the creation account of Adam and Eve. They are made in the image of God with the very breath of God inside them. They are our ancestors, they are sacred.

And throughout the laws of the Old Testament life is guarded as sacred. Yes there are severe consequences and capital punishment seems to be dispensed liberally in the Old Testament legal code but nevertheless life is honored at every stage. No person is without value in God’s site.

And as we look through the Old Testament we can flinch at the times we read accounts of violence and wars. And we can grimace when we see the accounts of God ordering Israel to wipe out a group. And yet throughout each of these accounts we see God taking life seriously. Yes, he executes judgments against sinful nations but he makes clear that terrible cost of sin. At no point are humans simply sacrifices to be given, we are created in his image as holy. Therefore when we give ourselves and our culture over to sin God may execute judgment on ourselves and our culture but he doesn't take loss of life lightly.

Life protected, cherished, revered,

Love, mercy and grace of the father the love of the father

Life is why he came

Story of helping George Clark this week.

We are made in the image of God to rule over the earth, to fill the earth and subdue it, and we are given creativity and ingenuity.

Everyone is made in God’s image.

Every baby everywhere.

Every teenager walking the street.

Every older person isolated in their homes by COVID.

Everyone is made in God’s image.

Part of understanding this is living it out in how we care for the world around us.