Sunday – Oct. 25, 2020

Church of Christ Posted on by

Worship Service & Sermon

Who will stand up against evildoers?
Scripture Reading – John 17:13-18

1. As we get started in this sermon I want us to have a back drop, I want to set the stage
  a. In Genesis 1:26-31 we read of God’s creation
    i. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
    ii. Everything God made prior to making man that He said it was good
    iii. In verse 31 when God looked all that He had made, which now includes the human race, He said that it was “very good”
  b. In verses 26-31 we see that God has given mankind dominion over all of His creation
    i. All that God has done, all that He has created is for us, mankind, He did it all for the sake of human life.
      1. The food, the majesty (name a few) everything was done for mankind
      2. None of it was for God, He did not need any of it,
    ii. The life of mankind, the ‘very good’ in His creation, is very important to Him
      1. He proves that not only with the awesome creation
      2. But also with His willingness to give His Son for the sake and salvation of mankind.
      3. Human life is of utmost importance to God, the God of Heaven, the God that is our Father.
2. That life which means so much to God the Creator begins at conception
  a. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
    i. Do you suppose that there was some unique about the way Jeremiah was formed or do think that all of us were known by our creator before we had form?
  b. Psalms 139:13, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.”
  c. Psalms 139:16, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.”
    i. Same question,,, was there something unique about David, or do you think that would be true of all of us.
      1. Acts 10:34, “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality.”
      2. Romans 2:11, “For there is no partiality with God.”
  a. Those things that are said of Jeremiah and David would be true of all whom God has put together in the womb.
3. Last week the sermon was on the topic of abortion,
  a. It was in fact a Pro Life sermon, but it was very much a biblical sermon,
  b. Understand the “Pro Life” is not a political position, it is a biblical principle.
  c. I believe there is corruptness on both sides of the political aisle
    i. As such I am not here to endorse a political party nor am I here to endorse any politician.
    ii. Last week I did say something
      1. In my sermon I did encourage Christians to vote, and to vote for godly principles. I do see a phrase in my sermon that I wish I had phased a little differently at one point I said, “stop voting for… the person that looks the most presidential.” It was not my intent to have my listeners think the comment was solely about the presidency. We need to elect godly leaders in every branch of government, at every level, whether federal, state, county or city. This blessed country needs godly leaders in every capacity if it is to remain blessed by God.
4. While I have already and will again mention abortion, this mornings sermon has to with whether or not a Christian should vote, does the Christian have a responsibility to vote?
  a. Many Christians say they do not have to so they don’t, many say we cannot vote, others say that our government and voting are worldly things and that the Christian should not be in worldly things.
5. As I set out to put this sermon together I wanted to look at some of the reasons that Christians claim that they can either just not vote or flat out claim that we cannot vote. I will only look a couple
  a. Daniel 2:21, “It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.”
  b. Daniel 4:17, “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And bestows it on whom He wishes
And sets over it the lowliest of men.”
    i. There you have it, God is in complete control, there is no point in voting, God chooses who rules, not us,
      1. Oh but what about,,,
        c. 1 Samuel 8:4-9, READ “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
    i. Israel demands a king, who is in control? God is right?
    ii. What does God say in verse 7, I have lost control? NO He is still in control, “Listen to the voice of the people.”
    iii. In 8:22 God who is in complete control tells Samuel to “appoint them a king”
      1. So how is it that Israel has a king?
        a. Because God lost control??? NO
      2. Because God granted them their wish, their will
      3. If we as a nation, express our wish and our will by way of a popular vote, why would a God who is the same yesterday and today not do much the same thing today as He did back then?
6. Another argument against Christians voting is Romans 13
  a. READ verse 1, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
    i. I would go back to the question, “How is it that Israel had a king?”
      1. Oh yah, because the God who is in complete control granted them their will.
    ii. To that I would also point out that in this country in this slice of world history, we are a government “of the people, for the people and by the people”
      1. In the government that is spoken of in Romans 13, the people were to serve their government,
      2. In our government those we elect are to serve us.
      3. Our government has placed the responsibility on it people as to who will be given these positions of service.
  a. If the logic is that we are to be in subjection to our government, and our government leaves it up to us as to who will be in office, how do we by that logic shirk the responsibility of voting?
7. Before I move on I want to point out a biblical hero, a godly man, who does not appear to have live in blind subjection to his government.
  a. READ Daniel 6:4-5
    i. “Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”
    ii. Daniel knew about the injunction but continued his praying and giving thanks as he had done previously. Vs 10
8. So there are those who say a Christian should not vote, some say that the Christian should vote,
  a. So what is the Christian to do?
I. It’s all about life
  a. As I have already mentioned, (on biblical grounds) everything that is in this universe, is for the purpose of human life, human life is extremely important to God.
  b. Back in the 70’s (73 I think) was the major Supreme Court ruling that it was a woman’s legal right to have an abortion
    i. As pointed out in the introduction, human life begins before we even have form.
    ii. God’s word makes it plain and easy to understand that the unborn, regardless of how long it is before they are born, that they are human and that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.
      1. Abortion is ending a human life that God has created, no law or court can make that “RIGHT”,
  c. From the time of Roe vs Wade until now, over 50 million humans have been exterminated due to a so called “right” (that’s in this country alone)
    i. As disciples of Christ we are to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”
      1. It is difficult to make a disciple of someone who was killed long before they had a chance to be taught to observe the Lord’s commands.
      2. 50 million have been cheated out of their opportunity to even hear the Gospel.
  d. READ Jeremiah 7:30-33 and also note 19:3-8
  e. Jeremiah 7:30-33, “For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the Lord, “they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.
32 “Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. 33 The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away.”
      i. We will see sometime in another study that God carried this out against the people of Judah
        1. In what respect would we say that abortion is any different than what these people were doing with their innocent baby humans?
        2. If God is the same yesterday and today, Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
        3. Why would we expect an eventual outcome that is less devastation for us?
II. Who reigns over a nation has an impact on how God either blesses or punishes a nation.
  a. The reformation of Hezekiah
    i. Hezekiah stands in a favorable light according to the Bible,
      1. Hezekiah’s reform is considered to be the most extensive reform in the history of the Southern Kingdom
      2. Overall Hezekiah’s reign was blessed with peace and prosperity
  a. Who reigns over a nation makes a huge difference.
  b. David was an imperfect man, yet God worked through him
  c. David’s son Solomon was blessed by God.
  d. Who can doubt that his country was made great because God blessed it?
    i. Who can doubt that God blessed this nation because our founding fathers developed a government which was based on Biblical principles?
III. We are to be in this world but not be of it. READ John 17:14-18,
  a. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
  b. What would make us think that voting makes us ‘of’ the world rather than just being ‘in’ the world?
    i. Won’t voting against abortion make the world hate us, how would it make us ‘of’ the world?
  c. Paul tells us that We are ambassadors here, what does that mean
    i. READ 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
      1. God makes appeal through us, His ambassadors
  d. What is an ambassador and what do they do?
  i. God’s people represent a foreign government, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20 )
      1. Ambassadors represent the ideals, the laws, the people, the culture, the government policies and political ideologies and interests of the country where the ambassador holds citizenship.
      2. Because of their unique and inside experience with the host nation, ambassadors are able to aid in the development of foreign policy with that nation. All of these actions seek to protect their home country’s interests within the host nation.
IV. So does God expect Christians to vote?
 a. From my study, it would be my contention that it is the duty and the responsibility of every Christian to vote.
    i. To vote for leaders who would uphold Biblical values, even though they themselves will likely not be Christians.
  b. God is most certainly in control, but that gives us no excuse to sit on our hands and do nothing.
    i. Remember the parable of the talents, the one talent guy who did nothing with his talent, was punished severely.
    ii. God can most certainly be displeased with the nations choice of a leader READ Hosea 8:4, “They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.
With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.”(God was in control)
    iii. Candidates that violate the Biblical principles for human life and our faith should never be supported.
Conclusion
A. If one cannot see in scripture a specific command to vote in this country of “government of the people, for the people and by the people”
    a. Then consider this
      i. We are commanded to love
      ii. Just how much love do we have for God’s created life if we will not even go cast a vote for a “Pro-life” candidate in an effort to keep a “Pro-abortion” candidate out?
        1. Voting is really only a small thing and more than voting should be done.
  b. In regard to voting being worldly, just how many other worldly things would we apply this logic to?
    i. Money is a worldly thing; would we stop going to work and making money?
      1. No, we would say that the one that does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel
B. It is true that the government that we have does not force us to vote, but consider Peter’s advice, 1 Peter 2:15, “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”
C. As I come to an end, I want to point out a couple of things that the inspired writer James had to say.
  a. Voting is no doubt considered a work
    i. James 2:14-18, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
      1. Works are important to our faith
  b. James 4:4, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
    i. Friendship with the world is hostility to God.
    ii. Want to be a friend to the world?
      1. Stand by and let the abortion industry prevail, and the world will love you.
D. It is my conviction that a preacher who teaches that it is OK to either sit on your hands and make not effort to vote the Pro-abortionists out, or worse yet that it is OK to vote for the Pro-abortionist, he is a preacher that needs and wants cultural acceptance more than he wants he want and needs the acceptance of God!
E. In God’s word it asks in Psalms 94:16, “Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?”
  a. Will you stand up to the evil doers?
    i. (Lessor of two evils)
    ii. Maybe should think in terms of voting out the most evil doers
F. I will vote, and I will vote with confidence that God expects nothing less from me
  a. I will vote against the evil of the abortion industry
  b. I will vote for my God, my family, the unborn and my country and in that order.
G. In past elections millions upon millions of those who claim to be Christians failed to vote
  a. Yet Christians complain about an evil government
  b. James 4:17, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
H. It is my sincere prayer that we as Christian voters will show up and stand up against evil doers.

Sunday – Oct. 18, 2020

Church of Christ Posted on by

Worship Service & Sermon

Abortion
Scripture Reading – Psalm 139:13-16

1. Two weeks ago was “Life Chain” Sunday across America
  a. Mike Moore bought you an excellent lesson on the topic of “Abortion”
  b. Last year 1550 cities and towns here in the US participated
  c. Life Chain is a peaceful and prayerful public witness of pro-life individuals standing for 60 to 90 minutes praying for our nation and for the end of abortion.
    i. It is a visual statement of solidarity by the community that abortion kills children, that those involved supports the sanctity of life from the moment of conception until natural death.
2. Abortion is a highly emotionally volatile topic.
  a. In my 22 years as a Christian I have heard less than an handful of sermons that were wholly dedicated to the topic,
    i. It is not an easy topic to stand here today to preach on!
  b. Both sides are moved with passionate zeal to promote their cause
    i. Those who believe in the sanctity of life , the pro-lifer, believe that they must speak out or bear at least some of the guilt because of their silence
 “…to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17
    ii. At the same time the Pro choice advocates are feverishly vocal for the sake of their own conscience to justify what they do and work to convince the pro lifer that they are not immoral
3. One of the jobs that a preacher is to accomplish is to build up and to edify the congregation,
  a. That can be a difficult task when taking on a controversial topic.
4. But also one of the preachers jobs is to preach and teach what is right and what is wrong
  a. Not that it is right or wrong in the preachers mind but if it is right or wrong in God’s mind.
5. Before we get too far into this lesson this morning I need to point out that this sermon is not addressed to just one gender, this is not a time of beating up on women,
  a. Men are very much involved in the abortion issue as well,
    i. Many many women have been coerced even forced into unwanted abortions by
      1. Fathers – boy friend’s and even husbands
        a. Some intentions are good,,,
   ii. A great many abortion providers are men
   iii. Many that sit on benches and make decisions about abortion and men.
  b. Both genders are involved, in the abortion debate.
6. In the end what truly matters is what God’s opinion of abortion is,
  a. Does God think abortion is right, or does He think it is wrong,
7. Abortion is way too big to be able to cover every aspect of it in just one sermon.
  a. So for this lesson we will try to determine if the pregnancy is in fact a human life or something else
I. Is a fetus a life, and if so is it a human? Science
  a. First let’s look at the term ‘fetus’
    i. It is a noun 1. an unborn offspring of a mammal, in particular an unborn human baby between its embryonic state and its birth. (Oxford dictionary)
    ii. In its origin, it is a Latin word which means ‘baby’, ‘young one’, ‘young child’
  b. This is part of the confusion,
    i. As a nation we have been told for years that it is not a ‘baby’ it is a ‘fetus’ but by definition fetus means human baby
  c. So what does science have to say in this regard?
    i. After decades of being told that the pregnancy is not a baby, it is a blob of tissue, or it is a fetus not a baby
      1. Listen to what we are starting to hear now
    ii. Dr. Jermoe L. LeJeune ( a brilliant geneticist who was the first to demonstrate a link between certain diseases and chromosomal abnormalities) testified before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee said this
      1. “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence”.
        a. If you want to believe that a baby in the womb is not a person, then, you have to ignore the plain evidence
        b. LeJeune’s quote was way back in 1981, since then more and more evidence has been stacking up to show that a baby in the womb is most defiantly a human being.
        d. It has been a slow moving process to get this information out that a pregnancy is in fact a human life, but it is slowly getting out.
        e. The response to this message by the pro-choice side is pretty scary, listen to what some in the abortion industry have to say
            i. In 2013, pro-abortionist writer, Mary Elizabeth wrote an article titled, “So What if Abortion Ends Life?
              1. In her article she writes, “Here is the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal”
              2. Also ‘Fetus’ can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides. She is the boss. Her life and what is right for her circumstances and her health should automatically trump the rights of the non-autonomous entity inside her. Always.”
                a. Apparently the baby has some rights but less rights
                    i. (Her health)
f. Those who know abortion the best are those in the business of abortion,,, listen to a few statements
    i. A British abortionist Judith Arcana had this to say:
      1. “It is morally and ethically wrong to do abortions without acknowledging what it means to do them. I perform abortions, I have had an abortion and I am in favor of women having abortions when we chose to do so. But we should never disregard the fact that being pregnant means there is a baby inside a woman, a baby whose life is ended. We ought not to pretend this is not happening”.
    ii. In an essay entitled “Why I Am an Abortion Provider” Dr. William F. Harrison has this to say: “No one, neither the patient receiving the abortion, nor the person doing the abortion, is ever, at any time, unaware that they are ending a life”
g. The scientific world openly admits that a pregnancy is a human life and that abortion is a killing of that life.
  i. I don’t need to present proof that a ‘fetus’ is a human life; the abortion industry presents that proof for me!

II. So what about God, does God view the pregnancy as a human life? Let’s look at some scriptures
  a. Hebrew – Old Testament
    i. Genesis 25:4, “The sons (bene, the sons) of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons (bene, the sons) of Keturah.”
      1. The sons already born
    ii. Genesis 25:21-24, “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children ( bene, sons of) struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.”
      1. God calls them people (children) while in the womb
    iii. Genesis 17:25, “And Ishmael his son (ben son) was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.”
iv. Genesis 9:19, “These three were the sons (bene, sons of) of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.”
      1. In all of these verses the same Hebrew word was used for the unborn still in the womb, a teenager, and also of adult sons.
  v. Job 3:16, “Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants (o-lel, child) that never saw light.”
  vi. Lamentations 4:4, “The tongue of the infant (o-lal, child) cleaves To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.”
    1. The same Hebrew word was used here, for the still born and the young children
b. Greek – New Testament
  i. Luke 1:41, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby (brephos, infant) leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
  ii. Luke 1:44, “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby (brephos, infant) leaped in my womb for joy.”
  iii. Luke 2:12, “ This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby (brephos, infant) wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
  iv. Acts 7:19, “It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants (brephos) and they would not survive.”
      1. in these verses the same Greek word was used whether the child was in the womb or already born
  v. Luke 1:36, “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son (huios, son) in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.”
  vi. Luke 15:11, “And He said, “A man had two sons (huios, sons).”
      1. Here again we see the same Greek word to describe a son in the womb and again to mention an adult, (the prodigal son)
      2. God sees the one in the womb as a human just as He sees the adult as a human being, God does not make a distinction.
So since both science, the abortion industry and God see the unborn as human life, how serious is this topic of abortion?
III. What does Exodus 21:22-25 reveal about the value of the unborn? READ
  a. “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no 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, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”
  b. Note the phrase “yet there is not injury” this applies to both the woman and the unborn child. There is no reason to assume that this only applies to the mother. The child is just as much human as the mother.
    i. This text teaches us that if fighting men cause a pregnant woman to deliver early the guilty shall be fined,
    ii. But if the injury brings death to the mother or the unborn child this was punishable by death.
      1. To God the killing of the unborn is a big deal, worthy of capital punishment.
      2. If God dealt so severely with the accidental death of a premature infant, how do you suppose He feels about abortion, the deliberate, intentional taking of the life of an unborn child?
c. READ Exodus 23:7, READ Proverbs 6:16-17
  i. Exodus 23:7, “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.”
  ii. Proverbs 6:16-17, “There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood.”
  iii. God will not acquit the guilty, that is pretty serious (will talk about in the conclusion)
Conclusion
A. So what we have seen is that Science, the abortion industry itself and God’s word demand that a pregnancy is in fact not only a life but a human life.
B. God’s word tells us many many times that we are not to take the life of the innocent.
C. So what will we do?
  a. From the research I did this week, it appears that Gallup finds that some 26% of Americans believe abortion should always be legal under any circumstances
    i. Some 20% insist that abortion should always be illegal no matter what
    ii. Gallup states that the majority, some 52% opt for something in between.
        1. Most Americans believe that abortion is wrong but also believe that there are some instances in which it should be legal (rape/incest)
            a. (how about punish the criminal, not the innocent?)
  b. What will we do? We should stop fighting with the 26% who will never change and start educating the 52%.
    i. False messages have been taught to our population for decades,
    ii. We need to be aggressively teaching the truth about life, the human life of the preborn,
    iii. When we go to the polls we need to stop voting for economic plans, the person that looks the most presidential, the this or that of or voting habit,
      1. We need to go to the polls and elect leaders that will lead with godly principles,
      2. If we do this enough long enough more and more godly people will begin to run for public office,
  c. With godly education on the topic of abortion coupled with electing godly leaders in this country we can turn this thing around.
  d. I want to go back to this idea that God will not acquit the guilty.
D. When we look at the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
  a. We see that if one obeys the Gospel, that their sins can be washed away,
  b. God will not acquit the guilty, but thanks to the Gospel, through repentance the guilt of abortion can be washed away so that you won’t stand before God in guilt.
  c. In a crowd this size, especially when we consider the LiveStream audience,,, there is no doubt that someone who is hearing me speak today,,, has had an abortion.
    i. Someone listening today has coerced or even performed an abortion.
E. Part of the educating that the church needs to be teaching is that:
  a. Killing the innocent is wrong in the site of God but,
  b. There is forgiveness in Christ for this sin.
  c. Part of the teaching needs to be that if you have coerced or forced a
    i. girlfriend, daughter or wife, you are in the wrong also and need repentance and forgiveness,
    ii. If you are an abortion provider, you are in the wrong but with obedience to the Gospel, which includes repentance,,, you can be forgiven.
  d. We need to teach that sex outside of marriage is sin but to bring a child full term and delivering a living human baby is not sin.
    i. That infant in the womb was fearfully and wonderfully made!
    ii. That infant in the womb was created in the image of God
F. Many participated in the “Life Chain” two weeks ago,,,
  a. Will this make a huge difference?
    i. No, not by itself, but it is a perfect time for being focused solely on prayer to our Father about bringing this barbaric act of abortion to an end in this country.
  b. It may very well be the conversation starter with someone that starts the education that 52% of this country desperately needs.