Text:\u00a0 Exodus 20:13 – Life Observance Sunday<\/p>\n
You shall not murder. —
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
In the name of Jesus:\u00a0 <\/b>The first thing I want to share is this.\u00a0 Many of the thoughts you are going to hear are not my own.\u00a0 They come from Pastor Robert Fleishman, the director of Christian Life Resources.\u00a0 Check it out on the internet.\u00a0 It is a great resource for Christians trying to navigate through today\u2019s world when it comes to the issues of life and death.<\/p>\n
Forty one years ago.\u00a0 Two thirds of my lifetime.\u00a0 January 22.\u00a0 Do you know what I\u2019m talking about?\u00a0 A day when a dark shadow came over our land.\u00a0 A day when judges in black robes set into motion the violent deaths of more than 55 million unborn children.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 When you watch the Superbowl, know this.\u00a0 Last year the abortions in New York City could more than fill that stadium.<\/p>\n
The world calls it choice, reproductive rights.\u00a0 But those rights end where another person\u2019s life begins.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we\u2019re talking about here.\u00a0 Another person with a soul.\u00a0 A person in a place that should be the safest place on earth, his mother\u2019s womb.\u00a0 The world calls it choice, reproductive rights.\u00a0 But those rights end when they violate the will of Him who gives life.\u00a0 And that will is this.\u00a0 You shall not murder.<\/b><\/p>\n
Today I want to introduce you to three people. All three are real.\u00a0 Their stories are true.\u00a0 Their names have been changed to protect their identity.\u00a0 We begin with \u201cBetsy\u201d\u00a0 She wrote an article called this:\u00a0 I had an abortion (and I don\u2019t regret it) She writes:<\/p>\n
I had an abortion last month. It was probably the hardest choice I\u2019ve ever had to make. I love children and I want to be a mother SO badly…I\u2019m 21 years old, I don\u2019t have a steady job or a car or my own house, my boyfriend and I have only been together for 6 months, my health is terrible, I\u2019m a borderline alcoholic, yada yada yada. So really, bad time to have a baby. I am not a fan of adoption…if anyone\u2019s going to mess up my kids, It\u2019s going to be me! And given my health and drinking, it would have been likely that I and\/or my child would have been seriously damaged by the pregnancy.<\/p>\n
So the choice was clear. Abortion was the way to go. Even though deep down I knew that I just couldn\u2019t have a child right now, it really hurt to admit it, and I was terrified (irrationally so) that maybe the pro-lifers were right \u2013 I WOULD regret it forever, I WOULD have \u201cpost abortion syndrome,\u201d I WOULD be [smote] by God, I would become infertile and get breast cancer and DIE, or something… so I went to the clinic with my boyfriend, filled out a few forms and went to the \u201ccounseling room\u201d with a kind young woman who explained the procedure and asked if I had any questions… I was a little shaky so she gave me a hug as well.<\/p>\n
After that I continued on to the exam room, where the tech did a quick ultrasound and gave me a muscle relaxant and did some other preparation with my body. The feeling kind of grossed me out. But somehow I survived… the nurse hooked me up to an IV… I honestly don\u2019t remember much after that, but apparently the procedure took a mere 5 minutes, and it didn\u2019t hurt at all. The nurse led me out to another waiting room and fed me juice and cookies, and I was allowed to rest for as long as I needed.<\/p>\n
And…that\u2019s it! I felt pretty awful for about two weeks afterward \u2013 bled for about a week, certain parts of me were swollen to painful proportions, and my emotions were a total rollercoaster, but…it got better. I\u2019m sitting here now feeling 100% OK with my choice. My abortion went totally by the book, I haven\u2019t been smitten by a vengeful god, I\u2019m not wracked with guilt, and my boyfriend and I are still together and happier than ever. That\u2019s my happy abortion story…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Does Betsy\u2019s story make your blood start to boil?\u00a0 Or maybe it makes you sick to your stomach.\u00a0 Or maybe it just makes you sad.\u00a0 As a Bible believing child of God, you have good reason to feel any of those things.\u00a0 But we can\u2019t ignore something in Betsy\u2019s story.\u00a0 The sad and tragic thinking of a world without Jesus.\u00a0 The sad and tragic thinking of some who think they know Jesus.\u00a0 This is how you solve the so-called \u2018problem\u2019 of an unplanned pregnancy.<\/p>\n
It seems so logical in a warped sort of way.\u00a0 It can even be made to sound like the loving, considerate thing to do.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not ready to be a parent.\u00a0 If I can\u2019t take care of myself, then how can I ever take care of a baby.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t want to pass off my mistakes on to someone else-that\u2019s not fair.\u00a0 This is not being unloving- it\u2019s being responsible.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Oh, you want to talk religion.\u00a0 Well God didn\u2019t strike me dead for having an abortion. \u00a0Besides the god I believe in doesn\u2019t want me to be unhappy.\u00a0 As long as I\u2019m not hurting anyone else, he\u2019s fine with it.\u00a0 In fact, my life is just as good if not better than before I got pregnant.\u00a0 And there are such nice people at those clinics.\u00a0 Everything was quick and easy and I could go back to living my life<\/i>.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just one example of millions.\u00a0 Everyone has their own story.\u00a0 Their own reason.\u00a0 Some can be made to sound so compelling.\u00a0 Yet in the midst of them all, Almighty God speaks clearly with all authority in heaven and earth.\u00a0 In the midst of the snuffed out cries of millions of aborted children every one of which was precious in his sight, God says:\u00a0 You shall not murder.<\/b>\u00a0 And of this we can be sure. \u00a0This sinful world that so carelessly abuses and destroys God\u2019s gift of life is ripe for judgment.\u00a0 And God\u2019s word is clear:\u00a0 it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.\u00a0 (Heb 10:31) <\/span><\/p>\n
Now I\u2019d like you to meet someone else.\u00a0 She calls herself\u00a0 Lisa.\u00a0 She writes,<\/p>\n
I am now 22 years old. When I was 13 I had an abortion because my mother thought it was the best thing for me to do. In some ways I agree. It would have changed my entire life but there were other options that were not considered and that I really did not know. ADOPTION! I realize at 13 I could not take care of a child. I knew nothing about having an abortion. The only thing I knew was it was there one minute and gone the next. The abortion clinic lied to me about the entire thing! They told me the baby would NOT feel a thing (LIE) they told me that it would not hurt me (LIE) and I asked to see it afterwards and they told me it would just look like a blood clot (LIE).<\/p>\n
I deeply regret what I have done and I have to live with the fact that I killed an innocent child. It is bad enough that we have murders everywhere but for a baby to die in his own mothers hands is not understandable. Every day is a challenge for me and I have decided instead of beating myself up, every day to try to change at least one woman\u2019s mind about abortion. If I can save at least one child from being aborted, I can start my own healing process and could feel a little better about this world…please post this letter and if any women have any questions about abortion or you are thinking of abortion please talk to someone first! Have you ever stopped to think what you are really doing? I didn\u2019t \u2013 and it cost my child their life. Thank you. Lisa.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Many have called Lisa\u2019s experience, Post abortion syndrome.<\/i> \u00a0We would say that God is using a conscience to call a person to repentance.\u00a0 That\u2019s because God\u2019s Law, written on our hearts often does its job.\u00a0 Women feel tremendous guilt at what they\u2019ve done.\u00a0 Men feel that same weight because they pressured a woman to get an abortion for their own selfish reasons. Maybe not at first but later on.<\/p>\n
And the devil is not stupid.\u00a0 He will use our conscience against us.\u00a0 He will torment people, trying to convince them that what they have done is an unforgivable sin.\u00a0 He will say, You murdered your child?\u00a0 What kind of monster are you?\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n
Poor Lisa was willing to try anything to take that guilt away\u00a0 What did she say?\u00a0 I will try to convince one woman each day not to have an abortion.\u00a0 It\u2019s a noble mission.\u00a0 But she was doing what others try to do.\u00a0 Make up for her wrongs.\u00a0 And the devil loves that kind of thing.\u00a0 He knows that for Lisa and countless other women the guilt never really goes away.\u00a0 He knows that despair is just around the corner.\u00a0 Despair and hopelessness.<\/p>\n
But here is One sent to speak to our guilty hearts.\u00a0 \u00a0In the book of Isaiah he says to us, The Spirit of the Sovereign is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.\u00a0 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted<\/span>.\u00a0 That good news is this.\u00a0 That Jesus came to suffer and die on a cross for all our sins and that includes abortion.\u00a0 He paid the price and now through faith in him, Jesus heals our broken hearts with God\u2019s mercy and forgiveness.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one final person I want to think about.\u00a0 No names have been changed here.\u00a0 It\u2019s the person you see in the mirror every day.\u00a0 It\u2019s you.\u00a0 It\u2019s me.\u00a0 Our story is all too true. Maybe you or I have never considered getting an abortion or urging someone else.\u00a0 But there is a Bible verse that I can\u2019t seem to get around.\u00a0 Proverbs 24:11.\u00a0 Rescue those being led away to death.<\/span>\u00a0 That\u2019s a verse that calls for some kind of action to save the life of the unborn.\u00a0 I realize some have used that verse to break the law and lie down in front of abortion clinics.\u00a0 And others might think it\u2019s just matter of changing the law.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not the law that\u2019s the real problem.\u00a0 It\u2019s people\u2019s hearts.<\/p>\n
But what do we see when look in that mirror?\u00a0 A person who has spoken up for the unborn or someone content to let others speak, others act.\u00a0 After all, it gets people upset.\u00a0 And what about our prayers?\u00a0 Have we remembered the unborn and mothers struggling with this decision whether to discard their child.\u00a0 Too many times I have not remembered them here or at home.<\/p>\n
When we are confronted with these things and God\u2019s Word sweeps away our sad excuses, it troubles our Christian hearts. It becomes clear as the nose on our face. We need to repent as Christians and as a church.\u00a0 We need to seek God\u2019s forgiveness.<\/p>\n
And how blessed we are.\u00a0 The One who came to bind up the brokenhearted speaks to your heart and mine again and again.\u00a0\u00a0From a cross where he cried out:\u00a0 It is finished.\u00a0 <\/i>IN his gospel in Word and Sacrament he tells us: Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.<\/i><\/p>\n
So today you\u2019ve heard some stories.\u00a0 And stories can be powerful and compelling.\u00a0 But the most compelling is not about Betsy or Lisa or you or me.\u00a0 It\u2019s about Jesus and his love for you.\u00a0 It\u2019s about Jesus and his love for all.\u00a0 And so this is my prayer for each of us.\u00a0 That His story inspires our life story. That it inspires us to hold up God\u2019s view of life and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 May the Lord Jesus so move each of us.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text:\u00a0 Exodus 20:13 – Life Observance Sunday You shall not murder. — In the name of Jesus:\u00a0 The first thing I want to share is this.\u00a0 Many of the thoughts you are going to hear are not my own.\u00a0 They come from Pastor Robert Fleishman, the director of Christian Life Resources.\u00a0 Check it out on the internet.\u00a0 It is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":518,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}