Sermons |
|
A sermon is a manner of oral communication and therefore words and sentence structure/order would be added, altered, or deleted at the moment of delivery. + In Nomine Jesu + The Rev. Evan Gaerther (prepared with notes from Rev. Paul E. Kaldahl, Jr., First English Lutheran Church, Spencer, IA) NASA recently launched a Delta II rocket that contained a probe to discover the origins of our solar system. The scientific exploration of comets can lead to quite a bit of new understanding. But it will not be able to finish this sentence “In the beginning…” A philosopher can ask the question, “Which comes first? The chicken or the egg?” We can go around and around with this question, which is precisely the point. On our own we define life and beginnings to a point that suits our needs. When we define life on our terms then we also allow ourselves the privilege to define when life should end, on our own terms. As Christians, we know that life had its beginning in Genesis, when God made all things out of nothing in six days. All life came from God because he is the source of all life. Our creator is so incredible that it took Him only six days to create what secular scientists claim took billions of years. We have an incredibly awesome God. God called life into existence. With nothing but his word. The prophet Isaiah records God’s powerful creative work calling out, “To whom, then, can you compare Me? Who is My equal?’ asks the Holy one. “Look at the sky and see. Who created these things? Who brings out the stars one by one? He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing” (Is. 40:25-26 GW). Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky displays what His hands have made” (Ps. 19:1 GW). God created life and continues to create life. Since we acknowledge God is the creator, we are brought to also say we must value life as he does. We hold life to be sacred, holy. Life does not have value whenever people are in agreement it should. Our laws may be formed by majority rule. But consider if I could get enough people to agree that life doesn’t begin until the age of ten, then by common agreement that becomes fact. Is that true? Of course not. What determines what would make that right? Is it that the loudest group pushes for it? Is it fact if the more money is pushed after making it law? Who is the final authority on when life begins? You? Me? The Supreme Court? The Congress? The Community? Of course all of us would see the absurdity of killing children under ten, because they were inconvenient, unhealthy, in the way, already had enough. That would be a heinous crime—an act of bloodshed and murder. People would never legislate such a law right? Those who support abortion might say, “Now wait a minute, Pastor, I see where you are going with this. I see what you are trying to say, and it’s not fair to compare killing children under ten with aborting embryo’s and fetuses. It’s not a true comparison.” Life is not defined by the law. Let’s assume the voice of the people were reasonable and understood that killing children under ten years old was heinous so the voice of the people agreed 5 years old was more appropriate. It would be legal, but would it be right? Some parents might appreciate the trial period to see how they liked parenting or to see how their child was turning out. Imagine another parent coming to Day Care and asking about her child’s playmate Billy. The Teacher would respond, “Oh, Billy was terminated because his parents wanted to head another direction with their relationship.” I know that I’m exaggerating to make a point. But consider with me what are the results when we choose to make our own sentence, “In the beginning…” and instead of listening to the word of God on life and his creation make our own up. When does the beginning of life happen? Is a person alive two seconds before birth? Or how much of the baby needs to be through the birth canal for life to be present. The problem is when people refuse to acknowledge that the baby in the womb is alive. Some would say it is an issue of balancing rights. That may be but who speaks up for the rights of the one that cannot speak. Some may claim that Abortion is an issue of religious belief and morality and should not be legislated. Consider that when I was pulled over for speeding on my way to a soccer game that state trooper was exercising his morality on me. That is exactly why God created government—so that decent citizens might be protected from the illegal behavior of others. The challenge in America is to move the debate about Abortion from out of simply our religious beliefs into a community debate. Abortion is a statement about the value of life, the value of those that cannot speak up for themselves. Abortion is a religious issue. God values and protects human life. Simply said, God loves life. He loves life, yours and mine. I know this to be true because he sent his own Son to be our Savior and die in our place and be punished for our sins. God set the laws of life in motion when he said, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” In Psalm 100 we read, “Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 100:3 NASB). Abortion is an issue for public debate because it deals with people, the value they have, whether they can speak for themselves or not. It may be that a woman who has had an abortion hears this sermon or one like it she would leave church feeling guilty and horrible. Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is avoided or ignored. If I have someone listening to me this morning feeling that way, my heart goes out to you. While I might not understand the hurt you feel inside, I do understand the forgiveness Jesus offers. Precisely because God loves life, he reaches out to you and me and to all those hurting because of sin. God not only has created the heavens and the earth, he has formed you and me. He knows are deepest and darkest secrets that pain us. So he redeems you and me and invites the whole world to know this redeeming love. Jesus invites you to have your burden lifted up to the cross, where He comes to give Life. That is what all sinners must do, you and I, no matter how grievously we have wounded the Lord and ourselves with our sins. God’s power to forgive is greater. The same awesome power that created the heavens and the earth. The same power that formed you in your mother’s womb. That same power has come in Jesus Christ to forgive. Don’t allow the devil to work in your life by holding on to the sin and the guilt and the pain. Satan may want to see you suffer. Jesus does not! The Creator of heaven and earth knows when life began. He knows when life begins. He knows that in him new life begins and all guilt and sin is washed away. May we grow in the faith to allow Him to form our hearts with his redemption. Soli Deo Gloria -->> Home |