Valuing and Honoring Human Life

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Valuing and Honoring Human Life</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id607.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Here Is Our King"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id553.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Financially Fit For A FreedUp Future"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Valuing and Honoring Human Life” (Psalm 139)</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, January 22, 2006 </B></div> <bR> <div>      Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and we remember with sadness the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973, which effectively legalized abortion, the killing of unborn human children, across the land. Abortion is a monumental tragedy. 45 million children in America have been killed in the womb since 1973.</div> <bR> <div> 1. We must <I>recognize</I> the value of humans, who are <I>created</I> in the image of God, and who are <I>cared for</I> by God (<A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Psalm 139:1-18&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>Psalm 139:1-18</U></A>).</div> <bR> <div> 2. We must <I>demonstrate</I> the value of humans by <I>honoring</I> people (born, unborn, sick, old, etc). How?</div> <div> A. Pray for and work toward justice and protection for the unborn and for the elderly. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1) Pray</B>. Pray that abortion in all its form will be outlawed. Pray for an end to partial-birth abortion. Pray that abortions will be more difficult to get. Pray that the abortion industry will collapse. Pray for women who are considering an abortion – pray that they will choose life and find the help they need. Pray that they will not be pressured by the men in their lives. Pray for a Supreme Court that will look with favor on the rights of pre-born human beings and other who are the weak among us.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2) Help mothers who are pregnant and scared</B>. Get involved in the baby bottle campaign for the All Women's Help Center (<A HREF="http://www.awhc.cc" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.awhc.cc"><U>www.awhc.cc</U></A>). Help mom's who have had their babies but are struggling to make it (one of our members has a grass-roots ministry of providing resources to new moms). Many in this church have adopted or are planning to adopt. Others are foster parents. And they are all making a huge difference for the cause of honoring people and supporting life.</div> <bR> <div>  <B>3) Help people understand the value of human life</B>, as it relates to the unborn and the weakest among us. Can you explain why abortion is wrong or why euthanasia is wrong? Be consistent in your views, and challenge others to be consistent in their view. Many would say, “I'm personally opposed to abortion, but that is just my personal view. If others feel differently, I don't want to force my views on them.” In his article, “On The Moral Logic of Being Pro-Life,” Gregory Koukl (<A HREF="http://www.str.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.str.org/"><U><U>www.str.org</U></U></A>) wrote:</div> <div>      “Senator John McCain can say, I'm against abortion. I'm a pro-life candidate. But why, when he is confronted with a question about his daughter being pregnant, does he say, I think that we'd all get together and have a family discussion, but the <I>choice would be up to her</I>. </div> <div>      Ambassador Alan Keyes picked up on the problem, and he understands the moral logic of abortion and simply applied it in that circumstance. Here's how he responded. Senator, if your daughter came up to you and said, I'm tired of taking care of Grandma, I'm going to kill her, would you call a family meeting and discuss it and then leave the choice up to her? This got Senator McCain angry and he made some reference to his service in Viet Nam, he'd seen plenty of death, and didn't need Keyes lecturing him. </div> <div>      “[Alan Keyes] jumped right back into the game, which is something I appreciate about him. He said, Senator McCain, I can't speak from your personal experience, and I'm not speaking about that. In fact, this doesn't have to do with your service in Viet Nam. It has to do with whether one is consistent in his views on the pro-life issue. He's right. If it is wrong to take the life of an innocent child because they are human beings, and you ought not take the lives of human beings simply because they are in the way and can't defend themselves, then it is not an appropriate response for any pro-lifer, like John McCain alleges to be, to say when he is personally confronted with the circumstance that he will have a family meeting, discuss it, and leave the decision up to his daughter. No more than he would say the same thing if his daughter announced that she was going to kill Grandma next week because she was tired of taking care of her. That is the logic of abortion.”</div> <bR> <div> <B>4) Work toward legal protections for the unborn. </B>Learn from and partner with organizations like the American Center for Law and Justice (<A HREF="http://www.aclj.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.aclj.org"><U>www.aclj.org</U></A>); Focus on the Family (<A HREF="http://www.family.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.family.org"><U>www.family.org</U></A>), etc.</div> <bR> <div> B. Be kind to one another and to all. Let's abandon racism and other divisions over gender, age, economic (etc.) differences. Let us treat one another with the dignity that reflects the fact that human being are created in God's image and thus have value and worth.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2006, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>