Christ The Giver Of Life Series

Christ the Giver of Life

Revelation 1:17-20

Rev. Brian Bill

January 24-25, 2026

A lot of things happened in 1973. I was a teenager with a face full of acne and an appetite for adventure. Beth was a cute ten-year-old dreaming of her Prince Charming from Packerland. Notre Dame topped the college football rankings with a perfect 11–0 season (the Indiana Hoosiers exceeded that this year). The Sting took home the Oscar for Best Picture and The Waltons swept five Emmy categories. Gas was about 40 cents a gallon, the minimum wage was $1.60, and a first-class stamp cost 8 cents. The Sears Tower opened, the Watergate hearings began, the Vietnam War ended… and another war began.

53 years ago, this past Thursday, in their Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a federal constitutional right, dramatically reshaping the moral, medical, and legal landscape of our nation. Although Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision, abortion has not ended. An estimated 65 million preborn lives have been lost in the United States since 1973.

Some pastors have chosen, for various reasons, to remain silent on this topic or to speak for abortion. I don’t see either as an option. Where God has spoken, we must speak. My goal is not to be politically correct but to be biblically correct.

We’re compelled and constrained to communicate God’s heart as clearly as we can, with as much compassion as we can. Let me be quick to say if you’ve had an abortion, or have encouraged someone to have one, there is help and healing available for you.

I want to be upfront about some reasons why I choose to preach on this topic every January and at other times of the year.

1. To equip us to think biblically about the sanctity of life.

2. To mobilize us to respond with courageous conviction and consistent compassion.

3. To offer grace and forgiveness to those who have had an abortion. Many pregnancies are unintended, and studies suggest that by age 45, roughly one in three women will have experienced an abortion. The church must therefore be a place of hope and healing.

4. To prevent some of you, or your friends, from getting an abortion.

5. In short, I pray that this sermon ends up saving babies.

Many years ago, a clip went viral of a Home Depot employee who was standing near a shopping cart when a baby fell out, and he dove to catch the child just before she hit the concrete floor. This brings new meaning to Home Depot’s motto: “More Saving. More Doing.”

We affirm, along with thousands of other churches, that every person from conception forward is an image bearer of God, stamped with divine dignity and worthy of catching. It’s my prayer that there will be more saving and more doing done by each of us.

Proverbs 14:25 summarizes our purpose and our hope: “A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.” We must demonstrate the courage to stand on behalf of those who can’t speak for themselves while nestled in their mothers’ wombs. Scripture compels us to do no less. Proverbs 31:8–9 declares: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

After all, there are only four differences between a preborn child and any other human being:

• Size.

• Level of development.

• Environment/location.

• Degree of dependency.

It’s time for the reborn to speak for the preborn.

I submit that while abortion is, and should be debated politically, discussed emotionally, and described medically, at its primary roots, abortion is a moral issue, and as such, must be defined biblically. I have preached a sanctity of life message every year for nearly 40 years, but this will be the first time I’ve done so from the Book of Revelation.

Regarding the sanctity of life, where you start determines where you stand. If you start with secular autonomy, you’ll believe and behave one way; if you anchor your life to biblical authority, you’ll value all of life as a gift from the Creator. In other words, your position is shaped by your starting point:

• If you start with the preborn as a person made in the image of God, you will protect and preserve life.

• If you start with a woman’s right, you’ll justify whatever feels right.

• If you start with Jesus, you will recognize Him as the Author of life, who has authority over life, and you’ll submit to His definition of what is right.

Last week, we worshiped as we focused on the description of the glorified Christ, found in Revelation 1:14-16: “The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”