Sanctity Of Life Sunday

Sanctity of LIFE

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/17/16

• Video: Abortion – Survivor Testimony

I really thought I was done with diapers. Our first born was potty trained by the time he was two. Our middle child was a little more stubborn, so she didn’t potty train until she was three. But then the youngest came along and I wouldn’t say she was stubborn; she just didn’t care. She was still wearing pull-ups when she was four years old. When we finally threw away the last dirty diaper, I swear the hallelujah chorus was playing in the background. So when Ashley and I started taking classes for foster parenting, I said upfront: “No diapers.” But then we got the call for a six week old baby girl and Ashley was so excited that I just caved in. Now I’m changing diapers and mixing bottles at two in the morning. And I’ll tell you, it’s exhausting. But when you’re holding that bottle and she grabs ahold of your finger with her tiny little hands, your heart just melts and you know it’s worth it.

My ten-year-old says to me the other day, “Everybody who stops by the house wants to see the baby. How come nobody stops by to see me like that?”

Children—babies in particular—are precious, aren’t they? It’s no wonder the Bible says, “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3 NLT). Earlier this week I came across some notes that kids wrote to God…

• Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed in church. Is that OK?

• Dear God, If you watch in church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes.

• Dear God, please send Dennis Clark to a different camp next year.

• Dear God, maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother.

• Dear God, please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now.

• God, thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy.

• Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I’m not praying.

Here at the Grove we believe that children—even the ones yet to be born—matter to God. This Sunday is Sanctity of Life Sunday. Pastors all across the country and even the world, will stand behind their pulpits and confront one of the most critical issues of our generation—life. This is easily one of the most difficult issues for me to talk about. The issue has become so emotionally and politically charged that many Christians and pastors are afraid to talk about it at all. But, frankly, I’m not interested in being politically correct. I’m only interested in being biblically correct.

So, this morning, I’d like to look at God’s words to one person, one man, about life before birth. That man was Jeremiah. God chose Jeremiah for a very special task—to be one of the last great prophets of the Old Testament and to warn the people of Israel about the coming Babylonian invasion and exile. Jeremiah was just a young man, maybe fifteen years old, when God called him. But God’s very first words to Jeremiah underscore three powerful truths that pertain not only to Jeremiah’s life, but also to yours mine and every person on the face of the earth.

Before we get to God’s message to Jeremiah, however, I want to pay special attention to the verse preceding it. Jeremiah says, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying…” (Jeremiah 1:4 NIV). Put another way, the words we’re about to read are not man’s words, but God’s Word. People will have their opinions and politicians will have their positions, but this is what God says. So what did the word of the Lord come saying? Let’s read it slowly: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT).

In twenty-eight words, none of them more than two syllables, God highlights three profound truths that are just as relevant to your life and mine as they were to Jeremiah—three truths that ought to shape the discussion when it comes to abortion and the question of when life begins. First, this verse underscores the truth of God’s acquaintance with us prior to birth.

• GOD’S ACQUAINTANCE WITH US

Have you ever noticed how it’s possible to be surrounded by people, even friends and family, and still feel like no one really sees you or knows you? Your deepest dreams, your inward struggles all remain hidden from view. I think, deep down, we all have a desire to be understood—for people to really get us. We long to be known.