Bring the Little Children to Me: A Plea for Life

If you have truly experienced the gospel been you cannot help but live out the gospel and there are few better and more beautiful and compelling pictures. What the gospel looks like in action than fostering or adoption. I'm so grateful for Cheryl who is a very successful businesswoman, not in our church and in the community here who has learned over the course of her life that there are things even more fulfilling business success in the been involved in that kind of ministry is one of those, as well as the plethora of other Summit families who have stepped forward to love our community. In Jesus name and to serve one of the greatest ministries that I know in existence in the kingdom of God and that is fostering an adoption. I do not know the exact number, but the last time I checked, there were around 300 families here at the summer church that are involved with adoption or foster care. In fact, I would love if you are involved in those anyway. Whether you're new to it, or did years ago, but this is part of your life either in the supporting process or how you are fostering or adopting would you stand up on our campuses because we want to recognize you and support user standard right now. If you are involved in that in adoption or in foster care and I want to express our appreciation to you Summit church. One quick thing before we get started I want to remind you of, and that is our regional prayer gatherings that are happening next Saturday, January 30 at 4 PM at all of our permanent locations that would be Capitol Hill's campus are Berkeley campus or apex campus and our Blue Ridge campus and our Summit NS manual campus.

This regional prayer gathering is going to be the culmination of 21 days of prayer and fasting and whether or not you participated in that prayer, fasting, I want to invite you to be there at one of those in person on prayer gatherings. If you are comfortable, safety wise, how we want to start out.

Here's why we want to start out 2021 calling out on God together and pleading with God for his guidance, pleading for his touch on our lives and our families in our church and our community this year and so I'm asking you. I am imploring you. I am cajoling you. I'm doing whatever I am allowed to do a beer to make this a priority for you and your family next weekend for clock at one of our permanent campuses all the details, and a place to rsvpis@summitchurch.com. If you will go to combine all the information out for online only friends they were joining us even at home right now, you are not comfortable being there in person. We will also be live streaming that will be information@summerchurch.com about that also.

But again, if you are able.

Would love to be together just to call out on God together this coming Saturday. Okay. All right, open your Bible to Luke chapter 18 chapter 18 we are continuing on in our series called instep which is basically a walk through the gospel of Luke in step with Jesus. Even if we are out of step with the world because those things will always go together which operating last year leading up to the election. I preached a message from Luke chapter 10 on the good Samaritan in which Jesus explained that it is the duty of all Christians to care about any injustice around them. Whether it affects them directly or not.

Jesus told a story to illustrate that about a Jewish man who had been beaten up and left bleeding on the side of the road to Jewish religious leaders will write past and they were good and respectable men.

No doubt, but but but that didn't know the bleeding man and they hadn't been the one to beat him up so they didn't feel obligated to stop and help you through this story with story of the good Samaritan who didn't stop to help them even at great cost to himself. Jesus taught his followers that taking care of the vulnerable and the hurting around us is our responsibility, whether or not we had anything to do with the situation of injustice in front of us right injustice in the eyes of God. You see, illicit injustice in the eyes of God is not just cheating somebody is to be new for some abusers or pay attention injustice in God's eyes in both the old and the New Testament is not just cheating someone injustice is seeing someone in need, and being in a position to help them out of that need in failing to do that in several Luke that obligation of the strong to protect the week is a defining feature of following Jesus. That means that if your life Luke would say is not defined by caring for the vulnerable. You can no more say that you're a follower of Jesus any good.

If you are openly sleeping around or refusing to read your Bible, see that's the backdrop of what we come to Luke chapter 8 verse 15 listen as I read people are bringing infants to him but he might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuke those spirits.

Jesus, however, invited them and said, let the little children come to man don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never even entering the disciples like many in Jewish culture did not value children I would say that's true in most cultures.

Sure, they're cute, but their needs were just not as important as the needs of adults in this moment. Adults needed Jesus and so the needs of the kids should be put to the side so that the needs of adults could be prioritized but Jesus said that children were his first priority. As a matter of fact children he says are the ones in the best posture to receive my kingdom and unless we grasp that were all like children vulnerable and helpless, spiritually speaking. None of us will ever reach out for the kingdom of God to grasp that we are all like like like like vulnerable and helpless children in God's eyes.

From that point on. Once we realize that Rose you have a special place in our hearts for the vulnerable and helpless around us.

There are lots of places where we can apply this, but I want to focus today on the place that Jesus did. And that is with children and particularly children in their most vulnerable state right now in our country that is in the womb this past Friday March 48 years since the Supreme Court declared abortion to be a fundamental right now before you tense up, let me just acknowledge I'm always a little conflicted on this because I do not want to come off like a partisan culture warrior but here's the thing, this should not be a political issue regardless regardless of your approach to other political questions.

Christians should be absolutely united on this one and it's been a long time since I've really dived into it like this. This is pretty unusual about what I'm doing this weekend but I know I know that if I never talk about some of these hard things and I am failing at my job to let me just say okay going into this if you had an abortion or you are considering it. Please do not hear me standing up here pointing the finger of judgment at you regarding one of the most painful chapters of your life. I know that some of you felt like you did not have a choice. I saw a study that 64% of women got abortion said they felt strong pressure from somebody else to do so. Maybe that was the God who impregnated them or maybe was their parents or somebody I want you to know that Jesus's primary purpose in coming to earth was not to stop abortions Jesus primary purpose in coming to earth was to die for abortion committing sinners like you and me and that means the heartbeat of the message here. This church is not the legislation of a culture of life, the heartbeat of the message of this church is the offer of new life in Jesus. So let me be very clear if you had an abortion.

The Lord Jesus stands before you this weekend, not a finger pointed in condemnation, but with arms open wide. In verse now one final elephant in the room and that is some of you may think that I as a man and as a white man to boot have no right to talk about this. You say no will know say, but I would just ask you gently to consider. Since when is speaking out for justice. Something only a few of us can do is speaking out for the vulnerable something only the vulnerable Hindu for speaking up against the unjust treatment of minorities something only minority should do the good Samaritan had an obligation to speak up for the man on the side of the road, even if he never been beaten up himself women to try to do today is present to you Scripture and reason and I want you to evaluate those things on the basis of their merit, not my gender truth doesn't have a gender truth doesn't have a race. Truth is truth regardless of whose methods it what is happening today and what ought to be happening every weekend is not that you gather to listen to the opinions of a white man or a black man or anybody else. We gather to listen to what God has to say about things and that means if I see anything today that contradicts what is written in this book, I implore you disregard it. But if I say anything that is found in this book that I urge you cling to it because these are not idle words. They our our life. So to begin to look at the world with the eyes of the good Samaritan we can first be honest about the state of the victim. In front of us.

Listen to this 2018. Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide, with 42 million victims. That is roughly 7 Holocaust in a single year last year right at 900,000 babies were electrically aborted in our country which is more than the total amount of American casualties in both world wars and the Vietnam War combined every year in Iceland, which many consider to be a progressive Utopia, the abortion rate for children diagnosed with Down syndrome now approaches 100% in the United States, 90% of pre-born humans diagnosed with Down syndrome are terminated in Asia widespread sex selective abortions, which means you choose to have the abortion based on the fact that the gender of the baby wasn't what you wanted to be this sex selective abortions in Asia have led to 160 million missing women in Asia today, which is more than the entire female population of the United States right now. In recent studies suggest that selective abortions are baby girls are common in the United States now also in New York City. Each year more black children are aborted that are born. I agree with my African-American friend, pastor of the Beatty on the relay who says it is staggeringly clear that the largest scale injustice. The most morally outrageous thing happening in our society today is the killing of children in the womb. This are you committed to social justice.

You want to defend the vulnerable. You want to fight systemic injustice. There are few places where dire urgency meets such moral clarity and clear opportunity is with the cause of the protection of children in the womb. Now I know a lot of people say, well, Mennonites, a lot more complex than that.

The baby is a part of a woman's body and we need to respect your right to privacy and sovereignty over her body, and I agree that the right to privacy over our bodies is precious.

But here's the thing that baby is not part of her body. That baby is intimately attached to her body for a period of time. Yes, but it's not part of her body.

Listen Thaddeus Williams, from whom I want to draw on a lot today. This is from the moment of conception that baby has its own DNA its own unique genetic code its own unique heart its own unique circular story system its own unique brain and more. If you're saying it as part of her body. Does that mean she herself has two brains to Art's forearms and forelegs. No course not. It's a separate person even when intimately attached to her body.

Scripture certainly presents the pre-born child is its own person.

The psalmist of Psalm 139 glories and the fact that in the womb. God knew me by name as a person and there I was fearfully and wonderfully designed for the purposes that God had for me.

I was knit together according to his plan and all my days in all his purpose for me was already written down the boat before my mom even knew she was pregnant. Scripture tells us that John the Baptist left in Elizabeth's womb because his spirit in the womb was filled with the spirit, urge what met his wife with these are two different spirits going on there is still the spirit. When he came into the presence of Jesus. And I said yeah but still in my body yeah, but we all know that our rights over our bodies are not absolute. As part of the laws concern prostitution is illegal in most states, and I don't know of anywhere in the US that you can legally pour drugs in your body just because it's your body, your rights to your body. Stop precisely at that place were they begin to affect somebody else's. And that's exactly what's happening to the pre-born people say well say life begins at conception, as a matter of opinion.

You shouldn't force your opinion on others, but were not in the realm of opinion here in the realm of biology in Scripture, hear me out. Let me get into the weeds for about five minutes just hang with me if you say life begins at birth, will the only difference between a baby five seconds prior to the birth and five seconds after birth is location and location seems like a really arbitrary foundation for personhood, don't you think scientifically what the difference in the nature of the baby five seconds prior to birth and five seconds after serving out that way. Scripture presents it. If you say will life begins a brain function when the baby can experience pain when they are in a Cindy and self conscious state. That's when life begins. First, you should admit that contradicts the position that abortion is a fundamental woman's right to all non-month pregnancy simply because it's in her womb. The second does that mean that when we are not Innocenti and state that we have been lost all right to life hello and tell you if I go into a coma.

But you know that I'm a wake up from a non-month my strong preference would be that you not kill me. Is it when a life begins at viability. When the baby can live on his own again.

That seems like a really strange criteria for when personhood begins to think about it didn't viability contingent on the advancement of technology every year doesn't newer and better technology push the length of viability back if viability determines personhood that means whether or not somebody's a person is dependent on how advanced the technology is of the society they live.

That means that people who are in advanced societies have more personhood than people in less advanced societies and that doesn't make sense.

Plus, I would argue to you that the more helpless a person is the more vulnerable the less viable the more we as a society are obligated to protect in the words of Cardinal Roger Mahoney as we judge societies on how they treat their weakest members, not the strongest once how they treat the last how they treat the least, how they treat the littlest friend, even if you're unclear on this.

I knew I wanted document the personhood begins at conception. I would just say to you when you shouldn't. You err on the side of life. This way you're out hunting in the woods with a friend of yours when you hear rustling in the bushes over there and you're not sure whether it your friend or a deer morality and common sense dictate that you don't pull the trigger so you know that it's not your friend because you don't want to be guilty of accidentally murdering team.

If you are unclear if they are on the side of life, you say well debated that the promise of abortion were made illegal today than people to go back to pre-1973 with coat hangers and back alley butchers and things I would say here. First, just to be clear, stories a better way exaggerated to look at it a total of 39 women died the year before Roe versus Wade illegal abortions and as tragic but compare that to 900,000 babies who die in state sanctioned abortions this year, and a second again, quoting the Christian philosopher Thaddeus Williams. The coathanger argument misses the point that the aunt that the pre-born are people and pointing out some negative side effects of restriction doesn't justify the sanctioning of murder was and what about the case of genetic disabilities. We should be bringing babies in the world of genetic disabilities whose lives are doing just be reduced to hardship and on and unhappiness. When people say that the male is I will first you should know the people with disabilities are vehemently opposed to that argument that there's not a single organization of disabled people in the world that I know of that is in favor of elective abortions of those who have disabilities. Second, you are making a false correlation. Make a false correlation between genetic deformities and unhappiness with in this no study no starting point of this Baltimore city going to Baltimore. No study has found that handicapped persons are more likely than non-handicapped persons to want to die or commit suicide. In fact, of the 200 consecutive suicides in Baltimore last year.

Nine had been committed by people with congenital deformities. None. That means if you're trying to say that we should be able to abort those whom we know in advance are most likely to be unhappy.

It's not. Those with genetic deformities that you start with there on the happy end of the scale and the point is, who are we to determine when another life is worth living in this whole line of thinking just misses the point.

The pre-born baby is a person and what we think they might experience and whether it's going to be hardship whether time you not like my life justify killing them does love introduce you to church members that you bring up here, besides for the pictures up with a picture of the Instagram handled you should follow him and Williamson is one friend of our family. She's now the manager of the UBA basketball team when Anna was born when she was in her mother's womb.

There diagnosis, spina bifida, the doctor sensitively really bad.

And so we told her that she was in that category. That ought to seriously consider this foreign Instagram and I dare you.

I double dog dare you, just to make this argument to her. Daniel Ritchie is another one Chapel Hill campus will see him walk around the region and you'll know it's him is because he was born without arms same conversation from the doctor and the mother now Danish graduated from seminary for southeastern and I goes around and speaks high schools and colleges talk about how to discover God's purpose for you. Even in hardship and I will to you, but there's people you will find them into the happiest people that are the most full of life that I know her people say will abortion sometimes helps poor women escape crushing financial burdens banning abortion would then abortion would just cause overpopulation and leave the magic massive property from account statement confuses finding a solution with eliminating the problem is not the same thing.

Anything of this with the neighbor's dog keeps pooping in your yard you want, shoot the dog. You have eliminated the problem but you haven't come up with a solution in your elimination of the problem was not a moral one. I was Right away that the dog it's like not good right. Don't confuse eliminating a problem with coming up with a solution.

Again, the point is that the pre-born are people you can't justify killing a person because it eliminates a problem. I mean it if it if you that reason there where does it stop can use that same line of reasoning to justify eliminating other financially burdensome groups. Yes, poverty is a problem hardship.

The problem, let's come up with solutions was all just eliminate the problem people to say what about in cases of rape or incest. Personally tell you that I cannot imagine the pain will be involved in something like like that it's unspeakable just to keep it in perspective, there is tragic and heartbreaking cases make up less than 1% of all abortions. So when somebody says that to me. I always ask him like okay so let's be clear your green then that the other 99% of abortions are indeed immoral.

But the bigger point to consist of one is this the fact that that baby got there by rape or incest change the fact that there still a person does the circumstances of somebody's breath take away from their personhood. If a grown adult somehow discovered that they had been conceived by rape. No be tragic for you to discover that about your past hope that somehow reduce your value as a person or lessen your right to life now is to keep your eye on the central question is the pre-born baby a person is it made in the image of God.

Because if they are, and they are the image of God, and God knows them by name.

Psalm 139 and they are an organism with their own life and how they became a person is irrelevant.

Was in that little human life that little person, regardless of how they got there when it's no bigger than I suspect.

The size of a period at the end of a sentence that little speck is made in the image of God and not spec therefore has more value then all the planets and all the stars and all the cosmos and all the wealth piled up in all the world because it's got a soul that is made in the image of God. That Jesus died for the soul but has an eternal future from getting into the weeds here little bit. I know, but it's because I want you to see that scientifically and scripturally. There's no question about how Jesus feels about these little children, let him come to me.

He says bring them to me. Their lives are precious and valuable to care about me you care about them not going to sit miss them like the disciples due to the children.

This story mega dismiss them as an inconvenience to some of you mice in their say well it would sound like a pretty eloquent defense of life and my mind starting my mind made up on Apple what's my responsibility on us a great question to the point good Samaritan story is not that we nearly think the right things boy the good Samaritan stories that we do the right thing as well. What I want to show you that all of us. All of us have a role in that sort you keep your finger. Luke 18 and I want you to flip back to Proverbs 31 go back to Proverbs 31 because this is a passage listen to this that Jesus would have been very familiar with and that would have profoundly shaped his own attitude toward justice. You see, every Jewish boy was reared on the Proverbs in this section of Proverbs is one of the most well-known. If you listen you can hear echoes of Proverbs 31 of the good Samaritan story because Jesus is taking what you learned in Proverbs 31 is applying it to a real-life situation. "My African-American pastor for the media and we lay this is that this passage is crucial in instructing us how to respond to the abortion crisis because it tells us first, what God's requirement is secondly the scope of that requirement and then even how we learn that requirement is a format I want to give you some concluding words and I got a few couple for the followers of Jesus and of also got a word to those of you who may be sitting here filled with regret, or fear, shame, wonder what you what what you should do to just hang on Proverbs 31 the words of king Lemuel pronouncement that his mother taught him speak up verse eight here's a pronouncement speak out for those who have no voice for the justice of all who are dispossessed, speak up, judge righteously and defend the cause of the oppressed and the needy first, what is our responsibility for Satan, speak up, speak up for those who have no voice. What better description of the pre-born could there be than those who have no voice.

Nobody hears their screams as their slaying in the world.

We know they feel pain, microscopic cameras, we can see them flinches there injected with poison.

We see their heartbeat, Spike, is there killed. We don't hear their voices. Some of them are old enough that if they were just 6 inches further out of the womb. We could hear their screams because there left in the womb in their life. This is taken, we don't hear so that means that we are obligated to speak for them because they don't have a voice speak up is repeated twice, once in verse eight.

Once in verse nine speak out. The king says, speak, say something like the store with the good Samaritan not speaking up in the face of injustice makes you guilty of complicity in that injustice would let Martin Luther King Junior said in regards to racial injustice, is in our lives begin to end the data we become silent about the things that matter. Silence is support silence is complicity to speak up to me to suffer hearsay. Some some you don't miss a lot approaches a more I want to ask you to seriously consider whether or not God might be leading some of you to take on the mantle of government leadership for causes like these, we need godly people in both political parties advocating for this is like a said this should not be a partisan issue, much like care for the refugee respect for the immigrant should not be partisan issues. I don't care what your political party is all Christians should be united in seeing the removal of this scourge from our land. Second, Proverbs 31 shows us the scope of that responsibility. Verse eight speak up for the justice of that word. All who are dispossessed all go on record and tell you if your love for the vulnerable is sincere. This is not going to be the only life issue that you care about say that because for some people, pro life is like a moral club they use in the culture war, even as they ignore the sufferings and the needs of other vulnerable groups around them and I say to you, your conviction is not sincere and not shown by the disposition you take toward other people who are vulnerable around you if you really care about the vulnerable. You will see you advocating for life everywhere.

The poor, the marginalize the forgotten of all ages and all races you most of all be brokenhearted about those around the world. No access to the gospel. If you're Christian, you're the greatest tragedy in our world's people die without the gospel in the greatest injustice in the world is the failure of the church to get the gospel to a real commitment to life is demonstrated by advocacy for the vulnerable from the womb to the tune that I could just flip out for second.

Don't tell me your pro-life if you're apathetic about life in the womb.

She just so you know Christians of always been involved in ministry for the womb to the tomb and sometimes I hear people say, well, you know you Christians would care about is the pre-born Burness is not true since I DFU example. Since 1973 for everyone abortion clinic in America.

Christians have built three pregnancy centers for everyone. We built three pregnancy centers to assist women in crisis in there you'll find them buying groceries and helping set budgets and often financial assistance and counseling to help young mothers get housing or whatever else they need going to foster services and adoption agencies today and there you will find the group represented. Most are pro-life Christians and their friends. Christians have built more hospitals around the world than any other single group event for a long time in sub-Saharan Africa.

There was not a single hospital in the entire continent that had not been built by Christian mission. So do not believe the tire drove the followers of Jesus only care about the pre-born is just not true. A lot of people use that to excuse the fact that they are virtually silent about the tragedy of abortion is hard to say that you are pro-life from the womb to the tomb if you're apathetic when the womb is a two and do note a lot of our ministry here this church to our community centers around this issue. Go to our church website today. Some church.com and you'll find more than 10 ways that we are already deeply involved in 10 different ways in the community around this issue. Ways that you could get involved with the day that range from the fostering and adoption to serve in a pregnancy centers to be in a ball that all the different stages of the life process. That's the scope third. How do we learn that responsibility. All of this, verse one the words of king Lemuel pronouncement that his mama taught it commitment to preserve life and a commitment to protect the vulnerable is learned not from Fox News, not from the magazine you reap is learned in the whole thing.

Lemuel will develop his passion from his mama.

Try learned moms. Your children should hear you talk about your responsibility in our responsibility speak up for the vulnerable and are not to learn that from hearing you yell the news pundit on the TV screen they'll learn that from how you coach that older sibling to care for their weaker and more vulnerable younger sibling and would have bigger sister sees that her younger sisters will that one toy that one toy that she decided she wants and that she can get because she's bigger so she could just take it from her. That's the place where you teach her about the sin in her heart and how Jesus wants her to be a young lady who looks out for the younger and the weaker or dads when your son comes home talking about how the unpopular kid was being picked on and you teach him that it's his responsibility to stand up for the week even if it cost them even to get the blood he knows in the process you teach him that he can't just walk on by a culture of life is not fomented in the news media. A culture of life is grown in the whole I finally went in this by given word to those of you who sat there through this whole service with a pit in your stomach filled with regrets. Gilts shame or fear is not told you beginning the center of Christianity is not a political condemnation of abortion, the center of Christianity at heart is Jesus Christ dying and rising from the dead to save abortion committing sinners like you and me one most remarkable passages in the Bible and first Corinthians 6. The apostle Paul describes the makeup of the membership of the early church, shortlisting out kinds of people. Several categories thieves extortionist abusers. The rebellious, apathetic, greedy drunkards, drug addict, slanderers, murderers certainly add abortion people provide abortions remove God abortion's people have been complicit in the more you get out alters the balance against that little description with the most glorious five or six words of Scripture policy Mullen says in such some of you. Such were some of you in the makeup of that first church there were a bunch of people whose identity had been that list.

Such were some of you but you now he says you are your new washed, you were sanctified, you were justified by the blood of Jesus and by the spirit of our God. Listen to me, young lady. Abortion does not define thank God that in Christ. None of our sins to find us anymore. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Sinners plunged beneath the flood lose all their guilty staying. You are a beloved daughter or a son of God who sin.

Jesus went to a cross to pay for the is put your sand into the depths of the deepest depths of the deepest part of the sea and put up a sign there like Corrie 10 boom used to say put up a sign there in the deepest part of the deepest sea. This is no fishing allowed.

What sin he says that your sins were scarlet I've made them as white as snow. Behold I make all things new. This is the new reality. He wants you to live in. You cannot change the past. As you can become a protector and preserver of life right now. One of our teaching pastors wives had an abortion before she became a Christian she had abortion and and she told her story here last year about 18 months ago. She talks about how God not only for gave her got set on a holy path. Rather, she's a mother the mother to her children now, and not just mother her children. What a blessing. Other people's children.

She has been a blessing to my own children would tell you he's got a plan for you to see because of the cross. Your sand is not the last word about you Jersey same end of that because of the cross.

Your sin is not the last word about you because of the resurrection. Your mistakes are not the last word on you either. If any man, or anyone is in Christ there new creation.

All things are passed away during the grave. Jesus bury them. All things are become new. Listen baby are 16 years old use found out that you're pregnant. I know you're terrified. I know you are terrifying negative dad is are long gone. You're scared one of our campuses this weekend. What you look around the grimmest church spring. I looked around rear there's 500 men at this church that are ready to be a part of this boy's life were ready to help you raise, there's 500 ladies here who can step up and help you mother.

Her rooms are houses you can stay in these ladies get a mother you is you mother that maybe there in the shower you with so many gifts it's going to be awkward. I seen we got you because you financially. We get you emotionally. We catch practically we got you girl all right relax when a kid turns 18 not to walk across that stage graduate to be a bunch of us from this church that are there that graduation cheering for him and called his name and going to principal get out the call us down tells me got chosen is right brothers were not in the care is really part of his life with you.

As you can handle any of this will find a family ministers to adopt a baby were not a legion when I do believe that man may have run away, but we're not because we serve a God who didn't run away from us. She don't be afraid. Listen to me. Don't be afraid. Have that baby has a baby by God's grace. You can do this you can.

His grace is enough for you. His grace is enough. Don't be afraid your dad involved in all this.

Tell her you will support her. Be a man. Don't shirk your responsibility to protect the vulnerable in your life. 64% of women who get abortions say they did so because they felt pressure.

Don't be in that 64% have the courage to do it God's way. Maybe that feels overwhelming to you and we're here to help you to know a few years ago I preached on this I said similar things to what I'm saying today and on the number next to me in our congregation that day set college-age girl at our Chapel Hill campus just learned she was pregnant. She was scheduled that afternoon to go in and have an abortion and find this out then find out later that she said to my words that morning in the spirit of grace in our church commenced her to cancel that appointment to choose life for her baby for that baby up for adoption. First, I heard this story was a year later when into my office wall.

The family would adopted this baby to show me how God had used this church in his word to save their new daughter's life� Got a picture when that happened the summer get a lot of hate mail talk about this whenever I talk about.

I get a lot of email and I'm sure that will be through this weekend. Right now, that one picture makes all those hate letters evaporate into the wind for me to speak out some speak up and speak out for those who have no voice defend the cause of the needy and all the oppressed. These are not games. We are playing people's lives depend on our voice and our action. The only thing that is necessary for the progress of evil in the world is for good people to do nothing for people who understand righteousness and most of all the people understand the gospel to just be silent and walk on by the other side. Let the little children come to us. That's the kingdom of God choose Christ.

Choose the way of Christ. Choose life by your heads. If you would buy your heads at all of our campuses reviewed there with us online at home by your heads wherever you are. You talk first. You mother scared hey can you ask for strength. The Holy Spirit is ready right now he's ready. These rates fill you with strength if you're ready to do it his way. Maybe you had an abortion in the passenger like in my life ever can ever be right again. It can, you can't change the past but Jesus can make it all new and we can set you on this new purpose he has for you. Confess that sin bring it to the throne of Jesus and let it be washed in his blood and embraced the new life God has for you summer church. Are we ready to recommit ourselves to loving the vulnerable, whether they live across the street or in the womb of the mother of the local high school will be ready to commit ourselves to say.

But Jesus, no, let him come to me and come to me this of the kingdom of God, praying that our campuses worship teams are going to come and then at the end of that. If we worship together for a few moments, are campus pastors in a common The Closer service and I'll ask for prayer counselors to come up standout from every campus like they do every week. Listen, if you're struggling with this.

If you're broken by this we need help with visuals and I pray for with yougoing through this ready that some other prayer need just be good to have people in the church. Pray with you I want you to promise soon as we dismiss what you common take you by the hand. You should wear your mask and know where there's an taking throne of Jesus and look at help on this.

Okay father I pray I pray God that this should be a place of life. Not place legislation first place of the new life is found in Jesus gives courage to speak or we must have compassion, humility, generosity, the torsos we pray in Jesus name