A
Long Road Yet
Introduction:
Today, we are observing Sanctity
of Human Life Sunday along with thousands of other churches across America
I’m not preaching a traditional
sermon this morning. By that, I mean I am not going to be examining a
particular passage of Scripture and then applying it to daily life, however we
have heard numerous Scripture verses read earlier in the worship service that
clearly speak about one’s responsibility to others around us.
I just want to share with you
various kinds of information regarding the sacredness of human life, and where we
are in the fight against the destruction innocent babies. A lot of the
information and material that I will be sharing today was provided in a
resource booklet provided by Focus on the Family organization for pastors and
churches.
I chose the title that I have
used for this message because, although we have seen significant progress and
positive changes, our task is not finished. There is still a long road ahead of
us yet.
Let me begin by just giving you
an idea of what we plan to talk about this morning.
I want to start by sharing a few
statistics that would indicate some of the progress that has been made in
recent months or years.
Secondly, I want to talk about other
human life issues, which are included when we speak about the sanctity of human
life. Is it just about abortion, or does it include a lot more than that?
Finally, I want to emphasize our
ongoing responsibility to rescue the unborn and others threatened with death,
while offering hope and healing to those who may be hurting over decisions
they’ve made in the past.
Signs of Hope
From
PA Family Institute:
January 8, 2015
As we approach Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
(January 18th) and the March for Life (January 22nd), everyone should be aware
of two facts related to abortion in Pennsylvania
1. Abortions performed in our state have dropped in
each of the last six reporting cycles (by more than 6,000 babies).
2. The latest yearly number of abortions performed
in PA is the lowest amount on record (32,108). That’s less than half of the
highest total ever in a given year (in 1980 it was the highest at 65,777).
While we are still witnessing far too many babies
being killed every year, there is some encouragement in seeing that we’re
getting closer [to ending the practice of abortion]. [It took nearly 33 years
for the figure to be reduced by half, and hopefully it can be entirely
eliminated well before another 33 years go by.]
National
Right to Life Issues New Report: “The State of Abortion
in the United States
● January 21, 2014
“While the most recent data
indicate a decrease in the annual number of abortions, tragically, more than
3,000 unborn children are still killed every day in the United States
(That
means, since we left church last Sunday, more than 21,000 babies lost their
lives across America New Castle
As noted in the report, on the
basis of the most recent reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
by the Guttmacher Institute (originally founded as a special research arm of
the Planned Parenthood Federation of America), National Right to Life estimates
that there have been more than 56 million abortions in America since 1973, the
year that the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand.
(This
is approximately equal to the combined populations of Texas ,
New York and Georgia
The report also observes that
after reaching an all-time high of over 1.6 million in 1990, the number of
abortions performed annually in the U.S. appear to have dropped to around 1.1
million a year.
(Which is like losing all
the people in Rhode Island
Still
Vanishing: 73 Abortion Facilities Shut Down in 2014
December 29, 2014
An Operation Rescue Exclusive Special Report - By
Cheryl Sullenger
In all, 73 abortion facilities shut down for all or
part of the year. The total number of all remaining abortion clinics in the US
Out of 60 surgical abortion clinic closures, 47 were
permanent. This represents a 23% decline in surgical abortion facilities over
the past five years.
Thirteen surgical facilities were allowed to reopen
after initially closing, primarily due to court action that enjoined abortion
safety laws that had shut down the substandard facilities.
Thirteen facilities that provided only medication
abortions account for the remaining closures in 2014.
There are even more indications
that fewer abortions can be expected in the future as states and courts allow
legislation to stand which put more restrictions on abortion. A major piece of
legislation that is pending now is based on recent scientific evidence that
babies in the womb can indeed feel pain. The new law would focus on that fact
as a point of protection for the unborn.
What does Sanctity of Human
Life involve?
If we truly believe that human
life is created by God in the image of the Creator, then how does that fact
shape our ideas about human life?
Does it only refer to protecting
human life before natural birth?
No. On the basis of Scripture,
it clearly includes all other phases of life as well. It affects our view of
and treatment of every human being regardless of race, age, abilities, or any
other characteristics that has been used as a reason for discarding humans.
If we, who call ourselves
Christians, are truly pro-life, then what are the other problems besides
abortion that we should be concerned about? Listen to these examples and the
statistics they involve.
Orphans / Adoption
Globally: There are more than
150 million orphans around the world.
In the USA : On any given day, more than 450,000
children are in the U.S.
More than 100,000 children in
the U.S.
The average length of stay in
foster care is nearly 22 months, and a child in foster care can wait five years
or more to be adopted.
Each year, 20% of children exit
foster care at age 18 without an adoptive family.
The U.S.
So if the command is clear and
the need is apparent, why are these kids still waiting?
Not everyone is called to adopt,
but helping support adoptive families is nearly as important as welcoming a
child into your home.
Disabled
Just one category of disability
is Downs Syndrome. Approximately 1 out of every 691 babies is born with Down
Syndrome.Research indicates that between 50% and 93% of babies in the
This same trend is no doubt
present with prenatal diagnoses of other disabilities as well.
To be pro-life means that we
believe disabled people are just as valuable in God’s sight as anyone else is.
Human Trafficking
More children, women and men are
held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic
slave trade. Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the
property of an owner.
• After drug dealing, human
trafficking (both sex trafficking and trafficking for forced labor) is tied
with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the
world today, and it is the fastest growing.
• Worldwide, there are nearly
two million children in the commercial sex trade.
• There are an estimated 600,000
to 800,000 children, women and men trafficked across international borders
annually.
• Approximately 80 percent of
human trafficking victims are women and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors.
I think I mentioned last year
that Super Bowl Sunday is one of the “biggest days of the year” for sex
trafficking. The justice department reports that the average age for those
entering into child prostitution is 13 years of age.
The Elderly
• Research of 16,000 care
facilities shows that approximately 85 percent of the residents of skilled-care
centers never have visitors, not from family, friends, clergy or anyone from a
church.
• Only about five percent of
those same facilities had chaplains.
• Per capita, those over age 65
have the largest suicide rate of any other age group in America
Just reading the statistics
regarding these several social problems makes my heart heavy with sorrow and
grief.
Before I close I want to read a
very gripping story that occurred in our nation’s history.
Scott Klusendorf (The Case
for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture, Copyright © 2009,
Crossway Publishing, p. 242-243.)
In
1955, Emmett Till, a 14-yearold black youth, traveled from Chicago
to visit his cousin in the town of Money , Mississippi Chicago Mississippi
A
few days later, at 2 A.M., Emmett was taken at gunpoint from his uncle’s home
by the clerk’s husband and another man. After savagely beating him, they killed
him with a single bullet to the head. Emmett’s bloated corpse was found three
days later in the
When
Mamie Till got the body, she made a stunning announcement: there would be an
open-casket funeral for her son Emmett. People protested and reminded her how
much this would upset everyone. Mamie agreed, but countered, “I want the whole
world to see what they did to my boy.”
The
photo of Emmett’s mangled body in that open casket was published in Jet
magazine and it helped launch the Civil Rights Movement in
It’s
time for pro-life Christians to open the casket on abortion. We should do it
lovingly but truthfully. We should do it in our churches during the primary
worship services, comforting those who grieve with the gospel of forgiveness.
We should do it in our Christian high schools and colleges, combining visuals
with a persuasive defense of the pro-life view that’s translatable to
non-Christians. But open the casket we must. Until we do, Americans will
continue tolerating an injustice they never have to look at.
This story is gripping and
revolting. Yet, it presents a valid point… for the most part; church-going
Christians have been insulated against the horrors of abortion and what it does
to innocent, pain-sensitive babies.
Maybe it’s time we quit worrying about shocking our sensibilities and
“open the casket” on all kinds of injustices that goes on in our society for
the whole world to see the truth.
Conclusion:
It’s hard to talk about all the facts we’ve talked about today without
getting a little angry and even more sorrowful.
But we need to remember that there is a real possibility we all know
someone or will meet someone who is guilty of one or more of these gross
injustices we’ve spoken about today.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must be constantly praying and ready
to offer hope and the loving grace of Jesus to those who are broken and
hurting.
Remember what God said to
“…though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
