Psalm 139, 13 through 16. That will frame our discussion for this morning, our conversation, our study of God's Word. Psalm 139, 13 through 16. We are streaming now on Facebook. So for those watching, I don't usually preach this way. The shirt has a saying. I'll explain in just a while. All right? And by the way, thank you to all of you who take the video, you share it, and that just creates more views. It creates a way and an opportunity to to get it so if you share it on your story or on your timeline it just gets this study of God's word and it multiplies it for free by the way in ways that we could not imagine alright so pray for that too Psalm 139 13-16 I read you follow along for you form my inward parts you knitted me together in my mother's womb I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made wonderful are your works my soul knows it very well my frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. We've said it before across our nation, many churches. Some did it this past Sunday ago on the 19th. Some are doing it today. Some may do it the next week because of the March for Life that happened on Friday. But normally, churches, especially Southern Baptist churches, we set aside a Sunday in January, typically the 3rd or the 4th, whatever's around the 22nd, to deal with at least one time a year on this reality of the sanctity of human life Sunday. And as I prepared for this morning, the challenge was, before the Lord, as I asked Him, was, Lord, how do I say what I need to say, knowing that what I'm saying has already been said? Did that make sense to you? Let me repeat it, because I wrote down in my notes what I'm trying to... This was my... Lord, how do I get ready to say what I need to say when I know that most of what I've said has already been said? Who's surprised today about the raging debate of abortion? Who doesn't already have formulated a position? If you're here this morning, you, this is not, I'm thinking this is not the first time you hear about this thing called sanctity of human life or the abortion issue. So how do you say it? What do you say? And that was my time before the Lord this week was spending time with him before him and going, Lord, what do I do? This past Thursday, January 22nd, 2020 was the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Whether you like him, whether you tolerate him, whether you right out hate him, President Trump did a first in the history of presidents. He stood up there, he showed up in person, and he delivered a message. Last year, Vice President Pence was in attendance. Trump addressed the people there gathered in the March of Life this past Friday via video. Trump did it in person. Well, he had ulterior motives. Well, choose your favorite president, and he too had ulterior motives in life. So, we're not gonna go there, are we? I would hope that at least you celebrate the fact that the national spotlight was on Washington, D.C. on Friday, excuse me, for the March of Life, and everyone was knowing, wanted to see what President Trump would say then, a presidential first. We're reminded, excuse me, that a Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court that where the court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. January 22, 1973. On January 22, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton stated that the Supreme Court ruled that the unborn human being are not legal persons, quote unquote, according to the Constitution. The unborn or the preborn is a property of the mother. Therefore, the mother has the right to terminate the pregnancy, to kill the child if she chooses so. The Supreme Court effectively destroyed all safeguards for the unborn during, even up to the third trimester. And we have laws, state laws on the books nowadays, especially in New York, that you can even give birth and leave the baby to die. Health reasons are quoted most of the time. Let me read you a transcript from a pastor who spoke on the 40th anniversary. So this is seven years ago. His name is Rusty Lee Thomas, and he's the president of Save Our America. And he gave a speech on the 40th anniversary, referring to January 22, 1973. He said the following. On that day, 40 years ago, black-robed judges denied true science, broke our national covenant which states, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The greatest violation, however, breaks the sixth commandment which says, thou shalt not kill. In this, we should all add an amen to the psalmist who stated, it is time for you to act, O Lord, for they have regarded your law as void. It was on that day that the American Holocaust was unleashed through the sin and crime of abortion. As a result, a third of an entire American generation has been exterminated with the approval of the state and the silent consent of the majority of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is this national sin which has wrought national calamity. God's judgments are here and are increasing with frequency and intensity. Bloodshed touches bloodshed. It breaks out like a plague. Violence in the womb leads to increased violence in our society. The history of Roe v. Wade started with Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade. The abortion industry was looking for a case to decriminalize abortion and Ms. Norma fit the bill and became the poster child for the merchants of death. She lied to a Dallas court stating that she was raped by five black men. Sarah Weddington carried that lie all the way to the Supreme Court, and the rest, they say, is history. Mercifully, Norma repented, came to Christ for forgiveness of her sins, and the Lord redeemed her soul. In this, however, we recognize the enemy of God, the enemy of truth, and the enemy of life. Jesus stated that there is an enemy that comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus called Satan a liar and the father of lies. When the devil opens his mouth, he speaks his native language, which is lying. Jesus also reminds us that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. Thus lies and murder are the two main works of the evil one. True to form, the lie of abortion unleashed unprecedented murder that runs rampant in our nation today. The good news is Jesus Christ our Lord was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil. And we his church should continue our Lord's mission in our day. It would be prudent this day as well to remember another Holocaust that took place during World War II. When Jews were exterminated by a demoniac madman called Adolf Hitler. At the end of the slaughter, the Jews vowed never again, never again, never again. Unfortunately for America, never again has happened again. Dr. Leo Alexander, who studied the Nuremberg trial, stated, Nazism occurs whenever a government or a culture chooses death to solve its economic or moral problems. Proverbs 836 concurs, all those who hate me love death. In other words, what we fought to defeat 60 years ago is now alive and well and polluting our beloved land today. We may have won World War II, but Hitler won the ideological battle. Amongst his many violations, rule v. Wade betrayed government's sacred trust. God established civil government first and foremost to stop the shedding of innocent blood and protect life. Genesis 9 declares, whoever sheds man's blood, that's the criminal, by man, civil government, his blood shall be shed. Why? For in the image of God, he made man. Our founding fathers agreed with this biblical worldview of civil government. Thomas Jefferson stated, the care of human life and not its destruction is the one and only object of good government. Therefore, any politician who dares claim to be pro-choice is not biblically or morally qualified to serve in public office. Say that Monday, tomorrow on the water cooler. Roe v. Wade reveals the battle of the ages in our generation, a conflict between the seat of the serpent and the seat of the woman. The seat of the serpent sounds something like this, my body, my rights, my choice. I do what I want, when I want, and my one commandment is thou shall not judge me. While the seed of the woman sounds something like this, not my will, but yours be done. The seed of the woman promotes the gospel of life, while the seed of the serpent promotes a culture of death. It is the clash of worldviews. One view states life is sacred and needs to be welcomed into life and protected by law. Human beings are made in the image of God and possess intrinsic worth. The other worldview speaks of quality of life, quote unquote. Human life finds its worth only in its usefulness. If found unwanted or inconvenient, human life may be discarded with the evening trash. The truth is human dignity is found in who we are, human beings, and not what we do, human doings. It is this battle that has brought us to the very gates of hell this day. And I am here to remind us of our Lord's precious promise. Jesus promised that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Matthew 16. Tofet, the valley of the son of Hinnom, is where Israel set up the altar of Moloch and sacrificed their children unto devils. This cruel, wicked place was also known as Gehenna, or hell. Literally, the place where children were sacrificed was hell on earth. This reveals abortion at its core. It's a kingdom gospel issue. The gates of hell will always prevail against the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court, but they will never prevail against the one institution that God ordained to take this enemy on and take him out, and that is the Church of the Living God. By God's grace, I join my voice, my faith, and my love of God and his little ones with yours, and let us with one voice declare to these gates, be thou lifted up so the King of Glory may come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, mighty in battle. He is the King in glory. Those are prophetic words seven years ago. Words that need to be processed, understood, and they still speak to us seven years later. It is this same person who wrote the following on the screen. You preach that abortion is murder, but son, you don't live like people are dying. You know what he's saying? It's nice on Sunday mornings. Wear the cool t-shirt about that your daughter's a NICU nurse. That's nice. But down the street, in university, just beside La Carreta, you can enjoy breakfast while the abortion mill kills people. That's what he's saying. You and I preach and talk a good game. But we don't live. Listen, if our born kids were being slaughtered, we would take arms. But because we can't see them, we really don't do much about them. We're thankful to God for churches like Christ Community Church and my fellow brother, Pastor Bernie, and his fellow elders who have a sidewalk preaching or sidewalk counseling ministry. They don't always engage, but they pray and they look for ways for God to bring them people that they can interact and before the man and the woman go in, they try to get them there and offer them the gospel of life. That happens in Pembroke Pines right down the street. And to my shame, I have not joined them. And that should change this year for me. I'm not saying that you have to. I don't want to shame you into anything. But the reality is that taking a stand on the sanctity of life is more than just Sunday morning stuff. It should influence what you believe. It should influence, listen, how you vote. It should influence lives and every compartment of your life. Because life is sacred. Strong words. Convicting. Again, sanctity of human life. On September 11, 2001, terrorists, not misguided people, terrorists attacked the United States of America, killing approximately 3,500 people in the World Trade Center. The outcry for justice was clear. The tears were clear. On September 11, 2001, terrorists killed over 3,500 people. Forget about the Pentagon. Forget about those lives lost in the field outside there on the way of a thwarted plan. Just that one alone, we rendered swift and accurate justice. We had thousands of unborn. Do you understand that on September 11, close to 2,000 babies were murdered? And on September 12, and 13, and 14, and 15, and 16, and to this day. That's the reality. Elective, convenient abortion continues. And we tend to forget that we as the church are called to be the conscience. We're called to be the light. We're called to be the salt. We're called to take... Someone has to have a position on it. And God has a clear one. And you and I are called and commanded and equipped by the Spirit of God to represent. Questions to consider when it comes to sanctity of human life. It's on the screen there. Why sanctity of human life? What do you mean when you say that? Does the Bible present life as sacred? What is God's relationship to the unborn? These are all good questions. These are questions that you and I need to be ready to answer. Not only scripturally, but even outside of scripture. How do you argue? The phrase sanctity of life is rooted and reflects the reality that because people are made in God's image, their life matters. Human life is inherently sacred because of God saying, you are created in my image. No other part of creation is stated. I don't care how much you like your doggy and your cat and your, what else do you guys have DJ? Your hedgehog, whatever. It doesn't matter. None of those were created. The dolphin, whatever you choose, your favorite, the unicorn, it was not created in the image of God. You and me, humans were. And because we were created, listen, it doesn't mean we're special. That's why we're sacred. No, no. It means it's sacred because it's rooted in the image of God. Now, is that image corrupted? Yeah. It's like looking in a mirror after you throw a rock at it. You see yourself and you're sort of like, okay, it's been marred because of sin. But it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The only reason sanctity of life applies to humanity is that God created us in his image. Sanctity of human life also is more than just the sacred. It's sacred because it's better. It's the crown of creation. Human life is holy because it's set apart. And because the sanctity of being alive is real, and that's why you and I take positions, not only on abortion, and sometimes you and I pigeonhole ourselves as this is the whole thing. Listen, because life is sacred, listen, human trafficking is wrong. Sex trafficking is wrong. Euthanasia is wrong. The older I get the more I shout it Because listen if life in the womb when it's inconvenient you discard it listen when I get to my 80s I'm someone's gonna deem me inconvenient Yeah, and when they deem me inconvenient God save us if the if the government can come in and go you're done You cost too much We're going to deny care because the return on investment is only a few months versus a bunch of years. And we make that call. Listen, many of you watched the movie Blind Eyes Open. How many of you here watched it this past week? I was not able to get there. But if you did, if you did, let me see. Stand up. Let me see if you really want to, like, come on. Put your money where your mouth is there. All right. Okay. Thank you. Was it a nice movie to watch? Hey, Isabella, what did you think about the movie? It was like Disney, right? Nah, it was scary. Isabella, stand a minute. Stand. Just stand. Yeah, you gotta stand. Come on, sweetheart. You're the prettiest one there. Okay. How old are you? Twelve. What's the average age of human trafficking? What did you see in that documentary? Yeah, eleven. That's your next victim right there. That's your next victim. Turn around and look. Don't look at me, look at her. That's your next victim. That's what's happening this week as we lead it up to Super Bowl. One of the biggest weeks for human trafficking. Thank you, Isabella. To their horror. Her parents' horror. Can you imagine? But why does the Christian stand and say, that is what... Listen, if life is not sacred, if life is just a blob that gets to make it on the outside, who cares? Take her! Take her. Everly in a few years, take Everly, why not? She's a means to an end. But we stand strong because life is sacred. Sanctity of human life is also played out in the Great Commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And if you love your neighbor as yourself, you would never allow them to suffer a killing inside the womb. Love motivates us because we're to love God and to love others. We love them even if we're unpopular. The abortion debate, we were reminded last year. We had a pastor's forum. And this is the challenge, right? As a church, we don't shy away from this. For years, February 6, 2020 will be my 14th year serving you as your pastor. And I can vouch for at least 14 years that we've had a Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. And I know we've done it before. But under my watch, we've had Jim McGarvey come time and time again and share about the evils. The spiritual warfare, how it targets certain minorities. Abortion does. We've had him talk to us clear. We've had a women's forum. We had the Hopes Women's Center ladies here on this platform and they talked about what it meant and how they suffered and struggled with it and the hope that they found in Jesus Christ. Last year we had a pastor's forum. Pastor Andrew Summers and myself were here. DJ served as moderator. We talked about it from a pastor perspective. And we were reminded then by Pastor Andrew that the abortion debate in our country is centered around the question of personhood. When does life begin? When are they a person? When is that human a person? Or is that person human? The debate essentially is a question about when personhood begins and it would be ridiculous to think that after fertilization there's no life. Science proves it, there's life. And you and I need to understand that. This is the backdrop to the pro-life argument that, listen, the reality is that once fertilization occurs, the life principle is put into action. At this point, I need to thank a guy by the name of Tim Chalice. I don't know if you read his stuff. You may not know him. He's a blogger. He's a Christian. Well, I don't think he's a pastor, but he is a Christian, a blogger, a dad, argues well. And much of what I'm going to share with you now comes as a result of stuff that he's put forth. The pro-life argument to consider this morning is the following that's on the screen. Elective abortion unjustly takes the life of an innocent human being. You and I should be known for that. And that's it at this point. Now before we go further, let me just deal with the fact of what happens when, in the case of incest, rape, and the mother's life, danger to life, not health. See, health is too broad nowadays. It's a danger to the mother's life, not just mother's health. Well, let me deal with that just real quick. Abortion performed today for cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the woman is less than 3%. 3%. Listen, and I don't want to trivialize this. Rape and incest are traumatic. In the case of the woman's, of the mother's life being in actual danger like from a tubal pregnancy or cancerous uterus. Listen, there's always been medical. There's always been a legal and a spiritual recognition that you need to save the mom even if the baby dies. That's nothing new. It existed before legalized abortion. It'll exist after, should legalized abortion get overturned. So don't get, don't let get, don't get sucked in into the Kool-Aid that says, what a mother's gonna do now? They always had protection. We had it before, we'll have it after. Don't get sucked into the Kool-Aid. No laws were necessary to legalize life-saving medical intervention. Cases of rape and incest, painful. Number one, they don't always result in pregnancy. But if they do, man, that is a tough one. They're still alive, you're right. But I have my daughter here. She was raped. after I killed the guy, I'd be in jail and we'd have to figure it out for her. But tell you what, for this morning, the reality is, listen, rape is never the fault of the child, is it? The guilty doesn't pay for the innocent. But how often don't they in this debate? Seldom does abortion bring healing to a rape victim. Again, I don't want to trivialize that. But here, Facebook Live and all, I'll give you the 3%. I wish we were here this morning arguing and talking seriously thinking through the 3%. What we're here today is the 97%. of elective, convenient abortion. That's what draws us close. And this is why we search in the scriptures and we're trying to look at it. It's not the 3%. I wish this was my pastoral concern this morning. My pastoral concern this morning is the 97%. Listen, what it boils down to, is it your right to live licentiously? Does it negate the right to life of a child? Well, thankfully there's grace and truth, right? Because grace is provided to the chief of sinners. So we're not here just to castigate, whether you're the mom who did it, whether you're the guy who promoted it, whether you're the pastor, and pastors have done it, who've paid secretly abortions so their persona doesn't suffer. Whether you're the doctor who performed it or the government that allows it. We're not here just to lay it thick. We're here to say this is wrong, that's truth, but this is grace. There's hope in Jesus Christ. The real question is, what are we going to do? Again, the argument is elective abortion unjustly takes the life of an innocent human being. And this argument is built on two premises and a conclusion. And here they are. Premise one, intentionally killing an innocent human being is a moral wrong. Premise two, elective abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent human being. Conclusion, therefore, elective abortion is morally wrong. The big question. The big question at the heart of the matter is that, is the pre-born human? Solve that, answer that. Quite honestly, in my mind, as a dad, as a husband, as a pastor, as a Christian, how you and I answer this makes all the difference. Greg Coco from Stan Teresa Ministries hits the nail on the head when he states, it's on there. If the unborn is not human, no justification for abortion is necessary. If the unborn is human, no justification for abortion is adequate. He's right. If what Jen, before she delivered Alexis, Audrey, Hayes, nice three letters, ah. I got that from Jen. Ah. Listen, if when she was carrying Alexis, it's just a blob, it's not human, then do what you want. But if it's human, oh, you're treading on sacred ground. For this morning, we're going to defend the position that elective, convenient abortion is morally wrong from three fronts, science, history, and human rights. And we're going to park on science more than history and human rights. History, once you establish that it's a human being and it's a person, listen, history will remind us, be careful, don't divorce human from person and person from human. And human rights would just say, listen, if it's human, and if it's a person, you must protect. So science is the one that we're going to park a little bit. So let's begin. Point number one, elective abortion is morally wrong because science confirms that the pre-born child has all the characteristics of a human being. You may want to write that down. I see some of you guys taking pictures. That's all right, too. Keep me out of the picture. You might just do well. Elective abortion is morally wrong because science confirms. Here are the four characteristics of a pre-born child. I'm just giving you some. Four characteristics. The pre-born child is complete. All the information it needs is there and it simply needs time to grow. The pre-born child has all the genetic code it needs. The pre-born child is unique. The child is not a part of its mother, but is genetically distinct. Yes, he's inside the womb, or she's inside the womb, but the pre-born child is a person, has a different genetic code. There's a difference between the appendix and a pre-born child. That's the reality. They're both inside. The pre-born child is living. It is growing, developing, undergoing metabolism, and responding to stimuli. Cue up that video in just a moment. I'm going to show it. I'm going to show you an MRI. It should be there. It should come up. As soon as you got it, go for it. There it is. Play it. Hopefully it plays again. 20-week, 20-week pre-born child. There it is. This is where I cue in my daughter. She is a NICU nurse at Joe DiMaggio. She deals with, listen, nurses are, you know, nurses are underrated as it is, right? Doctors get all the credit. Nurses get all the work. Can I get an amen from the nurses? Yeah, yeah. Donna's like, you got that. Testify. All right. She's a NICU nurse. She sees the, she gets the, she's not labor and delivery where everything's like, oh, yeah. She gets called in when children, okay, have a need. need of intensive care. I asked her, what's the youngest that you've ever dealt with? She said, 22 week gestation, 22 week gestation. She gave me a couple of things. Julie, come here, I'm gonna ask you just a, you can do some show and tell. Most stories that have a happy ending. No, no, we don't want FPU right now, thank you very much. Okay, let me, just so you can see, let me see if I can get a microphone. You don't want to talk? You're going to have to because you have to explain it. I don't want to do that. Are you kidding me? I'll just do a little bit of show and tell and that's it. She gave me this and I have this in my office just to remind myself of what she does and who she does it with. What's this? The smallest diaper that we carry. This is the smallest diaper. They fit here when they get to her unit. And some of them don't fit. Some of them don't fit. Some of them we have to like fold down the front. Because the babies are even too small for this. So 22 week, would 22 week fit here? We'd have to roll it down. You'd have to roll it down. 22 week. Just so you know, this is... Julie, what is this? Our smallest blood pressure cuff. Blood pressure cuff. Blood pressure. Okay, puts it around there a little. and they take care of it. What else do we have for show and tell? Let me grab my stuff. You'll have to do this back afterwards. Hey man, look at these little things. This is the smallest mask that we use to provide respiratory support when we go in to the delivery before we're able to place a tube into their lungs to help them breathe. So this fits over their mouth and their nose. Just my nose. When they have to do, you know, the CPR stuff, this is it. Okay, let me give it to you here. Oh, this is one of your faves. You can get excited. Here, let me hold. You want me to hold this? Go ahead. You can get excited. So I really love my job. So this is the small, well, this is actually the second smallest, I realize, blade that we use to, we put it in their mouth and then this is how we put the tube in their lung. So it has a little light at the end so that we can see the vocal cords and things like that. So this is the smallest blade that we use to intubate is the word. Which for the medical people, it's a double O. We even have a triple O. And then the size tube that we use is smaller than the diameter of most pens. Smaller than a straw, you can imagine. The smallest tube that we have is a two O French tube and it's smaller than most pens. So if you take out a pen, the diameter of what we're using to go into their lungs is smaller than that. And the last but not least, what's this? It's just a little scrub that we use to prep their skin for IVs. Oh, gosh. She is my favorite daughter. She's my only daughter. Good deal. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, here you go. Alright. Fantastic. Thank you, Julie. Now, why did I take time to do that? You know why it matters? Why it makes sense? And why you and I get all googly? Because these are human beings. Do you understand that before they get to her, sometimes they go undergo surgeries inside the womb that help them get to her? Okay. But if they're not human and they're not people, why do it? Why undergo in vitro? Why undergo? Why go in there? It's just blob. It's not a person. It's not worth rescuing. They're on their own. They love the jungle. If they survive, they get to NICU. If they don't, too bad, so sad. On the contrary, because the pre-born child is living. And lastly, the pre-born child is human. Living things always produce after their own kind. Not because science says it, but because God's Word says it. Genesis chapter 1 verses 20 to 28 write it down Genesis chapter 4 that Adam and Eve have a child you and what you listen check this out when Eve gives birth you know what she gives birth to a homo sapiens a Human figure that out. It wasn't an acorn It wasn't salmon It wasn't a monkey It was a member of the Homo sapiens, a human. That's the reality. Now, having said that, we do know that the pre-born are different. We're not just going to go in there blindly. And in four ways. It's on the screen. And please note the letter S-L-E-D. That's the reminder. The next slide, hopefully, will work. Here we go. Size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. Listen, the pre-born child is smaller. But listen, are we ready to go on record that little people don't make, they're not humans? Who wants to raise their hand in front of Facebook here and say little people don't matter? They're not humans. And level of development. The pre-born, of course, there's a different level of development. Who's here wants to go on record saying that people with disabilities are not human? Come on, talk to me. Come on. Left or right of the... Come on, talk to me. Why don't you ask your politician? Environment. We're in a different place, but where we are doesn't determine what we are. Right? I mean, listen, if you're here today and you're listening to me in Hialeah, no judging. No judging, baby. No judging. The pre-born are more, you know, more dependent on its mother than the born human. But if a degree of dependency doesn't determine our humanity, if it were so, what do you do with all the man-child? You know them. You know who the man-children are. Old guys that, let me not even try. Much of what is true is true of a toddler. their size, their level of development, their environment, their degree of dependency. We wouldn't kill a toddler because one of the above or all the above. We should extend the same courtesy, kindness and compassion to the pre-born. Why? Because the pre-born is a complete and unique human being. Number two, elective abortion is morally wrong because history reminds us that we must not separate humanity from personhood. And abortion says that some humans are not persons. Listen, this is stuff that you're arguing outside of scripture. You're rooted in scripture, but you're not quoting Genesis. You're not quoting here. You're rooted. You're just looking at what has to be said. You're looking at the evidence and chasing the evidence. And if the evidence points to humanity as personhood and personhood as humanity, listen, that's where it takes you. If it doesn't, then that's your bias, not the science. History proves that we only separate personhood from humanity for nefarious, for evil purposes. Let me just give you some examples there on the screen. 1858, Virginia Supreme Court. In the eyes of the law, the slave is not a person. Is he human? Yes. Is he a person? No. 1881, American Law Review, an Indian is not a person. Is he human? Yes. Is he a person? No, within the meaning of the Constitution. Oh, our neighbors up north, 1928, Canada Supreme Court, the meaning of qualified persons does not include women. Are they human? Yes. Are they qualified persons? Nope. 1936, the German Supreme Court refused to recognize Jews as persons. Are they human? Yes. Are they persons in the legal sense? No. Anytime you and I separate personhood from humanity, be careful. What follows is death. What follows is just convenient deaths. We never separate humanity from personhood for good reasons. A living human being is a person no matter what the law says. The slave is a person, the Indian is a person, the woman is a person, the Jew is a person. no matter what politics say, no matter what the law says, it doesn't matter what anyone says. History would caution us, would caution us not to separate humanity from personhood, yet in the United States of America, we have allowed humanity to be separated from personhood through the evil of elective abortion. If science confirms that humans are persons. It says then, you have to protect. History then comes alongside science and says, be mindful, be mindful. Every time you divorce humanity from personhood, great evils have occurred. But if they are person, if humans are people and they need to be protected, then if you're a human rights advocate, Listen, thirdly, elective abortion is morally wrong because human rights must be extended to the pre-born child. In other words, the pre-born child has the right to life. And I could quote you from the UN, from this charter or from that charter, and if you want it, you reach me at the office and I'll give you that. But I don't think you're going to want to because you know it! If people, if humans are people, and people need to be protected, then listen, regardless of your politics, human rights screams in your face and says, you must protect the pre-born. You must. Your ability and your choosing to live licentiously does not give you the automatic right to extinguish life. This is a gross violation of human rights. What can we take with us this morning? Where do we go? Listen, pastor, thank you. Yeah, you made, I don't even want to eat lunch now. Well, I am, first of all. But there's hope. Listen, there's a devastating reality. Our culture, our country murders children. You can't escape that. And I'm not here to point you out. The reality is that we live in a culture, we have a government that sanctions it, that enables it, that funds it. Listen, take this with you. Abortion is an affront to God's sovereign authority as creator. He's the giver of life. He's the taker of life. Abortion is an assault on God's glorious work and creation. When we don't allow them to leave the womb, what are we saying? It doesn't really matter. It's not special. Abortion is an assault. Lastly, abortion is an attack on God's intimate relationship with the unborn. Read the scriptures. He knows them. He names them. And you shall name, give him his name, Jesus. He's talking about an unborn or pre-born child there. You don't name a blob. You don't name a group of tissue. You give his name, Jesus. You'll call him John. Before you were formed, I knew you, Jeremiah. Paul was called before he was born, Galatians chapter 1. The unborn, the pre-born. Listen, here's some bad news. God is the judge of sinners. Whether you're the person who went to the office, whether you're the parent or father or boyfriend that paid for it, whether you're the pastor who hides it, whether you're the politician that allows it, We're all sinners. We're all sinners. None is greater than the other. We're equally sinners. But here's the good news. God is the Savior of sinners. That's the grace. That's what we offer you this morning. That's what we offer you. Listen, the one who aborts, the one who supports abortion, and the one who fights against it, all need the same salvation. We're not calling you to be pro-life so you can just be pro-life. We're calling you to salvation and then that reorganizes your thinking. Everyone needs salvation. We're not here coming against the pro-choice. We're coming here against the pro-life, if you don't think that the only way to salvation is through Christ. We want you to know that the source of life, eternal life, is His Son, Jesus Christ. All are called to faith. Child of God, look around, learn the facts. Reach out, be a part of ministries, support ministries. You and I will have an opportunity through giving at least to Hope's Women's Center. Contact them if the Spirit so leads you. If you want to get involved in different ways, just contact me and we'll talk. Lives matter, whether born or pre-born. As we close, let me read you a letter from a grandpa to his newest born grandson. It's dated January 25, 2000. And this only makes sense because life is sacred. Because if it isn't, then why are you writing? Dear Quint, happy birthday, little fella. You were born last night at 10.59 p.m. It was January 25, 2000. Your beautiful mother worked long and hard to bring you into this world, and your daddy was right there with her the whole way. I cried when I saw how much they loved each other and how much they loved you, even though they didn't know you, they know who you were. They didn't yet know who you were. You see, sadly, the laws of our country would have allowed you to have been destroyed before you were even born. But your mom and dad would have never considered that. She carried you inside her body for nine long months until you would be able to live on your own. She labored for 25 hours and gave up her own physical well-being and comfort to give you life. Always love and respect them for that, but more so, do it because God's word instructs you to do that. I never thought I could love any little boy as much as I did your daddy and his brother Benji. But last night I found out that indeed I could. Your grandma and I fell in love with you at first sight. Not only were you beautiful to behold, but you also carried in your little person the combined heritage of all your mommy and daddy's combined families. You represent our very best hopes and dreams. You're an eternal creature, for in your little body dwells a never-dying soul. One day, sometime down the road, God will begin to deal with your heart about loving and serving Him. I'm praying today that when that day comes, you will meet God on His terms and ask His Son, Jesus, to come into your heart. Your mommy and daddy will be talking to you plenty about Jesus. So will grandma and I, and even your great-grandparents too. You listen closely and believe and when the time comes it will be very easy for you to trust God and allow Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. Sleep well and gain lots of strength. You'll need it for what lies ahead of you. Who knows what the future holds for you? Tonight my imagination runs wild about you. What will you be like as you grow? What will you look like? How will your little voice sound when you say your first words? And what will those words be? With what type of talents and abilities has God blessed you? What great things might you accomplish? For him, who will you marry? Will I be around to see you grow into adulthood and have a family of your own? I certainly pray that I do. You're so special. Among all the six billion people on earth, there's no one else just like you. Not only does your whole family love you, but God loves you and Jesus died for you, and that makes you special. This is an exciting time to be alive. My grandpa was born in the 19th century, in 1895, and he fought in World War I. He died in 1959. My daddy, your great-grandfather, was born in 1927, the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs and Lindbergh flew a solo across the Atlantic. He lived through the Great Depression, served in World War II, and as a member of the Greatest Generation helps set the standard for all of us who followed. I was born in 1950 at the midpoint of the 20th century, and I've seen a lot of changes in this world and its lifestyles. Your daddy arrived in 1973, and now 25 days into the new 21st century, here you are. At the dawn of this new millennium, your life begins. Listen to your parents. Watch their lives. Learn from them and trust their Savior as your own. Live for Him and walk with Him. Follow Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. If you do that, you'll never ever go wrong. Your grandma and I love you, little fella, more than you can comprehend right now. I pray for God's richest blessings on you all the days of your life. With all my love, Grandpa. I've been told that grandparenting is a gift. I'm waiting for my first grandchild to come through Amazon. We've talked and my kids are here and they know that our first grandson will be named Amazon Prime. We know that. Amazon Prime Tavio, you know. APT, nada. But why does it bring tears? Why do you meditate? Why does this make sense? Why does it resonate? Because life is special. Inside the womb and outside the womb. And you and I should be known as followers of Jesus, who have experienced His forgiveness for all sin, including this one. Because of that, we stand strong in favor of life, even if we have to stand alone. Amen? Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Just a few moments, you and I will respond. We'll sing a song and whatever.