HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED - Day#3

Written by Pastor Adam Lee

Celebration of Life

Picture a young woman sitting alone, one hand on her stomach. The pregnancy was unplanned. The future feels impossible. She is ashamed, scared, and unsupported, maybe even pressured by the people closest to her to end the pregnancy. No job. No money. No clear path forward.

When we imagine her, we usually have a lot to say. We know what we wish someone would tell her. We know what we hope someone would do for her. But the real question is, how do we find her? And even more, how do we become the kind of church she would trust enough to step toward?

The world often treats people like problems to be managed, or stories to be hidden. The gospel does the opposite. Jesus does not stand at a safe distance, offering advice. He draws near, enters our mess, and bears what we cannot bear. If that is how God has loved us, then the Church cannot be content to speak about love from a distance. We must embody it.

Legal decisions and cultural debates will continue, but the Church’s calling remains steady: to love, support, and uphold life inside the womb and outside the womb. Being “pro-life” is not only about advocating for birth. It is about walking with mothers, fathers, and families after the test turns positive, offering tangible help, relational support, and gospel hope.

Many women choose abortion because they do not see a hopeful way forward. Fear narrows the horizon. Shame seals the lips. But the people of God are called to widen the horizon again, to say with our presence and our sacrifice, “You are not alone. There is a way forward.”

And we should not pretend the cost is small. Love is costly. It always is. Yet Christianity has never claimed that love is easy, only that it is good, and that in the end it is real. When we draw near to the vulnerable, we do not merely “do a good deed.” We bear witness to a different kingdom, one where the strong stoop, the guilty find mercy, and the forgotten are seen.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

That is a call to compassionate presence, moving toward the vulnerable, not away.

Ministries to pray for and support

  • Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO)
    Equips and mobilizes Christians and churches to care wisely and well for vulnerable children and families.
    https://cafo.org/ 

  • Life Line Pregnancy Center (Wilmington)
    Free, confidential pregnancy services and support for those facing a pregnancy decision.

    https://lifelinewilmington.com/  

    Contact: 910-392-0001

    Address: 4522 Fountain Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403

Pray

  • Ask the Lord to burden His Church with love, especially for pregnant women and families facing unplanned pregnancies, so we “load them up” with support rather than shame.

  • Pray that our hearts would yield to compassion rather than judgment, remembering that we are all desperately needy for God’s mercy and grace.

  • Pray that those suffering would be connected with believers who can share the love of Christ with them, and that they would see real hope in the gospel.

  • Pray for protection, provision, wisdom, and tender courage for every staff member and volunteer serving through these ministries.

HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED - Day#2

Written by Nick Harmon

“26 Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’"

Genesis 1:26-28

Beach or mountains? 

In this great state of North Carolina some are drawn to the majestic mountains in western NC and others to the calm coast lines of eastern NC. In between are farmlands and cities filled with people, birds, rodents, bears and a host of other land and aquatic creatures. Whether you take a road trip across the country, fly in a plane to another continent, or take a boat near or far from the coast you will encounter a piece of God’s creation. Even in the most remote and frozen parts of the world there are creatures uniquely suited for their environment. 

God has created a diversity of creatures and given them all, regardless of geographic location, to be subject to the rule of mankind. As was the emphasis yesterday, God has uniquely “created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.” Today we will discover and consider the command in verse 28 to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it…” 

Consider the opposite of this command, “Be rotten and decrease, perish from the earth, and leave it wild.” God’s clear intention is for us to continue to create and “fill” the earth with more humans. Each life is an eternal soul, one who is created and cherished not only by earthly parents but even more so by a heavenly father. Despite the tragedy of sin, human lives are still important to Him. Each year, for the last several years, right here in the U.S. over 1 million people have been murdered through abortion. The reality of this is sobering – each year our country loses out on 1 million blessings from God. While it should sadden our hearts to hear such a fact, it should also stir us to action. When we witness the devaluing of human lives it should motivate us to pray. Because no matter the laws, or the information we provide people, or even the resources provided there is only one God who is able to heal what is broken. We shouldn’t be surprised at the devaluing of human life in this world. Yet, seeing this in the world should cause us to pray that God would enable us to see human life as He does. Even for those that are vehemently opposed to abortion, being in this world softens our view and value of human life. Today’s movies and video games are filled with characters dying. News stories of wars and death have turned our hearts callous to the fact that a life that God never intended to perish has been removed from the earth. As Matt said Sunday, “we are being discipled by social media algorithms". We must fight to preserve the lives that God has created, we must fight for a right view of human life in our hearts and minds. This fight must be fought on our knees in prayer!

What should we pray for? 

  1. For fruitfulness in our lives! Yes certainly we should pray for children but we may also pray that we would be spiritually fruitful. God values human lives but the spiritual reality is most people in the world are DEAD. Only through faith in Jesus will they be made alive. Pray God would make YOU fruitful in bringing people to life!

  2. Multiplying. No better way to make followers of Christ than to make them from scratch. Pray for young families as they participate in this good work. Pray God would work to remove organizations that seek to decrease the human population. 

  3. Fill the earth. Each person that loves God brings glory to Him. Heaven will be full of people bringing glory to His name. Pray that the earth would also be filled with people who love Him. 

HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED Because We Reflect GOD'S IMAGE

“Then God said ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them…”  Genesis 1:26-28a

Man bears the “image of greatest likeness” to God…what a miraculously wonderful gift!

Being an “image bearer” means every human being has inherent worth and value. Every human life is sacred, because God Himself is sacred. Every human life is Holy (Set Apart) from the rest of creation, because God Himself is Holy. Every human life is special, because every human life has been fashioned in the image of God!

Almost 40 years ago, on January 22, 1984, President Ronald Reagan instituted National Sanctity of Human Life Day. President Reagan’s proclamation was made 11 years after the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade and in response to the extreme loss of life that followed that decision — the murder of 15 million pre-born babies.

The Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion a constitutional right for nearly fifty years, was effectively overturned on June 24, 2022. The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling declared that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, concluded that Roe had been wrongly decided and returned the authority to regulate abortion to individual states and their elected representatives. As a result, many states have enacted or enforced their own abortion laws—some restricting and others protecting access—creating a patchwork of policies across the United States.

The 50+ year tragedy of abortion on demand has contributed to the dismissal and devaluation of human life, eroding our culture’s “...sense of the worth and dignity of every individual.”

Human worth doesn’t rise and fall with the number of impairments we do or don’t have, it isn’t dependent on our productivity or someone else’s subjective sense of our benefit to society. Our worth is calculated by the infinite value of the one who’s image we are made in! 

Even someone with legitimate disabilities and impairments has inestimable value. The image and the power of God are uniquely displayed in their lives.  

The vulnerable & those with disabilities – Their lives are SACRED!

The orphan & fatherless – Their lives are SACRED!

The isolated and elderly – Their lives are SACRED!

The unborn — Their lives are SACRED!

Each life is a life created by God and for God.  Made by His hand, to reflect His image!

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”  Col 1:16


please join us in praying today!

  • Pray for supernatural change, a culture of life, and the increase of righteousness in the hearts of government officials and policy makers throughout our country.

  • Pray for boldness and effectiveness in the promotion of life for organizations such as LIVE ACTION, 40 Days for Life and Pro-Life Action Ministries.

  • Pray for Lifeline Pregnancy Center here in Wilmington. Pray for the Lord to use their staff and their services to save babies and assist moms and dads facing unplanned pregnancies.

  • Pray for your own heart to maintain firm biblical convictions surrounding the promotion and protection of life, while remaining compassionate toward the men and women facing unplanned pregnancies.