WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.820 Well, I thought we would open tonight with a question, and that question is this. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:08.779 What does it mean to be human? 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:12.620 What does it mean to be a human being? 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:16.600 Related to that, what does it mean to be a person? 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:23.480 I was thinking about that question over the last few weeks, and looking around at the 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:30.380 ways different people have answered it, I recognized or read about the Bill Gates Foundation, 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:35.299 which gives money to this organization called the Big History Project. 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:37.219 You've probably heard of it. 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:44.120 Gates co-founded it, and they've actually done, over the course of this year, a video competition 00:00:44.120 --> 00:00:50.100 where you could submit a video, 60 to 90 second video, answering this very question. 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:52.000 What does it mean to be human? 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.640 And they got all kinds of submissions from all different kinds of people. 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.600 They offered cash prizes, and so there were a lot of submissions, and it's kind of fun 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.960 to flip through and look at the different ways that people have attempted to answer this 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:04.280 question. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:11.900 It tells you a lot about how we are thinking in 2015, in our country, about what it means 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:12.560 to be human. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:17.900 It's kind of a nice sample of where people are at with this question, and, you know, Gates 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:23.219 himself recused himself from the competition, of course, but he did submit a video, and his 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:28.300 answer is essentially that what makes us human, and thus different from the animals, is that 00:01:28.300 --> 00:01:32.440 we have developed the capacity to pass knowledge to the next generation. 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:37.480 And it's this cumulative increase in knowledge over time that sets us apart. 00:01:38.080 --> 00:01:43.219 The winning submissions were various in how they approached this question. 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:49.659 One person talks about the circle of compassion, the fact that human beings are capable of 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:53.400 having compassion for all creatures, not just other human beings. 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:56.400 I thought that was a very optimistic view of human beings. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:01:57.879 I love that vision of humanity. 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:00.500 Other submissions were very different. 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:05.379 One person said he didn't think there was much, if anything, that made humans different 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:06.939 from animals at all. 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:13.300 He said essentially that what the difference is, is that humans are people, but that he 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:17.359 didn't really define what people are, or what constitutes a person. 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:22.639 But he won some money, so I suppose that must have been a better answer than some of the other 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:23.400 ones that were submitted. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.979 There were lots of different ways at approaching this question. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.800 What becomes clear when you look at these videos is there's an enormous amount of disagreement 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.780 over what it means to be human. 00:02:35.780 --> 00:02:40.460 We can't really seem to achieve any kind of consensus. 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:48.699 Which is very interesting considering that this question and our beliefs about how we answer 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:53.539 this question literally undergird everything else. 00:02:55.300 --> 00:03:00.719 Everything flows from how we answer this question. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:07.840 How we treat other people is directly related to what it means to be a human being. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:10.900 Who do we consider to be people? 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:15.060 Who merits the status of human or person? 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:18.879 Is there some line of demarcation? 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.360 And will we ever extend that to animals? 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.479 Will we extend that to artificial intelligence? 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:28.780 It's here. 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:31.019 Eventually we will have to decide. 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.259 Do we confer the status and the rights of personhood on an artificially intelligent being? 00:03:36.399 --> 00:03:39.759 These are the questions that our generation is attempting to answer. 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:42.280 It all comes back to what does it mean to be a human being? 00:03:42.839 --> 00:03:44.879 What do we desire to become in our lives? 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:45.759 What's your aspiration? 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:49.000 What are you hoping to be in 20 years or 30 years? 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:50.919 Should God willing you live that long? 00:03:52.019 --> 00:03:53.620 Well, what does it mean to be a human being? 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:59.439 Wouldn't you hope that after 30 years you're more human than you are now, if anything? 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:07.439 How we approach everything from education to poverty to politics to sexuality to identity. 00:04:07.579 --> 00:04:09.280 It all flows out of this question. 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:13.579 And yet there's very little agreement on what it means to be a human being. 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:20.280 So this question is a part of our series that we're looking at Genesis, the opening chapters, 00:04:20.400 --> 00:04:22.759 and we're asking foundational questions. 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:25.740 And so this is our question for tonight. 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:27.580 Few could be bigger than this. 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:30.100 And we're going to look at this question in two parts. 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:32.600 And, you know, we could look at it in 20 parts if we wanted to. 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:38.100 But tonight is part one of trying to answer this question of what does it mean to be human. 00:04:38.280 --> 00:04:42.759 And we're looking at Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 to 31. 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:49.539 And we're going to get started tonight by looking first at the fact that we're made to reflect the image of God. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.360 And then we're going to look at, after we look at what that means, 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:59.560 we're going to look at the three implications of that for us to consider in our time today. 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:05.500 I will say this probably will get a little more political than is typical here at Advent. 00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:08.240 And that's not out of an attempt to be political. 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:11.639 We try to avoid the culture war as much as possible here. 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:13.539 We don't toe any party line here. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.180 We have people on both sides of the issue, whatever that issue is, 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:18.899 probably sitting in the pews right now. 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:19.919 So it's not about that. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:24.599 It's just about the fact that this question has inherently political implications. 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:29.019 And so to try to avoid that would be dishonest. 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.860 But that being said, I think we'll see that the implications cut straight through party lines. 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:38.900 So let's pray for the Lord to help us and then we'll get started. 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:47.860 Lord, we come to you with this question because we recognize that you're the one who made us. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:55.560 And our hope is that through your word we would come to discover who we are and what we are created to be. 00:05:55.560 --> 00:06:03.420 And we know that there is no better being to ask than our own author, the one who made us. 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:07.660 So Lord, would you speak to us through your word tonight because of your son Jesus. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:08.480 Amen. 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:15.319 So the first thing we want to do is just look at this passage and particularly this verse, 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:18.420 this opening verse, and consider what it means. 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:18.860 It says, 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:20.280 Then God said, 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:26.160 Let us make man in our image after our likeness. 00:06:26.259 --> 00:06:31.020 Now next week we're going to consider the plural there, the us, the our, 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:35.540 and what that says about human beings and the fact that we were created for relationships. 00:06:35.840 --> 00:06:39.900 But tonight our focus is on this word, image. 00:06:41.400 --> 00:06:41.960 Likeness. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.580 The word there for image is the Hebrew word, salem. 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:47.060 Salem. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.039 And salem is a fascinating word. 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:59.639 In the ancient Near East, it was inconceivable to have a temple, or rather it was inconceivable 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:01.500 to have a god without a temple. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:06.079 And it was inconceivable to have a temple without a god. 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:11.339 In other words, temples were the dwelling places of gods and goddesses. 00:07:12.039 --> 00:07:15.839 And a typical ancient Near Eastern temple would be a building and you would go into that building 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:17.459 and you believed that god lived there. 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:20.779 And in the middle of that building, at the place of the focal point of attention, 00:07:21.099 --> 00:07:22.179 would be the salem. 00:07:23.479 --> 00:07:24.139 The idol. 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.579 The representation of the god. 00:07:29.719 --> 00:07:34.679 And so you would go in and to worship or to do commerce or to have some kind of exchange with this deity, 00:07:34.799 --> 00:07:38.019 you would go into that deity's temple and go to the salem. 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:44.839 And when we say idol or representation, it's not necessarily a physical resemblance we're talking about. 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:48.959 John Walton, the Old Testament scholar, says, 00:07:48.959 --> 00:08:00.199 The image, the tzalem, is a physical manifestation of divine essence that bears the function of that which it represents. 00:08:00.659 --> 00:08:01.359 So he says, 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:09.199 This gives the image bearer the capacity to reflect the attributes of the one represented and act on his behalf. 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:12.819 So that's a tzalem. 00:08:12.899 --> 00:08:14.479 That's an ancient Near Eastern temple. 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:20.360 Now Walton, when he's looking at the creation story in Genesis, 00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:27.720 he helps us to understand that when we're reading this story, 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:33.200 what we're really seeing is not just that there is a god who's creating heavens and earth and all of this stuff, 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:35.680 but that there's a purpose for creation. 00:08:35.800 --> 00:08:36.740 And that purpose is this. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:38.500 God is building a temple. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:40.100 And you say, 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:40.960 Well, where's that temple? 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:43.300 It's everywhere. 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:43.459 Everywhere. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:51.359 The heavens and the earth, the mountains, the fields, the grass, the trees, the rivers, the oceans, the valleys. 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:53.439 It's all the temple. 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.059 That all of creation is this cosmic temple. 00:08:57.799 --> 00:08:58.959 Which begs the question, 00:08:59.079 --> 00:09:03.539 Well, if all of creation is the temple, then where is the idol, the image, the tzalem? 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:07.319 And the Bible would say, 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:07.939 Well, you're looking. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:09.319 You're looking at it. 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.379 That every person in the pews here, 00:09:12.459 --> 00:09:17.579 every person, every man, woman, and child in creation is the tzalem of God, 00:09:17.719 --> 00:09:19.699 the image bearer of God. 00:09:19.819 --> 00:09:23.339 Not necessarily in physical resemblance, 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:26.360 although that's a whole entirely different sermon. 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.659 But just what Walton says, 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:33.720 The capacity to reflect the attributes of the one represented. 00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:37.600 So when we talk about human beings bearing God's image, 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:48.720 there are essential aspects of God that are embodied and reflected in human beings, 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.500 in you and in me. 00:09:52.300 --> 00:09:56.639 Each and every human being reflects God's likeness or God's essence. 00:09:56.940 --> 00:09:59.680 And so when you think about that statement, 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:03.500 you've got to realize that the implications are vast for what this means. 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:04.440 They're vast. 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:08.540 We can't even begin to consider all of them. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:13.279 I do want to consider three implications of the fact that we bear God's image 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.500 and represent God's essence. 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:17.860 Simply by being human. 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:19.440 Simply by who you are. 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:21.300 You do this. 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:23.600 So the three implications I want to look at are this. 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:25.240 The nature of human life, 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:27.899 the sanctity of human life, 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:29.300 and the dignity of human life. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:32.259 So first, the nature of human life. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.460 When we talk about nature, 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:36.899 we talk about what essentially defines you. 00:10:37.800 --> 00:10:38.779 What defines you. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:40.860 And we need to think, 00:10:40.940 --> 00:10:44.200 what does this tell us about the nature of being a human being? 00:10:44.500 --> 00:10:46.539 Most people, when they think about human nature, 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:48.779 they think about, and they think about the world, 00:10:49.099 --> 00:10:51.259 they think in what you might call dualistic terms. 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:53.740 They think that there's the material, 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:55.959 and there's the spiritual. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.899 And that a human being, I'm a body, 00:10:59.779 --> 00:11:02.259 and I can choose to do spiritual things, 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:04.399 or to not do spiritual things. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.779 Some things I do, like coming and sitting at Church of the Advent, 00:11:06.779 --> 00:11:08.179 that's a spiritual thing. 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:11.000 But when I go ride my bike, 00:11:11.079 --> 00:11:11.959 or when I go for a walk, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.220 or when I go shopping at the store, 00:11:13.459 --> 00:11:14.459 or hang out and watch TV, 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:15.879 that's not a spiritual thing. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.480 We think in terms of external definitions, 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:19.819 and context. 00:11:20.779 --> 00:11:23.539 And we think of ourselves as being a body, 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:24.799 maybe with a soul, 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:25.639 or maybe if you, 00:11:26.839 --> 00:11:28.139 a related view is to say, 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:29.759 I'm a body with a soul and a mind, 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:31.459 or a body and a heart and a mind. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.079 There's lots of different ways that we define this. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:37.240 Now, we use a lot of this language kind of, 00:11:38.040 --> 00:11:41.800 to express things as euphemisms, 00:11:42.400 --> 00:11:43.740 to try to get across concepts. 00:11:43.900 --> 00:11:45.660 Psychologists use this kind of language a lot. 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:49.800 But the Bible actually says that they are one. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:52.100 In other words, 00:11:52.160 --> 00:11:55.180 there's no such thing as the material and the spiritual, 00:11:56.020 --> 00:11:58.420 that material and spiritual are the same 00:11:58.420 --> 00:12:01.480 when you're talking about a human being. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:04.620 When you're talking about a human being. 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:06.340 So it says, 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:08.580 human beings are not like the animals, 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:10.639 created each to their own kind, 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:12.420 which it says earlier in Genesis. 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:16.580 That human beings are not merely a body with a soul. 00:12:18.220 --> 00:12:19.980 We're not a body with a soul. 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:21.519 We're not a soul trapped in a body, 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:22.539 hoping to escape. 00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:25.300 That human beings are, 00:12:25.560 --> 00:12:27.440 that you are a body soul. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.020 You're a body soul. 00:12:31.880 --> 00:12:32.440 One. 00:12:33.540 --> 00:12:35.140 A union of essences, 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:36.760 spiritual and material, 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:37.720 as one. 00:12:38.520 --> 00:12:39.980 And where do you see this most clearly? 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:42.520 In Jesus himself. 00:12:44.040 --> 00:12:44.560 Right? 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:45.560 When Jesus was born, 00:12:45.680 --> 00:12:47.200 he was fully divine 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:49.100 and fully human. 00:12:49.420 --> 00:12:51.220 When Jesus lived and worked as a carpenter, 00:12:51.300 --> 00:12:53.140 he was fully divine and fully human. 00:12:53.640 --> 00:12:55.320 When Jesus taught in the synagogues 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:56.100 and on the streets, 00:12:56.580 --> 00:12:57.840 when he slept in the alleys, 00:12:57.879 --> 00:12:59.140 when he put his head on the rocks, 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:00.000 right? 00:13:00.040 --> 00:13:01.000 When he was spit on, 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:02.160 when he was yelled at, 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.520 he was doing so as both fully human 00:13:05.520 --> 00:13:06.379 and fully divine. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:07.300 When he died, 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:09.680 he was fully human and fully divine. 00:13:09.800 --> 00:13:10.900 When he rose from death, 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:12.879 he was fully human and fully divine. 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:14.080 He was both at the same time. 00:13:14.140 --> 00:13:15.180 There wasn't a part of him 00:13:15.180 --> 00:13:16.700 that was material 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:18.140 and part that was spiritual. 00:13:18.260 --> 00:13:19.280 It wasn't half and half. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:20.620 It's not 50-50. 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:22.620 100% divine, 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:24.519 100% human. 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:28.559 They make special emphasis of this 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:29.259 in the resurrection, 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:31.339 that he still had the holes in his hands, 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.179 that he still had the wound in his side, 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:34.379 that he still got hungry, 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:36.339 that he wanted to eat broiled fish. 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:37.519 These are details that tell us 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:41.159 this isn't just a spiritual image of Jesus. 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:42.699 This is Jesus' flesh and blood 00:13:42.699 --> 00:13:44.319 and spirit as one. 00:13:45.939 --> 00:13:47.459 And in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:49.800 Paul actually says the same will be true of us. 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:50.940 These bodies, 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.720 in some glorified way, 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:55.720 now maybe you think that's great, 00:13:55.800 --> 00:13:56.639 maybe you look at your body 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:57.060 and you say, 00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:58.120 well, that's kind of a bummer. 00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:00.940 In some glorified way 00:14:00.940 --> 00:14:02.120 that makes sense, 00:14:02.180 --> 00:14:03.500 that's amazing and beautiful, 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:07.340 these bodies are designed for eternity. 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:11.820 The eternal life is a physical, material life. 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:15.139 So we're not souls with a body, 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:16.500 we are body souls 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:17.860 and we need to understand 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:18.960 the implications of this, 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:19.879 what this means for us. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:21.080 What this means is simply this, 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:22.379 everything we do 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:24.879 is both physical and spiritual 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:26.500 as human beings. 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:27.759 This isn't something 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.139 that is true for animals, 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:30.500 it's not true about rocks, 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:31.919 but it's true about human beings. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:32.740 Everything you do 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:33.860 is spiritual and physical. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:36.500 So your diet and your exercise, 00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:40.580 the way you take care of 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:42.600 or don't take care of your body, 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.940 that's a spiritual thing 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:46.840 as well as a physical. 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:48.639 Right? 00:14:48.680 --> 00:14:49.360 When you eat well, 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:50.580 that's a spiritual choice 00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:51.259 that you're making. 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:52.320 Right? 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:53.080 When you eat junk, 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:54.060 that's a spiritual choice. 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:54.899 When you go for a run, 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:55.460 when you bike, 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:56.940 those are spiritual things 00:14:56.940 --> 00:14:57.639 that you're doing. 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:01.460 They're inherently so. 00:15:02.420 --> 00:15:04.259 This is also the foundation 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:06.100 for how we think about sex and intimacy. 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:07.500 Right? 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:08.620 Paul picks this up 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:09.279 in the New Testament 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:10.459 and this is really the root 00:15:10.459 --> 00:15:12.559 of the entire Christian understanding 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:13.559 of sexual ethics. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:15.199 And this is why Paul 00:15:15.199 --> 00:15:16.039 at several places 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:17.539 makes such a strong connection 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:19.319 between sexual immorality 00:15:19.319 --> 00:15:20.399 and idolatry. 00:15:21.699 --> 00:15:22.600 Because what we do 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:23.319 with our bodies 00:15:23.319 --> 00:15:24.639 is spiritual. 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:26.299 It has spiritual ramifications. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:28.879 So you can't put yourself 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:29.939 in a spiritual mode 00:15:29.939 --> 00:15:30.500 and meditate 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:31.579 or go to church 00:15:31.579 --> 00:15:32.799 or do yoga 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:35.600 or read a self-help book 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:36.459 or something spiritual 00:15:36.459 --> 00:15:37.459 and then you cut that off 00:15:37.459 --> 00:15:37.819 and you go 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:38.620 and you do something 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:39.500 with your body 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:40.300 or to your body 00:15:40.300 --> 00:15:41.360 with somebody else 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:42.520 and think that that doesn't have 00:15:42.520 --> 00:15:43.200 any connection 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:44.680 to your spiritual life. 00:15:46.640 --> 00:15:47.620 The break there 00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:48.460 is only something 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:49.440 that we're doing in our mind. 00:15:49.520 --> 00:15:50.740 It doesn't represent reality. 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:51.560 There's a continuity 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:53.440 between all of it. 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:56.660 Because we're body souls. 00:15:58.040 --> 00:15:58.440 Lastly, 00:15:58.540 --> 00:15:59.040 this influences 00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:00.060 the way we worship. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:02.400 Right? 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:03.480 Especially here in this church 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:07.060 when we raise our hands 00:16:07.060 --> 00:16:07.680 when we're singing, 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:09.860 that's not just about enthusiasm. 00:16:11.180 --> 00:16:11.379 Right? 00:16:12.520 --> 00:16:13.460 There's like two of us 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:14.180 that raise our hands 00:16:14.180 --> 00:16:14.640 when we worship. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:16.879 For those two, 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:18.520 for those two, 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:21.060 it's not just 00:16:21.060 --> 00:16:21.879 because you're enthusiastic. 00:16:22.400 --> 00:16:22.600 Right? 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:24.300 Now, you are enthusiastic. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:25.120 That's great. 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:26.280 But it's not about that. 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:27.220 When we kneel, 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:28.240 it's not just about 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:28.900 the pretense 00:16:28.900 --> 00:16:29.900 of a contrite heart. 00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:30.980 Right? 00:16:32.280 --> 00:16:33.280 What we're doing 00:16:33.280 --> 00:16:34.540 when we raise our hands 00:16:34.540 --> 00:16:35.280 when we praise 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:36.259 and when we kneel 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:37.699 when we confess our sin. 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:38.379 Right? 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:39.740 When we extend our hands 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:40.199 like this 00:16:40.199 --> 00:16:41.539 to receive the body and blood. 00:16:41.699 --> 00:16:42.740 When we hold our hands 00:16:42.740 --> 00:16:43.319 out like this 00:16:43.319 --> 00:16:44.279 when somebody's praying. 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:46.319 What we're doing there 00:16:46.319 --> 00:16:47.079 is we're making 00:16:47.079 --> 00:16:48.000 our body 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:49.639 congruent with our soul. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:52.659 We're making them 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:53.559 congruent. 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:54.559 We're saying, 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:56.079 my soul is praising God. 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:56.759 I want my body 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:57.959 to be congruent with that. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:16:59.459 My soul, 00:16:59.559 --> 00:16:59.879 my heart, 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:01.019 is broken over my sin. 00:17:01.079 --> 00:17:01.659 I want my body 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:02.899 to be congruent with that. 00:17:04.379 --> 00:17:05.519 And if you don't understand 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:06.379 the power of this, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:07.240 just try it. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:09.900 Try confessing, 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:10.940 standing with your hands 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:11.500 in your pockets 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:12.019 or leaning up 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:12.639 against the wall 00:17:12.639 --> 00:17:13.799 and then try getting down 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:14.319 on your face 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.000 and confessing. 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:15.639 And tell me 00:17:15.639 --> 00:17:16.339 if there's a difference. 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:19.240 Tell me what it feels like 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.099 when your body 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:21.019 and your soul 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:22.720 are congruent 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:23.740 rather than being 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:25.440 incongruent. 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:29.839 So the first thing 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:30.339 that we see 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:31.299 is that we are 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:32.359 body souls. 00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:33.240 This is an implication 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:33.679 of the fact 00:17:33.679 --> 00:17:34.279 that we're created 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:34.720 in the image 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:35.240 of a God 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:35.480 who, 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:36.599 when He made Himself 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:37.299 known to the world, 00:17:37.439 --> 00:17:39.679 came as a divine 00:17:39.679 --> 00:17:40.919 human being. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:44.720 So bearing God's image 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:45.259 means something 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:46.119 about our nature. 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:47.599 We're not merely animals. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:48.699 We're not merely spirit. 00:17:49.699 --> 00:17:50.819 We're body souls. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.379 The second implication 00:17:52.379 --> 00:17:53.539 of bearing God's image 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:54.179 is this, 00:17:54.939 --> 00:17:56.899 that there is a sacredness 00:17:56.899 --> 00:17:59.579 to human life. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:01.939 the word that we 00:18:01.939 --> 00:18:02.740 often hear 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:03.919 is the word sanctity. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:05.759 There's a sanctity 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:06.539 to human life. 00:18:08.199 --> 00:18:08.839 Every human life 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:09.339 is sacred 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:10.619 simply by virtue 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:12.500 of being human 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:13.559 because it represents 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:15.139 and reflects God 00:18:15.139 --> 00:18:16.259 in ways that 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:17.779 no other creature does. 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:21.379 So that image exists 00:18:21.379 --> 00:18:22.759 in every human being. 00:18:22.939 --> 00:18:23.379 It's passed 00:18:23.379 --> 00:18:24.399 from parent to child. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.620 And there's no point 00:18:27.620 --> 00:18:28.780 at which you begin 00:18:28.780 --> 00:18:29.780 to bear God's image. 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:30.360 It's not just 00:18:30.360 --> 00:18:31.060 the good people. 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:32.600 It's not just people 00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:33.360 of a certain age. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:34.400 It's everybody 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:35.900 bears God's image 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:36.920 to every human being. 00:18:38.280 --> 00:18:39.040 So what this means 00:18:39.040 --> 00:18:39.500 is what? 00:18:39.620 --> 00:18:40.560 There's no such thing 00:18:40.560 --> 00:18:41.380 as three-fifths 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:42.080 of a person. 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:45.080 Right? 00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:46.460 Like our forefathers said 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:48.580 back in the late 1700s, 00:18:49.120 --> 00:18:49.780 the three-fifths 00:18:49.780 --> 00:18:50.340 compromise. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:51.680 How do you deal 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:52.460 with slaves? 00:18:53.100 --> 00:18:54.060 How do you figure them 00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:54.820 into the population? 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:55.640 Well, you count them 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:56.600 as three-fifths 00:18:56.600 --> 00:18:57.279 of a person. 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:01.600 It's very easy, 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:02.420 a lot easier 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:03.060 to justify 00:19:03.060 --> 00:19:04.140 chattel slavery 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:04.980 where you consider 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:06.880 another human being 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:08.600 to be your property 00:19:08.600 --> 00:19:09.440 if that isn't 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:09.980 a human being 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:10.680 but rather just 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:11.259 three-fifths 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:12.039 of a human being. 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:13.960 Right? 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:14.400 This would say 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:15.240 absolutely not. 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.120 That person bears 00:19:16.120 --> 00:19:16.799 the image of God. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:17.600 They're a person, 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:18.700 not a fraction. 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:22.880 In Stalinist Russia 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:24.400 in 1937, 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:26.799 something happened 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:27.819 called the Great Terror. 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:30.640 And the Great Terror 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:31.400 was essentially 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.360 the government 00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:34.559 either executed 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:35.620 or imprisoned 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:37.480 close to half 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.360 a million people. 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:40.700 And you think about 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:41.460 somebody doing this 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:42.240 in their own country. 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:43.360 How do you execute 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:44.700 or imprison 00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:45.940 half a million people 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:47.160 and get away with it? 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:47.820 And it's because 00:19:47.820 --> 00:19:48.420 the government 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:49.180 had created 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:49.900 a category 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:50.820 years ago, 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:51.440 the category 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:52.980 of former person. 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:56.580 So some people 00:19:56.580 --> 00:19:57.140 went from being 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:57.740 persons 00:19:57.740 --> 00:19:59.300 to being former persons. 00:20:00.340 --> 00:20:01.720 This was conveniently 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:03.640 a very broad definition. 00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:07.340 Anyone who obstructed, 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:09.000 anyone who got in the way, 00:20:09.320 --> 00:20:10.500 anyone who was educated enough 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:10.960 to question 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.540 what the government 00:20:11.540 --> 00:20:12.019 was doing, 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:13.380 anyone who owned land 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:15.100 or was wealthy enough 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:15.959 to push against 00:20:15.959 --> 00:20:18.500 the socialist regime, 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:19.859 anybody that, 00:20:19.959 --> 00:20:21.119 anybody that in any way 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:21.819 was an obstacle 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:22.699 to the agenda 00:20:22.699 --> 00:20:23.339 that the government 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:24.159 was putting forward 00:20:24.159 --> 00:20:25.279 was categorized 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:26.659 as a former person. 00:20:29.159 --> 00:20:30.599 So it's a very intentional 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:31.519 way to do what? 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:32.599 To make sure 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:33.559 that empathy, 00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:35.399 that public empathy, 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:36.839 doesn't get in the way. 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:39.079 Because empathy 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:39.959 is really problematic 00:20:39.959 --> 00:20:40.959 if you're shipping 00:20:40.959 --> 00:20:41.439 people off 00:20:41.439 --> 00:20:42.399 to a labor camp 00:20:42.399 --> 00:20:43.240 or shooting them 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:43.839 in the street. 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:45.220 You want people 00:20:45.220 --> 00:20:46.079 to look the other way 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:46.659 and so what do you do? 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:46.899 You say, 00:20:46.959 --> 00:20:47.859 well this isn't a person, 00:20:48.159 --> 00:20:49.500 it's a former person. 00:20:50.459 --> 00:20:50.699 Oh, 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:51.359 in that case. 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:56.159 So you have a government 00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:56.980 that deals with people 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:58.159 who are inconveniently 00:20:58.959 --> 00:20:59.740 standing in the way 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:00.259 of the agenda 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.159 by removing their status 00:21:02.159 --> 00:21:04.379 as human beings 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:05.660 and then killing them 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:06.180 and you think 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:07.160 it's unbelievable 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:08.140 that anyone 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:09.520 could let this happen. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:11.520 It's still happening. 00:21:12.320 --> 00:21:13.860 It's still happening today. 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:15.600 It's still happening 00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:16.580 in our country. 00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:19.660 Roughly 3,000 deaths 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:21.460 per day 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:22.140 in our country 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:23.800 which is like 9-11 00:21:23.800 --> 00:21:25.240 every day. 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:27.140 But again, 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:27.960 we don't use the word 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:28.820 human beings 00:21:28.820 --> 00:21:30.400 to describe these people. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.420 They're unwanted pregnancies. 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:34.640 You know, 00:21:34.660 --> 00:21:35.820 it sounds more 00:21:35.820 --> 00:21:37.140 like a medical condition 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:38.160 when you put it that way. 00:21:38.260 --> 00:21:39.040 It sounds like 00:21:39.040 --> 00:21:39.640 an illness 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:41.380 that needs to be cured. 00:21:42.600 --> 00:21:43.420 And it helps us 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:44.020 deal with the whole 00:21:44.020 --> 00:21:44.960 empathy problem. 00:21:46.760 --> 00:21:47.480 It helps us 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:48.400 to look the other way 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:49.600 and to flip to the next story 00:21:49.600 --> 00:21:50.400 in our news feed. 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:50.840 Now, 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:51.220 you know, 00:21:51.260 --> 00:21:52.360 I know when I bring this up 00:21:52.360 --> 00:21:53.560 it makes you recoil. 00:21:54.840 --> 00:21:55.380 Most people 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:56.080 who come to this church 00:21:56.080 --> 00:21:56.640 come to the church 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:57.320 because they're trying 00:21:57.320 --> 00:21:58.260 to get away from 00:21:58.260 --> 00:21:59.660 the culture war 00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:00.380 and now you're thinking 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:00.980 what's happening? 00:22:01.040 --> 00:22:01.520 What's happening? 00:22:02.020 --> 00:22:02.760 Why are we talking 00:22:02.760 --> 00:22:03.360 about this? 00:22:04.380 --> 00:22:05.480 And there's a lot 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:06.040 of anxiety 00:22:06.040 --> 00:22:07.180 and rightly so 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.060 because the culture war 00:22:08.060 --> 00:22:08.920 is mind-numbing. 00:22:10.100 --> 00:22:10.760 Nobody wants 00:22:10.760 --> 00:22:11.600 to get into that. 00:22:13.760 --> 00:22:14.380 Some of us 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:15.400 instinctively hate that. 00:22:15.520 --> 00:22:16.060 Some of us, 00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:17.740 I know a fair number 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:18.000 of us, 00:22:18.040 --> 00:22:19.300 have had abortions. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.220 And so this comes up 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:21.700 and immediately 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:22.760 your walls come up 00:22:22.760 --> 00:22:23.280 and you just want 00:22:23.280 --> 00:22:24.140 to shut it all out 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:25.660 and go to the bathroom 00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:26.740 and just not come back. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:28.580 And I understand that 00:22:28.580 --> 00:22:30.840 and I want to address 00:22:30.840 --> 00:22:32.400 that this way 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:33.360 and basically say 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.019 there's no thing 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:35.799 that we've done, 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:36.879 there's no act, 00:22:36.979 --> 00:22:37.740 there's no choice, 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:38.699 there's no thought 00:22:38.699 --> 00:22:41.439 that is more powerful 00:22:41.439 --> 00:22:43.379 than the cross of Christ. 00:22:44.479 --> 00:22:45.219 There's nothing 00:22:45.219 --> 00:22:45.919 that we can do 00:22:45.919 --> 00:22:46.839 that is more powerful 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:47.539 than that. 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:49.740 And so because of that 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:50.399 at the foot of the cross 00:22:50.399 --> 00:22:51.279 there is no place 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:51.839 for shame. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:52.819 There's no place 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:53.219 for guilt. 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:54.399 They don't belong there. 00:22:56.439 --> 00:22:57.639 They don't exist there. 00:22:57.640 --> 00:22:58.480 They can't 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:00.800 because of the cross. 00:23:02.700 --> 00:23:03.700 There's so much 00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:04.480 abundant grace 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.120 and mercy there. 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:06.060 There's no place 00:23:06.060 --> 00:23:07.060 for shame and guilt. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:08.759 There is only the hope 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:10.460 of the newness of life 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:10.940 that comes 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:12.340 when we fall before Christ. 00:23:13.300 --> 00:23:14.660 And we know it is ours 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:15.500 for the taking. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:17.000 So that's not 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:17.800 what this is about. 00:23:18.020 --> 00:23:19.980 This is not about shame. 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:21.600 But here's what it's about. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.079 We cannot talk about 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:25.619 the sanctity of human life 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:27.679 without talking about 00:23:27.679 --> 00:23:29.240 this issue in our culture. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.179 It would be criminally negligent 00:23:31.179 --> 00:23:32.579 to do that. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:33.719 And here's the thing. 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:34.740 Even if you're not a believer 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:35.259 and some of you 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:35.919 are not believers 00:23:35.919 --> 00:23:37.179 and some of you maybe are 00:23:37.179 --> 00:23:37.659 and maybe you have 00:23:37.659 --> 00:23:39.559 very different thinking on this. 00:23:40.179 --> 00:23:40.459 And again, 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:41.279 that's a great thing 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:42.339 about Advent, right? 00:23:45.699 --> 00:23:47.379 But even if you're not a believer, 00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:48.039 even if you believe 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:48.719 there's no God, 00:23:48.899 --> 00:23:51.579 the science compels us 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:53.220 to talk about this. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:53.679 You know, 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.159 since Roe versus Wade, 00:23:55.939 --> 00:23:57.740 there have been more than 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:59.199 58 million abortions 00:23:59.199 --> 00:23:59.960 in our country. 00:24:01.639 --> 00:24:02.599 58 million. 00:24:05.379 --> 00:24:06.419 Since then, 00:24:06.919 --> 00:24:08.039 that was a long time ago, 00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:09.519 we've learned a lot 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.579 about what goes on 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:13.059 in the womb. 00:24:13.179 --> 00:24:13.639 For instance, 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:15.079 we didn't used to have, 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:16.240 when Roe versus Wade was passed, 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:17.240 we didn't used to have 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:18.720 3D sonograms. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:20.480 Right? 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.880 So we couldn't see 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:22.660 the face 00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:25.480 of an 8-week-old child 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.720 smiling at us. 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:28.839 We couldn't see that 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:30.539 years ago. 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:31.319 We just didn't have 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:31.880 the technology. 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:34.140 We couldn't see a child 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:34.980 at 8 weeks 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:36.440 sucking their thumb. 00:24:38.620 --> 00:24:39.819 We weren't even sure 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:41.180 if they had thumbs, 00:24:41.620 --> 00:24:42.620 much less thought 00:24:42.620 --> 00:24:43.539 to do anything with them. 00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:44.059 They do. 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:46.400 But we couldn't see that. 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:47.500 Right? 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:48.920 We couldn't see that 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:50.059 a child at 8 weeks, 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:51.339 when the doctors go in 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:51.859 with a needle 00:24:51.859 --> 00:24:53.299 to try to extract fluid, 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:53.980 that the child, 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:54.900 if that needle touches 00:24:54.900 --> 00:24:55.420 the child, 00:24:55.700 --> 00:24:56.640 that the child will actually 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:57.400 at 8 weeks 00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:58.920 instinctively recoil 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:00.099 and get away from the needle 00:25:00.099 --> 00:25:01.039 because that child 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.039 can feel pain. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.720 We didn't know that 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:04.640 back then. 00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:06.000 Science has told us 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:06.500 that now. 00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:07.740 We're learning 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:08.759 things like this. 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:11.940 And yet, 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:12.379 right now, 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:15.319 95% of abortion providers 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:17.000 will perform an abortion 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:17.619 at 8 weeks. 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:19.940 So now, 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:20.859 I know that there are 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:23.180 situations of rape, 00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:24.720 horrible situations, 00:25:24.900 --> 00:25:26.119 incredibly complicated, 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:29.019 1% of those situations. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:29.920 Right? 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:30.980 1% of abortions 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:31.900 due to those situations. 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:33.940 And that's an unspeakably 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:34.359 horrible, 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:35.660 an unspeakably complex 00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:36.220 situation. 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:36.740 Right? 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:38.740 And I know for a lot of people, 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:39.099 you know, 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:40.339 the health of the mother 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:41.579 is of some concern. 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:43.740 Very complicated issue there. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.339 12% of abortions. 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:46.539 Health of the mother 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:47.180 is a concern. 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:50.140 But statistically speaking, 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:51.620 the majority of abortions, 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:52.779 the vast majority 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:53.480 of abortions 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:54.299 that are performed 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:54.980 every year 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:56.240 are not because 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:57.079 of these issues. 00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:57.980 They're primarily 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.900 for convenience. 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:01.759 I wasn't ready 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:02.620 to have another one yet. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:03.539 I thought it would 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:04.220 interfere too much 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:05.019 with my work. 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:05.720 I thought it would 00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:06.380 interfere... 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:07.560 interfere too much 00:26:07.560 --> 00:26:08.440 with where I'm hoping 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:09.520 to go in my job. 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:10.340 I thought it would 00:26:10.340 --> 00:26:11.480 interfere too much 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:12.460 with where our family is 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:13.660 and the lifestyle 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:14.740 that we've gotten used to. 00:26:14.800 --> 00:26:15.420 I thought it would be 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:16.660 too hard and demanding. 00:26:16.820 --> 00:26:18.640 I'm having some marital issues 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:19.400 with my spouse 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:19.920 and I'm not sure 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:20.360 if we're ready 00:26:20.360 --> 00:26:21.060 to add that 00:26:21.060 --> 00:26:22.620 to our plate. 00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:24.440 These kinds of issues, 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:25.420 the vast majority. 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:28.280 And we're lying 00:26:28.280 --> 00:26:28.860 to ourselves 00:26:28.860 --> 00:26:29.380 if we think 00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:30.040 this is primarily 00:26:30.040 --> 00:26:31.220 a medical issue. 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:32.880 It's about the exaltation 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:34.620 of the self. 00:26:34.800 --> 00:26:35.260 It's about, 00:26:35.259 --> 00:26:36.000 I'm going to do 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.519 my life my way. 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:39.640 Don't get in my way. 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:41.160 So when we think 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:41.599 about this, 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:42.960 we look at 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:43.960 Stalinist Russia 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:44.799 and anybody 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:45.980 who gets in the way, 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:47.440 they label 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.759 a former person 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:50.019 and they do away 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:50.319 with him. 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:50.740 How are we 00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:51.220 any different? 00:26:54.099 --> 00:26:54.680 Now I know 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:55.180 some of you 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:56.039 are hearing this. 00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:56.480 You're writing 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:57.339 all of this off 00:26:57.339 --> 00:26:58.619 even as I say it. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:00.799 The walls are up 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:01.259 and you're saying, 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:01.879 well this is just 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:02.960 another conservative 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.840 and this is just 00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:06.100 another pro-life rant 00:27:06.100 --> 00:27:07.800 and that's not me 00:27:07.800 --> 00:27:08.300 and that's not 00:27:08.300 --> 00:27:08.940 what I'm about 00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:10.280 and there's lots 00:27:10.280 --> 00:27:10.580 of things 00:27:10.580 --> 00:27:11.340 that aren't being said 00:27:11.340 --> 00:27:11.800 and so I'm just 00:27:11.800 --> 00:27:13.280 going to shut this out. 00:27:13.340 --> 00:27:14.180 I'm glad you're here. 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:18.040 But I'll tell you 00:27:18.040 --> 00:27:18.440 something. 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:20.920 I'm not pro-life. 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:23.860 I'm not pro-life. 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:26.640 I'm not pro-choice. 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.259 I'm a follower 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:30.120 of Jesus Christ. 00:27:31.800 --> 00:27:32.560 Okay, I'm not 00:27:32.560 --> 00:27:33.519 a pro-lifer. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:34.600 I'm not a pro-choicer. 00:27:35.060 --> 00:27:35.900 I'm a Christian. 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:39.580 It's not enough 00:27:39.580 --> 00:27:40.820 for you to claim a camp. 00:27:41.360 --> 00:27:42.140 It's not enough 00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:43.140 for you to say 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:44.380 I'm just pro-life 00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:45.720 and this is what I think 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:46.600 and we need to take 00:27:46.600 --> 00:27:47.500 Planned Parenthood out 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:48.640 and that's the solution. 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:50.279 It's not enough 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:50.779 for you to say 00:27:50.779 --> 00:27:51.700 I'm pro-choice 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:52.700 and I disagree with all that 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:53.619 and these are more complicated 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:54.779 and I'm for the rights 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:55.160 of the woman 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:56.220 and I think that's more important. 00:27:58.299 --> 00:27:59.079 It's not enough 00:27:59.079 --> 00:27:59.960 to claim a camp. 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:01.339 Frankly, it's lazy. 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:03.920 But here it's dangerous. 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:04.279 Why? 00:28:04.399 --> 00:28:05.279 Because our culture 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:06.339 has created 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:07.579 a false dichotomy. 00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:09.859 A false dichotomy. 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:11.440 You're either 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.579 for the rights 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:13.960 of the child 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.599 to survive 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:15.920 or you're for 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:16.539 the rights 00:28:16.539 --> 00:28:17.339 of the mother 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:18.119 to choose 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:19.859 and you have to decide. 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:20.559 You're either 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:21.139 going to fight 00:28:21.139 --> 00:28:22.319 the war on women 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:23.299 or you're going to fight 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:24.519 the war on the unborn. 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:25.799 You have to choose. 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.639 And as Christians, 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:27.299 listen friends, 00:28:27.539 --> 00:28:28.759 we don't get the luxury 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.519 of choosing. 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:31.899 Our faith, 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:32.639 our God, 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:33.219 our Savior 00:28:33.219 --> 00:28:33.879 doesn't let us 00:28:33.879 --> 00:28:34.899 off that easy. 00:28:35.679 --> 00:28:37.059 We can't just pick a side 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:37.819 and check a box 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.479 and be done 00:28:38.479 --> 00:28:40.599 because when we look 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:40.979 at this 00:28:40.979 --> 00:28:42.379 we see what's really happening. 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:43.339 Do you know 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:44.039 what's really happening? 00:28:44.379 --> 00:28:45.039 Our culture, 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:47.720 our culture 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:48.319 has pitted 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:48.759 the widow 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:49.559 against the orphan. 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:53.859 It's pitted 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:54.240 the widow 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:54.960 against the orphan. 00:28:57.579 --> 00:28:58.200 We're told 00:28:58.200 --> 00:28:58.899 to choose. 00:29:02.379 --> 00:29:03.240 Do you fight 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:03.759 for the rights 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:04.460 of the child? 00:29:05.379 --> 00:29:06.500 I pick the orphan. 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:09.000 An orphan 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:09.920 in the biblical time 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:10.559 is just any 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:11.460 unwanted child. 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.740 Born or unborn, 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:15.539 unwanted 00:29:15.539 --> 00:29:16.440 makes you an orphan. 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.200 Parentless 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:17.980 makes you an orphan. 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:21.660 And you either say 00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:22.200 I choose 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:23.099 to support 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:23.680 the orphan 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.099 but I do so 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:25.620 knowing that 00:29:25.620 --> 00:29:26.099 there are a lot 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:27.019 of women out there 00:29:27.019 --> 00:29:28.279 primarily, 00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:29.620 primarily 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:30.400 single women. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:32.400 The vast majority 00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:34.059 primarily 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:35.279 African American women, 00:29:35.380 --> 00:29:35.960 women of color 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:36.880 are still 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.579 five times 00:29:37.579 --> 00:29:38.160 more likely 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:39.640 to get an abortion. 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.980 The vast majority 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:43.500 of, 00:29:44.099 --> 00:29:45.299 or the majority 00:29:45.299 --> 00:29:46.140 of aborted children 00:29:46.140 --> 00:29:46.700 in our country 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:47.440 are African American 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:47.940 babies. 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:49.900 Babies of color. 00:29:51.120 --> 00:29:51.539 So you say 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:52.579 black lives matter? 00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:53.039 Yes, 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:54.380 including unborn 00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:55.120 black lives. 00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:56.539 They all matter. 00:29:58.779 --> 00:29:59.640 So you choose, 00:29:59.680 --> 00:29:59.900 you know, 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:00.900 you choose the orphan 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.539 and you say 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:02.160 well I'm going to 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:02.620 choose the orphan 00:30:02.620 --> 00:30:03.160 but I know 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:03.660 that it's going to 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:04.059 take people 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:05.000 who are impoverished 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:05.559 and don't have 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:06.259 education 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:06.860 because they can't 00:30:06.860 --> 00:30:07.339 go to school 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:07.860 because they're 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:08.940 caring for multiple 00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:09.259 kids 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:09.880 and it's going to 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:10.519 add another 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:11.660 kid on there. 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:12.040 It's going to 00:30:12.040 --> 00:30:12.560 maybe make them 00:30:12.560 --> 00:30:13.200 more poor. 00:30:13.300 --> 00:30:13.540 It's going to 00:30:13.540 --> 00:30:13.820 make them 00:30:13.820 --> 00:30:14.519 more vulnerable. 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:15.060 It's going to 00:30:15.060 --> 00:30:15.500 make their life 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.200 that much harder. 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:16.759 It's going to 00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:17.080 make them 00:30:17.080 --> 00:30:18.160 more vulnerable 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:19.100 to exploitation 00:30:19.100 --> 00:30:20.300 and you're going 00:30:20.300 --> 00:30:20.960 to do that 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:22.779 because of a baby? 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:23.660 Because of a fetus? 00:30:25.540 --> 00:30:26.240 Or you say 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:26.940 okay well I 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:27.920 choose the widow. 00:30:28.620 --> 00:30:29.240 A widow in the 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:29.720 Bible is just 00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:30.740 a vulnerable woman. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:31.680 Right? 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:32.500 A widow in the 00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:33.040 biblical times 00:30:33.040 --> 00:30:33.519 was the most 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.279 vulnerable person 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:34.900 there was. 00:30:35.080 --> 00:30:35.600 Somebody who has 00:30:35.600 --> 00:30:36.340 no power, 00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:37.340 no resources, 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:38.080 no rights. 00:30:38.560 --> 00:30:39.200 That's a widow. 00:30:39.860 --> 00:30:40.140 And you say 00:30:40.140 --> 00:30:40.660 well I choose 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:41.640 the widow and 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:41.980 I'm going to 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:42.460 fight for the 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:43.080 widow but at 00:30:43.080 --> 00:30:43.900 the expense 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.420 of what? 00:30:45.820 --> 00:30:46.259 Countless 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:48.620 image bearing 00:30:48.620 --> 00:30:49.700 human beings 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:50.460 lost. 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.300 When I read 00:30:54.300 --> 00:30:55.120 James 1 27 00:30:55.120 --> 00:30:55.960 I don't see 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:56.360 that we have 00:30:56.360 --> 00:30:56.940 a choice. 00:30:58.620 --> 00:30:59.259 Religion that 00:30:59.259 --> 00:30:59.980 is pure and 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:00.820 undefiled before 00:31:00.820 --> 00:31:01.700 God the Father 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:02.820 is this to care 00:31:02.820 --> 00:31:03.519 for orphans 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:04.580 and widows 00:31:04.580 --> 00:31:05.340 in their affliction. 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:06.140 To care for 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:07.180 orphans and 00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:07.620 widows. 00:31:08.040 --> 00:31:08.480 Both. 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:09.340 It's not one or 00:31:09.340 --> 00:31:09.600 the other. 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:10.279 It's both. 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:10.660 And unless 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:10.960 we're doing 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:11.859 both it's 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:12.500 insufficient. 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:13.660 It's 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:14.259 insufficient. 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.259 Amen. 00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:25.139 Unwanted 00:31:25.139 --> 00:31:25.619 children, 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:26.819 vulnerable 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:27.220 women, 00:31:28.019 --> 00:31:28.539 orphans, 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:29.940 widows. 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:30.920 What does 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:31.359 this mean 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:31.960 friends, 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:32.399 Christians? 00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:33.399 We need 00:31:33.399 --> 00:31:34.079 to be involved 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:34.879 at every 00:31:34.879 --> 00:31:35.519 stage. 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:37.440 At every 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:38.019 stage. 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:38.059 church. 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:39.240 You can't 00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.700 just rant 00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:39.940 against 00:31:39.940 --> 00:31:40.480 Planned 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:40.940 Parenthood. 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:42.700 We've got 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:43.299 to be doing 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:43.900 everything we 00:31:43.900 --> 00:31:44.519 can as 00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:44.900 Christians, 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:45.259 as a 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:45.639 community, 00:31:45.639 --> 00:31:46.839 to love and 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:47.480 to support and 00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:47.980 care for the 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:48.920 single moms. 00:31:49.639 --> 00:31:50.359 We need to be 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:50.859 doing everything 00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:51.559 we can to 00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:52.119 resource, 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:53.440 to make our 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:54.000 community the 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.680 kind of place 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:55.379 where, as it 00:31:55.379 --> 00:31:55.940 was in the 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:56.900 early church, 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:57.960 a widow with 00:31:57.960 --> 00:31:58.940 children that 00:31:58.940 --> 00:31:59.319 she couldn't 00:31:59.319 --> 00:31:59.839 care for on 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:00.240 her own could 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:00.740 come in and 00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:01.160 know that her 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:01.579 needs would be 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:02.019 met there, 00:32:02.139 --> 00:32:02.480 that they would 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:03.740 be her family. 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:04.240 We need to 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:04.779 be doing 00:32:04.779 --> 00:32:05.400 everything we 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:05.980 can in the 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:06.920 area of 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:07.660 prevention, 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:08.859 preventing unwanted 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:09.740 pregnancies from 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:10.460 occurring. 00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:11.019 We need to be 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.720 doing everything 00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:12.380 we can in the 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:13.259 areas of foster 00:32:13.259 --> 00:32:14.019 care and 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:14.480 adoption. 00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:15.079 We need to be 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:15.700 doing everything 00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:16.559 at all levels 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:17.039 to make sure 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:17.380 that we are 00:32:17.380 --> 00:32:18.339 holistically caring 00:32:18.339 --> 00:32:19.160 for both the 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:19.759 widow and the 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.039 orphan. 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:21.059 Nothing less 00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:21.839 will do, 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:22.160 and we 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:23.099 shouldn't stop. 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:23.599 We cannot 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:26.220 stop until the 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:26.539 number of 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:27.160 abortions in our 00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:27.720 country is 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.099 zero. 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:31.400 Nobody that I 00:32:31.400 --> 00:32:32.539 know likes the 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:33.339 idea of abortion. 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:34.740 The most 00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:35.759 staunch pro-choice 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.220 person doesn't 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:38.079 love the idea of 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:38.339 abortion. 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:38.819 Maybe some 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:39.299 people are out 00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:39.700 there, maybe 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:40.420 they do exist. 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:40.839 I don't know 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:41.339 anybody like 00:32:41.339 --> 00:32:41.599 that. 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:42.420 We probably 00:32:42.420 --> 00:32:42.680 wouldn't get 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:43.079 along very 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:43.279 well. 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:45.880 But we 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:46.539 cannot stop 00:32:46.539 --> 00:32:47.039 until the 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:47.759 rate of 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:48.740 abortions is 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:49.160 zero. 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:50.599 Because if 00:32:50.599 --> 00:32:51.099 we're made in 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:51.680 the image of 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:52.700 God and every 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:53.559 life is sacred, 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:54.220 this needs to 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:55.059 radically impact 00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:55.720 how we think 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:56.359 about everything 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:57.940 from slavery to 00:32:57.940 --> 00:32:58.859 abortion to the 00:32:58.859 --> 00:32:59.759 death penalty to 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:00.460 euthanasia, 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:01.740 everything. 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:05.339 The last 00:33:05.339 --> 00:33:05.680 point I'll 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:06.220 make is this, 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:06.660 and it's very 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:07.059 short. 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:07.620 It's not 00:33:07.620 --> 00:33:08.220 enough just to 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.620 talk about this 00:33:09.620 --> 00:33:10.400 from a rights 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:10.980 perspective. 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:11.660 The third and 00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:12.500 final implication 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.240 is simply this, 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:15.500 that by virtue of 00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:16.000 the fact that we're 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:16.660 human beings, 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:17.500 not only does that 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:18.039 speak to our 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:19.680 nature and to the 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:20.400 sanctity of human 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:20.960 life, but it 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:21.640 speaks to human 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:22.120 dignity. 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:23.880 Human dignity. 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:25.120 Bearing God's 00:33:25.120 --> 00:33:25.920 image confers a 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:27.180 basic, undeniable 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:28.759 dignity to human 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:29.140 life. 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:31.060 Every human 00:33:31.060 --> 00:33:32.080 being bears God's 00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:33.040 image, and 00:33:33.040 --> 00:33:33.880 although it's 00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:34.700 become distorted 00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:35.360 in us, it's 00:33:35.360 --> 00:33:37.900 still there, but 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:38.500 we cannot deny 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:39.200 the worth of 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:39.940 every human 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:40.900 being in every 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:42.000 human life. 00:33:42.080 --> 00:33:42.640 What this means 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:43.280 is simply this, 00:33:43.340 --> 00:33:43.759 that Christians 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:44.280 should be the 00:33:44.280 --> 00:33:45.140 greatest champions 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:46.540 of human dignity 00:33:46.540 --> 00:33:47.660 in the world. 00:33:48.900 --> 00:33:49.600 The greatest 00:33:49.600 --> 00:33:50.240 champions of 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:50.820 human dignity. 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:52.020 A lot of you 00:33:52.020 --> 00:33:52.400 are here because 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:52.960 you care about 00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:53.360 rights. 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:53.840 A lot of you 00:33:53.840 --> 00:33:54.200 are here because 00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:55.040 you fight for 00:33:55.040 --> 00:33:55.960 rights for other 00:33:55.960 --> 00:33:56.520 people who don't 00:33:56.520 --> 00:33:56.900 have them. 00:33:57.100 --> 00:33:57.759 That's amazing. 00:33:57.920 --> 00:33:58.520 Christians need to 00:33:58.520 --> 00:33:59.100 be doing that. 00:33:59.140 --> 00:33:59.740 And a lot of you 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:00.280 are passionate 00:34:00.280 --> 00:34:01.280 about that. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:02.120 But here's the 00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:02.300 thing. 00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:03.240 You cannot have 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:03.780 human rights 00:34:03.780 --> 00:34:04.300 without human 00:34:04.300 --> 00:34:04.640 dignity. 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:06.660 The whole concept 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:07.320 of human rights 00:34:07.320 --> 00:34:08.880 flows from the 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:09.640 belief of the 00:34:09.640 --> 00:34:10.660 inherent worth and 00:34:10.660 --> 00:34:11.559 dignity of a 00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:12.059 human being. 00:34:12.180 --> 00:34:12.599 Where does that 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:13.140 come from? 00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:14.420 The belief that 00:34:14.420 --> 00:34:14.960 that human being 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.800 is created in the 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:16.460 image of God. 00:34:18.420 --> 00:34:19.500 Because we as 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.480 Christians believe 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:21.720 this, we should 00:34:21.720 --> 00:34:22.680 strive to protect 00:34:22.680 --> 00:34:24.420 the dignity, the 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:25.280 inherent worth of 00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:26.160 every human life. 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:27.180 And I'll put it 00:34:27.180 --> 00:34:27.440 this way. 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:28.220 Rights are not 00:34:28.220 --> 00:34:28.680 enough. 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:29.739 Rights are not 00:34:29.739 --> 00:34:30.179 enough. 00:34:31.319 --> 00:34:31.460 Right? 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.219 Fighting for the 00:34:32.219 --> 00:34:33.279 rights of minorities 00:34:33.279 --> 00:34:35.519 to work is 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:36.519 necessary, but it's 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:37.139 not sufficient. 00:34:38.259 --> 00:34:39.399 Fighting to ensure 00:34:39.399 --> 00:34:40.299 that women are paid 00:34:40.299 --> 00:34:41.139 as much as men 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:43.099 equally, that's 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:43.619 necessary. 00:34:43.759 --> 00:34:44.299 Christians need to 00:34:44.299 --> 00:34:44.839 be doing that, but 00:34:44.839 --> 00:34:45.779 that's not sufficient. 00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:46.839 Right? 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:47.719 Fighting to make sure 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:48.379 people are not 00:34:48.379 --> 00:34:49.379 discriminated against 00:34:49.379 --> 00:34:50.699 based on color or 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:51.659 gender or sexual 00:34:51.659 --> 00:34:52.839 orientation or 00:34:52.839 --> 00:34:54.619 religion, that's 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:55.299 necessary. 00:34:55.539 --> 00:34:56.239 Christians should be 00:34:56.239 --> 00:34:57.119 doing that, but it's 00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:57.799 not sufficient. 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:00.099 Christians should 00:35:00.099 --> 00:35:01.599 not only lead the 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:02.539 change in all of 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:03.460 these areas, we 00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:04.339 should go way 00:35:04.339 --> 00:35:05.799 beyond it, way 00:35:05.799 --> 00:35:06.480 beyond it. 00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:07.980 And here's why. 00:35:10.179 --> 00:35:10.880 Rights are 00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:11.980 medicine, but 00:35:11.980 --> 00:35:12.859 they're not food. 00:35:15.179 --> 00:35:16.619 Rights can protect 00:35:16.619 --> 00:35:18.659 you against harm and 00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:20.179 discrimination, but 00:35:20.179 --> 00:35:21.179 they're not generative. 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:23.139 They don't build you 00:35:23.139 --> 00:35:23.500 up. 00:35:24.139 --> 00:35:25.000 They don't create 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:25.839 something in you 00:35:25.839 --> 00:35:27.219 that's more than 00:35:27.219 --> 00:35:28.879 there was before, but 00:35:28.879 --> 00:35:29.319 guess what? 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.199 Dignity can. 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:33.259 Rights don't make you 00:35:33.259 --> 00:35:34.539 more human, they just 00:35:34.539 --> 00:35:35.339 try to prevent you 00:35:35.339 --> 00:35:36.259 from becoming less 00:35:36.259 --> 00:35:36.579 human. 00:35:37.379 --> 00:35:39.219 But dignity can make 00:35:39.219 --> 00:35:40.940 a person more human. 00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:43.319 Dignity is humanizing. 00:35:43.460 --> 00:35:44.239 It has the power to 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:45.579 humanize people, to 00:35:45.579 --> 00:35:46.719 remind them that they 00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:47.799 are more than meat, 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:49.039 more than cosmic 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:50.440 accidents, to remind 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:51.079 them that they have an 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:53.380 inherent worth. 00:35:54.940 --> 00:35:56.139 So as Christians, we 00:35:56.139 --> 00:35:57.440 more than anyone else 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:59.159 should strive to ensure 00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:00.019 that everyone is 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:02.259 treated not only in a 00:36:02.259 --> 00:36:03.340 way that upholds their 00:36:03.340 --> 00:36:04.659 rights, but with 00:36:04.659 --> 00:36:06.460 dignity and the 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:07.239 respect that they 00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:09.159 deserve simply by 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:10.099 virtue of being human 00:36:10.099 --> 00:36:10.539 beings. 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:13.279 So we've got to close 00:36:13.279 --> 00:36:13.480 here. 00:36:13.539 --> 00:36:14.340 I told you there was 00:36:14.340 --> 00:36:16.039 two parts to this, and 00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:17.239 this has been the 00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:17.739 first part. 00:36:17.799 --> 00:36:18.699 I'll just end by saying 00:36:18.699 --> 00:36:18.960 this. 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.699 What does it mean to be 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:20.099 human? 00:36:21.879 --> 00:36:23.059 For starters, it means 00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:23.899 that we're created in 00:36:23.899 --> 00:36:24.899 the image of God, which 00:36:24.899 --> 00:36:26.139 means in our nature we 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:27.159 are body souls. 00:36:27.359 --> 00:36:29.139 Everything that we do is 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:30.039 not only physical but 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:30.419 spiritual. 00:36:32.199 --> 00:36:33.519 It also means that there 00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:34.939 is a sanctity to human 00:36:34.939 --> 00:36:36.079 life that Christians need 00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:37.779 to be fighting for at 00:36:37.779 --> 00:36:39.539 every level within every 00:36:39.539 --> 00:36:39.939 issue. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:42.480 And lastly, it means that 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:45.019 there is a dignity within 00:36:45.019 --> 00:36:46.059 every human being that 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:47.159 cannot be taken away. 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:49.940 There is a worth, and as 00:36:49.940 --> 00:36:50.859 Christians, we need to 00:36:50.859 --> 00:36:52.079 recognize that and fight 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:53.219 for it wherever we see 00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:53.980 that that is threatened. 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:55.279 And if you ever were 00:36:55.279 --> 00:36:56.379 tempted to doubt in the 00:36:56.379 --> 00:36:57.920 value and the worth of a 00:36:57.920 --> 00:36:59.059 human being, you need only 00:36:59.059 --> 00:37:01.000 look at Jesus, who when he 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.619 looks at you, sees someone 00:37:03.619 --> 00:37:05.759 who is so incalculably 00:37:05.759 --> 00:37:07.819 valuable that it was worth 00:37:07.819 --> 00:37:10.379 him giving up everything to 00:37:10.379 --> 00:37:11.359 have you for eternity. 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:13.460 Let's pray. 00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:17.360 Our Lord and Heavenly Father, 00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:19.740 we recognize that as we 00:37:19.740 --> 00:37:20.880 delve into this, it raises 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:22.180 all kinds of things. 00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:23.680 And in many of us, there may 00:37:23.680 --> 00:37:25.960 be struggle or wrestling 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:27.079 happening right now. 00:37:27.420 --> 00:37:28.840 We pray that whatever is not 00:37:28.840 --> 00:37:30.220 of your truth and your word 00:37:30.220 --> 00:37:31.400 and your grace and your love 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:32.360 would be stricken from 00:37:32.360 --> 00:37:32.680 memory. 00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:34.960 We pray that whatever it is 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:36.260 that you are desiring to 00:37:36.260 --> 00:37:37.400 tell us, that we would hear 00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:38.300 it loud and clear. 00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:40.360 that we would fall into 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:41.960 open and fertile hearts. 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:44.620 And that you would deepen 00:37:44.620 --> 00:37:45.780 our understanding of what 00:37:45.780 --> 00:37:47.220 it means to be created in 00:37:47.220 --> 00:37:47.820 your image. 00:37:48.560 --> 00:37:49.560 And that we would see that 00:37:49.560 --> 00:37:50.900 not only in ourselves, but 00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:51.740 in all people. 00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:53.140 And we pray this in your 00:37:53.140 --> 00:37:53.920 son's holy name. 00:37:54.080 --> 00:37:54.300 Amen.