Friday January 18, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This coming Sunday is a very special Lord’s Day. All across our land, in many like-minded Churches, it is the Sanctity of Life Sunday.

This week we will step aside from our normal course of preaching to address a very important issue that we both need to know more about, and that we must speak to most clearly and courageously as believers in Christ. And that is, of course, what we call the ‘sanctity of human life.’ It is the Biblical teaching, the essential doctrine, of the special and unique nature of human beings who have been created by God in His very own “image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26-27).

We will approach this subject from a portion of one of the most beloved of all the 150 Psalms, Psalm 139:13-18. This beautiful and familiar Psalm, authored by king David, is composed of a prayer of gratitude for God’s comprehensive watch-care over those He has personally and purposefully created. It is here, in these ancient and inspired words, that we will find our text for confronting what the late Dr. R. C. Sproul called “the greatest evil of our time,” abortion.

With hearts that are broken over this perpetual holocaust, and with Gospel-mercy extended to those who have participated in it, we will discover how God’s Holy Word affirms the inestimable value that our Creator has placed upon human life. I appreciate the words of Baptist theologian Dr. Russell Moore, who explains why an emphasis like this is both appropriate and important for the Church:

“But the reason why we need Sundays like this is because human dignity is a spiritual issue. It’s a spiritual issue because the gospel grounds human dignity in Jesus Christ himself. In Christ, God has forever joined deity with flesh. Jesus did not merely become human once; he is human to this day, and God’s purposes in Christ center on the humanity that bears the Creator’s divine image. To deny human dignity, then, is to deny Christ himself.”

Along with this special one-day focus, the Session is most excited to tell you about a brand new way that we will be involved in missions in 2019. Added to our Missions Budget will be a monthly contribution to the Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center (Formerly Choose Life of Alabama). This is a ministry, located on Rand Avenue in the medical district, that provides Christ-centered prenatal health care for moms-to-be, as well counseling for post-abortive women.

Just to give you a brief snapshot of what this ministry does day-to-day, consider this: from January to October of 2018 the Center was visited by over 3500 women.There were nearly 2000 ultrasounds performed. Almost 100 women made professions of faith in Christ. And 124 babies were saved.

Let me ask you to please visit their website at www.huntsvilleprc.org to find out more about the Center and its work in Huntsville. And as you do, join us in praying regularly for this ministry, and then consider how you might be practically involved in helping the Center to achieve its mission. Volunteers are always needed for a variety of projects and jobs. If you would like to know more about how you may help, you can contact Mrs. Trish Morris, the Executive Director, or any of her staff (contact info is at the website).

I look forward to this Lord’s Day, and I hope you will take some time to study Psalm 139:13-18 as we prepare for worship.

I love you all so very much, and what a delight it is to be your pastor and brother in our Lord,

Mike