Hot Topics: Part 3 - 'Baby, Baby, Baby'
This Sunday, our guest speaker Dave Brennan from Brephos brings us the talk in the latest of our EBC Online services. Once you have watched the video, we encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.
The talk will be available on our You Tube channel from 10am on Sunday 24th October.
Readings:
Luke chapter 10 verses 25 to 37 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Questions to Consider:
1. When does human life begin? (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 1:39-45)
2. What difference is there in God's eyes between unborn children and born children?
3. How would you define/describe abortion in a few words?
4. How does God feel about abortion? (Exodus 20:13; 21:22-25; Psalm 106; Jeremiah 7)
5. What has led to our abortion culture?
6. What is the spiritual significance of abortion and of our response to it (i.e. what's it got to do with the gospel and the Church)? (Ezekiel 20:31; Isaiah 1; Amos 5:21-24; Proverbs 17:15; Matthew 5:17-20; James 1:27)
7. Why is this not just a women's issue?
8. What are we commanded to do for the unborn child? (Proverbs 24:11-12; 31:8; Luke 10:25-37; Galatians 6:10)
9. What holds us back from doing these things and what steps can we take to dismantle or overcome these obstacles?
10. What will you personally do next in response to the abortion crisis?
BONUS QUESTION!
Pick a historic injustice of comparable proportions to our abortion genocide (e.g. the Holocaust, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, King Leopold's Belgian Congo atrocities, Apartheid) and consider the Church's response at the time. Strong or weak? What can we learn from this episode? How will posterity and, more importantly, God judge us for our actions in our day? Are we currently on the right side of history or the wrong side of history?
Kimberley Perchard, 20/10/2021