A man holds his baby's hand.

A Sanctity of Human Life Sermon Could Change Your Church

During last year’s Sanctity of Human Life sermon, I preached the following words a few months after the people of our state had overwhelmingly approved being the first state to enshrine abortion in our constitution: 

“The Bible’s concern for life means that we care for life both before and after birth. If the pro-choice answer to unwanted babies is death, and the pro-life and biblical answer is life, then that means that, by implication, Christians must be involved in caring for unwanted or abused babies and children. Because if they are born, they will need care.”

Three days later, I received a phone call that would change our lives: “We have twin babies that need a foster home. We don’t have anywhere to put them. Would you and your wife consider taking them in?” 

Eight hours later, two babies were playing with our three biological children in our living room. Less than 24 hours later, we received another load of clothes, baby supplies, and meals from our church family, meeting every immediate need. The Word had done its work—first in my heart and then in the hearts of God’s people.

A Sanctity of Human Life Sunday sermon could change you—and your church. This year, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is January 21. Fellow pastors, let’s preach a Sanctity of Human Life sermon this January.

The stakes are high. Our culture—and too often those in our churches—are confused about why human life matters. As pastors, we have the unique privilege of bringing God back into the equation and pointing our people to the truth that God makes each person in His image.

I have not always preached a Sanctity of Human Life sermon. Coming about a month after Christmas, it felt disruptive to the book of the Bible that I was preaching through. However, the longer I have pastored, and the more our country changes around us, I have realized that the doctrine of the image of God and its implications in the lives of our church members is too important not to address from the pulpit at least once a year. Here are three reasons it is crucial to help your church understand the sanctity of human life.

1. Understanding the sanctity of human life saves lives

Many of you reading this may have never had a church member ask you about physician-assisted suicide. However, that is changing as MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) is now legal in 11 states and Washington D.C. I pastor in one of those states, and recently, a believer in her early 60s asked me if there was a reason that it would be wrong for her to receive the lethal prescription from her doctor to end her own life. We have to be ready to answer, and preaching on the sanctity of human life during all seasons of life will equip your church to follow Jesus in this time.

In the 1980s, Americans received moral clarity on abortion from leaders like Ronald Reagan.

In the only book written by a sitting American president, Reagan wrote, “The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being. The real question for him and for all of us is whether that tiny human life has a God-given right to be protected by the law—the same right we have.”1

More than four decades later, your church might be one of the only places where teens, young adults, mothers, fathers, and grandparents will hear that God has formed us in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16). As we explain why abortion is morally wrong, we are discipling those who may face their own decisions about an unplanned pregnancy, as well as those who influence others and have the opportunity to save lives.

2. Understanding the sanctity of human life prompts compassion

The doctrine of humanity being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 1:27, 9:6; James 3:9) is one of the most-attacked doctrines in the Bible in our time and place. When Christians correctly understand this truth, it flows into beautiful works of compassion that adorn the gospel (Titus 2:10-11). Christians who understand the sanctity of human life are moved to be involved in pregnancy resource centers, foster care, adoption, preventing and stopping human trafficking, hunger and homeless and medical ministries, prison ministry, refugee ministry, special needs ministry, and end-of-life care.

Preaching on the sanctity of human life could be the catalyst God uses to help a church see that coming alongside parents and children with disabilities is pleasing in God’s sight.

It could be the motivation people in your church need to be involved in compassion ministries and good works that point to God’s care for all humans through your church and everyday life.

3. Understanding the sanctity of human life leads to the cross

Seven in 10 women who have had an abortion identify as a Christian, according to a Lifeway Research study.2 Whether or not the numbers are that high in your church, it is very likely that when you preach about abortion, there will be women there who have had an abortion in their past.

Every time we lift up God’s standards, we lift up God’s grace.

We look to how God calls us to live while also looking to the cross, where we find forgiveness. However, if we avoid talking about sin, then we will not bring people to the Savior. The very gospel balm that men and women who have been involved in abortion need must be applied in the same sermon that calls us to protect and value all human life.

If you’re unsure where to start or how to have a different angle than other recent years, Focus on the Family has a Sanctity of Human Life resource page. It could be that a Sanctity of Human Life sermon slowly socks truth away into the hearts and minds of your members, eventually paying dividends in how they think and act about life issues. Or it could be that a Sanctity of Human Life sermon will immediately affect your church life or even your personal life. I never expected twins to enter my life three days after I delivered mine. However God chooses to use his Word, you will know you have been faithful in this generation. He always calls us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” (Proverbs 31:8)

©2023 Tim Counts. Used with permission.

  1. Ronald Reagan, “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.” (1983) ↩︎
  2. https://research.lifeway.com/2021/12/03/7-in-10-women-who-have-had-an-abortion-identify-as-a-christian/ ↩︎

About The Author

Tim Counts
Tim Counts

Tim Counts is the pastor of Northshire Baptist Church in Manchester Center, Vt., and serves on the leadership team for Small Town Summits. He blogs regularly at He Must Become Greater.

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