Preparing for Sunday - Sanctity of Human Life

January 14, 2016 by Bret Capranica Preparing for Sunday

Read Psalm 139:13-16. From these verses, list why life, even life in the womb, is important.
List, from the passage mentioned above, what God had done with the psalmist. When did God do these things?
Read Genesis 1:26-28. Why is a human's life most important? Why is it different from the animal world, according to this passage (and the verses preceding them)?
What was the command that God gave to humanity in Genesis 1:28? What does this say about the importance of life from God's perspective?
According to these passages, who has ultimate authority over life?
How would the above mentioned passages highlight the need of the gospel in light of how we view the value of human life? Why do we need the gospel in light of these verses?

This week will mark the anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973, where the highest court in the United States made it legal to take the life of an unborn child. How would the above mentioned passages help you to pray for our country, for those affected by the decisions to abort children, and those who are considering it even now?
How would the above passages help you in conversation with others, who do not share our convictions, about the value of unborn human lives?
How would these passages help you encourage a woman who is considering an abortion?
What other social issues in our culture are impacted by the passages above?
How can we build a culture that upholds God's standards, but also extends the gospel of grace to those who have violated God's standards?

Pray for those who have made the choice to end a pregnancy. Pray for those who are contemplating it now.
Pray for our congegation's commitment to God's standards to remain steadfast, gracious, and fervent.
Pray for our congregation to provide an atmosphere of help, encouragement, and gospel-centered counsel to people among us who have had abortions, or are contemplating it.
Pray that our congregation will speak to the culture with biblical faithfulness and biblical love and compassion.
Pray for those who will be leading our gathering this week: Dawson Bryant, music; Todd Arnold, Elders' prayer and Scripture reading; Bret Capranica, teaching.
Spend some time preparing for worship in the music below, but more importantly the lyrics. Pray that our church would come together as one to sing praise to the Lord, "teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God". (Col 3:16)