Pastor's Message (from the bulletin)
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 7:00AM 
It is fitting, and even providential that, as we continue to read the Bible in a year together, we come across a text where a faithful man was asked to murder his son in the same week that we celebrate the sanctity of human life and continue to pledge our support to the protection and preservation of life.
Abraham was asked to perform the ultimate act of obedience when he was told to kill his son, his only son whom he loved. He was tested by God to see if he would do a horrible, tragic, evil thing if God told him to. Will obedience to God trump everything else this man believed in? Yes, our text tells us, he was.
Fortunately, for us, God does not make us prove our allegiance to him through the taking of innocent life. However, he does ask that we show our allegiance to him through protecting innocent life.
The only life being created today that is in the image of God and that is eternal, is created in the wombs of human mothers. And yet, in our nation, the womb is the most dangerous place for humans to live. 22% of all pregnancies in our country end in abortion. Only 7% of abortions take place for “health related” reasons, rape or incest. By the time a woman is 45, there is over a 40% chance she will have had an abortion. Over 70% of all people who have had abortions identify themselves as “Christian.”
As a church, we are going to be taking steps to increase our support to Christian ministries that seek to reduce the number of abortions that take place in our neighborhoods and across our country. The Baby Bottle Campaign we started last week is a first, small step in this direction. We are also going to be training men and women in the art of Christ-centered Care Giving through Stephen Ministry later this year. These individuals will be able to council families and individuals whose lives have been torn apart by abortion. This is only the beginning of what we, by God’s grace, will do in his name.
Your prayers for the divine protection of innocent human life will not go unanswered; our God loves life!
-Pastor Duncan