The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd - LCMS - Topics & Issues, Life / Abortion / Stem Cell

What About Life/Abortion/ Stem Cell...

God alone holds authority over life -

Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6

Man is responsible for the preservation and protection of human life -
Genesis 9:5,6; Luke 10:27

Right attitude in godly decisions
Galations 2:20; 1 Corinthians 10:31

from Christian Life Resources Clearly Caring

Forgiveness

“I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12

The Gospel - Forgiveness (PDF)

Today Your Mercy Calls Us - Hymn
Today your mercy calls us
To wash away our sin.
However great our trespass,
Whatever we have been,
However long from mercy
Our hearts have turned away,
Your precious blood can wash us
And make us clean today.

Today your gate is open,
And all who enter in
Shall find a Father’s welcome
And pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten,
A present joy be given,
A future grace be promised,
A glorious crown in heaven.

Today our Father calls us;
His Holy Spirit waits;
His blessed angels gather
Around the heavenly gates.
No question will be asked us,
How often we have come;
Although we oft have wandered,
It is our Father’s home.

O all embracing Mercy,
O ever open Door,
What should we do without you
When heart and eye run over?
When all things seem against us,
To drive us to despair,
We know one gate is open,
One ear will hear our prayer.

Hymn # 915 from Lutheran Service Book
By: Oswald Allen
Tune: Anthes
Text: Public Domain

www.word-of-hope.org

“A mother need never fear children that seem inconvenient or strip her of her ‘freedom.’ Like Jesus, she can welcome a little child (Mark 10:14). And, when a mother grieves because she aborted her child in a moment of fear, she can look to Jesus the Savior who hears her cry of repentance and welcomes her into His waiting and forgiving arms. In Jesus, she is free to love and defend the blessing of life.” Linda D. Bartlett,

Resources

Articles

Faith on the Edge: Playing God: Redesigning Life

Christian Care at Life's End (PDF)

A Christian does not have some unique brand of morality; rather, what makes a Christian is the Gospel. Moraility is for everyone. Protecting innocent life should be be foundational principle for all societies, of whatever religion or culture. Gene Veith - Christianity in the Age of Terrorism , page 101.

"We who follow Jesus Christ face our suffering and dying differently than others do. We look to the Cross of Jesus Christ for hope and guidance and ultimately to the Risen Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 15). We, who belong to Christ through baptism, do not measure a person's worth by the 'quality' of life as limited by illness, disability, or aging. We were of worth when helpless as infants in our baptism God made us His (Romans 6:4), and we are still of worth in God's care of us when helpless as patients at the end of life (Romans 14:7-8). We care about the dying, disabled, or elderly and attempt to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). We bear witness to a better way, the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ in which God comes to care for us first by His suffering and dying (Hebrews 2: 10) and then in our suffering and dying (Romans 8:28)."
(Confession of Faith written for Lutherans for Life)