The Weekly Epistle 1/15/20

Every human being is made according to God’s image.  Every person has that status.  Imago Dei (Image of God) was an important aspect to the Civil Rights Movement even if the leaders didn’t always communicate that as well as they could have.  It’s why Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, ‘There are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God’” (“The American Dream”).
 
Not only does this weekend mark the 25^th anniversary of Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr’s, life and legacy, this weekend is also when churches mark as Sanctity of Life Sunday.  The two events have this in common- we proclaim that every human being, of every gender and every race and every social class — the healthy, the dying, the unborn, and the disabled — every person has been crowned with indisputable dignity from the hand of the Creator.
 
We live in a day and age where life is cheap.  People are seen as objects, people are used for others’ own advantage, and people are not cared for and cherished.  As I have written around this time in previous years, I reiterate;  
 
Human life is a gift from God to be cherished from the time of conception until natural death. God is directly involved with human life at every age and affirms its value under all conditions. As followers of Christ, it is imperative for us to maintain this same high regard for life. We are to call society to embrace the value of human life and to affirm the dignity and worth of all. Society should guarantee the rights of the unborn child, the dignity of the elderly, and the care of the handicapped and where it does not, then it is our responsibility to foster a higher morality. We are to defend the defenseless and that includes the modern-day slavery of sex trafficking and to challenge the biases of our culture and the devaluing of life in all its forms.
 
In other words, all life is sacred for every single human being bears the image of God.  So we must be pro-life from the womb to the tomb.  As followers of Christ, we don’t have to choose between speaking into moral behaviors and promoting the gospel.  We can speak truthfully within the context of the redemptive power of the gospel.  And as Peter reminds us in speaking of the reason for our hope that we must, “do so with gentleness and respect.”
 
The message we are to proclaim is that while our humanity is tainted by sin, in Christ, our humanity can be restored by His grace.  As our worship song goes, “If there’s one thing we know, there’s no story You (God) can’t redeem.”  
 
We will hear of one man’s story of God’s redeeming work at the men’s breakfast on Saturday, January 25.  Men, be sure to sign up this Sunday if you haven’t already.  
 
The “Created for Connection” marriage conference that we will host is Friday night, April 3 and all day Saturday April 4.  There will be a key note speaker and workshops offered.  Cost will be $20 per couple and financial assistance is available for anyone who needs it.  Also, mark down “Prayer 30” on February 16 and “Fellowship of Prayer” on March 15.  More details to come!
 
Have a blessed week!  Pastor Brian