My talk was a very practical one, “Pro-Life Witness: What’s a Congregation to Do?” It began with a brief exposition on the purposes of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday: mourning, repentance, education, and a renewal of dedication to defend “the least of these.” Next, I shared several Scriptural exhortations to “do justice” in the cause of the innocent, the orphan, the widow, and others who are in danger of violence and exploitation. And then I gave examples of specific actions that can be taken to “improve one’s serve” regarding effective pro-life ministries. Included in that list were intercession, crisis pregnancy centers, sidewalk counseling, public pro-life witness, letter-writing advocacy, education, outreaches to seniors and the infirm, and promotion of chastity and lifestyles of holiness. I spoke too of some things a whole church family could engage in.
Along the way through these topics I shared examples from our own years of work with Vital Signs Ministries – stories that are interesting, moving, adventurous, and challenging. Some are even entertaining. Pastor Dan Hauge wrote me later saying, “We appreciated Denny's challenge to us this Sunday past. It was a challenge to impact culture instead of allowing culture to impact us. What a great thing it is to come face-to-face with the realities of our commitment to a culture of life and what that looks like in practice. Denny gives a practical ‘to do’ list to help us put legs on the challenges before us. It's difficult to walk out and say, ‘I’m not sure where to go from here’ after a map has been drawn during the message.”
Dan’s kind words motivated me to write up this brief report as an encouragement for you to consider a similar presentation for your church, Sunday School, Bible study group, or whatever. We come with enthusiasm, a lot of experience, and, as always, we come free of charge! And, because I have stepped down from being the “perennial guest speaker” at the little church where I’ve been preaching the last 7 years, Sunday mornings can now be fit into the schedule too. Just give us a call or an e-mail and we’ll work it out.
