Power Point - April 18, 2005

April 18, 2005

You shall not murder.

          --Exodus 20:13

Wow! Could it be any clearer? We are not to commit murder! But just watching TV can put you in a violent situation. By the time a young man or woman is six-years-old, they’ve watched approximately 6,000 murders and acts of violence on television! They are growing up in violence. Every 22 minutes a murder is committed in the United States. And unfortunately, that statistic leads the entire world.

Why should this commandment be taken so literally? Because life is precious and sacred created by God and for God! In Him, we live and move and have our being. God has made man as His masterpiece—the crown of His creation—and therefore He has given us a commandment that protects human life. Life is to be celebrated, not destroyed!

There are several ways one can break this commandment: homicide, suicide, and infanticide. Killing others, yourself, or an unborn child is a grave sin that God will not let go unpunished. The Lord cherishes life. He knew you and I before He even formed us in the womb (Jeremiah 1:4). We need a baptism of love in our world today! I’m amazed at the hate and hostility that lives in the hearts of people. While we are all very capable of hurting others, the only way to deal with our anger is through the love of Jesus Christ.

There’s one other style of murder that is the most vivid—especially to Christians. Two thousand years ago, our Savior hung on a cross, and the pure, spotless, sinless Son of God was murdered. Who committed the murder? Some say it was the Romans or the Jews, but I’m telling you that we all did it. The Lord laid on His son the iniquity and sins of us all. But here’s the good news: the same cross that condemns us in our guilt also covers us with grace. The same blood that is on our hands—the blood of the Savior—is the blood that will cleanse us from every sin and give us eternal life in Jesus!

IT’S SIMPLE. ALL LIFE IS PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.

OBEY HIS COMMAND AND CELEBRATE LIFE!