Pastor Ricky Powell

Why I Will Vote Pro-Life

I have been surprised lately to hear Christians say that, while they are pro-life, they have no problem voting for a pro-choice candidate. To me that is akin to saying, "I believe abortion is the taking of another human life and I would never do that, but I am not opposed to someone else killing an unborn baby."

This just does not make sense to me. I have concluded that some people who say this either do not fully understand the issues of abortion or they simply cannot bring themselves to admit their political party or candidate is wrong. Some people are Republicans, no matter what, and some are Democrats, no matter what. But make no mistake about it, to vote for a candidate who is pro-choice is to support abortion. The next President of the United States will probably have the opportunity to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. The President will more than likely appoint judges who agree with his view of abortion. The stakes could not be higher and the pro-abortion groups know this!

Randy Alcorn has written a book, "Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments," that ought to be read by every Christian. In his book, Randy logically and biblically answers every major argument put forth by the pro-choice groups. Below is a sample of the chapter titles and discussion headings in his book. The chapter heading is the argument for abortion and the discussion is the pro-life answer to the argument. You owe it to yourself to read this book!

Chapter 1: "It is uncertain when human life begins; that's a religious question that cannot be answered by science."

• If there is uncertainty about when human life begins, the benefit of the doubt should go to preserving life.
• Medical textbooks and scientific reference works consistently agree that human life begins at conception.
• Some of the world's most prominent scientists and physicians testified to a U.S. Senate committee that human life begins at conception.

Chapter 2: "The fetus is just a part of the pregnant woman's body, like her tonsils or appendix. You can't seriously believe a frozen embryo is an actual person."

• A body part is defined by the common genetic code it shares with the rest of its body; the unborn's genetic code differs from his mother's.
• The child may die and the mother live, or the mother may die and the child live, proving that they are two separate individuals.
• Being inside something is not the same as being part of something.

Chapter 3: "The unborn is an embryo or a fetus---just a simple blob of tissue, a product of conception---not a baby. Abortion is terminating a pregnancy, not killing a child."

• Like toddler and adolescent, the terms embryo and fetus do not refer to nonhumans, but to humans at particular stages of development.
• Semantics affect perceptions, but they do not change realities; a baby is a baby no matter what we call her.
• Prior to the earliest abortions, the unborn already has every body part she will ever have.
• Every abortion stops a beating heart and terminates measurable brain waves.
• Even in the earliest surgical abortions, the unborn child is clearly human in appearance.
• Even before the unborn is obviously human in appearance, she is what she is---a human being.

Chapter 9: "Even if the unborn are human beings, they have fewer rights than the woman. No one should be expected to donate her body as a life-support system for someone else."

• Once we grant that the unborn are human beings, it should settle the question of their right to live.

Chapter 10: "Every person has the right to choose. It would be unfair to restrict a woman's choice by prohibiting abortion."

• Any civilized society restricts the individual's freedom to choose whenever that choice would harm an innocent person.

Psalm 139:13-17

For it was You (God) who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.   
I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know [this] very well.   
My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.   
Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all [my] days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.   
God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me [to comprehend]; how vast their sum is!   

The Ten Commandments of Human Relations

How do you treat people? In my many dealings with the public I often see humanity at its worst. It is not uncommon to witness rude, crude, and selfish behavior as people interact with one another. It is not uncommon to see people losing their temper when they do not get their way or when they are inconvenienced. Sadly, this behavior is not relegated to just the secular world. Even church folks can behave badly.

However, I have also witnessed humanity at its best. I have seen acts of kindness. I have seen people treating each other with respect and compassion. I often witness people sacrificing their conveniences for others. I have watched as people who were treated rudely responded with grace. I saw it this weekend at my church where volunteer parking lot attendants graciously bore the brunt of anger from an impatient parishioner. It was not difficult to spot who was acting like Christ!

I recently read the "10 Commandments of Human Relations." It was written by an anonymous author. Read each one and reflect on how you treat people.

1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
2. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile.
3. Call people by name. Music to anyone's ears is the sound of his/her own name.
4. Be friendly and helpful.
5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is genuinely a pleasure, and if it isn't, learn to make it so.
6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like almost anybody if you try.
7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.
8. Be considerate with the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to every controversy; yours, the other fellow's, and the the right one.
9. Be alert to serve. What counts most in life is what we do for others.
10. Add to this a good sense of humor, a huge dose of patience and a dash of humility.

Oprah Winfrey's Heresy

I heard a commercial today for Oprah Winfrey's talk show on XM-Radio. She mentioned her Southern Baptist upbringing and how it was at odds with her new found understanding of the divine that existed within her. After having my curiosity sparked I did some research into her, "A Course In Miracles." I concluded that Oprah is definitely teaching New Age heresy by promoting this course. Some of the major tenets of her belief system include:
1. Jesus is not the only way to God. Many paths lead to God.
2. Hate, pain, evil, and fear, sin, and guilt are not real, but are illusions.
3. The cross was unnecessary to reconcile men to God since sin does not exist.
4. A person can change reality by changing how they think.
5. Jesus is just another in a long line of “way-showers.”

Go See "Fireproof" The Movie!

The Church and Christian group that brought you "Facing the Giants" has produced another great movie with godly themes. This time they address the issues facing marriages. Donna and I plan to see this movie and we encourage all of our friends to do the same. Let's support good movies and show Hollywood that there is a market for good, wholesome films that uphold family values!

Let Red Remind You To Vote!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Joshua has a ballgame tonight in Ponte Vedra. He loves baseball and we love getting out together as a family. I am sure Caleb will want to visit the playground and Casey will want cheer for her brother! Good stuff!

We Made The Top 100 List!

Fort Caroline Baptist Church was recognized again by the Florida Baptist Convention as being one of the top 100 missions-giving churches in the State. We were #78 in 2007 out of approximately 2,800 Florida Baptist congregations in Cooperative Program giving. This represents 10% of our undesignated receipts and does not include our other missions offerings such as the Brazil Church Partnership, the Baptist Home for Children, etc. Through the Cooperative Program our congregation partners with other Southern Baptist Convention Churches in supporting over 10,000 missionaries here at home and around the world! So remember, you are supporting the mission of reaching millions of people around the world when you give to our church. We take 10% of what you give and use it to help fulfill the Great Commission.

I am so grateful to be the pastor of a loving, generous church that takes the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world! To learn more about the Cooperative Program visit the Southern Baptist Convention's website by clicking here.

Our Church Made the Paper!

The Florida Baptist Witness, the newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention, ran a picture and caption this week about our ground-breaking ceremony on July 27 for our new Preschool/Children's Building! You can see the announcement and a photo of the ceremony at the Witness website here.

Register To Vote and Vote Your Values

The election is just around the corner. Will you let your voice be heard as a Christian citizen? Have you registered to vote? If not, do it now! Time is running out. Visit Citizenlink.org to learn more about the issues facing our nation. You can also register to vote here.

How To Have A God-Blessed Marriage (part 5)

We have seen in previous posts that a God-blessed marriage is based on commitment.

• Commitment #1: Receiving your mate as a gift from God.
• Commitment #2: Leaving your family as your primary allegiance.
• Commitment #3: Cleaving to your mate in a lifelong commitment.

Today we will discuss the final commitment.

Commitment #4: Becoming one flesh.

Perhaps you are thinking, "Now we get to the good stuff!" Well, you are right. Sexual intimacy is the good stuff when it is understood as God intended.