Teaching Resources
With all the other responsibilities that come from working in a church or diocese, being an advocate for Life can sometimes feel more like an additional burden than a calling. We understand how busy our priests and pastors can be, so we developed a resource page with life-affirming sermons, lectionary teachings, curriculums, and bulletin inserts—much of which have been written and created by your fellow clergy members—to help you in educating your Church or diocese about life issues.
“There is no question that this year’s March for Life is historic. Following this summer’s Dobbs decision the Supreme Court ended or vacated the Roe v. Wade Decision of 1973. Of course, that did not end abortions throughout the country, but it did make some serious headway!” Sermon preached at Life SUMMIT 2023 on January 20, 2023 in Falls Church, Virginia. Sermon Text
“God is giving us the opportunity to be salt and light in a society that has lost its way. We can’t candy-coat the difficulties, even the harshness, facing disciples of Christ in the years to come. But we must not be fearful. We must not withdraw. We speak the truth in love to a world that needs Jesus so very much. ” Sermon preached at CareNet Pastors’ Breakfast on February 12, 2020 in Virginia. Sermon Text
Celebrating the Gift of Life at the End of Life
“My friends, if you believe your origin is meaningless, and your end is meaningless, this will affect how you treat people. And there will be an increasing measure of pitiless indifference. And so this morning I’d like to look at what God says about our origin, what God says about our end, and what God says about our present, especially when it involves suffering. ” Sermon preached at St. Michael’s Church in Charleston, SC on January 12th, 2020 Sermon Text
“You can’t write the 6th Commandment off. You have to look at it and say, what about my life? Where do I need to be forgiven? How am I going to love my neighbors myself? Because that’s the message of the cross.” Sermon shared at St Luke’s Church on October 20th, 2019. Sermon Text
“The definition of the sanctity of life suggests that all life is of intrinsic value, and we as Christians need to act accordingly.” Sermon preached at True Vine Anglican Church in Monongahela, PA in January 2019 Sermon Text
“God values life, whether it be adults, children, infants, or embryos that exist in the womb. If God really created us, then we must also consider the process through which he engineers that creation nothing less than holy.” Sermon Text
The Zone of Radical Hospitality
“The best way to be pro-life is to be the Church. And the Church follows Jesus…So what does that look like when we talk about being pro-life? Who do we welcome? Who gets invited into our zone of hospitality? We welcome people. Period.” Sermon preached at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, IL on January 15th, 2017. Sermon Text
“I know this is a hard word for this culture, but I need you to know that your worth, your worth, and the worth of every other person, begins before you take a breath, before you accomplish one thing in your life. Worth precedes birth.” Sermon shared at Grace Anglican Church on October 8th, 2017. Sermon Text
“Every abortion, no matter how much it is wrapped in practical and personal matters, is spiritually speaking an attempt to snuff out the Light of Christ. Like Herod in Bethlehem, like the great dragon, Satan himself, in Rev. 12, who wanted to devour the Child. But remember, they didn’t win and neither will their descendent, the abortion industry. Nothing, nothing, nothing will be able to put out the light of Christ.” Sermon Text
“Today I want to make a case for the pro-life argument. I want to argue for sanctity of Life, and not just for the one issue of abortion, but more broadly in how we treat one another in all arenas in our lives.” Sermon shared at All Saints Anglican Church in Weddington, NC on January 28th, 2018
“The abortion issue is but one battle-front in a spiritual war between of two entirely different world-views. One that recognizes the dignity and value and sanctity of life of each and every human being and one that places just a relative value on human life based on its capacity to somehow contribute to society.” Sermon Text
Sermon shared at the Prayer Service before the March for Life Ottawa on May 11th, 2017. Scripture taken from Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Sermon Text Sermon Video
Sanctity of Life Sunday in Canada
Sermon shared on Sanctity of Life Sunday at Christ the King Church in Edmonton, Alberta on May 7th, 2017. Scripture taken from Genesis 9:1-7, Psalm 139:7-16, and Matthew 25:31-40
“You and I are called to something greater than what cereal we ate for breakfast this morning, something greater than the house we live in and the beds in which we sleep…We are created for an eternal vocation – that of worshiping God forever and now. Because of this, each and every life is sacred.” Sermon Text
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Sermon
“Today will mark the 44th year since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in every state for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy so we commemorate today as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.” Sermon Text
This is a sermon taken from the biblical text Isaiah 44. Does Life always matter, even Life that is unseen, such as children in the womb?
“The right to life, then, is about more than who lives and who dies; it is about who rules. Since the Supreme Court’s horrific decision in Roe v. Wade 41 years ago, man has sacrificed 49 million children on the altar of his supremacy.” Sermon Text
“We have two pregnant women, and by the obvious work of the Holy Spirit, we are confronted with evidence of the unborn children responding to their surroundings…In the Judeo-Christian world, it is only in our arrogant, post-war societies that religious institutions have tolerated the wholesale destruction of the lives of infants. To their shame, some have approved it by resolutions.” Sermon Text
“To see the distinguished beauty and sanctity of human life is to worship, not man, but the Creator himself. That’s what the Imago Dei is meant to do. It’s not about being anthropocentric and full of ourselves, but is actually Theocentric and full of praise for the One whose image we all bear.” Sermon Text
This sermon challenges what it means to be a disciple of Christ in a political world, looking to Him and asking “Lord, what are your priorities? Where should we focus? Lord, what are your non-negotiables?”
We heard from John’s Gospel the great words of Jesus, our Good Shepherd: how he cares for us, his flock. He leads us and guides us; he calls us by name, and he saves us. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Sermon Text
All human life is created by God, for God, and in God’s image. All human life—regardless of gender, skin color, nationality, health or sickness or disability—all human life is created by God, for God, and in God’s image. This is why this congregation over the past few years in commemoration of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday has talked about important life-related issues.Sermon Text
The following letter was written by Bishop John Guernsey to his diocese following the 2022 Life SUMMIT. Dear Friends, Jonah prayed to the Lord and said, “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:3)…” Letter Text
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday – Pastor John
The pregnancy test was positive! The young couple from Texas quickly calculated how many weeks along the mom-to-be was. Fourteen! Texas had a new law – no abortion after a heartbeat is heard They knew they’d have to drive to Louisiana for the abortion They scheduled the procedure… Sermon Text