Blessed Mother, Blessed Baby (Abortion and Reproductive Rights)
Sermon Series
Sermon Study Guide
Scripture
1Peter 3:13-17; 1Cor 9:19-23
Speaker
Pastor Joey
Sermon Study Guide
Q1: Pastor Joey shared some brief history and statistics of abortion and the development of reproductive rights in the USA. Which of these were most surprising to you? Is your country different or the same as the USA in this regard?
Q2: The toughest and most emotional questions about abortion are often regarding cases of rape or incest. How do you personally navigate this question? How would you talk to someone who suffered through such a traumatic experience?
Q3: In Matthew 1:18-20, it clarifies that Joseph did not divorce Mary, and instead was an important role to Mary and baby Jesus’ protection. But in the current pro-choice v pro-life debate, and even in the taking of statistics, the father is not in the equation at all. In cases of elective abortion, would you also advocate for the father to have zero responsibility of the pregnancy and zero ownership of the child? Why or why not?
Q4: Agree on the question: If not at conception, when should a preborn child gain equal moral standing with any other human being? What are the dangers of saying that a human must be “human + something else” in order to receive the same moral worth?Q5: ”One person’s bodily autonomy ends where another person’s bodily autonomy begins.” Do you agree with this statement and how it applies to cases of elective abortion? Why or why not?
Q6: Matthew 25:40, Jesus teaches about “as you did for the least of these, you did for me.” Do you think children and babies in society could be considered the “least of these” in their innocence, vulnerability, and defenselessness, and therefore the most in need of protection? Why or why not?
Q7: Position: Pastor Joey describes his current position as pro-mother and pro-baby, opting not to use the terms pro-life or pro-choice due to the polarizing nature of those positions and anti-woman or anti-baby connotations that they infer. How would you describe your position and what would be your rationale?
Q8: Application: The sermon ended with some real-life application scenarios of how to take into account these many complexities and factors, and care for people going through these tough situations. Could you foresee yourself having to help someone through this, or have you done so before already?
