Mike Paget on Abortion

I was listening to a sermon Mike Paget gave on abortion earlier this year at my old church in Sydney, St Barnabas, Broadway. I feel he had some really good comments to make. He went through why he thought abortion was not compatible with biblical Christianity, and why it was socially detrimental, citing many frightening stats. He then concluded with how he wanted to see his church responding to the issue of abortion:

It is my hope and prayer that we will see in this community more babies born to unmarried women than in the world around us, because it is my prayer that they will not choose to abort those children out of fear of shame. Because, friends, we will celebrate the birth of every one of these children, and we will celebrate the courage of every one of these women, because where there is repentance and forgiveness there is no longer any shame, and woe betide the person who imputes shame where God has paid with his blood to make it go away.

Christian communities tend to be pretty good at stigmatizing those who sin's are outwardly visible, rather than rejoicing what sin reveals the glory of grace, the continual opportunity for forgiveness. We can be so afraid that people will use grace as an excuse for sin, that we fail to practise grace.