Per Foxnews:
"Almost 40% of Children Born in the U.S. in 2005 Were Out of Wedlock, an All-Time High"
More evidence of what has been called "culture rot", or what I call, "flagrant foul on the 6th commandment". Or maybe just... sin?
Signs of the times.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
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8 comments:
There but for the Grace of God go you or I Sir ! Don't stand there puffed up. You have daughters, a time may come when they may be in need of forgiveness. A day may come when your told you and your wife are going to be grandparents and it was not part of your plan or theirs.
We would love the opportunity to be comforters to your family in your hour of need. We are not here to be self righteous, "all" have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God , except for Jesus Christ. In His mercy we trust.
While we're talking about numbers we might pray for the 50% of BORN AGAIN BAPTIZED LC-MS children that do not reenter congregational life during childhood.
Lynn of St. John's
Sorry if that seems "puffy". Of course you are right, and it can happen to anyone or anyone's daugther(s). But I stand by what I said.
A great danger today is in tacit acceptance of "out of wedlock birth" as the norm - yes, even as "legitimate". There used to be a time when our culture recognized the term, "illegitimate child". What does this shift mean?
If we in the church don't speak with a prophetic voice, calling out the sins of our world, who will? We must speak the law, yes, even to our own daughters - as I certainly do, and will!
And yes, for those repenting of this and any other sin, there is always the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and full forgiveness.
CPH Offers a very fine Sex Education Why Boys and Girls are Different- Learning about Sex is the first book for ages 3 -5
I like the Book better than the Video, the video seem to make girls out to be smarter than boys, the book didn't seem to give that message so I liked it better.
In the Hebrew culture boys actually had a day when they stood in the temple and announced "Today, I am a Man " and girls went to their mothers at first sign of Menstruation at about age 12 and mother said, " Today you are a Woman ". The Blessed Mother Mary gave birth to the Christ at age 15, she was a virgin for about 16 years.
Our culture just doesn't want to except the truth about God's plan for go forth and multiply. No we have bigger and better ideas for our sons and daughters, like college, Early Marriage just isn't exceptable in our culture so we can only blame ourselves for all the babys out of wedlock. We forbid them to come to God, their too young we protest, so they end up waiting to have sex until they finish college . Then it's OK to get married and have a baby. By that time the woman is so far in debt with student loans she can't afford to stay home to take care of the baby and ends up bringing it to a Child Care Provider. These are the parents who come to your Lutheran Worship on Sundays in need of rest from condemnation that they have all week in the world we live in. We are in the days as of Noah, the church is our only refuge.
Lynn,
You raise some good points about the difficulties of our culture, in how it has extended childhood far beyond that of ancient times. I would love to discuss that further, as I think there's a lot to be said. I, myself was married "young" by our current standards - at only 21! (gasp!)
But none of this excuses the fact that sex outside of marriage is against God's will. Don't you agree?
I understand that some people need to hear the Gospel on the topic, but I think more need to hear the Law. So the church must speak both clearly.
(And by the way, I DON'T think that most "walk in condemnation" on this throughout the week - that's precisely my point - that the culture has accomodated to this sin. So if they don't hear sex outside of marriage is wrong from the church, where will they hear it?)
I pray God will bless you with His Wisdom as you continue to Shephard your flock as you use His Rod and His Staff to comfort them.
Do you have any members of your congregation who are Lawyers there in Wisconsin ? If your going to educate your youth group you'll need to know what the Law is and what the consequence for braking the Law is. Or get on the computer and read up on this subject. In Kansas we have Juvenile Sex Laws ( Kiss & Tell/ Romeo & Juliet Laws )Boys can be put in prison by the parents of an angry parent who want justice served, when their daughter under the age of 16 gets pregnant. Then there are girls who get set off to a distant relatives house to have the baby and put it up for adoption.And then there is the Un-Wed Mothers Home for young girls who have been told they are sluts and prostitutes, who's parents yell at them and tell them to get out of their sight and give them nothing.Then don't forget the parents who have money offer to fix the problem with Abortion, the unwanted baby is just killed. These are the facts Pastor, Virginity and Chastity is the better choice not because it is a law but because it is the narrow path less traveled and it is God himself wanting to save His beloved children from pain and sarrow, a young girl crying herself to sleep feeling unloved because she could not say no to the advances of a young man who was using her to test his sexual abilities. I would say God has placed you in a key possition with your youth at church, you may not be able to educate the city but He has blessed you with a few listening ears, I pray they will not have itching ears that want to hear fables instead, the examples shown on TV seem like harmless " FUN " I gave up my virginity at age 14, I wanted the boy to like me. I could have gotten pregnant, but I didn't think about that. I didn't think about the consequences that might come. I only wanted to give the boy what he wanted. I'm 55 now but it stayed a deep dark secret between God and me for over 50 years I carried the shame and guilt of pre marrital sex. I can still remember the crying and the begging I did when I met my husband to be and had to tell him I wasn't a virgin,he was very angry and put third degree because of it for quite a long time. He really did love me though and he forgave me and we got married anyway. That isn't always the case for young girls, sometimes they have such low esteem they just give up and have sex with anybody and everybody because they just don't care anymore, they feel like trash anyway so who cares, no body. This Sunday there will be someone like this at your church, hidding behind a smile. Do you know about Pietism ? Do you know about Purism ? Your Sheep dear shephard will have lambs not because it is a sin against God,He created those animals. In Baptism He transforms them into Spiritual beings that die and go to heaven in our mother above and free. If you need to preach Law and God wants you to them you must do it, but do it right. Not as if your puffed up, do it with empothy as one who knows from the heart not just the mind. Know what the Laws are in your city so you can warn your little lambs about the lion and the wolf ?
"Your Sheep dear shephard will have lambs not because it is a sin against God,He created those animals."
No, it is a sin. But God still brings good, even out of our sins. So yes, those children born out of wedlock - Christ died for them too. But the circumstances of their conception were still against the Lord's will. (I think we've uncovered another one of those fun Lutheran "tensions")
"In Baptism He transforms them into Spiritual beings that die and go to heaven in our mother above and free."
What do you mean, "in our mother above"?
Finally, Lynn, with your confession and all, it seems to me that your strong reaction to my short post is mostly because you are still carrying the guilt of your own sins.
Since you have confessed this - then let me assure you also that Christ died to forgive you for this sin, and the record is now clean! Be at peace in Him!
What do I mean on our mother above ?
But the Jerusalem above is free,and she is our mother.
Galatians 4:26
At Peace in Jesus Christ.
Lynn of St. John
Maybe our Lord would have us set our affections on on Him with the help of Hymn # 516 in the Service Book, "Wake, Awake ". Being in the world but not of the world,on the last Sunday in the church year we'll be singing " Awake, Awake, for Night is Flying" being mindful of our Lord's Words to us in His parable of the ten virgins. Matthew 25:1-13. From his parsonage window overlooking the cemetery, Pastor Niclai witnessed as may as 30 burials a day. In all, at least 1300 people perished within a seven month period in 1597 from a plague. May God continue to fill us with His Wisdom while we are waiting together for His coming for us.
Windows Ministry is an affiliation of the LC-MS Children's Congregational Services. Our hope is to help parents share the Good News about the Love Jesus Christ has for them and thier children under the age of three years old and to comfort them if their is a death during that window of time.
There are many miscarrages and Still Born infants in the Lutheran Church every Year. Please pray that God will continue to open His Windows of Heaven so that our lamps will be full in the LC-MS.
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