Rally Day
Psalm 127:3
September 13, 2026
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Do you know what happened 1,773 times in the United States in 2024? Hazard a guess? This is the number of children murdered by their parents or caretakers. Almost 1,800 little lives were snuffed out by the very people who were supposed to protect them at the cost of their own lives. Fifty percent of the children were one year old and younger. Seventy percent were six years old and under. Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy were just three out of the almost 2,000 murdered in 2023.
This is nothing new. Ancient civilizations routinely murdered their children. In ancient Israel and the surrounding nations, children were burned alive on the white hot arms of the statue of the god Molech. In the Americas, the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans sacrificed their children to appease the gods and end droughts. The Greeks and Romans murdered children if they were deformed, handicapped, or just not wanted. It wasn’t until Christianity became a dominant influence that infanticide began to decrease and eventually disappeared as a widespread practice.
Fortunately, we’re more sophisticated. We know that malevolent gods don’t control the rain. We are certain that leaving handicapped children in the snow to die is flat out wrong. To our shame, we’re better, but not by much. In the US, at least 64 million babies were aborted from 1973 to 2022. Since 2022, over three million more have been murdered in the womb. A truly depressing fact is that abortion is on an uptick due to the prevalence of telehealth services providing abortion pills through the mail. In Massachusetts the governor signed a bill which allows abortion at any time during the pregnancy – a nine month old knocking on the door of his mother’s womb can be murdered. I’ve even seen videos of abortion announcements, the devilish opposite of baby announcements. They’re supposed to be gifts from God, but children are treated as unwanted or inconvenient, and our Lord weeps.
I’m not going to get into a long discussion of the Lindsay Clancy case, I’m sure you’re all familiar with it, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. What I’m about to say is harsh because it needs to be. Those who support her by protesting at her trial, sharing tear-filled videos while crying “same Lindsay”, those who believe her actions could be justified or excused, or who blame her husband must repent. You cannot justify or excuse the murder of a child. Does she deserve our sympathy? Sure. We can be sympathetic while at the same time punishing her for the most grievous sin a mother can commit. Celebrating Lindsay and abortion will destroy our civilization.
I’d also be remiss if I ignored all the other ways that children are sacrificed by being abused. Children are sacrificed because they’re unwanted, in the way, a burden, insignificant, another welfare check, a doll with interchangeable parts so if their boy likes pink, he must be a girl, and whose minds can’t be negatively impacted by drag shows or hearing lessons on genderfluidity and the like.
As young as infancy, as young as a couple of months, children are abused, photographed, and traded like pieces of meat. Every two minutes a child is sold into trafficking in the US. Five million people are victims of sex trafficking today. More than 300,000, possibly up to one million American children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation each year. Forty percent of minor victims of trafficking are first sold by a family member. The United States is one of the largest purveyors of child pornography. Hundreds of thousands pornographic images of children are traded every single day in this the most enlightened nation of all. Millions of other children are physically, verbally, and emotionally abused every day. And our Lord weeps.
If you’re a little put off by this sermon, I get it. I didn’t intend to give you a lecture. I hope I’ve made you angry by opening your eyes to the devastation of American children and those in other countries. A child trafficked and abused will never be the same again. This is going to sound harsh as well, and it’s meant to be. If you’re one who abuses children or looks at their pictures online. If you’re one who beats your children or spouse. I’m telling you right now, repent and change. Seek help. But repent, because if you don’t, Jesus says it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and drown in the sea than face His wrath.
We must recapture the attitude of the earliest Christians who took in the abandoned Roman children, established orphanges, and then took these Christian values wherever they went and demonstrated to society that all life as value, that no one, young or old, is disposable or a burden. We must protect the innocent and helpless. We must be voices in society, saying this is wrong, that there is no justification for the murder and abuse of a million plus children every year. In the name of Jesus, we need to help where we can help, pray when we can pray, say something when we should say something. We must warn the world, call offenders to repentance, prosecute evil, and impose the necessary punishments. Children are precious gifts from the Lord, and anyone who abuses a child in any manner, must repent or they will wear the millstone of God’s judgment for all eternity.
Solomon says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3). In the Bible, behold often means pay attention because something important. Behold! I bring you good tidings of great joy. Behold! An angel descended and rolled the stone away. Behold! I am with you always. So when the Lord says “Behold, children are a heritage” it’s pretty important, right?
God has richly blessed Americans with material blessings, but those pale when compared to the vibrant colors, lights, and sounds children bring into our lives. They show us the innocence of faith. They believe Jesus loves them and died for them often in greater magnitudes than we adults.
Children are a favor from God; a blessing of infinite value. Rally Day reminds us that raising our children in the faith isn’t optional, it’s a parent’s most important duty. The Father says, “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.” The Son says, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Teach them, read Bible stories, bring them to Sunday school and church, pray with them, and model Christ. This message isn’t just for parents though. Grandparents need to take a hand in teaching the children Christian faith as well.
Here’s something you need to know. Children are not just the minors in our family. Each of you is a child of God, precious in His sight, one whom He loves and gave His Son to die for. Saint John writes: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 Jn 3:1).
If you’re flashing back to trauma in your life, know that the Lord will give you, His child, peace. His death has removed your shame. His blood has washed you clean. If you’ve had an abortion, you’re not unforgiveable. You are a child of God, forgiven through the death of the Father’s Son. No repentant child is ever turned away. If you’ve grievously sinned by hurting your child, there is forgiveness for all who repent and call on Christ.
If you’re a mom, dad or caretaker and you’re overwhelmed and frightened, you’re a child of God, who does provide help. I promise you that there’s someone in this congregation who will lend you a helping hand, a listening ear, and praying mouth. If you need help – ask. If you’re being abused – ask. You will not be turned away. Our sin and the sins inflicted upon us by others, the sins that make us feel dirty, ashamed, frightened, unworthy, the sins that make us question our place as children of God, are washed away in the blood of the holy Son Jesus Christ.
I may have gotten a little overheated this morning. For reasons known only to God, I have found myself becoming passionate about this topic. Did I choose a topic that’s inappropriate for church, I don’t think so. Child abuse, child pornography, the trafficking of innocent girls, boys, women, and men must be addressed. We have the God-given obligation to speak up and protect the innocent. Jesus commanded the disciples: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” and then He blessed them. Bring the little children to Jesus and He will bless them with His love, forgiveness, healing, rescue, and eternal life. Bring yourself to Jesus because you too are a child of God and receive the same blessings. Come, receive His blessings, for you are a precious gift of God.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen