The Gospel of Life is what pastors are to proclaim. After preaching a sermon for a church centennial celebration, former Lutheran Hour speaker Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, received one of the greatest compliments a preacher could receive. That is what pastors, Lutheran pastors, are called to do. They are not called to spew nice sounding words into the air. First, abortion is not just a social issue.
Abortion is a sin.
Abortion is a sin that assaults innocent human life and insults the Author of Life and the Redeemer of Life. No matter how divisive, political, or offensive we think it is, this sin needs to be called a sin from Lutheran pulpits. Second, and most important , abortion provides powerful opportunities to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and apply it to the lives of people crushed by this sin. It is not as harmless and casual an event as many in the pro-abortion crowd insist. Something happens on the deeper levels of a woman's consciousness when she destroys a pregnancy.