REALLIFE STUDY GROUP

"The Truth about Abstinence & Abortion!"

ICEBREAKER: If your electricity was cut off for an undetermined amount of time, name one item you might find very useful. You cannot repeat anyone else's answer.

INTRODUCTION: Abstinence and abortion are two very serious problems in our society today. It is incredibly alarming that since the verdict Roe versus Wade, forty years have passed and abortion on demand, all the way through the ninth month, is not only allowed but encouraged. We have terminated the lives of around fifty-five million innocent babies in the womb in America alone. God help us and forgive us!

Within 21 days of conception the baby’s backbone, spinal cord, and nervous system are forming. A small heart is present and beating. At one month arms and legs are present. There is a head with rudimentary eyes, ears, mouth, and brain. The digestive system has begun. The baby is still only one-fourth of an inch long, but he is ten thousand times larger than when he began.

At two months the baby is fully formed. He reacts to stimuli such as tickling. He will try to grasp a tiny instrument with his tiny hand. He "swims" or moves about in the amniotic fluid. He has fingerprints. By the end of the third month, as one observer notes, "he can kick his legs, turn his feet, curl and fan his toes, make a fist, move his thumb, bend his wrist, turn his head, squint, frown, open his mouth, swallow, and breathe.”

On September 11, 2001 over 3,500 lives were extinguished due to the bombing of the world trade towers in New York. In that crowd of people there were potential doctors, scientists, preachers, future leaders whose lives were taken due to evil terrorists. What did not make the headlines on September 12, 2001, the very next day, was the 4,000 lives that were extinguished by what is called pro-choice. It happened again on September 12, 13, 14, etc. Each day since 1973 approximately 4,000 unborn babies have been aborted; 28,000 each week; 112,000 each month; 1,460,000 each year.

STATISTICS AND DATA: Regarding the Human Body

Most of us don’t realize how intricate and wondrous our bodies really are. Think about the uniqueness and intricateness of our bodies.

For example: In a square inch of skin you would find:

20 blood vessels;

65 muscles;

78 nerves;

78 sensors for heat, 13 for cold, 160 for pressure;

650 sweat glands;

1,300 nerve endings;

and 19,500,000 cells.

The skin serves several purposes, including providing a protective shield against bacteria and viruses and the absorbing of bumps and bruises that might otherwise damage your bones and internal organs.…

And in that inch of skin, your sweat glands in your body do double duty, helping to eliminate wastes and cool your body.

Then, there’s your brain which weighs about three pounds, but stores 100 trillion bits of information over the course of 70 years. That storage capacity is roughly equal to 500,000 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica (which, if stacked, would stretch out over 442 miles). Your brain does all this and uses less power than a 100-watt bulb.

Your brain is serviced by about 45 miles of nerves that send impulses through your body as rapidly as 325 miles per hour. Your nervous system is so sensitive you are able to feel on your fingertips (or face) a pressure that depresses your skin a bare .00004 (400,000’s) of an inch - roughly the weight of a bee’s wing falling on your cheek.

Then, there are your ears: A piano has 88 keys, but each of your ears has a keyboard with 1,500 keys. They are so finely tuned that you can hear the blood running through your vessels.

Your eyes are capable of seeing a small candle flame from 30 miles away on a clear, dark night. And can distinguish among more than 300,000 different color variations

Your nose can smell one drop of perfume diffused through a three room apartment.

CONFESSION: I choose to be a person who refuses to ever abort any seed that God has planted in me. My mind is the womb of the thoughts of God. My mouth is the womb of the words of God. My heart is the womb of the emotions and feelings of God. My body is the womb of the expressions and the demonstrations of God.

DEFINITION: God's Truth: The truth revealed to us happens when the present facts and realities of Heaven are manifest in the earth.

OUTLINE: 5 Dangers of pre-marital sex:

1. Counterfeit love

Relationships based solely on sex do not last!

Real love is patient, pure, and unselfish.

Girls, when that guy says, “I just can’t wait,” you'll know he doesn't love you.

2. Emotional consequences

Young ladies:

Studies show a direct correlation between pre-marital sex and personal emotion problems: Guilt/anxiety/loss of self-respect

Guilt is one of the most destructive emotions we can have.

3. Physical consequences

Wages of sin is still death!

Drunkards are in danger of cirrhosis of the liver

Smoker cancer in the lungs

Glutton cardiovascular disease

Sexually impure are in danger of diseases with no cures. There are 7 diseases besides aids which have no cure, and all carry long-term consequences, and all are spread around through a crowd of people willing to have sex outside of the protection of marriage! You risk bringing a child into the world before you are ready.

You say, “He’s only willing to be with me,” or “She’s only willing to be with me.” Don't be so sure! If they're willing to do it with you then they'll do it with others, and probably already have.

4. Marital consequences

I've counseled with people who say, “It’s ok for her and me to do this, because we know we’re going to get married.” No, it’s not ok. The average teen falls in love ten times before they get married. Even if you do marry them, you have reduced your chances for a happy marriage because you have chipped away at the foundation of trust. In the back of your mind you will always know that the person you married is capable of immorality.

5. Spiritual consequences

The enemy torments you; you feel ashamed and embarrassed; you don't feel as close to God. All unconfessed sin ultimately brings death!

TEXT: 1 Peter 2:11; Psalm 139:13-16; Psalm 127:3

STUDY GROUP QUESTIONS:

1. Why do you think premarital sex is so rampant in our world?

2. The Bible says we were fearfully and wonderfully made! Tell us one thing that amazes you about the human body.

3. What are some of the excuses or reasons given for having an abortion?

4. How can the church be a part of the answer in a world where fornication and abortion are so rampant? How can we let young ladies who have been through the pain and the agony know we care, while encouraging others to remain abstinent?

5. How long do you think God will allow us to continue this kind of disrespect for His creation?

6. Sexual temptation is very strong, but so are many other temptations. How can we overcome temptation or prevent ourselves from falling to them?

PRAISE REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS:

ACTION POINT: This week I will pray, give, get involved, call local politicians to be a part of saving life!