September 2, 2025 • 14 mins
In last week's episode we talked about how attacks on Biblical sexuality are one-and-done for the Enemy, and this week's offering builds on that theme with an article by long-time PPL board President Rev. John Sheldon, on Purifying the Bride of Christ.
Scriptures included in this episode include:
Rev. 21:1-11 Matthew 16:8 Ephesians 5:1-33
Ezekiel 16:33-37 Ezekiel 16:53; 63 Revelation 11:11
Genesis 2:7 Luke 1:5-25 Psalm 139:13-16
Genesis 18:10; 25:23 Psalm 22:10 Jeremiah 29:11
Ephesians 1:4-11; 2:10 2 Timothy 1:9 John 20:22
https://www.ppl.org/baby-chris
Abortion is never medically necessary
Abortion Pill Reversal https://abortionpillreversal.com 24/7 Helpline at 877.558.0333 Email: help@apr.life or Chat at the weblink above
Post abortion recovery for both women and men at https://www.rachelsvineyard.org
Life Training Institute https://www.prolifetraining.com
Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org
Guttmacher Institute https://guttmacher.org
Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. PPL.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:20):
Welcome back to the ProLife Kitchen Table.
I'm Deborah Holyfield, and I'vebeen waiting for you to come
again, and thanks for sparing aminute to pause and listen to me
talk about all things pro life.
I'm going to take a minute forsome housekeeping first.
If you are only listening tothis podcast without checking
the show notes, you might notrealize that all of the
(00:40):
resources mentioned in eachepisode are linked in the show
notes, as are all of thescripture references.
The scripture references andresources are handy for more
in-depth Bible study later inthe week or for an adult Sunday
school lesson.
So we hope that these arehelpful for equipping yourself
and others with further study.
Last week I spoke about howsexuality is one-stop shopping
(01:04):
for the enemy.
Destroying biblical sexualityattacks both men and women,
children, families, and thewitness that a godly marriage is
to the world about therelationship that God enjoys
with God's people.
And I spoke about how the Bibleis a romantic saga of the way
God woos his people, by pursuingthem, protecting and rescuing
(01:26):
them from those who would harmthem, by giving them gifts, by
forgiving them when they rejecthim, and looking forward to the
day when we are joined as thebride of Christ to our
bridegroom in eternity.
This week's article by theReverend John Sheldon, long time
PPO board president, builds onthat theme by sharing his
(01:48):
thoughts on purifying the brideof Christ.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passedaway, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, NewJerusalem, coming down from
heaven from God, prepared as abride adorned for her husband.
(02:10):
And he who was seated on thethrone said, Behold I am making
all things new.
Revelation chapter one versesone through two and five.
Thanks be to God.
One of the Bible's most familiarand beloved metaphors for the
church is the bride of Christ.
(02:31):
Old Testament prophets Hosea,Isaiah, and Ezekiel are among
those who use this picture forGod's redeemed people, as do the
New Testament apostles Paul andJohn.
God created and instituted themarriage relationship between
one man and one woman to revealJesus Christ's relationship with
(02:52):
his bride the church.
As Christ loves his church, soalso a husband is to love his
wife.
As the church honors Christ, soalso a wife is to respect her
husband.
Christians who love Jesus willlove his church.
Jesus promises to build hischurch.
The gates of hell shall notprevail against it.
(03:15):
Building, protecting, andpurifying Christ's bride is the
point of the apostle Paul'sinspired and authoritative
teaching in Ephesians chapterfive.
In the sixth century BC, Hebrewprophet and priest Ezekiel
employed the longest allegory ofthe entire Bible to describe
God's relationship with hisredeemed people.
(03:37):
In Ezekiel sixteen, the prophetportrays God initiating his
relationship by taking a freshlyborn but unwanted female infant,
who had been thrown into adumpster as it were, naked,
bloody, with her umbilical cordsstill attached.
God takes this infant, giving itlife and nurture.
(03:59):
The baby flourishes under God'slove and grows into a beautiful
young woman.
As Ezekiel develops hisallegory, the Lord God takes
this young woman as his bride,adorning her with the tokens of
his love.
Sadly, the Lord's beloved wifeis tempted by the world's
allures.
Full of herself and proud of herbeauty, she leaves her husband
(04:22):
and becomes a wantonlyadulterous wife.
Read Hosea's similar prophecy.
Ezekiel's allegorical bride,Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem,
eventually suffers the sadconsequences of her sin against
the Lord.
She is used and abandoned by hercallous lovers, represented by
(04:43):
Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.
God allows his bride to finallybe cast back into the dumpster
from which she was once saved.
Uncover your nakedness isEzekiel's phrase to describe
Judah's Babylonian exile.
The Hebrew word for naked is thesame as the Hebrew word for
(05:05):
exile.
Repentance in the churchprecedes God's revival in the
wider world, and the refusal ofthe church to repent brings not
only the Lord's judgment on hisbride, but disaster to the world
in which God has sent her aslight and salt.
(05:25):
Given God's character, it's notsurprising, yet still amazing,
that Ezekiel's lengthy allegoryconcludes with the Lord's
redeeming grace.
The Lord promises to rememberhis inviolable covenant vows.
A remnant will be saved.
He will restore his bride tohimself, quote, when I atone for
(05:47):
you for all that you have done,end quote.
Not only will he atone andrestore his bride, but will
reclaim and restore her sisters,Samaria and Sodom, foreshadowing
the coming inclusion of theGentiles in God's redeeming
covenant of grace.
(06:08):
Ezekiel's prophecy points to thecoming of the Lord Jesus and his
atonement for his church, hisremnant bride.
Jesus knows the many sins andadulteries his church has, does,
and will commit, but patientlyand steadily he builds his
church.
Through the work of the HolySpirit, applying the preached
(06:30):
word of faithful pastors, thebride is purified.
Like a window lit farmhouse in adark and moonless field, the
repentant church shines out thewelcoming light of Christ to
passers by traveling throughthis dark world.
But the bride of Christ mustconfess and receive the Lord's
(06:50):
forgiveness for her idolatries,disordered desires, and fears
that have led her active andpassive acquiescence to the
atrocities of abortion,infanticide, and complete
neglect of God's command to befruitful and multiply.
Our blessed hope is in thatcoming day of the Lord when the
(07:10):
bride of Christ will bepresented to the bridegroom in a
magnificent garden wedding heldon the grounds of the new earth.
She will then become the greatwife of the lamb, whose beauty
will only increase as she ages.
Revelation chapter twenty oneverses one through eleven.
Presbyterians protecting lifeseeks to love Christ and honor
(07:34):
his bride by calling hischurches to which we belong to
repent from the passivity andsilence in the midst of
destructive forces seeking toharm the church.
We live in an abortion promotingmarriage weakening and child
devaluing culture, all of whichare antithetical to God's
purposes in giving his good giftof life, marriage, and fruitful
(07:57):
families.
PPL supports local churches inChrist's ongoing purification of
his bride, particularly as wethink about human sexuality,
abortion, adoption, specialneeds, reproductive
technologies, end-of-lifeissues, and how to be a
self-consciously life-affirmingchurch, and provides resources
(08:19):
to encourage pastors, elders,and local churches to preach and
teach about the sin of abortionlovingly but steadfastly.
PPL offers a wealth of resourcesto help churches apply God's
forgiveness and restoration tothose men and women graciously
led to repentance and aknowledge of the truth about
(08:39):
human life.
The church and every localchurch where the true word of
God is taught and obeyed is thehope of this fallen world.
Invest in your church and letPPL help you to champion human
life at every stage for theglory of the returning
bridegroom.
The wedding supper of the Lambis a great thing to look forward
(09:01):
to, isn't it?
Now take a stretch break with meso you can get credit on your
Apple Watch for accomplishingsomething today, and then come
back and find out what'shappening to Baby Chris during
week 23 in the womb.
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
Presbyterians Protecting Life has the
resources you need to equipyourself and your congregation
to champion life at every stage.
We have answers to yourquestions, referrals to
specialized care like abortionpill reversal and post-abortion
recovery, current statistics andinformation, discussion
starters, and devotionals tohelp you think about and share
about pregnancy and abortion,adoption, foster care, and even
(09:40):
suicide, assisted suicide andend-of-life challenges.
Visit PPL.org to learn more.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
This week's Baby Chris Devotional Number 23 is
called Breath of Heaven.
Hear the word of the Lord.
(10:14):
Mom might even be able to seethe outline of his hands and his
feet as he pushes against herstomach, stretching his muscles
and changing positions.
Although he has been breathingamniotic fluid in the womb,
blood vessels and lung cells arecontinuing to develop so he will
be ready to breathe air from themoment that he's born.
(10:34):
Surfactant is forming to helphis alveoli to open after birth
so his lungs will not collapseand stick together.
If we wanted to measure life bythe number of our breaths, young
children take about 44 breathsper minute, and an adult at rest
breathes about 16 times perminute, 960 breaths an hour, and
(10:59):
so on.
A person who lives to age 80will take about 672 million
seven hundred and sixty eightthousand breaths in his
lifetime.
Saving our breath is soimportant we learn to administer
the Heimlich technique whensomeone is choking, and CPR to
breathe for cardiac and accidentvictims until first responders
(11:22):
arrive.
We ask our government to protectour air quality.
We steer clear of toxic fumes,we discourage smoking, we get
pneumonia shots, we get allergytests, all to have healthy air
for our lungs to breathe.
Deep breathing alters the pH ofblood, reduces blood pressure,
(11:42):
aids in pain management, helpsto relax our brain, and while we
are asleep, breathing is aninvoluntary reflex.
Called the Jewish scriptures andthe Jewish understanding that
life begins at first breath.
These are usually people whowould never use Scripture as a
reliable source for any otherreason, except to try to
(12:04):
disprove a Christian prolifeposition.
It is true that Genesis chaptertwo verse seven says that God
breathed life into dust thatbecame Adam.
But the prototype human issurely not a good example for
when life begins through naturalhuman procreation, believing
that it is the same as believingthat God is still mixing up mud
(12:26):
in the womb to form each newperson.
A second volley points out thereanimation of dry bones in
Ezekiel's vision of the valleyof dry bones.
Should we take a prophet'svision of animated adult
skeletons as biblical proof thatlife begins at first breath?
Or what about John's vision ofthe resuscitation of the two
(12:48):
slain witnesses in Revelationchapter eleven?
Should we expect that becausethey stood up when the breath of
life entered them, that it meansthat babies who are breathing
amniotic fluid in the wombaren't alive until we add
outside oxygen, or that all deadpeople can be revived by
administering oxygen?
(13:08):
All such attempts to use woodenliteralism to pierce holes
through the biblical theme thathuman life begins at
fertilization fail to take intoaccount the call stories of the
prophets, John the Baptizer andthe Apostle Paul.
They omit the multiplereferences to God creating life
in the womb, not after birth,and the prebirth destiny stories
(13:32):
like Isaac, the twins Jacob andEsau and King David, and the
distinctive destinies of theelect of God.
The poet Maya Angelou once said,Life is not measured by how many
breaths we take, but by themoments that take our breath
away.
Surely one such moment wasexperienced by the apostles,
(13:53):
when Jesus breathed the HolySpirit onto them, animating
their spirits, and another whena believer, submerged in the
waters of baptism, emerges tothat first breath of new life in
Christ.
And then there is the singularmoment when a mother and father
have their breath stolen bytheir crying newborn's first
(14:14):
gulp of air.
Hear the word of the Lord.
And when he had said this, hebreathed on them and said to
them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
John chapter 20, verse 22.
Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00 (14:34):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share it andjoin us next time on ProLife
Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
Welcome back to the ProLife Kitchen Table.
I'm Deborah Holyfield, and I'vebeen waiting for you to come
again, and thanks for sparing aminute to pause and listen to me
talk about all things pro life.
I'm going to take a minute forsome housekeeping first.
If you are only listening tothis podcast without checking
the show notes, you might notrealize that all of the
(00:40):
resources mentioned in eachepisode are linked in the show
notes, as are all of thescripture references.
The scripture references andresources are handy for more
in-depth Bible study later inthe week or for an adult Sunday
school lesson.
So we hope that these arehelpful for equipping yourself
and others with further study.
Last week I spoke about howsexuality is one-stop shopping
(01:04):
for the enemy.
Destroying biblical sexualityattacks both men and women,
children, families, and thewitness that a godly marriage is
to the world about therelationship that God enjoys
with God's people.
And I spoke about how the Bibleis a romantic saga of the way
God woos his people, by pursuingthem, protecting and rescuing
(01:26):
them from those who would harmthem, by giving them gifts, by
forgiving them when they rejecthim, and looking forward to the
day when we are joined as thebride of Christ to our
bridegroom in eternity.
This week's article by theReverend John Sheldon, long time
PPO board president, builds onthat theme by sharing his
(01:48):
thoughts on purifying the brideof Christ.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passedaway, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, NewJerusalem, coming down from
heaven from God, prepared as abride adorned for her husband.
(02:10):
And he who was seated on thethrone said, Behold I am making
all things new.
Revelation chapter one versesone through two and five.
Thanks be to God.
One of the Bible's most familiarand beloved metaphors for the
church is the bride of Christ.
(02:31):
Old Testament prophets Hosea,Isaiah, and Ezekiel are among
those who use this picture forGod's redeemed people, as do the
New Testament apostles Paul andJohn.
God created and instituted themarriage relationship between
one man and one woman to revealJesus Christ's relationship with
(02:52):
his bride the church.
As Christ loves his church, soalso a husband is to love his
wife.
As the church honors Christ, soalso a wife is to respect her
husband.
Christians who love Jesus willlove his church.
Jesus promises to build hischurch.
The gates of hell shall notprevail against it.
(03:15):
Building, protecting, andpurifying Christ's bride is the
point of the apostle Paul'sinspired and authoritative
teaching in Ephesians chapterfive.
In the sixth century BC, Hebrewprophet and priest Ezekiel
employed the longest allegory ofthe entire Bible to describe
God's relationship with hisredeemed people.
(03:37):
In Ezekiel sixteen, the prophetportrays God initiating his
relationship by taking a freshlyborn but unwanted female infant,
who had been thrown into adumpster as it were, naked,
bloody, with her umbilical cordsstill attached.
God takes this infant, giving itlife and nurture.
(03:59):
The baby flourishes under God'slove and grows into a beautiful
young woman.
As Ezekiel develops hisallegory, the Lord God takes
this young woman as his bride,adorning her with the tokens of
his love.
Sadly, the Lord's beloved wifeis tempted by the world's
allures.
Full of herself and proud of herbeauty, she leaves her husband
(04:22):
and becomes a wantonlyadulterous wife.
Read Hosea's similar prophecy.
Ezekiel's allegorical bride,Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem,
eventually suffers the sadconsequences of her sin against
the Lord.
She is used and abandoned by hercallous lovers, represented by
(04:43):
Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.
God allows his bride to finallybe cast back into the dumpster
from which she was once saved.
Uncover your nakedness isEzekiel's phrase to describe
Judah's Babylonian exile.
The Hebrew word for naked is thesame as the Hebrew word for
(05:05):
exile.
Repentance in the churchprecedes God's revival in the
wider world, and the refusal ofthe church to repent brings not
only the Lord's judgment on hisbride, but disaster to the world
in which God has sent her aslight and salt.
(05:25):
Given God's character, it's notsurprising, yet still amazing,
that Ezekiel's lengthy allegoryconcludes with the Lord's
redeeming grace.
The Lord promises to rememberhis inviolable covenant vows.
A remnant will be saved.
He will restore his bride tohimself, quote, when I atone for
(05:47):
you for all that you have done,end quote.
Not only will he atone andrestore his bride, but will
reclaim and restore her sisters,Samaria and Sodom, foreshadowing
the coming inclusion of theGentiles in God's redeeming
covenant of grace.
(06:08):
Ezekiel's prophecy points to thecoming of the Lord Jesus and his
atonement for his church, hisremnant bride.
Jesus knows the many sins andadulteries his church has, does,
and will commit, but patientlyand steadily he builds his
church.
Through the work of the HolySpirit, applying the preached
(06:30):
word of faithful pastors, thebride is purified.
Like a window lit farmhouse in adark and moonless field, the
repentant church shines out thewelcoming light of Christ to
passers by traveling throughthis dark world.
But the bride of Christ mustconfess and receive the Lord's
(06:50):
forgiveness for her idolatries,disordered desires, and fears
that have led her active andpassive acquiescence to the
atrocities of abortion,infanticide, and complete
neglect of God's command to befruitful and multiply.
Our blessed hope is in thatcoming day of the Lord when the
(07:10):
bride of Christ will bepresented to the bridegroom in a
magnificent garden wedding heldon the grounds of the new earth.
She will then become the greatwife of the lamb, whose beauty
will only increase as she ages.
Revelation chapter twenty oneverses one through eleven.
Presbyterians protecting lifeseeks to love Christ and honor
(07:34):
his bride by calling hischurches to which we belong to
repent from the passivity andsilence in the midst of
destructive forces seeking toharm the church.
We live in an abortion promotingmarriage weakening and child
devaluing culture, all of whichare antithetical to God's
purposes in giving his good giftof life, marriage, and fruitful
(07:57):
families.
PPL supports local churches inChrist's ongoing purification of
his bride, particularly as wethink about human sexuality,
abortion, adoption, specialneeds, reproductive
technologies, end-of-lifeissues, and how to be a
self-consciously life-affirmingchurch, and provides resources
(08:19):
to encourage pastors, elders,and local churches to preach and
teach about the sin of abortionlovingly but steadfastly.
PPL offers a wealth of resourcesto help churches apply God's
forgiveness and restoration tothose men and women graciously
led to repentance and aknowledge of the truth about
(08:39):
human life.
The church and every localchurch where the true word of
God is taught and obeyed is thehope of this fallen world.
Invest in your church and letPPL help you to champion human
life at every stage for theglory of the returning
bridegroom.
The wedding supper of the Lambis a great thing to look forward
(09:01):
to, isn't it?
Now take a stretch break with meso you can get credit on your
Apple Watch for accomplishingsomething today, and then come
back and find out what'shappening to Baby Chris during
week 23 in the womb.
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
Presbyterians Protecting Life has the
resources you need to equipyourself and your congregation
to champion life at every stage.
We have answers to yourquestions, referrals to
specialized care like abortionpill reversal and post-abortion
recovery, current statistics andinformation, discussion
starters, and devotionals tohelp you think about and share
about pregnancy and abortion,adoption, foster care, and even
(09:40):
suicide, assisted suicide andend-of-life challenges.
Visit PPL.org to learn more.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
This week's Baby Chris Devotional Number 23 is
called Breath of Heaven.
Hear the word of the Lord.
(10:14):
Mom might even be able to seethe outline of his hands and his
feet as he pushes against herstomach, stretching his muscles
and changing positions.
Although he has been breathingamniotic fluid in the womb,
blood vessels and lung cells arecontinuing to develop so he will
be ready to breathe air from themoment that he's born.
(10:34):
Surfactant is forming to helphis alveoli to open after birth
so his lungs will not collapseand stick together.
If we wanted to measure life bythe number of our breaths, young
children take about 44 breathsper minute, and an adult at rest
breathes about 16 times perminute, 960 breaths an hour, and
(10:59):
so on.
A person who lives to age 80will take about 672 million
seven hundred and sixty eightthousand breaths in his
lifetime.
Saving our breath is soimportant we learn to administer
the Heimlich technique whensomeone is choking, and CPR to
breathe for cardiac and accidentvictims until first responders
(11:22):
arrive.
We ask our government to protectour air quality.
We steer clear of toxic fumes,we discourage smoking, we get
pneumonia shots, we get allergytests, all to have healthy air
for our lungs to breathe.
Deep breathing alters the pH ofblood, reduces blood pressure,
(11:42):
aids in pain management, helpsto relax our brain, and while we
are asleep, breathing is aninvoluntary reflex.
Called the Jewish scriptures andthe Jewish understanding that
life begins at first breath.
These are usually people whowould never use Scripture as a
reliable source for any otherreason, except to try to
(12:04):
disprove a Christian prolifeposition.
It is true that Genesis chaptertwo verse seven says that God
breathed life into dust thatbecame Adam.
But the prototype human issurely not a good example for
when life begins through naturalhuman procreation, believing
that it is the same as believingthat God is still mixing up mud
(12:26):
in the womb to form each newperson.
A second volley points out thereanimation of dry bones in
Ezekiel's vision of the valleyof dry bones.
Should we take a prophet'svision of animated adult
skeletons as biblical proof thatlife begins at first breath?
Or what about John's vision ofthe resuscitation of the two
(12:48):
slain witnesses in Revelationchapter eleven?
Should we expect that becausethey stood up when the breath of
life entered them, that it meansthat babies who are breathing
amniotic fluid in the wombaren't alive until we add
outside oxygen, or that all deadpeople can be revived by
administering oxygen?
(13:08):
All such attempts to use woodenliteralism to pierce holes
through the biblical theme thathuman life begins at
fertilization fail to take intoaccount the call stories of the
prophets, John the Baptizer andthe Apostle Paul.
They omit the multiplereferences to God creating life
in the womb, not after birth,and the prebirth destiny stories
(13:32):
like Isaac, the twins Jacob andEsau and King David, and the
distinctive destinies of theelect of God.
The poet Maya Angelou once said,Life is not measured by how many
breaths we take, but by themoments that take our breath
away.
Surely one such moment wasexperienced by the apostles,
(13:53):
when Jesus breathed the HolySpirit onto them, animating
their spirits, and another whena believer, submerged in the
waters of baptism, emerges tothat first breath of new life in
Christ.
And then there is the singularmoment when a mother and father
have their breath stolen bytheir crying newborn's first
(14:14):
gulp of air.
Hear the word of the Lord.
And when he had said this, hebreathed on them and said to
them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
John chapter 20, verse 22.
Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00 (14:34):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share it andjoin us next time on ProLife
Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
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