THE THREE BABIES
Mike Cunningham
Father’s Day June 15, 2014

Today’s sermon is short and simple. I’m grateful for the feedback on my last three sermons that I’ve been receiving from my good friend Guy Rossi and my Granddaughter Amanda her dad Mike Jr.I’m indebted to Pastor Ernie Reisinger from whose insightful book “God’s Will, Man’s Will And Free Will.” I have quoted many excerpts. The following is the Authors Note in the front of the book. I have never seen anything like it before.

“Anyone is at liberty to use material from this book with or without credit. In preparing this book the writer has received help from many sources, some acknowledged and many unacknowledged. He believes the material herein set forth to be a true statement of Scripture teaching, and his desire is to further, not restrict, its use.”

Speaking of the Doctrine of Election and aborted babies I asked, “Can you believe that “because God the Father has not chosen to elect some sinful unborn baby to eternal life in His Son, a baby that never saw the light of day and who never had an opportunity to learn of God’s law, much less personally break it; that that tiny baby who never even had an opportunity to plead for mercy and beg for forgiveness of the one sin committed in Adam; that that poor child has been preordained to suffering an eternal separation from the One who is the very personification of love.” My sermon: “Defending Your Christian Faith In College.”

Then speaking about the unbelievers who are suffering in Hell in my sermon, “The Wailing Chamber” I explained how one of my fictitious character’s, a man named Matt, took a moment to ponder certain Scriptures. Then he looked and saw that Jesus was gazing into the darkened sky that was illuminated here and there with sparkling stars. With tear filled eyes, Jesus shouted, “now do you believe that I love all human beings? I wanted to be your friend. You could have been experiencing infinite happiness and joy…forever. But each of you freely chose not to have anything to do with Me. You wanted to be your own god. I assure you that the excruciating agony you doomed yourselves to is infinitely greater than that which I suffered on Mount Calvary. Justice has been served!”

It isn’t as though God didn’t give those poor lost souls in Hell ample opportunity to turn to Christ.I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. We should think of our own experience in coming to Christ. God gave you and me plenty of opportunities to accept the Gospel. Did God coerce us into coming to Him and asking for forgiveness, or did we do it of our own free will?He didn’t tamper with our will, did He? But, depending on how quickly we learned, He sure made us willing to be willing to turn to Him, didn’t He

Reisinger talks about a hillbilly ditty that he calls THE HORNET SONG. Here it is:

“When the Canaanites hardened their hearts against God,
And grieved Him because of their sin,
God sent along hornets to bring them to terms,
And to help His own people to win.

If a nest of live hornets were brought to this room,
And the creatures allowed to go free,
You would not need urging to make yourself scarce,
You’d want to get out, don’t you see!

They would not lay hold and by the force of their strength,
Throw you out the window, oh, no!
They would not compel; you to go against your will,
But they would just make you willing to go.

When Jonah was sent to the work of the Lord,
The outlook was not very bright,
He had never done such a hard thing before,
So he backed and ran off from the fight.

Now, the Lord sent a great fish to swallow him up,
The story I am sure you all know.
God did not compel him to go against his will,
But He just made him willing to go.

CHORUS

God does not compel us to go, oh, no!
He never compels us to go.
God does not compel us to go against our will,
But He just makes us willing to go.

This song is teaching the truth found in the Psalms: “Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts” (Psalm 65:4); “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (110:3 KJV).

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But how about a new born baby or a toddler? How does God draw them? And if He doesn’t, what kind of a god is he? Consider the children in the following newspaper article.
“A baby dies under questionable circumstances-in this case, in Burlington, Vt. on September 5, 2013.

The death certificate issued by the medical examiner determines the death was unnatural. Police reports indicate the mother had something to do with the child’s dying.

Records indicate the Department for Children and Families had previous involvement with the family, but the mother was allowed to keep custody of the infant.

That description neatly fits what happened to Dezirae Sheldon of Poultney and Peighton Geraw of Winooski, two toddlers whose deaths this year triggered sharp criticism of the department responsible for child protection in Vermont.

Except for one thing. In this newest case, the department tried to gain custody of the child eight weeks before the baby’s death. But DFC was thwarted when a judge-behind closed doors-gave the mother “conditional custody”of the boy.

The Burlington case, the subject of a Burlington Free Press investigation, challenges the assumption that the Department for Children and Families automatically favors family reunification and has carte blanche powers to protect children from harm.

David Yacovone, the department commissioner, said in an interview Monday he was unaware of the case until informed of it by a reporter. He then declined to discus the case, citing confidentially rules.

“I can say the process is not a one of rubber stamp,” Yacovone said. “Most of the time I feel we have a strong case, but that does not mean the judge will concur with us.”

In Dezirae’s and Peighton’s cases, the department temporarily removed the children from their mothers’ care, then agreed to allow the mothers to allow the mothers to regain conditional custody of the toddlers.

Both youngsters later died from physical injuries, and murder charges have been filed against their alleged attackers.

The two deaths have spawned multiple investigations, plus a set of nine legislative hearings across Vermont focused on child protective services. The last three of the hearings will take place today in St. Johnsbury, Morrisville and Montpelier.

In this newest case, the judge sided with the mother and against DCF despite evidence the mother was abusing drugs when her son was born July 9, 2013, records show.

“The Department for Children and Families advised they had also received information in which (the mother) was using drugs while caring for (the baby),” a redacted police report stated. The report was among nearly 30 pages of documents turned over to the Burlington Free Press following public-records requests.

“The Department for Children and Families attempted to gain custody of (the baby), based on this information, however, (the mother) was granted conditional custody through Superior Court.”

The identity of the judge who ruled for the mother and against the department is unknown, because the custodial issue was aired at a closed Family Court hearing in Burlington.

Judge Linda Levitt was the presiding Family Court judge in Burlington at the time but said a description of the case provided by a reporter did not “ring a bell.” All court records surrounding the case, including the name of the judge, are secret.

“I don’t remember it,” she said in an interview Monday. “It’s surprising that conditional custody was given to the mother. … We practically always agree with DCF. We’re not there, and DFC is sort of the court’s eyes and ears” in such cases.

Police reports obtained by the Free Press indicate the mother’s custody rights for another child were terminated in 2010 after a department investigator alleged the mother was living with a convicted sex offender and lacked stable housing of income.

“The report also mentioned mental health and substance abuse concerns,” Detective Morgan of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations wrote in a summary of the 2010 incident.

The mother became pregnant again in 2012, and in May 2013, she moved into the Women helping Battered Women shelter in Burlington, police reports stated.

The mother was homeless at the time and had obtained a temporary relief-from-abuse order against the father.

After the boy was born, doctors at Fletcher Allen Health Care determined he was addicted to opiates.

Attending Physician Mariah McNamara told police after the boy’s death that the infant “was receiving treatment for opiate addiction” and “had been treated for withdrawal symptoms for a period of time after his birth,” the police report stated.

It was unclear whether the mother’s substance abuse continued after she returned to the battered women’s shelter after the baby’s birth.

O. Whitman Smith, the shelters attorney, told the Free Press the organization prohibits clients from using illegal substances while living at the shelter.

A staff member told police after the child’s death that the shelter “does not provide assistance with addiction, and residents ta of medical issues on their own,” the police report stated.

The shelter worker also told police the mother had “worked very hard to be a good mother.” The staff members name was redacted from police reports the Free Press obtained.

On the night the baby died, the mother and child went to sleep in the same bed at about 1:30 a. m. She told police she awoke about an hour later and put her son into a small bed that was attached to her bed, a police report stated.

“In the morning, she reached out to check on (the baby),” the report continued. “She felt he was cold and she saw he was out of his blanket…. and realized he was not moving.” The child’s fist was clenched, and there was blood on his cheek.

The mother called 911 and tried to administer CPR. The baby was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

The cause of death for the child is unknown. According to a death certificate on file at City Hall in Burlington, the cause of death was listed as “undetermined,” and the manner or death was described as “could not be determined.”

Under the category of other contributing conditions, the state Medical Examiner’s Office wrote, ”bed-sharing with adult.”

Chief Medical Examiner Steven Shapiro said Monday that state law prevents him from releasing his office’s complete report on the baby’s death.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney T. J. Donovan said his office tried to conduct an inquest into the baby’s death, but abandoned it after Smith, the shelters lawyer,persuaded a judge to quash subpoenas seeking access to shelter records and the names of employees and residents.

“We tried to do a thorough investigation,” Donovan said.

Smith said the laws protecting the confidentiality of a battered woman’s shelter are particularly strong because they are designed to protect the safety of the clients and their children.”

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Article written in the Burlington Free Press on June 10, 2014 by Sam Hemmingway, Free Press Staff Writer.

Here are excerpts from another article in the Burlington Free Press yesterday, June 14, 2014.

“The key witness in the state’s case against Nytosha LaForce, the Winooski mother charged with murdering her 14 month-old son Peighton Geraw, has pleaded to lying to a police officer during the investigation into the babies death.

As part of the plea deal, Chicoine [the witness] is required to “fully cooperate” with the state’s prosecution of LaForce on the charge of second- degree murder.

According to police, Chicoine was in the apartment April 4 when LaForce violently shook her son shortly before a scheduled visit by a Department for Children and Families staffer.

Chicoine initially told police he was uncertain how Peighton came to be injured and that the child seemed “fine” when he put the toddler down for a nap before the department worker arrived.

The worker saw bruises on the child but took no action. A half hour later, LaForce called 911 and said her son was not breathing. Peighton was rushed to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where he was declared dead.

Chicoine changed his story in May after being told that LaForce was accusing him of killing Peighton, a police affidavit stated.

May 15, Chicoine told police that when he came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, he saw LaForce shaking Peighton and slamming his head on the living-room floor, the affidavit stated.

Donovan also said the state believes Chicione’s version of events in large part because he passed a polygraph test and LaForce failed hers.”

Article written on June 17, 2014 by Sam Hemmingway, a Free Press Staff Writer.

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Now I would like to quote the following from Guy Rossi concerning his post on my blog. He said that, “Here’s something to think about. A true Calvinist would not be able to look someone in the eye and say to them that “Jesus loves you.” He could say that,“Jesus loves sinners like you, if you are one of the elect who He will irresistibly cause to believe apart from any free choice in your part. And if not, He actually hates you and has hated you before you were even born and had predestined you to spend eternity in Hell.”

Can you imagine saying that to the folks who are grieving over the death of those three precious little babies? Furthermore, what do you think of a church that teaches such nonsense and actually has it as a requirement for church membership?

I hope this sermon was helpful to each of you and especially to my Granddaughter Amanda.

Lord willing, next week ….