WEBVTT 00:00:03.584 --> 00:00:17.365 my responsibility as a pastor is to shepherd the hearts and the minds of those who would call Redeemer City Church their home. 00:00:17.365 --> 00:00:20.332 The word pastor literally means shepherd. 00:00:20.332 --> 00:00:32.545 My conviction says that includes shaping how we ought to think and respond as Christians to the issues of our day. 00:00:32.545 --> 00:00:49.155 On Wednesday, september 10th 2025, charlie Kirk, the husband, father, political commentator, a church member and brother in Christ, was assassinated. 00:00:49.155 --> 00:01:08.286 He was killed by a confused man that appears to have been raised in a relatively conservative household, but in years after leaving his childhood home, he attended a semester of college and then was later radicalized, believing that Charlie Kirk was, and I quote, a fascist. 00:01:08.286 --> 00:01:18.992 Yes, charlie Kirk, a man who made a living giving opportunity for rebuttal from the opposing aisle, offering public microphones to those who disagreed with him. 00:01:18.992 --> 00:01:35.561 Mr Kirk was consistently labeled a misogynist, a racist, a fascist and a homophobe by many progressives on the left, some of which have since posted videos singing, dancing and celebrating over his grave. 00:01:35.561 --> 00:01:52.332 I have seen such and screenshotted over 60 of them, all for holding out open mic for disagreement what could mostly be understood as historic biblical Christian ethics on family, gender, morality and the government's role in a society. 00:01:52.332 --> 00:01:54.748 Whether you agreed with his tone every time he did so or not. 00:01:54.748 --> 00:02:23.167 Charlie Kirk, a believer and conservative figure, traveled to college campuses with the belief that college campuses whose professors are vastly liberal which would be the other side of Charlie Kirk, essentially in the social and anthropological sciences, with a politically left-to-far-left teaching average of 80 to 90 percent needed a conservative, biblically informed voice. 00:02:23.167 --> 00:02:25.290 Now let me speak clearly. 00:02:25.290 --> 00:02:34.704 I do not think Charlie Kirk was killed for beliefs pertaining to things Christians may disagree upon, because there are many things we may disagree upon. 00:02:34.704 --> 00:02:53.502 Rather, I do, as this pastor, believe that he is to be understood as a martyr, killed for bringing the truth of God to bear to the public square by a 22-year-old man who suppressed the truth of God for a lie tragically, and his conscience over time had become severed. 00:02:56.567 --> 00:03:07.772 Kirk was said to be a partaker in hate speech by his critics and yet, having watched now hundreds and hundreds of videos, he was not a name caller. 00:03:07.772 --> 00:03:10.003 His critics, however, often were. 00:03:10.003 --> 00:03:15.544 He presented facts and he gave his critics an open mic to bring their thoughts or ideologies to the table. 00:03:15.544 --> 00:03:24.431 In my own perspective, he did not hate people, he hated ideologies that hurt people and he was killed for the conversation about those things. 00:03:24.431 --> 00:03:29.850 He was a man who would bring facts to bear in culture, even when the culture hated him for it. 00:03:29.850 --> 00:03:34.911 He was a man who brought Christian ethics to bear in conversation, even when the culture hated his Christ. 00:03:34.911 --> 00:03:44.533 Hear me, words are not violence, no matter hurtful they may be and no matter how much you don't like them. 00:03:44.533 --> 00:03:49.510 Shooting an unarmed man in a chair is violence, no matter how much you don't like him. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:57.332 Charlie Kirk publicly exposed common cultural lies in opposition to the truth of God. 00:03:57.332 --> 00:04:03.473 Common cultural lies such as gender is a social construct and is fluid. 00:04:03.473 --> 00:04:07.002 A woman is merely one who identifies as such. 00:04:07.002 --> 00:04:09.444 These are lies and they are ungodly lies. 00:04:09.444 --> 00:04:30.346 And one might say well, of course you think that you're a Christian and of course that person would be right. 00:04:30.346 --> 00:04:33.382 A Christian should take God at his word and believe it. 00:04:33.382 --> 00:04:52.550 But hear me, and this is why I want to talk about this, such ungodliness, like the phrases and the ideologies that surround them that I already mentioned, do not merely affect the person who's pursuing it and their future, that they don't believe in heaven or hell, no more than that. 00:04:52.550 --> 00:05:04.788 If we believe God's instruction on ethics and his word is good for those who abide by it, ungodliness can lead to personal physical harm and to societal decay. 00:05:04.788 --> 00:05:16.283 That's why the church, living under the instruction of God, is to be a light to the truth of God and salt for the preservation of a given society. 00:05:16.283 --> 00:05:20.913 Let me give you examples, and let's start with gender. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:34.690 Transgenderism is indisputably a relatively new phenomenon as an identity and gender category especially embraced to the extent that it has been by the nation, and particularly by the left. 00:05:34.690 --> 00:05:50.509 Abigail Schreier, in her book Irreversible Damage, notes that just a few years ago, gender dysphoria, which is a severe discomfort in one's biological sex, was typically found in less than 0.01% of the population and most often found in adolescent boys. 00:05:50.509 --> 00:06:05.456 But today she reports whole groups of female friends, as young as middle school, wrestling through loneliness, puberty and seeking affirmation, are changing their gender at alarming rates, being encouraged by Instagram and YouTube influencers and championed as heroes for coming out. 00:06:05.456 --> 00:06:23.331 In fact, in 2018, the UK, who has since now changed its policy on gender-affirming care because of such facts, reported a 4,400% rise over the previous decade in teenage girls seeking gender treatments 4,400% rise in 10 years. 00:06:23.331 --> 00:06:25.939 But here's the question right? 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:30.028 Is the identification change all that's promised? 00:06:30.028 --> 00:06:45.322 Statistically, no Fewer than 13% of parents believe that their adolescent's mental health had improved after transgender re-identification and 47% reported their mental health had worsened Even worse. 00:06:45.322 --> 00:06:49.588 Suicide rates among the transgender identified are alarmingly high. 00:06:53.735 --> 00:07:21.288 When you look at those who have bought and brought guns intentionally to harm young school kids it at least seems by this pastor there is a relatively unique combination of religious anger, liberal ideals and gender confusion the Nashville Christian school shooter, the Lakewood church shooter, the Iowa school shooter, the Minneapolis Christian school shooter all self-identified as transgender and all were in the last three years. 00:07:21.288 --> 00:07:31.204 Meanwhile, contrary to the narrative that quote, christianity is gender oppressive and a tool of the abusive patriarchy, creating toxic relationships for women. 00:07:31.204 --> 00:07:41.701 According to the Institute for Family Studies, theologically conservative, gender, traditional church attending women are in the category of the happiest relationships with the least abuse in the country. 00:07:41.701 --> 00:07:49.625 And, contrary to the narrative that quote, christians are sexually repressive and anti-sex, creating a toxic purity culture. 00:07:49.625 --> 00:07:56.959 According to the Institute for Family Studies, church-going conservative Christians are in the category for the most fulfilling intimate lives in America. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:24.978 I do not say this this morning as a gotcha, no interest in that, but to say that biblical ethics, like the fact that God made both men and women, two different kinds of people built for one another, is a godly idea for eternity and God's instruction for the individual and for a flourishing society. 00:08:24.978 --> 00:08:30.372 Again, consider, if you would with me, the left's embrace of critical race theory. 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:36.692 One pastor online just noted that political violence is a feature, and not a bug, of progressivism. 00:08:36.692 --> 00:08:49.607 And here is why Because progressivism is built on top of a critical theory lens that sees the world through oppressed versus oppressor categories, rather than Christian theology lens of right versus wrong. 00:08:49.607 --> 00:08:57.677 It therefore trains people to see their opponents as not mistaken but as evil oppressors. 00:08:57.677 --> 00:09:04.393 If you believe someone is mistaken, you try to persuade them, like what Charlie Kirk did. 00:09:04.393 --> 00:09:17.422 If you believe someone is an evil oppressor literally Hitler, a fascist, an existential threat to democracy you will feel a moral obligation to stop them, he argues. 00:09:17.422 --> 00:09:21.993 This is why there is a radically disproportionate violence emerging on the left. 00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:28.750 Kirk advocated, in accordance with Scripture, for men and women to lead their sorry. 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:30.898 For men to lead their wives to read their Bible, to raise a family, to join a church, women to lead their sorry. 00:09:30.898 --> 00:09:36.097 For men to lead their wives to read their Bible, to raise a family, to join a church and to serve others all biblical values. 00:09:36.097 --> 00:09:44.662 He was willing to do what many pastors weren't engaging in the culture in the place of conversation and ideas, the college campus, and was killed. 00:09:44.662 --> 00:09:57.897 For Just recently I saw a Christian pastor in whose pulpit I've actually preached post that we should not focus on politics right now but faith. 00:09:57.897 --> 00:10:03.190 And yet let me provide a little pushback to that, if I may. 00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:10.580 Charlie's faith informed his politics and his faith at work got him killed. 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:14.698 Charlie's faith informed his politics and his faith at work got him killed. 00:10:17.485 --> 00:10:20.500 James says in the Bible to strip faith from works is not real faith. 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:29.312 So make sure your faith works, informing godly politics you aren't silent about, because politics, aka beliefs that shape the public square, matter for the livelihood of your neighbor. 00:10:29.312 --> 00:10:35.851 Faith leads us to expose the unfruitful works of darkness Ephesians 5, verse 11. 00:10:35.851 --> 00:10:41.842 Faith leads us to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God 2 Corinthians 10 5. 00:10:41.842 --> 00:10:45.171 Faith leads us to abhor that is hate what is evil. 00:10:45.171 --> 00:10:46.192 Romans 12 9. 00:10:46.192 --> 00:10:52.741 Faith cries out for God's mercy against the evildoer, even while trusting he will repay Romans 12, 19,. 00:10:52.741 --> 00:10:54.485 Revelation 6, 10 through 11. 00:10:54.485 --> 00:10:59.561 After all, faith without works in one's life is fake faith. 00:10:59.561 --> 00:11:01.264 James, chapter 2. 00:11:03.350 --> 00:11:08.763 While imperfect on many accounts, I am sure Charlie was a holy witness in a hostile world. 00:11:08.763 --> 00:11:18.494 What our next section of 1 Peter is all about, as it talks about marriage, jobs and suffering as exiles awaiting eternity. 00:11:18.494 --> 00:11:23.788 If you have been online, you have seen many things shared. 00:11:23.788 --> 00:11:42.542 I have been encouraged in the last 24 hours seeing that, after Charlie Crook was murdered, his videos being consumed around internationally, people flooding UK streets, his widowed wife bravely sharing the gospel prayer meetings. 00:11:42.542 --> 00:11:48.725 As a result, people considering the faith for the first time or returning to the faith of their youth. 00:11:49.086 --> 00:11:54.370 There have been, and I believe will be, people emboldened to take the truth of God to the public square. 00:11:54.370 --> 00:12:01.232 People are desperately hungry for what the Bible says about everything. 00:12:01.232 --> 00:12:03.066 They are hungry for truth. 00:12:03.066 --> 00:12:07.447 I will speak truth. 00:12:07.447 --> 00:12:08.037 The question is will we all? 00:12:08.037 --> 00:12:10.852 I will speak truth. 00:12:10.852 --> 00:12:15.977 The question is will we all? 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:42.312 I bring this up because in just a few weeks two to be exact our church will host what we had planned to host for years, that I had hosted in Tampa as well a Q&A Sundays on Sunday nights where the general public can come and ask any question it wants to of the pastors of Redeemer City Church about the Bible, theology, about Christian ethics and, you know, about anything really, about life and relationships, about the church. 00:12:42.312 --> 00:12:50.044 I would encourage you to come to that, to ask questions that you may have and to encourage your friends, unbelieving or believing, just to come here. 00:12:50.044 --> 00:12:52.288 We try to stick to a twofold promise. 00:12:52.288 --> 00:12:55.313 You don't need to qualify on the way in. 00:12:55.313 --> 00:13:00.160 Hey, he might talk about this random thing or apologize on the way home, because we don't apologize for biblical truth. 00:13:00.160 --> 00:13:04.009 We say it with charity, with care and with clarity. 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:11.075 We hope you'll come to that September 28th, 5 to 7 pm, as we carry on the spirit of speaking truth in the culture.