After Charlie Kirk: Wake-Up Church

Below are my notes from what I shared with our church before my weekly Pastoral Prayer on Sunday morning. I spoke directly to the congregation because the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska and the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk are not merely cultural headlines—they are spiritual wake-up calls. My aim was to shepherd our people, helping them see these moments through the lens of Scripture and calling us to stand firm in Christ together.

That is why I am deeply disheartened that so many pastors and churches failed to acknowledge or address Charlie’s assassination. His senseless murder was—and will continue to be—a significant cultural moment for believers across the country and around the world. Moments like these are not ones to avoid; they are providential opportunities to shepherd God’s people, to lead them in lament, and to point them to the hope we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Before we go to the Lord in prayer, I need to speak plainly about the events of this past week. Since last Monday—first the horrendous stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska and then the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk—I’ve felt what many of you have felt: sadness, frustration, even righteous anger.

I never imagined I would witness a modern martyr here in the United States in my lifetime. And if you do not believe that Charlie is a martyr, you do not understand what the word martyr means.

But here we are. Charlie—a husband, a father, a faithful follower of Christ—was struck down by a young man, apparently from a good home, but radicalized through his university and obsessive online activity. His heart and mind gave way and embraced wickedness.

The assassin believed that Charlie’s message was hateful. But what was his message? Get married. Have children. Pursue the fullness of God in Jesus Christ. Push back against evil and the moral collapse of our nation. That’s hateful? You’ve got to be kidding me.

And the audacity of many, and even so-called Christians, to take Charlie’s words to justify his murder. How dare they? That’s evil and despicable.

For far too long, even in the church, we’ve made Jesus out to be some cosmic fairy, like he’s weak. That’s not my Jesus. My dear friends, that is not the Jesus in the Bible.

Let me be crystal clear: We are in a battle—a spiritual one. And we have got to wake up to that reality.

At the end of Ephesians, Paul commands believers to put on the whole armor of God so that we may stand against the devil’s schemes. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:11–12).

Many of us are going about our day, pretending everything is fine, as we head out to our workplaces, our schools, run errands, and fill our calendars with one thing after another. We move from task to task, conversation to conversation—unaware of the spiritual battle raging around us and blind to the things that truly matter.

We must be ready for war. Are we? Are you?

Evil is not passive. It does not sleep.  It doesn’t take naps or time off. The devil is prowling around, seeking someone to devour.

So here is my charge to us today:

Keep your heart and your head. Walk in godly wisdom, knowing our sovereign God is in control.

Build Godly homes. Raise children and grandchildren to love what is good and righteous. Strengthen families.

Go on the offensive. We’ve been on the defensive for far too long. Stop being afraid or ashamed to speak of Christ in your workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and even in your families.

Worship—boldly. Jesus is worthy. He is worth it.

Church, we cannot sit back and do nothing. Evil is pressing in.

Do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Evil will not have the last word. Christ already has the victory. So, live that way, with joy, boldness, and genuine love—that speaks against evil and sin.

Take heart. Stand firm. If you are in Christ, you belong to the King who conquered death—as we go to battle, we have nothing to fear.

Let me pray.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.