Lament for Charlie Kirk
Pastor Matthew’s remarks to New Hope Church on September 14, 2025, regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk:
Good morning, Sisters and Brothers. I am eager, as are you, for Chris to open the Word of God, to lead us to the heart of Jesus.
But first we need to grieve . . . together.
I stood right here on the front end of summer to lament with you the political violence that killed Melissa Hortman and her husband, and injured John Hoffman and his wife. Now, here I am again, at the end of summer, lamenting with you the death of Charlie Kirk and the political violence that has brought it about. Mr. Kirk’s death was a satanic and heinous act.
As I said in June, and I say now, there ought to be no place within our society for political violence. There must be no place in our hearts for it—especially for us who follow the Prince of Peace, our one true King, Jesus Christ.
It is intellectually dishonest to say such violence is exclusive to the political left or exclusive to the political right. From the attempts on President Trump’s life to the murder of Melissa Hortman to the attempted kidnapping of Governor Whitmer to the firebombing of Governor Shapiro’s home to the assassination of Charlie Kirk—we see political violence perpetuated from multiple angles.
Please, please do not get pulled into the tractor-beam of political rhetoric that perpetuates “us versus them” and glories in sectarian power.
Please, please do not spend your days nursing political grievances. For followers of King Jesus those are the lesser things. They always will be. We must rise above them. The Apostle Paul exhorts us in Colossians 3:1: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
These things along with school shootings, war, ethnic and racial dehumanization, and so much more—all of which have dominated our summer, some of which has been right here in our community—sear our souls; or ought to. Just two weeks ago, after the murder of those little kids at Annunciation Catholic Church, I stood with you and asked with the psalmist, “How long, O LORD?”
Let us lament Charlie Kirk’s death. He bears the image of God. Let that lament be broad enough to include all the division, death, hatred, vitriol, violence, pain, sadness, and fear which has marked this season. Let us decry the bitterness of much of our private and public discourse. Let us decry the brokenness of our human condition. Join me in a moment of silent lament.
[Pause]
Let us put a firm grip on two salient points from God’s Word:
Matthew 5:9 finds Jesus saying something important about our responsibility: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Revelation 21:5 offers a promise from God: “The one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making all things new!’ And then he said . . . ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.’”
Photo: Charlie Kirk and former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America)
