Recent Tragedies

Weekly Update – September 18th, 2025 

At 2:40pm on September 10, 2025, it was announced that Charlie Kirk had died. In many ways, the world went silent. I had never seen him speak in person, nor had I ever been to one of his debates, but like so many, I had watched YouTube videos, interviews and had watched his career from afar. In the last week, you have likely seen a thousand different comments or read numerous articles about Kirk’s life and his impact on the college aged generation. Yet now, not only have we seen the death of Charlie Kirk, but over the last few weeks, we have watched the senseless death of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee in North Carolina, and the school shooting in Minnesota, to name a few. Therefore, as we look at these recent events, let me offer you a few thoughts as we consider what these tragedies mean for our culture and how we ought to respond.

First – The Culture of Death

It appears as if the devaluation of life has reached a new low in our culture. When you think about the over 65 million babies that have been aborted since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, the push for euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide, the experimentation with cloning and the invention of unethical reproductive technologies, it is no surprise that life is seen as expendable. But with the rise now in transgenderism and the denial of the beauty of the image of God in us, combined with subjective opinions taking precedent over objective reality, what becomes of supreme importance is the autonomous self which has now all but suppressed the innate desire put within all of us to care for others. This inevitably has led to a greater freedom to not only talk about removing life from someone, but to also see the taking of someone’s life who opposes an ideology as “fair”, as our culture grows further and further from God.  

Second – The Rise of Secularism

It is no surprise that in the midst of our culture of death, the foundation is the rise in secularism. With those who “claim” to be Christian down to 67% in our nation, with that number likely being much less for those who actually follow Jesus, it is hard to deny the connection between faith, or in this case, lack of faith, and action. Now, this isn’t a rant about how we need to go back to the “good old days”, but we can’t simply stick our heads in the sand and ignore what is taking place around us. With the rise of secularism comes not just a lower church attendance, but a denial of God.  Then, with the denial of God, comes the denial of God’s law and character. This further carries to the denial of our identity as human beings and all morality. What this looks like is our culture setting its identity in opposition to who we are as image bearers of God, as well as the suppressing of our moral conscience when we consider how we value others. From there you have a naturalistic mindset that values neither the body nor others.

Third – Truth Transforms

As Christians we must first hold to a right view of God as our creator and mankind as made in his image. That sets the proper foundation for how we view our identity. If we are image bearers of God, then we have value, we have worth, we have purpose, all set in exactly how we were created. From here though, we believe that sin has distorted this image. Yes, we still reflect God, yet dimly, as our sin presents a cloud of darkness over our hearts and minds. The only hope that we have to renew this image is to place our trust in Jesus Christ. When you believe that Jesus came to live the life of perfection before God that you could not, die in your place to take on your sin as a substitute for the punishment that you deserve and rise again from the dead, so that you might have eternal life, that changes the way you view, not just eternity, but all of life. In Christ we now have a new identity, for we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), who are being changed into the image of Christ, from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor. 3:18). This truth will radically change how you view yourself, how you view others, and how you live in this world.

Lastly – Proclaim Christ with Boldness

This good news of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed. If we truly desire to see the transformation of our culture, then we must communicate to them, with boldness, what Christ offers to them. Those in our culture don’t have to live in confusion about who they are, they don’t have to live in opposition to those who are different from them, they don’t have to fear rejection or heartache or the future, for Christ has overcome (John 16:33). We need to be willing to have difficult conversations with our neighbors who believe differently than we do, and we need to invite them to witness the gospel community of the church, so that they might see what new life lived for Christ looks like. The only hope that we have is in Jesus Christ, and that hope must be made known in order to transform this present culture of death that has been overtaken by secularism.

The events of the last few weeks, culminating in the death of Charlie Kirk, have rocked many in our nation. Many fear their own safety, do not trust their neighbors, and are unsure about the future. May we not be found without a response.  Our hope is set in God, the creator of all things, including you, your neighbor and every single person, whether they are just like you or are very different from you. From there, we trust in Jesus Christ, who came to redeem all who come to him in faith. Therefore, in the midst of a godless society, proclaim the God who is there, who hears, who saves and who will transform all who come to him.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson