Peacemakers: Walking In Our Kingdom Identity

Honoring and praying for Nancy Lyle before the message

Introduction: Why This Matters Now

Acknowledge MLK Jr. Day as the catalyst for this conversation—a gift that gives us space to address peacemaking

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived and ministered during one of the most polarized and violent periods in American history. He confronted a nation deeply divided by racism, segregation, and injustice—where people were literally being killed for the color of their skin and for demanding basic human dignity. In that moment of rage, fear, and hatred on all sides, Dr. King chose the costly path of reconciliation. He refused to fight hate with hate or violence with violence. Instead, he modeled what it looks like to be a peacemaker in the truest sense—confronting evil while pursuing redemption, speaking truth while extending dignity even to his opponents, absorbing suffering rather than inflicting it. His words and example weren't about keeping the peace by staying quiet; they were about making peace through sacrificial love and prophetic witness. As ambassadors of God's Kingdom, we're called to the same costly work of reconciliation that Dr. King embodied—not because it's easy or popular, but because it's the Jesus way.

Naming the cultural moment: We live in a time of instant reactions, political tribalism, and demonization of the "other"

We’re conditioned to respond in ways that create this division. The prevailing narrative in most circles that I’ve witnessed is that if you don’t agree with me then you’re the problem. This leads to broken relationships, fear, anxiety, and demonizing the other.

This is the way of the world right now. We're witnessing a shift from a "guilt/innocence" culture—where we ask "What happened? Why did it happen? What were the circumstances?"—to an "honor/shame" culture, where the primary question is "Which side are you on?" In the court of social media, things rarely slow down enough for actual conversation. There's no space to understand context, to ask what informed someone's reaction, or to consider complexity. Instead, we've adopted a tribal logic: "If it happened to them, they probably deserved it. If it happened to us, it's an outrage." We assign guilt or innocence based on whether someone is in our tribe or outside it. The speed of our reactions has replaced the depth of our understanding. We've traded discernment for snap judgments, and empathy for tribal loyalty. This isn't just a social media problem—it's shaping how we relate to our neighbors, our coworkers, even our families. Collectively we've lost the ability to sit with tension, to hold space for disagreement, to extend the benefit of the doubt to people we perceive as "other."

The contrast: Jesus calls His people to something radically different

In this radical difference we find is imitating our Lord and Savior. If you are willing and able would you stand with me as I read our text this morning… Colossians 1:18-20.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Amen. You may be seated.

I. Our Foundation: Christ the Reconciler (Colossians 1:18-20)

Focus: Who Jesus is and what He has done

Verse 18: Jesus is the head—He has supremacy, authority, preeminence in all things

Jesus is central. If we know Jesus, we know God.

John 14:9 “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Philippians 2:6–7 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

The Spirit of God is conforming us into the image of Jesus

Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Jesus wasn’t concerned about Rome or about Israel and what their national priorities were.. He was concerned about God’s priorities.

John 5:19 “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

Sometimes the nations lined up with God’s priorities sometimes they didn’t. When they did/do, the people of God can celebrate. When they don’t align, the people of God serve a higher authority than the state.

Acts 4:18–20 “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.””

Verses 19-20: God's reconciliation project through Christ

All the fullness of God dwells in Jesus

Through His blood on the cross, He is reconciling all things to Himself

Romans 5:10 “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

The scope is cosmic: things on earth and in heaven

Key point: Reconciliation isn't our idea—it's God's mission. Jesus didn't wait for us to be reconcilable; He made peace while we were still enemies.

II. Our Identity: Chosen to Be Peacemakers

Connect to "Beyond Resolutions" identity themes: chosen, holy, treasured

We aren't just called to admire peacemaking—we're called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)

"Children of God" = family resemblance. We look like our Father when we pursue reconciliation

Exodus 19:5–6 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.””

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

The role of the priest is the mediator between God and man. God desires to use those who are called by His name to reflect His heart, to embody His nature.

This is who we are, not just what we do

I’ve seen this in us at City Chapel. It’s who we are. Out of who we are is what we do:

Launching of CarePortal

Loving on staff, faculty, and the administration of Bremerton High School through baking cookies, supplying snacks and encouraging cards at the beginning of the school year, stocking the pantry for the counseling office, showing up and mentoring students.

Passing out valentine candy/hearts in our neighborhood

Partnering with Olive Crest to provide homes for those who are aging out of foster care

Providing space for organizations for people to distribute free clothes

You create space for people from all walks of life, at different stages of life, to come and be encouraged, loved, and supported.

You bare with one another in this space… love is your ethic. We have differences in our politics, in our view of social issues, in the way that we see the world, how we interface in the world… yet we are here seeking to be formed by Jesus and His word together.

Serving families with special needs through volunteering at Joni & Friends family camp

Partnering with Wycliffe Associates to raise funds for a Bible translation to be put in the hands of a people we would not ordinarily otherwise meet.

And all the other things you do that I don’t know about! In all of this you reflect the love of God to the people around you.

MLK Jr. embodied this: He didn't pursue peace because it was politically expedient, but because his identity as a child of God demanded it

In April 1963, Dr. King was arrested for participating in nonviolent protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the most racially divided cities in America. While imprisoned, he wrote this letter in response to white clergymen who had publicly criticized his methods, calling for patience and gradual change rather than direct action—and in it, King articulated his vision for justice, reconciliation, and the moral urgency of the civil rights movement.

In one place, he writes, "I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season.' Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

He criticizes these pastors and distinguishes between a false peace (absence of tension) and true peace (presence of justice)- which is reconciliation.

He goes on later saying, “We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not only win our freedom for ourselves; we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory."

Key point: Peacemaking flows from identity, not from political strategy or personality preference.

III. Our Practice: How to Walk as Reconcilers

Practical application for our polarized moment

A. Refuse the rush to judgment

We live in a culture of instant takes and hot reactions

Peacemakers practice the discipline of sitting with complexity

James 1:19—"quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger"

B. Resist demonization

Political narratives thrive on making the "other side" into monsters

Jesus reconciled enemies—that includes people we disagree with

MLK Jr.'s example: He confronted injustice without dehumanizing opponents

C. Pursue understanding before pronouncement

Ask: "What might I be missing?" before "How can I win this argument?"

Peacemakers create space for conversation, not just conversion to our viewpoint

D. Embody presence over polarization

Our calling is faithful presence in our communities, not tribal allegiance to political camps

We represent the Kingdom first, not a party or ideology

Practical: Where can you build bridges this week? Who have you written off that you could engage with curiosity?

Sometimes friendship with the “other” will draw scrutiny and ultimatum’s from “our side”… resist those. Walk in the heart and Spirit of Jesus that eats and drinks with the outcasts, outsiders, those who are disregarded.

IV. Our Hope: Following in the Footsteps of Jesus

Jesus didn't reconcile from a position of neutrality—He reconciled from the cross

Real peacemaking is costly. It requires sacrifice, patience, humility

MLK Jr. knew this—the path of reconciliation led through suffering

But this is the Jesus way: making peace through self-giving love

Application: What might it cost you to be a peacemaker this week? In your family? Your workplace? Your social media presence?

Conclusion: The Call

Reiterate identity: You are chosen, holy, treasured—children of God called to reflect your Father

The world needs reconcilers now more than ever…

Jesus is reconciling all things—will we join Him in that mission?

This isn't about being nice or avoiding hard conversations; it's about walking in the footsteps of the One who made peace through His blood, through His life.

Closing thought: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Not because peacemaking earns us that identity, but because it reveals it. Let's walk in who we are.