Community of Peace

Live as peacemakers

[Scripture Reading]

For today’s message let us turn to the book of Ephesians 4:1-3. Ephesians 4:1-3. Let us all rise and read today’s scripture together in one voice.

에베소서 4:1–3 NIV

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Amen.

[Welcome]

Good morning PW and welcome to today’s Sunday worship service. Let’s take this time to greet one another. Let’s turn to our neighbors and say, “Peace be with you.” Amen. Today, through the peace that Jesus Christ gave us, may God’s peace be with you all here today. For those who do not know me, my name is Pastor John and I was the PW pastor before Pastor Soyoung and Taesoo. Right now, I am serving our young adults group and also the mission division here at NJ Onnuri Church. And for those who know me, it does feel like home, coming here to preach.

Don’t get me wrong, I love serving and preaching for our Young Adults but man the vibe of preaching here in English it brings back good memories. And I truly hope that God pours out his goodness upon us here so that we may be filled with the same grace in the past.

[Sermon]

I got be honest with you guys. The world that we live in right now is a world that I never thought would come true. Yeh obviously right? I can’t see the future. But the reason I say this is because I think the world that I grew up in as a child and as a teenager was much more safer and peaceful.

Don’t get me wrong. I lived through the 9/11 bombings. I lived through the Gulf War. I served in the Korean Army through the regime change of North Korea. But I feel that world didn’t get better but it got worse. The war against Iran, the Russian and Ukraine war. And all these civil wars in Africa. The violence is at a point where someone or some country is going to be destroyed. It is a sad time to live in this world.

But guys, I want to ask you all a question. Q. Would God want us to live in Violence ? Q. What would God want us to do in these time? Would God want us to just muck around and live a ignorant beings because this war has nothing to do with our live? No. God would never want that. God would want us to be happy. God would want us to live in peace and harmony. But most of all God wants us to live according to the calling as disciples. And in these times of war and violence that calling is to be Peacemakers of this world.

You might question, “Pastor John, I am just a kid. I am just a highschool student that can’t do anything without my parents persmission. How can I be this so call peacemaker?” But God is not telling you to e some kind of an activist or enlist in the Army but today, through the book of Ephsians God is telling us how to be this so called peacemakers and let’s look at them one by one.

Hear your calling.

Let’s read Ephesians 4:1 together.

에베소서 4:1 NIV

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Before we go deeper into this verse, let me briefly explain the background of Ephesians.

What we often call the “prison epistles”—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon—were written by Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. Among them, Ephesus was a very special church to Paul—he planted it, spent the most time discipling there, and sent his beloved disciple Timothy as its pastor. And Ephesians is a letter that encourages the church to become one and worship God together.

Keeping that background in mind, look again at verse 1: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you…” What’s his situation? He’s in prison, right?But Paul describes himself as “a prisoner for the Lord.” He’s confessing that even the prison was a place God sent him to. Paul had a clear purpose—he wanted to preach the gospel even to the emperor of Rome. So he says, “I am a prisoner for the Lord. I am here because of my calling.” But Paul doesn’t keep that calling to himself—he extends it to the believers in Ephesus.

“You have been called, so live a life worthy of that calling.” Paul tells the church in Ephesus, “You, too, have been called.” And today, God is saying the same thing to us: “You, too, have been called.” But for what? We have been called to bring peace to this world. That is such an important truth. Never forget this. What truth? “I am someone who has been called by God.” It’s not because Pastor John told you to. Just as Paul was called, just as the church in Ephesus was called, I, too, have been called by God. Why is this important? Because there will be times when we are shaken. When we see conflicts in the world or idols rising again in our hearts, we might say, “I can’t bring shalom into this world.” In those moments, we must remember: “I am someone God has called! I am a child of God!” That calling becomes our strength. So how should we live? Paul says, “Live a life worthy of your calling.” And in this case the life worthy of our calling is when we bring peace into this world. But how do we do that?

2) Build God’s Character.

Let’s read Ephesians 4:2

에베소서 4:2 NIV

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Paul tells us about four character traits we must have to bring peace in this world. They are humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. These words may sound similar, but each carries a different meaning. So today, I want to unpack them one by one.

1. (Humility)

Humility means lifting others higher than yourself. But let’s be honest—we all sometimes think like this: “That guy’s not as good as me. Doesn’t study. Kinda short. Bro’s literally wasting oxygen.” 😂 That’s not humility. Humility says, “You know what, there’s something in them that God put there—something good,” and you choose to see it. That’s real humility.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should lie. Like when someone taller than me says, “Wow Pastor, you’re so tall,” That’s not humility—that’s straight-up sarcasm!

2.Gentleness

Gentleness isn’t being soft because you’re weak— It’s being soft even though you’ve got power. Imagine I’m holding an egg in my hand. If I squeeze even a little—it breaks, right? I have the power to crush it.But I choose not to use that power and handle it carefully—that’s gentleness. What did God say about Moses? “He was more gentle than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

That means Moses wasn’t weak—he restrained his power to obey God’s will. A gentle person could do whatever they want—but chooses not to. They listen, they handle people carefully—that’s gentleness.

3. Patience

Patience means enduring in relationships. Someone around you keeps annoying you. And usually we’re like, “Say that one more time, I dare you.” But patience says, “Nope. I’m not gonna hit back.” It means trusting God’s timing and waiting for Him to work. Not giving up because it’s taking too long— But enduring to the end—that’s patience.

4. Bearing with one another in love

To bear with one another in love means embracing differences. We all have different personalities, backgrounds, and levels of faith. But instead of cutting people off, we say, “Yeah, we’re different—but let’s still walk together.” That’s why love includes humility, gentleness, and patience. And y’all, liking people and loving people are two very different things. Liking is preference. Loving is a decision.

I like sushi. But I don’t love sushi. Because I don’t lift sushi above myself, treat it gently, or wait patiently for it. If you wait too long, it goes bad! But people are different. In community, we lift each other up, treat one another gently, and endure together. That’s love. When we live like that, our community becomes a community of Peace. Even when the world acts with evil, if we respond with love, shalom will appear there.

3) Our Unity

Now that we know our calling and have the character of love, The next step is this — to become one.

Let’s read Ephesians 4:3 together.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Paul says, “The Holy Spirit has bound you together with the bond of peace.” That means when we live out those loving qualities, the Holy Spirit ties them together as the bond of peace. Guys, when you say “God called me, and I’m gonna live in love!” — that’s awesome. But it can’t stop there. Because no matter how good your decision is, if you go alone, it won’t last long. Because… let’s be honest, humans just can’t do life alone. you can’t do God’s work alone. No matter how good you are, even Messi can’t win a match by himself. Even Son Heung-min shines brightest when he has Kane beside him.

We’re the same. It’s great to burn with passion alone, But when we burn together — that’s community. And the one who binds us together is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit ties us together with the bond of peace. He’s tied you and your friends, your brothers and sisters, all together with peace.

Why? So that we can live as peacemakersin this world. So let’s try saying this to the person next to you. “I got you.”

We are one. We are tied together in peace. So what do we do with that? We help each other. If you see a friend struggling, Don’t be like, “Man, you’re bringing the mood down.” But instead be there for each other. That’s what a shalom community looks like.

A community where we push and pull each other, wait for each other, and hold each other up. That’s the kind of true unity the Holy Spirit creates.

4) Our Mission

Now this is the final part. We have been called by God, we’ve put on the character of love, and we’ve been united by the bond of peace through the Holy Spirit. Now there’s just one thing left — to go out into the world.

Wherever you are — your school, your home, your church, even your social media — that’s where you share peace. You are called to be peacemakers. When your friends fight, step in. When someone’s hurt, comfort them. When you see someone sitting alone, say, “Hey, come with us!” That’s exactly what Jesus did. Jesus came to this earth to bring peace. He healed the broken, He embraced the rejected. And He invited us into the way of peace. The world will definitely try to destroy your shalom. Satan will keep scratching at it. And he’ll whisper things like this: “You’re alone.” “You’re weak.” “God’s not gonna use someone like you.” When that happens, shout this: “I am called by God!” “I am clothed in love!” “I am bound by the Holy Spirit’s bond of peace!”

No matter what the world says, no matter what hardship or pain comes, still, we will hold on to peace. Still, we will choose peace. Still, we will walk in the way of Jesus. Now let’s declare this to the person next to you. “Let’s bring peace into this world”

Let us pray

[Prayer]

[Response]

Good Good Father

[Benediction]