We often imagine peace as something quiet, comfortable, and calm.

But in Matthew 10, Jesus says something shocking: “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” What kind of peace is that?

We’ll explore what it means to follow Jesus not into safety, but into sacrifice. We’ll venture into the trenches of World War I, hear Bonhoeffer’s warning about “cheap grace,” and most importantly, listen to Jesus as He calls us to a peace that is more costly—and more beautiful—than anything this world offers.

If you’ve been holding back, clinging to comfort or avoiding risk, this message might be exactly what you need. Peace isn’t safe. But it is worth it.

Text: Matthew 10:34-39

Cultivating Peace: A Witness of Reconciliation in a World of Division

Preacher: Jerry Cisar

For more sermons and videos, please go to 🌐 gulfcoast.community/resources

📍Instagram & Facebook: @gulfcoastchurch

(If this message stirred something in you and you are longing to grow in the ways of peace, justice, and gospel-shaped community, we invite you to join us at Gulf Coast Community Church. If you are searching for a church near me, a non denominational church in St. Pete, or a non denominational church in St. Petersburg, we welcome you. Our desire is to be a local expression of Christ’s kingdom in St. Petersburg, rooted in Scripture, shaped by grace, and committed to reconciliation.)

We often think of peace as a feeling—something internal, quiet, personal.

But in Colossians 3, Paul speaks of peace in a surprising way: not just as something we experience, but something that rules. Something that governs the community of God’s people. Something we are called to put on, like clothing.

We’ll explore what it means to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts—and how that peace shapes who we are, how we relate to one another, and what message we live and speak into the world. In an age of outrage and division, this passage offers not a retreat into comfort but a radical calling into Christ-shaped unity, humility, and love.

Join us as we continue our series Cultivating Peace: A Witness of Reconciliation in a World of Division and ask together: what does it mean to be people where peace lives and leads?

• Text: Col. 3:12-17
• Cultivating Peace: A Witness of Reconciliation in a World of Division
• Preacher: Jerry Cisar

For more sermons and videos, please go to 🌐 gulfcoast.community/resources

📍Instagram & Facebook: @gulfcoastchurch

(If this message stirred something in you and you are longing to grow in the ways of peace, justice, and gospel-shaped community, we invite you to join us at Gulf Coast Community Church. If you are searching for a church near me, a non denominational church in St. Pete, or a non denominational church in St. Petersburg, we welcome you. Our desire is to be a local expression of Christ’s kingdom in St. Petersburg, rooted in Scripture, shaped by grace, and committed to reconciliation.)

🎙️ The Power of Peace Part of the series: Cultivating Peace – A Witness of Reconciliation in a World of Division

How strong is peace, really? In a culture saturated with division, rage, and endless debate, this message explores the surprising strength of gentleness, the urgency of reconciliation, and the radical power of the gospel to transform even the most hostile hearts. From Saul’s conversion to everyday online arguments, we’re invited to consider: What if peace wasn’t weakness, but God’s most powerful weapon?

💬 “The gospel of peace reconciles hostiles.” 💬 “Why not just be wronged?” 💬 “Gentleness and humility are a witness to the path of the gospel of peace.”

📖 Featuring Acts 9, Ephesians 2, and 1 Timothy 1, this message calls the church to move beyond uniformity into true gospel unity—and to reflect the peace of Christ in every relationship.

🎧 Listen in and discover how Jesus calls us to be peacemakers, not peacekeepers—and how your life can become a living picture of God’s coming reconciliation.

For more sermons and videos, please go to 🌐 gulfcoast.community/resources

📍Instagram & Facebook: @gulfcoastchurch

(If this message stirred something in you and you are longing to grow in the ways of peace, justice, and gospel-shaped community, we invite you to join us at Gulf Coast Community Church. If you are searching for a church near me, a non denominational church in St. Pete, or a non denominational church in St. Petersburg, we welcome you. Our desire is to be a local expression of Christ’s kingdom in St. Petersburg, rooted in Scripture, shaped by grace, and committed to reconciliation.)