God's Character

Matthew 12:18-20: "He will lead justice to victory"

God's justice is usually defined in legal terms in the sense of an appropriate punishment that fits the crime. We associate God's justice with words like wrath, hell, and judgment. Click here  to view one common version of God's justice by John Piper. How does this description fit with Matthew 12, which describes Jesus as the very embodiment of God's justice? "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory>" (Matthew 12:18-20)

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Matthew 3: "The fire that never goes out"

How we understand hell is one of the most important subjects of all in terms of our picture of God. Is hell a place of literal burning fire? For those suffering in hell, how long does it last? Any human subjected to a lake of fire would be instantly consumed. Does this mean that God performs a miracle to sustain the "wicked" in order to punish them? Our own sense of justice and compassion does not lead us impose those consequences even on the worst tyrants and murderers. Fortunately, the bible gives us much evidence on which to base our opinion about hell.

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The Lord's Prayer: More than meets the eye

The Lord's Prayer has been said and repeated so many times that the significance is easily lost. This short prayer has a depth of meaning that explains both the primary purpose and the complexity of prayer. Many times the Bible says that prayer makes a difference. Jesus said that "if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14) and according to James, "the prayer of a good person has a powerful effect" (James 5:16). If these verses are true, why do prayers often seem to go unanswered? Does the Lord's Prayer really address these questions?  

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Matthew 5-7: The Greatest (and most hated) Sermon

The Sermon on the Mount was Jesus' first major sermon in which he outlined the nature of his kingdom. This sermon was, in some ways, like a major presidential speech with a large crowd that came to hear about "the Kingdom" that Jesus was talking about. The word "radical" is probably overused, but in this case it understates how shocking Jesus' words must have seemed to his audience.  "When Jesus finished speaking, the crowd was amazed" (Matthew 7:28). What was so amazing about this sermon? How would 21st century Christians react to a sermon like this?

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Matthew Videos, 2009

Part 1

Bible study for the Loma Linda University School of Allied and Public Health, January 5, 2009.

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Matthew Audio, 2008

Part 1

And now we arrive at the most spectacular single event in universal history as we witness the Creator of the Universe transport himself into the womb of one of his sinful creatures. This single event speaks louder about who God is than any other claim or "key text" in the entire Bible. The unapproachable light became approachable. God moved into the neighborhood. Words cannot describe the unbelievable claim made in the Bible that the God of the Universe was created cell by cell inside the womb and became a flesh and blood human being!

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Matthew Audio, 2007

Why did God choose to come to earth as a baby? Why did he spend his first night lying in a feeding trough? Why grow up in the worthless town of Nazareth? What does all of this say about God?

Matthew, chapters 5-7, is the sermon in which Jesus announces his platform. What is the message in this sermon? What does all of this say about the kind of Kingdom that Jesus wants to establish? Is it foolishness to love our enemies and to give without expecting anything back?

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