Trent Matthew

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but public trust is low. Very low. With every breaking story we seem to uncover a new cancerous mass of corruption in the system. Recently we were given a special insight into wall street corruption through the GameStop/Robinhood scandal. No matter where we look, everything seems to be rigged – and not in our … Read more

When we follow Jesus our shepherd, the path isn’t always comfortable. As he leads us from hilltop to hilltop, we often pass through valleys of tribulation. Here it seems, the environment is oppressive. The air is heavy, and the fire that once burned in our hearts for Christ our savior is reduced down to a few smouldering embers. Oftentimes, we … Read more

It’s now been around 17 months since I started my therapy. Things towards this end certainly seem to be a lot easier than when I first started off. I certainly feel a lot more grounded and confident. It’s been such an interesting journey of identity and healing, sometimes painful, but I’m glad God has given me the ability to stick … Read more

In the late 1520’s Martin Luther composed that famous hymn; ‘A Mighty Fortress is our God’, or in the original German; ‘Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott’. There is something about the original German I just love. It makes it sound even stronger somehow. I cannot say what reference inspired him to compose such a powerful hymn. Perhaps it was … Read more

Wise And finally, what do we mean when we say that God is wise? There is quite a difference between God’s wisdom and ours. We gather knowledge through various means, and then apply that knowledge to the created order through things like calculation, deduction, visualization, categorization and so on, in order to bring about a desired outcome, whether it be … Read more

Creative And what does it mean that God is creative? Quite often God’s creativity is pushed to the side. We know God is creative because he’s the creator. Of what? Of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). To most Christians, it’s not all that mind-blowing. God made the natural world – the rocks and trees, all the animals, and … Read more

A number of years ago, I was really into an anime called Tokyo Ghoul. It was one of those things that just spoke so deeply to what I was going through; the internal battles, the secrecy, the shame and anguish… All these powerful themes come out so strongly. The show is almost a perfect metaphor for someone struggling with pedophilia. … Read more

Justice What about justice? We hear the word justice being thrown around a lot. Everyone’s trying to get justice but when was the last time anyone anywhere ever said anything about God’s justice? People certainly love to pin God’s name on their version of justice, whether it be the social justice of today or the “Gott mit uns” justice of … Read more

Holiness What about holiness? How often do you hear it said in bible study when the leader asks: ‘What is holiness?’ someone always puts their hand up and says ‘Oh I know, I know. It means to be set apart.’ But what never seems to get explained is just how set apart God really is – how alien and uncanny … Read more

I was recently struck by something Paul Washer said in a sermon. He was sitting in a seminary class. The teacher had just walked in and was asking people if any of them could name the attributes of God. Hands shot up all across the room. “Good” said one student, “Holy” said another. Answers came shooting in all across the … Read more

I would firstly like to acknowledge the writings of Puritan author Thomas Goodwin. Much of what I’ve attempted to do in this article is to create a good summary in my own words and expand on the various aspects I think would be useful. The mind of Christ is a subject worthy of our utmost attention if we desire to … Read more

  Is it a sin to be attracted to kids or is it just a neurological condition? Is this purely physical due to the bad neurological wiring in our brains or is there a moral component? From our perspective, it’s certainly a lot easier to claim sickness over sin. After all, if we say it’s a kind of evil – … Read more

The idea that sexuality can change is controversial to say the least. There’s a lot of voices out there that we’re all familiar with ranging all the way from the horror stories of gay conversion therapy to the boneless side A “Christianity”. To make things even more difficult most christian ministers aren’t well enough equipped to give good, solid, biblical … Read more

The Love of God is a phrase that gets thrown around often. But for those of us who have grown up in an abusive environment, the word ‘love’ may mean something very different to those who didn’t. In order to better understand the love of God, we need to be specific about what it looks like in a practical sense, … Read more

What do you do when you do something bad? How do you feel? Most people experience a deep sense of grief, a loss of failed expectation, self-disappointment, and with it a certain lowering of self-worth. It only follows then that those who do bad things have less value than people who don’t. This is one form of grief. However in … Read more