Word of Life Church Podcast

The wrath of God is a biblical metaphor we use to describe the very real consequences we suffer from trying to go through life against the grain of love. The wrath of God is understood as divine consent to our own self-destructive defiance. When we sin against the two great commandments—to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves—we suffer the inevitable consequences of acting against love. We can call this the wrath of God if we like; the Bible does, but that doesn’t mean that God literally loses his temper.

Q&A Session from the message "Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God"

The hands of God are not hurling thunderbolts from heaven like Zeus of the Greek pantheon. The hands of God have been stretched out in love where they were nailed to a tree. The nail-pierced hands of God now reach out to every doubter and every sufferer, revealing the wounds of love. The hands of God are not hands of wrath but hands of mercy. To be a sinner in these hands is where the healing begins.

Seen my share of broken halosFolded wings that used to flyThey've all gone wherever they goBroken halos that used to shineAngels come down from the heavensJust to help us on our wayCome to teach us, then they leave usAnd they find some other soul to saveSeen my share of broken halosFolded wings that used to flyThey've all gone wherever they goBroken halos that used to shineBroken halos that used to shineDon't go looking for the reasonsDon't go asking Jesus whyWe're not meant to know the answersThey belong to the by and byThey belong to the by and bySeen my share of broken halosFolded wings that used to flyThey've all gone wherever they goBroken halos that used to shineBroken halos that used to shineBroken halos that used to shineBroken halos that used to shine

Us and themAnd after all we're only ordinary menMe and youGod only knowsIt's not what we would choose to doForward he cried from the rearAnd the front rank diedAnd the general satAnd the lines on the mapMoved from side to sideBlack and blueAnd who knows which is which and who is whoUp and downAnd in the end it's only round 'n roundHaven't you heard it's a battle of wordsThe poster bearer criedListen son, said the man with the gunThere's room for you inside"I mean, they're not gonna kill ya, so if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won't do it again. Dig it? I mean he get off lightly, 'cause I would've given him a thrashing - I only hit him once! It was only a difference of opinion, but really...I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?"Down and outIt can't be helped that there's a lot of it aboutWith, withoutAnd who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about?Out of the wayIt's a busy dayI've got things on my mindFor the want of the priceOf tea and a sliceThe old man died

Father tell me, we get what we deserveOh we get what we deserveAnd way down we goWay down we goSay way down we goWay down we goYou let your feet run wildTime has come as we all oh, go downYeah but for the fall oh, myDo you dare to look him right in the eyes?'Cause they will run you down, down til the darkYes and they will run you down, down til you fallAnd they will run you down, down til you goYeah so you can't crawl no moreAnd way down we goWay down we goSay way down we go'Cause they will run you down, down til you fallWay down we goOh bab-bab-yeahWow babyBabyBab, down we goYeahAnd way down we goWay down we goSay way down we goWay down we go

We've wanted to be trusty and trueBut feathers fell from our wingsAnd we've wanted to be worthy of youBut weather rained on our dreamsAnd we can't take backWhat is done, what is pastSo fellas, lay down your fears'Cause we can't take backWhat is done, what is pastSo let us start from here'Cause we never wanted to be lusty or lewdNor tethered to prudish stringsAnd we never wanted to be jealously tunedNor withered into ugly thingsBut we can't take backWhat is done, what is pastSo fellas, lay down your spears'Cause we can't take backWhat is done, what is pastSo let us start from hereAnd if all that you areIs not all you desire,Then, comeCome, let yourself be wrongCome, it's already begunCome, come aloneCome with fear, come with loveCome however you areJust come, come aloneCome with friends, come with foesCome however you areJust come, come aloneCome with me, then let goCome however you areJust come, come aloneCome so carefully closedCome however you areJust comeCome, come alongCome with sorrows and songsCome however you areJust come, come alongCome, let yourself be wrongCome however you areJust come

Every inch of sky's got a starEvery inch of skin's got a scarI guess that you've got everything nowEvery inch of space in your headIs filled up with the things that you readI guess you've got everything nowAnd every film that you've ever seenFills the spaces up in your dreamsThat reminds meEvery inch of road's got a signAnd every boy uses the same lineI pledge allegiance to everything nowAnd every song that I've ever heardIs playing at the same time, it's absurdAnd it reminds me, we've got everything nowWe turn the speakers up till they break'Cause every time you smile it's a fake!Stop pretending, you've gotEvery inch of road's got a townDaddy, how come you're never around?I miss you, like everything nowMama, leave the food on the stoveLeave your car in the middle of the roadThis happy family with everything nowWe turn the speakers up till they break'Cause every time you smile it's a fake!Stop pretending, you've got

The psalmists and prophets come to understand that God abolishes primitive ritual sacrifice in order to establish as justice actually doing God’s will. This is what we see in the life of Jesus. Jesus was faithful to embody God’s will even to the point of shedding his blood as he forgave sinners. Jesus did not shed his blood to pay off God in the form of a ritual sacrifice. That’s not what God wanted. Jesus shed his blood in faithful obedience to his Father’s will, demonstrating divine forgiveness even as he was crucified! As Jesus told the sacrifice-obsessed Pharisees, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” God desires lives marked by mercy, not the sacrifice of victims. Jesus’ death was not a ritual sacrifice of appeasement but the supreme demonstration of God’s mercy. Jesus did not shed his blood to buy God’s forgiveness; Jesus shed his blood to embody God’s forgiveness! This is the gospel!

In the Psalms the largest single genre is the psalms of lament. But American Christians are loathe to lament. We are schooled in denial. It's part of the pathology of a superpower that sorrow must not be shown. But if we refuse to lament, we refuse to be healed.