We start our series on the words of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel with the essence of his message — that the kingdom of God has arrived with him, exploring the way Matthew presents Jesus as leading a new exodus and a moment where God's image bearing representative does not fall to temptation and sin, but instead speaks God's word to bring life. 

Wise life in God's world reflects God's character; and God's character is revealed in the upside-down power and wisdom of the Cross. 

We shift into the New Testament's 'wisdom literature' with the book of James. 

Nathan is joined by Robyn and Kamina to unpack how the Song presents wise love as intimate and mutual, in contrast to a selfish approach to relationships that commodifies and dehumanises the other. 

Nathan is joined by Robyn and Kamina to examine more of how the Song of Songs contrasts Solomon's approach to love and sex, and the damage that creates, with the love desired by God for his people, and by the Song's Beloved.

Nathan is joined by Robyn, and the soon to be Dr Kamina Wust, to unpack how Song of Songs teaches us about wise love in contrast to Solomon's folly. Wise love is love grounded in exclusive, covenantal commitment — as people in covenant relationship with God.

The wise teacher enjoys all the goodness the world has to offer, and invites us to consider how to wisely enjoy this goodness knowing that we will die, and that it might reveal the goodness of the creator.

The wise teacher describes life in the face of death as 'hebel' — while this often gets translated as 'meaningless' it can also be understood as 'vapour' — wise people don't build a life clutching after vapour but things that answer the longing for eternity written on our hearts.

The wise teacher in Ecclesiastes explores what life might look like 'under the sun' — the material world closed off from God. That's the world lots of modern wise people think we're living in now. 

Doug Green unpacks the way the book of Job presents Job, the righteous sufferer, as an example of the suffering servant we see described in Isaiah, and then fulfilled in Jesus.