The Silverman Web Site

Matt's Life Story

The Early days

The name Matthew means “Gift from God,” and our son was truly that. After several years of tring, we were blessed with our son in October of 1983. Two and a half years later, he was thrilled to get a baby brother Jeff, and after many months of his praying for a baby sister, along came Lauren and our family was complete. Before the age of 3, Matt became obsessed with dinosaurs, and literally taught himself to read because he needed to know everything about them, and he became an expert at this young age. We knew then that he would grow up to be a Scientist.

Our children were always together. These 3 hooligans loved each other deeply, and were always in cahoots about something, inventing new games, or building some contraption. We will never forget the time Matt and Jeff melted one of our good spoons with his new Chemistry set, and claimed that it was not damaged merely transformed. They had a close bond which only grew as they became adults.

Matt excelled in all subjects, and loved to learn, and every teacher he had expressed what a joy he was to have in class. Even though he was not such a skilled soccer player, he loved the sport, and always tried to draw his team together, especially after big losses. Entering high school, he enrolled in several honors and AP classes as a freshman and loved participating in the Marching Band.
In his first year of high school and with no apparent symptoms, Matthew got the shocking diagnosis of stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His biggest worry was not that he would die, but that he would miss so much school. Even though the surgeries and treatments were horrific, he was unwilling to give up his AP and Honors classes. Matt completed his freshman and sophomore years with honors, and was promoted with his class, while still undergoing chemo treatment. Because of damage done to his spine by the lymphoma, Matt was told he could no longer play contact sports, so he played badminton in high school, and got the coaches award for most inspirational player. He loved the Marching Band and continued with that for all 4 years as well. He also achieved his Eagle Scout Rank during this time. Our gift from God proved to be an amazing and resilient young man.

After Matthew healed from his first cancer, the “Make a Wish Foundation” graciously offered Matt’s family a trip to Alaska to make Matthew’s wish come true to see orca whales in their natural habitat. Here is the “Bay Area life” interview in which he and his family described the trip and having gone through that intense suffering:

Bay Area Life Interview

Here is an article by the “Make A Wish Foundation” that recounts the full story in Matthew’s later years:

A trip of a lifetime and a lifetime of learning

At UCLA, Matthew conducted research on PET imaging on cancer while studying to get his PhD in chemical engineering. Here is his final published dissertation:

UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Listing

The Actual Paper

Determination of Functional Activity of Sodium Glucose Transporters in Cancer

Matthew was a talented flautist, having played in the marching band for many years in high school and college. He also loved to sing to praise the Lord. These are three of his favorite worship songs. The first is called “Oh Happy Day” by Steve Fee, which Matthew requested to be sung at his wedding to his precious Lara. Here is the link:

“Oh Happy Day” by Steve Fee

His second favorite song is “Because He Lives” by Billy and Gloria Gaither, which he and his ministry team would sing with the Haitians while doing missions work in Haiti. Here is the link:

“Because He Lives” by Billy and Gloria Gaither

Matthew also loved this song: You’re Beautiful by Phil Wickham:

“You’re Beautiful” by Phil Wickham

Throughout the course of his intestinal cancer, Matthew’s faith did not waver in the least. In fact, even amidst great pain and weakness, he miraculously continued to write and preached multiple sermons at CACC. Here is one sermon he delivered at CACC in July 2023 and it courageously outlines how we, as a Christians, should always use our “tests” and turn them into a “testimony” for the Lord. Here is the link:

Sermon Matt delivered at CACC in July 2023

Three months after he was diagnosed, Matt also made a devotional in which he specifically addressed his cancer to the CACC youth group, as part of the church’s Joseph series. He titled it “When Suffering Brings Salvation.” Matthew always believed there was a deep eternal purpose to the suffering God allows into the lives of his children. Here is the link:

“When Suffering Brings Salvation”

In the last weeks of his life, Matthew wrote a testimony about how he became a Christian and the great impact that Romans 8:38 had on his life. Here it is:

My Christian Walk

Throughout his walk with God, Matthew also wrote and shared many articles about a variety of Christian topics, including Easter and death and serving the Lord in all circumstances. He also published on scientific topics, and his many followers of his multiple social media platforms relied on his critical analyses during the Covid crisis to understand what was going on and the truth on the statistics and science. Here is the link to Matthew’s medium account, where Matthew uploaded some of his writings for you to read:

Link to other of Matt's publications on Medium

Matt's update report on the work they were doing in Haiti 2021

The Love Story Begins

When Matt was diagnosed in May 2021 with intestinal cancer, he started having phone conversations with Lara Silverman, a friend from his church. He had been praying for her for three years already, as Lara was completely bedridden at the time due to her own rare neurological illness. The two discussed theological topics for hours as their chemistry was instant and they provided each other great comfort by discussing how to persevere in their faith despite their mutual sufferings. In January 2022, Matthew started visiting Lara routinely in her home because she could not ride in cars, and the two rapidly fell in love over a six month time frame, leading Matthew to propose to her in July 2022 on Lara’s birthday. The two wed on March 4, 2023, with a wedding theme focusing on Isaiah 43:20, regarding how God gives us beautiful streams of refreshing water in our desert times of suffering. Here are the videos related to their engagement and wedding:

After the wedding, the two moved into their Daly City home, where they spent every minute enjoying and encouraging one another amidst their pain. They cooked and sang together and created many Christian devotionals together for their church and broader Christian community. They uploaded all of their christian theology pieces on their new YouTube channel which they called “The Silverman Show,” which became a platform not just to share their theological pieces online, but also to share their musical performances. Here is a link to their Christian theology tab:

Matt and Lara's Christian theology Playlist

Here is a link to their skits and musical Christian parodies on a variety of topics, including pain and suffering:

Christian comedy medleys

The two also acted out a comical and sarcastic forty minute movie about being Christian newlyweds, which entertained their church and friends. Here is the link:

Skit about being Christian newlyweds

In December 2023, Matthew and Lara gave a joint testimony at CACC after lighting the Advent candle for Christmas, and their topic was having joy in suffering. Here is the link:

Matthew and Lara joint testimony December 2023

They also did a jazzy vocal and flute duet at church with the Boldi Band, a family of musical kids in Matt’s youth group in October 2023:

Jazzy vocal and flute duet at church with the Boldi Band

In March 2024 for their one year anniversary, the two decided to put on a benefit at their church for one of Matt’s favorite charities, Impactful Missions, to raise money for a school for the people of Haiti. God blessed the event and they raised $13,000. At the event, Matthew and Lara performed three beautiful violin and flute duets:

1. My Heart will go on

2. Can't Help Fallin in Love

3. Can you Feel the Love Tonight

Here is a tribute Lara wrote as a tribute to Matthew specifically about their love story and what kind of husband he was to her.

Titled My Memorial Service Tribute to my Husband Matt Silverman

Here is video of Matt’s baby days:

Video of Matt's baby days

Matt's Sermons PDF

Resting in the Refiner's Fire PDF Version

Resting in the Refiner's Fire epub Version (Download the file and import to an E-Reader)

Remaining on the Vine

Just Released March 2025