Acts is about the origins of Christianity. Whenever you go to the origins, you learn something about what genuine Christianity is — authentic, original, real Christianity. That is important because many people base, to some degree, their non-belief on what it was like to be a “Christian” earlier in life or on what other “Christians” are like. 

If you ask yourself every day the question, “Am I a real Christian?,” it will drive you nuts. On the other hand, if you never ask that question, that’s not healthy either. Let’s ask the question on the basis of this text by looking at four marks of a real Christian: 1) you serve God consistently, especially in suffering, 2) you are getting to know God deliberately 3) you experience God periodically, and 4) you exhibit God generously.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 20, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 4:23-37.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Our passage today is on the first miracle the apostles perform after the resurrection of Jesus, which is at the very beginning of the Christian church. If you want to learn about the topic of suffering, you go to the book of Job or a lot of other places in the Bible that seem to deal with it more directly. But this passage is actually a lot about suffering. 

This miracle, in many ways, is typical of so many of the other miracles of the New Testament done by Jesus or by apostles. If you understand this one, in some ways you’ll be able to understand all of the miracles in the New Testament. We’re going to see that it points 1) upward, 2) forward, 3) inward, and 4) downward. This is the grid for us to learn about suffering and to see the meaning of New Testament miracles.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 6, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 3:2-8; 13-23.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Our passage from Acts 2 is about the birth of the Christian church. We’re going to look at how the birth of the church is intimately related to the birth of Christ: Christmas. In many ways, what happened at Christmas explains what happens in the early church; and what happens in the early church explains what Christmas is about. When the early Christians began to understand the reality of Christmas, they began to practice Christmas. They brought ideals into the world that no one had ever thought of, because it was based on their new idea of ultimate reality. 

First of all, we’re going to see what made the earliest Christian community so different from the culture surrounding them and secondly, what the source of that difference was.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 9, 2012. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 2:40-47.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Our passage is the first Christian sermon given by Peter on the day of Pentecost. It’s important that we consider the entire sermon for the context, but we’re going to focus our time on the last four verses (36–39) and what it means to be a Christian. 

How do you become a Christian? In a sense, when you get to the end of the sermon, you have a little compendium on how to do this, but there are four things that come into play. In verse 36 we learn about mind and grace, in verse 37 about heart, and in verses 38–39 we’ll learn about life.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 2, 2012. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 2:12-39.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

We’re going to look at a very famous episode in the book of Acts today, the day of Pentecost. What makes this unique is the descent of the Holy Spirit. There’s a sense in which the Old Testament people of God became the New Testament people of God because the Holy Spirit came down with a transforming power that had never been known heretofore. In a certain sense, the people of God are getting rebooted, relaunched — it’s the fullness of the Spirit.

We need to ask the same question the crowd asked: “What does this mean?” It will take several sermons to answer this question, but today we’re going to cover four things that being filled with the Spirit means: outside power, inner wonder, a universal message, and a new man on the mountain.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 25, 2012. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 2:1-13.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The book of Acts is about how the earliest church was essentially launched into a cosmopolitan and urban setting just like ours today. Our church has never been here just for convinced, believing Christians, but it’s also here for New Yorkers who aren’t sure what they believe (or who don’t believe in Christianity). Acts is one of a few books in the New Testament that is pretty specifically written for skeptical people.

There are images the Bible gives us to get across a fundamental change in our relationship with God that has come because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ — they are irreplaceable and nonnegotiable images. Here’s what they are. We are told that when Jesus Christ ascended, he didn’t just go up, but he ascended to the throne — the throne of the universe, and that means three things: 1) relational intimacy, 2)  historical strategy, and 3) transforming advocacy.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 18, 2012. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 1:1-11.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today’s passage comes from the Passion narrative found in the book of Matthew. Matthew is not just a reporter; he’s a teacher. He doesn’t just tell us that Jesus died, but he always builds the narratives around certain statements and sayings that interpret why Jesus died. It’s very typical today for people to say, “Well, the cross might mean something for you. You interpret it your way. I interpret it my way.” But the gospel writers don’t leave that as an option; they are very clear to let Jesus interpret the events that are happening. 

In the last moment of Jesus’ life, there are three cries in the dark, and each tells us something about the meaning of the cross (vv.46, 50, 54). The first cry solves our modern dilemma; the second solves a human dilemma;  and the third solves a personal dilemma.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 16, 2000. Series "St. Matthew's Passion; The World's Last Night". Scripture: Matthew 27:45-56.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

We’ve been going through the book of Matthew looking at the big blocks of teaching Jesus gives his disciples for how he wants his followers to live. While the Sermon on the Mount was mainly about how Christian disciples would relate to each other, starting with this passage, Jesus turns around and says, “But now here’s how I want my disciples to relate to the world.” 

This passage was Jesus teaching on how to move into a new town or a new neighborhood or a new city as Christian disciples and begin to do mission, begin to do Christian ministry. The whole passage is about, first of all, how we are to share the compassion of Jesus (verses 5–15); secondly, how we are to share the offense of Jesus (verses 16–23); and thirdly, where we are to get the power to do that (verses 24 and 25).

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 1, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 10:5-25.

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We’ve come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. It would be very profitable if we went through and took each of these metaphors Jesus ends the sermon with. You notice there are always two. There are two gates. There are two roads. There are two trees. There are two homes built on two different foundations.

How many ways are there to live? Are there two ways to live, two paths, two trees, two gates? Yes and no. This is one of the most hard-hitting parts of the Bible. It is pretty astonishing. In fact, let’s get right to it. There’s a call to discernment, a call to narrow spaciousness, and a call to action, to decision.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 24, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 7:13-27.

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When you get to Matthew 7, which is the last chapter in the Sermon on the Mount, the most famous sermon in history, there is a lot of intriguing stuff. There are ludicrous things in there. There are strange things in here. This isn’t so much inspiring as it is a convicting and brilliant piece of teaching.

Verses 1–6 are talking about relationships, the kinds of relationships Jesus Christ wants us to have in the Christian community. Let’s look at the first six verses and see the kind of relationships Jesus Christ wants us to have, the kind of heart you need in order to conduct those relationships, and where to get that heart.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 17, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 7:1-11.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

We continue to look at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ outline of what he wants his people to live like in the world. Put another way, Jesus says here that if we take the essential message of the Christian faith, the gospel, and actually live it out, it will not only make us different individuals, radically different people, but it’ll turn us into a counterculture. It’ll turn us into a completely new kind of human society.

He’s now talking about money. Let’s notice three things about money from his teaching. He’s going to tell us here how money can blind us, how money can reveal what controls us, and then he shows us how to break the power of money in our lives.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 3, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24.

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We’re going through the Sermon on the Mount each week, and now we come to the most famous part of the most famous sermon in history, which is the Lord’s Prayer. The thing we have working against us with the Lord’s Prayer is the familiarity. We know it too well. 

Let’s see what Jesus tells us here about the foundation for prayer, the substance of prayer, and then the key to having a rightly founded, substantial, effective prayer life. The foundation for it, the substance of it, and the key to it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 27, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 6:1-15.

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We’re going through the Sermon on the Mount and we have Jesus Christ telling us how he wants us to live. He has dealt with the commandment on murder and adultery, and now he’s dealing with the commandment on lying. He’s going to talk to us about integrity, truth, and honesty.

We have as big a problem in our culture with this. Therefore, let’s take a look and see what Jesus says about integrity. He gives us the principle behind integrity and tells us something about the practice of integrity. And finally, he hints at a problem we all have with integrity, and how to solve it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 13, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37.

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Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, is telling us how he wants us to live in every area of life. Love and sex is one of those areas of life, and so he gets to that here. When you first read it, it would be natural to have a negative response, because on the surface it looks like Jesus is saying, “If you have sexual desire, you’re going to hell.”

It would be very natural for somebody to say, “Aha! See? That’s that negative view of sex everybody says Christians have.” But that’s a great misunderstanding. I’m going to show you that the biblical or Christian understanding of sex, while it is very different from that which the culture gives you, nevertheless is one of the most attractive things about Christianity. There are three things we see here: the integrity of sex, the challenge of lust, and the future of love.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 6, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30.

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In the Sermon on the Mount, whenever Jesus talks about how we should live, he always also talks about how we get the power to live that way. Jesus is never just concerned about behavior. He’s also concerned about the heart.

Here we have such a nice, small, compact text that gives us the whole picture. In these six verses, Jesus tells you three things. He says, “Here is what you must do.” Secondly, he says, “You’ll never do it.” Thirdly, he says, “But in and through me, you can.” I believe that’s the theme of the Bible, those three things.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 29, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 5:17-22.

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The Beatitudes make up the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, and it defines what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is someone who has a radically new relationship with God through belief in the gospel. The Beatitudes is essentially a list of the characteristics of someone with this new relationship with God.

Today’s passage shifts to focus on the Christian’s relationship to the world. In other words, if you have a relationship with God (described in vv. 1–10), then that will mean you will have this relationship to the world (vv. 11-16). Jesus says that if you are living a Christian life, then in the world you will be salt (v. 13), you will be light (vv. 14–16), and you will be hurt. Let’s tease these out of the passage in more detail.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 22, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16.

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We read in the New Testament about the life of Jesus and how he brings us new life. Now it’s natural to ask if we’ve been given this new life, then how should we live? Our passage today in Matthew, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, is one of the best places to get Jesus’ main teaching on how to live.

This is one of the most famous pieces of literature in the history of the human race. Because it is so rich, we need to pay close attention to every part, every verse and word. But today we’re going to look at an overview under three headings: the glory of the Sermon on the Mount, the terror of the Sermon on the Mount, and the hero of the Sermon on the Mount. You won’t understand the Sermon on the Mount unless you understand these three things.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 15, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 5:1-10.

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Matthew gives us one of the four direct descriptions of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are two important questions for us as we read an account like this: Did it really happen? And what does it mean?

Our culture is so dubious of miracles and the idea of resurrection already so the first question is very important to consider with that in mind. But it’s not just for those who are skeptical, it’s for all readers — we all have to come to grips with this question. Secondly, if the resurrection of Jesus did happen, what does it mean for us? It’s not just a naked historical fact like other facts of history that you just believe with your mind. Let’s look more closely at both of these questions and how answering them will totally change the course of your life.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 8, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 28:1-20.

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The passage today is on the crucifixion, which is one of the most important events in Jesus’ life. We’re going to zoom in on verse 46: “… Jesus cried out in a loud voice … ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” How do we understand Jesus’ cry? And what does it mean for us today?

Let’s look more closely at the cry, the word why, the word my, and Jesus’ question taken as a whole. The cry points to the fact of Jesus’ death. The word why points to the reason for his death. The word my points to the accomplishments of his death. The question taken as a whole shows us something about his motive for doing it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 1, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 27:45-56.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Our passage today takes place the night before Jesus is going to die. He has just had his last supper, and he goes out into the garden of Gethsemane with three of his disciples. Jesus’ career began with a temptation in the wilderness, and now it essentially ends with a great temptation in a garden.

Jesus goes to the garden to pray and he is described as “sorrowful and troubled” (Luke uses “agony”). This is an important clue to understand why Jesus died and how his death affects our lives today. We’re going to consider two questions that will help us dig a little deeper into this passage: Why the magnitude of Christ’s agony? Why the timing of it?

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 25, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The Gospels give us all kinds of events that help paint a biographical picture of Jesus. Today we’re going to look at one very famous episode: the triumphal entry to Jerusalem. This is also called Palm Sunday because the crowd used palm branches to welcome Jesus to the city (John 12:13).

There are important details in this passage that are deeply symbolic. They show us something about who Jesus is and what he came to do. It teaches us three things about his kingship: he is a confrontational king; he is a counter-intuitive king; and he is the coming king.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 18, 2012. Series "Savior and Teacher - A Study of Matthew ". Scripture: Matthew 21:1-14.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

How does the gospel affect your work? How does it influence your work and vocation? Our particular passage is not so much a high, lofty sermon by Paul, but it is more of a down-to-earth teaching. It’s not inspirational, but it’s more practical. As a result, it’s incredibly useful.

We’re first going to consider the historical context. After seeing the background, we’re going to highlight two practical principles and learn about the power to do them.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 17, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: Ephesians 5:21, 6:5-9.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

What does it mean to take the gospel out of your private life, out of the church, and into the world? It means sharing the gospel with your friends. It means letting the gospel affect your work. It also means that we’ll go into the world caring about mercy and justice.

Paul was sent as a missionary to Macedonia where he planted a church in Philippi — a large city. Our passage today is about the conversion stories of three people in that church:  Lydia, the slave girl, and a jailor. We’re going to look at what happened to these individuals, and then we’ll draw some implications for how to take the gospel out into the world.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 7, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: Acts 16:13-33.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The gospel is intensely personal because it entails a commitment of the whole person to Jesus. And if the whole person is committed to Jesus, that includes one’s private and public life. If this is true, then what happens when we take the gospel out of our private lives and out of the church and out into the world? 

One of the things that happens is that the gospel creates a passion for doing justice in the world. Deuteronomy teaches us many things about justice. We’re going to look at these three headings in chapters 4 and 15: 1) the threefold call by God to us to do justice, 2) the dynamic for doing justice, and 3) doing justice is a testimony to the world.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 31, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:5-8; 15:1-11.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

What happens when you take the gospel, the basic message of Jesus Christ, out of the church into the world? It has many consequences for our lives, but one of the things that happens is it affects your work and your job. It gives us a different perspective on what work is for, how we should do our work, and it gives our work meaning and significance.

The book of Genesis may be one of the best places to learn about the meaning of our work. 1) It gives us a vision for work; 2) it gives us guardrails for our work; and 3) it gives us a power to do our work.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 10, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:2-17.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Our passage today is really about evangelism. The gospel writer shows Jesus evangelizing a woman, and then, when she figures out who he is, she runs off and evangelizes her friends. This is a wonderful picture of how evangelism works. Christians talk about their faith with others and then they invite others to embrace the faith for themselves.

Many modern people can be skeptical of this idea of evangelism. In a pluralistic society like ours, encouraging others to adopt your beliefs and convictions is not generally welcomed. However, evangelism for Christians, no matter what kind of society we’re in, is both reasonable and necessary. Let’s look at these four things in Jesus’ offer: 1) the freeness of his offer, 2) the greatness of his offer, 3) the process by which he makes the offer, 4) and the singleness of his offer.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 3, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: John 4:1-26.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

What is the gospel’s effect when it’s brought out of the church and into the world? It does many things, but one of them is that it leads to conversions. It has the power to convert individuals from death to life, from darkness to light. 

In today’s passage we see that Jesus describes the gospel message as the “new birth,” which is to be converted or born again. We’re going to look at five points that provide a complete guide to what it means to be born again: 1) who it’s for, 2) where it’s from, 3) what it is, 4) how it’s received, and 5) its effect on your life.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 26, 2010. Series "The Gospel and the World". Scripture: John 3:1-14.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

In the book of James, we read about how belief in the gospel affects the way we actually live day to day. This is the theme that is found throughout the book. It’s filled with very practical guidelines for what a Christian’s life should look like.  

In today’s passage, James rebukes a particular thing that his readers are doing. He contrasts God’s wisdom with the world’s wisdom — what the Bible calls foolishness. There’s a particular kind of foolishness James condemns and warns us against. Let’s look at it under four headings: 1) the problem we have, 2) the reasons it is a problem, 3) the thing that can make the problem worse, and 4) the thing that can solve the problem.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 17, 2010. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 4:13-5:6.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The book of James is a very practical guide for living the Christian life. If you really believe the basic message of Jesus, then what kind of life will you live? What will your life look like practically? These are the questions that James helps us answer. 

James not only helps us understand things about our own lives, but it also teaches us about the kind of community that the gospel fosters. Our passage today shows us 1) the importance of community between believing Christians, 2) what the main barriers are to that community, and 3) how to break through those barriers.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 10, 2010. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 4:1-12.

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The book of James is a practical book that gives us instruction for obeying God’s law. It says if you believe the gospel, this is what your life should look like. In today’s passage, we consider how the gospel will affect your speech, your words, and your tongue.

Have you ever noticed that when you go to the doctor for a check-up, the doctor will look  at your tongue to tell what’s going on deep inside? This is essentially what our passage is about. The tongue acts as an indicator for something deeper. Look at what’s on your tongue and you’ll learn an awful lot about your soul and your heart. Let’s look at three things regarding the tongue: 1) the power of words; 2) the poison of words; and 3) the healing of the poison.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 3, 2010. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 3:1-18.

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James, unlike Paul, doesn’t so much break the gospel apart to show you what it is; James assumes the gospel and shows you what your life will look like if you believe it. The book helps us understand the consequences that the gospel has for how we live our lives. And particularly, we see what those consequences are for our lives in community.

James gives us three things to consider: 1) what kind of community we ought to be; 2) why we ought to be it; and 3) how we can become that kind of community.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 6, 2009. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 2:1-17.

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The book of James is a very practical book that gives us clear direction on how to live the Christian life. It asks these questions, “If you have had an encounter with God through belief in Christ, what will your life look like on the ground? How does belief in Christ make a difference in real life?” That’s what the book of James is about.

This particular text tells us something very important. If you have a new and living relationship with God, then you will have a new and living relationship with God’s Word.  This relationship with God’s Word is marked by three things: 1) you’ll be humbled by the Word; 2) you’ll be shaped by the Word; and 3) you’ll be liberated by the Word.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 29, 2009. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 1:18-27.

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The book of James is called Wisdom Literature in the New Testament, which means that the book is very practical. It has a high view of God’s law and an ethical focus that runs throughout each chapter. 

We’re considering the question, “What’s the vision of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York?” Let’s look at three things we learn from this passage in James about the topic of suffering: what we face, how we can face it, and who we face it with.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 22, 2009. Series "The Gospel in Community: The Book of James". Scripture: James 1:1-18.

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Today both Christians and skeptics of Christianity can struggle to figure out what is real Christianity. Skeptics struggle with certain aspects of what has become known as Christianity, but also, Christians sometimes struggle with those very same things. You have to know what real Christianity is if you’re going to reject it rightly, and you certainly have to know what it is if you’re going to embrace it rightly. The book of Acts shows us real and authentic Christianity.

Chapter 19 is one of the most unusual of all of the accounts in the book. It’s about a riot at Ephesus, which stems from idolatry. We’re going to look at: 1) the pervasiveness of idols, 2) the weakness and power of idols, and 3) the cost of smashing idols.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 12, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 19:23-41.

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Even after the rise of Rome, Athens was still the intellectual capital of the Greco-Roman world in the first century. For those of us who are English speakers, Athens was like all of the Ivy League schools, plus Oxford and Cambridge, all rolled into one.

The passage today is Paul’s address to the philosophers of the Areopagus, which is on Mars Hill. It’s a rich place in the Bible for analysis, because Paul’s argument is extraordinarily well-crafted and structured. To really get into it, you need a background in various schools of Greek philosophy. You have to understand Greek rhetoric. We’re going to look at three high-level observations in the text: the problems of culture, the greatness of God, and the outrageousness of the resurrection.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 5, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 17:16-34.

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In Acts 16 there are three case studies that show how Jesus and the gospel can really change your life: Lydia, the slave girl, and the Philippian jailer. All of these show the incredible accessibility of the gospel for many types of people. 

We’re going to highlight three things that we learn from these case studies. First, the gospel is for everybody. Everyone needs it. Because it’s true, it’s for everybody. Secondly, the gospel is the single most unifying power on the face of the earth. We see that different races, different social classes, and different personality types can become brothers and sisters in Christ. Lastly, the gospel is true freedom. Paul and Silas being put in chains showed the world what real freedom was.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 28, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 16:20-40.

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The heart of Acts chapter 16 are three wonderful case studies of how God changes three very different people. There’s a woman, there’s a girl, and there’s a man. They are three marvelous examples of how God can work in such remarkably different ways and yet at the same time bring people to the same Christ through the same gospel. This gospel is rich enough and flexible enough for anybody — it can change anybody. 

We’re going to look at the first two case studies and then draw a few lessons: who the people are, how the gospel comes to them, and what the results are.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 21, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 16:1-19.

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Acts 15 is not a chapter that is commonly used for sermons. It usually is not something we spend time on because it’s a long theological debate. But this debate teaches us at least four incredibly important things about the gospel itself. Truth matters because truth has consequences for how we live. Secondly, no other religion offers freedom from burdens like Christianity because Christ took on our burdens for us. Next, God uses community to reveal things to us and to teach us about him. Finally, unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament, we are made pure by the work of Christ. 

We learn the importance of these four things in Acts 15:  gospel accuracy, gospel liberty, gospel community, and gospel purity.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 14, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 15:1-11, 22-29.

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There’s no doubt if you’re looking to understand what real Christianity is, the book of Acts is the place you should start. Nothing shows us what authentic Christianity is more than the earliest years of the church’s history in the book of Acts. 

The first church was in Jerusalem and the first Christians were Jewish. When the gospel began to spread in the first 13 chapters of Acts, we see a lot of evangelism being done between Jews and God-fearers who already believed the Bible. But in this passage, it’s  the first time we see Christian speakers speaking to polytheists — people who don’t believe the Bible at all. This passage shows us how we should present the gospel in a place where people believe a lot of different things like our modern society. We can learn four things gospel ministry in such a pluralistic setting: love the needy, identify the idols, endure the hardness, and fulfill the longings.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 7, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 14:8-23.

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The first recorded sermon by Saint Paul is found in Acts 13. It’s dominated by the subject of Christ’s resurrection. Elsewhere Paul says that without the resurrection of Christ, “our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor. 15:14). Over and over again in Acts 13, Paul mentions the resurrection. If the resurrection was preached and believed in the earliest church, then we should too. 

We see here it was preached and believed in two ways: as a fact and as fulfillment. Verse 31 says that there are witnesses to this fact. Verse 32 says what God promised to our ancestors he has fulfilled for us. Fact and fulfillment. Let’s find out what these mean for us today and what the ramifications are for our lives.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 31, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 13:26-31, 38-39.

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The church of Antioch was one of the most important churches in early Christianity. It teaches us many things about Christian outreach, cultural diversity, prayer, discipleship,  and caring for people in need. But we’re going to look at one of the less prominent themes in Acts 11 and 13. It’s one of the keys to gospel ministry that Barnabas shows us in these passages: the ministry of encouragement. It’s a ministry that speaks the truth, but does so in love. It’s an intense, personal, and yet exhortational ministry to people.

As soon as Barnabas shows up and bathes the church with this ministry of encouragement, people start growing. Things start happening. It’s the ministry of truth and love that is the key. Let’s look more closely at what this ministry is and how we get the power to do it with the Holy Spirit.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 24, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 30, 2003. Series "The Necessity of Belief". Scripture: Acts 10:27-47.

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We come to perhaps the most famous conversion story in the history of the world: the conversion of Saul (who becomes Paul). This is the man who sought to do the most harm to the earliest Christians, but then God saves him and he becomes the writer of about a quarter of the New Testament. 

Jesus uses no uncertain terms regarding conversion; in Matthew 18:3 he says unless you’re converted, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Conversion means that we turn and trust. Conversion stories can vary in nature, but there are certain elements that must be present if you have really been converted. These three elements are: collision (vv. 1-5), darkness (vv. 6-9), and embrace (vv. 17-19).

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 10, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 9:1-11, 17-19.

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The book of Acts is all about the earliest Christianity. It shows us something about the character of the earliest Christianity, especially about where the church got its power. The book of Acts, but also the Bible in general, is bound to surprise you. No matter what your culture or what your class, no matter what conceptions and categories you come to the Bible with, it will smash some of them. 

This story in Acts about Philip and the Ethiopian is the same way. It will show us the inclusivity of Christianity; the exclusivity of Christianity; and the grounding for both. Most people see Christianity as either inclusive or exclusive, but the fact is Christianity is both.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 3, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 8:26-40.

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The book of Acts is about the history of the early church. For the first seven chapters, we only see the gospel in Jerusalem and Judea, but because of the execution of Stephen and then the persecution that ensued, the great body of Christians in Jerusalem were scattered. As they went out the church became a church on mission.

The word mission today is almost everywhere. Everybody has a mission statement. People create personal missions of their own. The word mission comes from the Latin word that means to be sent. Mission characterized the earliest church. We see there were basically four marks to this mission: it was an organic mission, an urban mission, an embodied mission, and a gospel mission.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 24, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 8:1-18.

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What we see in the book of Acts is that the church was born in a pluralistic society — a society with many different beliefs in various gods. Christians made absolute truth claims about the one true God. Not surprisingly, this was not well-received at times (it got the first apostles thrown into jail). There was real opposition in a pluralistic society to these absolute truth claims. 

Christians today are increasingly told we need to get with the times in our modern pluralistic society. We’re told we shouldn’t be making universal claims and that Jesus is the only way to be saved. But Christians have faced the same kind of opposition in the past. Let’s see what we learn from the earliest church under these three headings: the problem with truth claims, the problem with the problem with truth claims, and the solution to the problem.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 13, 2013. Series "Acts: The Gospel in the City". Scripture: Acts 4:1-13.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 8, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: John 11:32-44.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 10, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: Matthew 3:13-4:11.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 22, 1997. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: Luke 2:10-14.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 15, 1997. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: Luke 1:26-38.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 3, 1997. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: Matthew 1:17-25.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 16, 1997. Series "The Real Jesus Part 2; His Life". Scripture: Mark 7:1-23.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 27, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 5:1-10, 17-20.

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 20, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 5:1-10, 17-20.

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We’re looking at one of the more well-known parts of Matthew 11. If you’re looking at Christianity, this is a matchless summary. Jesus calls out to those who are burdened and weary, and he gives an invitation to find rest in him. He says, “If you are weary and if you are burdened, you haven’t really yet understood the greatness of what I offer.”

We’re going to look at two things in this passage. First of all, Jesus gives us an analysis: we all have restlessness and we’re all yoked to something. Then he offers to give us certain things in their place instead. He offers himself; he offers himself as the yoke; and he offers himself as rest.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 13, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30.

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Matthew chapter 11 begins with John the Baptist sending a message that reveals John is struggling with who Jesus is. All of Matthew 11 is a response to John the Baptist’s question. Jesus doesn’t say something like, “John, you’ve misunderstood me.” No, instead, he says “John, the things I claim and the things I am are much more outrageous than you have even heard. Let me show you just how outrageous and how offensive I really can be.”

Jesus makes some of the most outrageous and the most offensive statements that have ever been made in verse 27. He says that he is the only way. This claim that made the people of Jesus’ day struggle is also the thing that makes us struggle. Let’s look at what this deeper claim is, why you should believe it, and how you should use it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 6, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:25-27.

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In Matthew chapter 11 John the Baptist is struggling with the identity of Jesus. He sends a message and he says, “Are you really who you claim to be?” The rest of the chapter is Jesus’ answer to that question. The contemporary relevance of a chapter like this is so amazing and so obvious, because Western civilization is filled with people just like John the Baptist. People who are filled with doubts and questions about Jesus.

Jesus gives us two important things to do in his response. First of all, he says, “Use the magnitude of my claims, the greatness of who I claim to be, to knock yourself out of the deadly middle.” And secondly, “Turn it on yourself and use it to make yourself a little child spiritually.” Let’s look more closely at what the deadly middle is and then how to do this.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 29, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:18-27.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

This passage is part of Jesus’ response to John the Baptist who was struggling with doubts about the identity of Jesus. It is so relevant for today because many of us may have similar questions or doubts about Jesus. We may be in a similar situation as John the Baptist. In Jesus’ response, we find answers to that unbelief.

Let’s look at three wonderful things about unbelief that Jesus teaches us in this passage: the power of unbelief, the character of unbelief, and the solution for unbelief.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 22, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:16-24.

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Matthew 11 has incredible relevance to us today. In the last 1500 years in the West, there has always been indifference to Jesus; but never have there been so many people who are offended at Jesus. John the Baptist is in the same place. When in prison, he sends Jesus a message, and he says, “I don’t know that you’re the One. Are you the Messiah? How do I know?”

In Jesus’ response, we see three groups of people that don’t take offense at Jesus: the poor, the violent, and the least. Each one tells you something about what you have to be and what you have to do if you’re even going to be open to Jesus’ claims. These three are a model for us to be open to who Jesus is.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 15, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:4-15.

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In this passage from the book of Matthew, John the Baptist is struggling with who Jesus is. Why would John, this great religious figure, be dealing with such difficulty? We learn two things from his struggle: 1) if you’re going to find out whether Jesus is the One, first of all, you have to make sure you do not try to understand yourself before you understand him, and 2) you also had better realize that if you reject him you’ll never be able to stop searching for him.

As a response, Jesus gives John a straight answer. We learn two more things from Jesus. He says, “You will not know I’m the One until 1) you feel my offensiveness and 2) you see how I welcome the weak. Let’s look a little deeper into this interchange and its  burning contemporary relevance for our world today.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 8, 1996. Series "The Real Jesus Part 1; His Teaching". Scripture: Matthew 11:2-6.

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The book of Psalms is the preeminent place to learn how to deal with your emotions and the conditions of the heart. Psalms, in a certain sense, is God’s counseling case book. Not his counseling textbook, but his case book. Not a place where you have lots of principles laid out, but lots of actual cases of people struggling with all of the many kinds of conditions of the human heart.

Psalm 103 is a general psalm about how to handle life. In it, David gives you the key approach to handle all of life’s circumstances. David is saying, “The main thing I need to do, the main thing you need to do, the main way to handle life is to not forget.” The main problem we have is that we forget what God has done. David is calling for something far deeper than mental recall, and he’s dealing with something far more transforming than just counting your blessings. We’re going to learn here why we need to remember, where we need to remember, what we need to remember, and how we need to remember. This is the key to handling life.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 19, 2000. Series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus". Scripture: Psalm 103:1-22.

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Psalms give us a unique gospel way to deal with our emotions and feelings — it’s different from secular and religious approaches. Psalms tell us we’re supposed to pray our feelings. Not just pray about our feelings, but to actually take them before God and pour them out in a pre-reflective way and process them in the presence of God, in the light of who he is and who we are, in the light of the realities that come to us, that bear down on us, as we’re in his presence.

Today we look at guilt and shame — those feelings that come over you when your heart is broken under a sense of failure and unworthiness. We see guilt and shame likened to a hole, to something we’ve sunk down in (verses 1-2). We’re also shown a rope you throw a person — that’s available for a person who’s in that hole of guilt and shame (verses 3-4). Then we see a little bit about the process of how you climb out with that rope (verses 5-6).

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 12, 2000. Series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus". Scripture: Psalm 130:1-8.

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In this passage, we see that David has something very serious to be afraid of. He has literal armies after him. He has people trying to attack and kill him. Right in the middle of the chapter, what does he say? “I will not fear. I sleep in the midst of all these armies.” He has discovered a way of praying his fear and he is able to handle it.

In this psalm, we see that there are two levels down into fear and that there are four steps out. The first level is a healthy kind of fear, and then there’s a deeper, unhealthy, and debilitating kind of fear. The four steps out of the pit are all there in verses 3–8: follow your thread, relocate your glory, see the substitute, and remember the people. Let’s look closer to learn more about fear and how to handle it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 5, 2000. Series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus". Scripture: Psalm 3:1-8; Genesis 15:1,8.

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The book of Psalms gives us a gospel third way with your feelings. It’s a third way between what religiosity and what secularity ordinarily tell you. Religiosity tends to deny feelings. Why? Because if you are trying to warrant God’s blessing through a good record, you are psychologically unable to admit dark, intense, turbulent feelings. On the other hand, the secular approach is just the opposite, it tends to hold to the sovereignty of feelings. The discovery and expression of your feelings is a good in itself.

Psalms suggests neither. The Psalms does not say deny or vent, but pray your feelings. Pray your deepest feelings. Bring them before God and process them.  In this text we’re looking at pain, sorrow, and tears. What do you do with these feelings? What do you do with tears? We learn three things. Expect tears, invest tears, and pray your tears.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 27, 2000. Series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus". Scripture: Psalm 39:12-13; 126:1-6.

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Psalms are not about so much lofty, high doctrine as they are about how the human heart works, particularly human feelings. The anger, fear, hostility, rawness, and white heat of emotions expressed in the psalms really just disturb people today. We will see that psalms are neither mere rational discussions of feelings or just expressions of feelings. The psalms do not deny feelings, and they don’t vent feelings. The Psalms show us how to pray our feelings.

In Psalm 73, we’re going to look at a person struggling with doubt. We see a person filled with many types of doubts — someone struggling with doubts about God and about faith. Doubt is a condition of the soul and the heart. Let’s look at what the condition is, what the cause is, and what the cure is.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 20, 2000. Series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus". Scripture: Psalm 73:1-3; 12-26.

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We all have troubles in life. How do we face troubles with peace, with rest, with equilibrium? I’ve come to realize it’s not mainly through petitionary prayer. Of course the Bible is filled with petition, where you go to God, and you make your needs known, and you ask for things. You should do that, but the ultimate and main way to handle the troubles of life with peace is through worship.

Psalm 95 is the classic text in the Bible about worship. Through the centuries, the Christian church has looked to this maybe more than any other single place in the Bible to inform our worship. This text tells us almost everything we need to know. Let’s look at the questions: what is worship; why should we worship; and how can we worship?

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 7, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 95:1-11.

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In the book of Psalms, we’re shown various spiritual disciplines, which are practical skills we have to engage if we’re going to grow into the people God designed us to be.

Here in Psalm 27, we learn about adoration — personal individual adoration, contemplative adoration. We will look at Psalm 95 at a later date in which we’ll learn about corporate adoration. You cannot grow without both of them. They have to both be there. They’re both absolutely necessary.

We’re going to focus specifically on verse 4 which talks about the “one thing I ask, one thing I seek.” What is that one thing? We learn three things from this psalm about it: why it’s so important, what it is, and how to do it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 2, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 27:1-14.

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Spiritual disciplines are the practical skills you have to be able to exercise in order to grow into the person God wants you to be. Psalm 81 shows us how to use various disciplines to handle the wilderness times of your life: the times of suffering, the times of pain, the times of difficulty.

Let’s look at four things that we can learn in this particular psalm: 1) life is a wilderness, 2) there’s a rock in the wilderness, 3) there’s honey in the rock, and 4) God has sent his son Jesus to pass the test in the wilderness (v.7) on our behalf. You yourself will become sweet, joyful, and beautiful through the work of Jesus Christ, who was tested in the wilderness and passed that test perfectly.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 19, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 81.

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We’re studying spiritual disciplines in the book of Psalms. Today, we’re looking at another practical spiritual competency you must engage in if you’re going to grow into the person God wants you to be: confession. 

When you know you’ve messed up, when you know you’ve failed, when you know it’s your fault, how do you get up again after you’ve fallen in such a way that you have more joy and power than before? How do you get up not broken but get up in better shape than you were before? Let’s look in psalm to see our need for confession, the way of confession, and the secret basis of confession.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 12, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11.

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We’re looking at spiritual disciplines that the psalms teach us, disciplines by which we grow into the people God wants us to be. These disciplines help us face forces that could spiritually derail us. One of the things that’s going to happen in life is serious mistreatment, where you become the object of mistreatment from other people and things in this world. What are you going to do with that mistreatment and the anger that comes from that?

This passage is going to tell us some very important things about how to handle mistreatment and how to deal with your anger over mistreatment. We’ll first look at three things the psalmist does with his anger: he owns his anger, he prays his anger, and he limits his anger. Then we’ll look at three practical things that we can do with our anger on this side of the cross.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 28, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 137:1-9.

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When it comes to physical growth and health, you have two kinds of practices or disciplines. You have trainers and you have doctors. Through nutrition and exercise, trainers help you get further than you were. They help you make progress physically. But when you get sick or maybe injure yourself, you need a doctor to get you back on track. You need trainers to get you forward from where you were; you need doctors to get you back to where you were physically.

We need the same things spiritually. There are spiritual disciplines that are more like training – disciplines by which you grow into the person God has meant you to be, such as meditation and prayer. But there are other spiritual disciplines that are more defensive. That is, they’re ways of treating problems and difficulties. This is what we find in Psalm 42-43. We learn about a specific condition to which we are susceptible and then we’re given a set of cures for this condition. Becoming skilled at dealing with this condition is absolutely critical if you’re going to make spiritual progress.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 21, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 42:1-43:5.

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In Philippians 2:12 Saint Paul says, “Work out your salvation in awe and wonder.” Notice he didn’t say, “Work for your salvation.” He said, “Work out your salvation.” You can only work out something you already have. Whatever salvation is, the spiritual gift of grace is not something you just clutch or hold on to, but it’s something you have to work out into every part of your life. You have to work it out into your identity, into your psychology, your sociology, your relationships, your approach to the world, into everything. That’s how we change. That’s how we become new. 

This change is done through disciplines of grace. The discipline that we’re looking at today in Psalm 119 is scriptural application: how Scripture leads us into obeying God’s word. We don’t get changed and we won’t obey God, unless we’re willing to come in under the authority of God. Let’s look at these two things in this psalm: 1) what’s wrong with trying to be your own ultimate spiritual authority and 2) how you can put yourself under God’s authority in a way that’s transforming and not stifling.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 14, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 119:32-49.

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We’re going to look at the processes by which a supernaturally changed heart comes about – the disciplines of grace. Now what are the ways that this happens? Over the centuries, Christians have looked to the Psalms maybe more than any other place in the Bible to learn about these disciplines of grace and today, we’re starting with the first psalm.

So let’s ask ourselves what we learn from this passage about meditation, which is one of the disciplines of grace – it’s one of the ways in which we work out our salvation into every nook and cranny of our lives in awe and wonder (Phil 2:12). There are four things we’re going to learn about meditation from the passage: the promise of meditation, the principle, the practice, and the puzzle.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 7, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6.

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When Christianity is ever covered in the newspaper or on TV, Christianity is typically discussed and seen as a cultural or intellectual position. So people tend to talk about Christianity something like this: “Well, you know, there are various positions, there are various points of view on the nature of God and the nature of the soul, morality and ethics and the meaning and purpose of life. There are these various positions, and the Christian position is one of them.” They try it on the way somebody tries on a dress, looking to see whether it brings out your best parts and hides your worst parts. 

It is possible to adopt Christianity only in word. That means to say, “I accept the position. I accept the point of view. I accept the ideals. I accept the beliefs.” You can do this and yet not have received it as it really is as a power. The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). 

Now see, Jesus, without using the word, is saying the same thing here in this parable. He is saying Christianity is a ruling power. It’s not just a set of ideals, such as forgiveness or God’s love. It’s much more than that – it’s a power. Let’s consider two things about this power: Christianity is the power of new life and it is the power of growth.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 21, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". Scripture: Luke 13:18-21.

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We’re looking at the subject of hell, one of the most unpopular classic doctrines of orthodox Christianity. I’m asking you to consider it today for two reasons: 1) I submit to you that unless you understand, unless you can reflect on, unless you can agree with the Christian doctrine of hell, you have no idea of how much love God has shown us; and 2) Jesus, the one who teaches us the most about God’s love, is the one who teaches us this doctrine of hell. Jesus, the Lord of Love, the one who knew the most about love, teaches us the most about hell. 

Jesus intertwined the love of God and hell so much that you really can’t reject just one and accept the other. They have to be taken together. Let’s take a look at what Jesus teaches in this story of two men. If we want to understand hell, we have to see what he says about 1) the two men in this life and 2) the two men in the next life and 3) the two men in our life.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 17, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". Scripture: Luke 16:19-31.

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In this parable, Jesus is teaching about repentance. Now there are a lot of different opinions about repentance. For example, the famous poet Lord Byron said, “… the weak alone repent!” Yet Shakespeare  said in one of his characters, “I’ll repent, and that suddenly … I shall be out of heart shortly, and then I shall have no strength to repent.” Do you see? The one poet says, “It takes weakness to repent,” whereas Shakespeare sees it as taking strength to repent. He sees it as being an achievement.

Now who is right? Is repentance a sign of strength or is it a sign of weakness? Shakespeare is much more profound at this point, and he’s much closer to what Jesus Christ says. Jesus says repentance is the key to everything. Jesus says repentance is the way in which we should process everything that comes to us — it is the grid through which everything should pass. He tells us 1) we need it, 2) how to do it, and 3) how he brings it about in us.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 10, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". Scripture: Luke 13:1-9.

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We’re studying the parable of the prodigal son. We read that the younger brother comes to the father and says, “Give me my slice of the inheritance.” He says basically, “Even though you’re not dead, I want your things, but I don’t want you. I don’t want you involved with my life. Give them to me. I’m leaving.”

You have to understand in that culture this was an absolute outrage. He had brought tremendous humiliation on the family. He essentially destroyed the family estate by insisting it be liquidated and then he goes off and squanders it. This is immense, and yet when he returns, we see the father he betrayed, the father he humiliated, welcomes him with open arms and a kiss.

What we’re going to see is that this string of parables is not ultimately about an assurance to bad and immoral and messed-up people, but it is an in-your-teeth warning to good people. In this entire chapter Jesus Christ is saying nothing comes between you and God like morality and goodness and decency and respectability. How can this be? To answer this, let’s consider two things about the elder brother: 1) The elder brother is lost; and 2) he is more lost than the younger brother.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 25, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:20-32.

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The purpose of the prodigal son was to blow out the existing paradigms, the existing categories, human beings had for their understanding of their relationship with God. Some people have what you might call a moralistic view of life. The moralistic view of life says, “The problem with the world is not me; it’s them, those immoral types.” Then you have another kind of person. The other kind of worldview is what we could call a relativistic view of life. The relativistic people are the ones who say, “The problem with the world isn’t me; it’s them, those condemning types.” Generally, the relativistic types, the younger brother types, tend to move. They tend to go away from their hometown, while the moralistic types tend to stay where they were raised and they live very “good” lives. 

Jesus says, “Look at these two brothers. Look carefully. They are both lost. They are both alienated from the father’s heart.” In both cases, they will not come in and the father has to come out to bring them in. Jesus Christ lays bare the flaws of both of these paradigms. Jesus is talking about an experience of God – the kiss of the Father, the love of the Father. Let’s look at the three things have to happen: You have to come to your senses; You need a love that’s prior to your repentance; You need an elder brother who will foot your bill.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 18, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:11-24.

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Now Jesus seems to be continually arguing when we read the accounts of his life in the Bible. Why does he do so? Because Jesus would speak to people, but when people listened to him, they would take his words, they would take the sayings, and they would pour them into their own categories. They would listen to him, in a sense, through their own categories — their own biases, assumptions, and predetermined beliefs. Of course, that meant they weren’t really listening to Jesus at all.

What Jesus is saying continually is “I come in to blast out all of your foundational assumptions. I demand to be the thing through which you see everything. I’m here to open up new vistas, new realms of knowledge. I’m here to explode your paradigms.” First we’re going to look at what those foundational assumptions are — the grid that people believed to be true, the old set of assumptions, the prevalent and pervasive understanding of religion. And then we’re going to discuss the new paradigm, the new worldview that Jesus brings to the world.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 11, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:1-12.

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In the very beginning of Luke chapter 15, Jesus speaks to religious leaders — teachers of the law — who look at Jesus fraternizing with “sinners,” and they say to him basically, “Why are you hanging out with all these lost people?” The people who are spiritually lost — meaning far from God, away from home, alienated from God. Why is Jesus fraternizing with them?

In response, Jesus gives three parables, and they’re all about lostness. The third parable is this one, the parable of the prodigal son – the most amazing, shocking, category-busting message of Jesus about what it means to be spiritually lost. Jesus is basically trying to get across a new idea, a better idea, than the Pharisees had of what it means to be spiritually lost. 

Let’s look at this new category of spiritual lostness that Jesus introduces: 1) what it is; 2)  how you can judge whether you’re in the category yourself (what the signs are of that condition); 3) what do you do with it if that’s you, and 4) what are some of the implications for our church.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:17-32.

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The twentieth century philosopher Martin Heidegger believed all human beings were characterized by unheimlichkeit, which means homesickness. It means to be alienated, to feel that we’re not really home in this world, to feel that we are in exile, that we’re in a world that’s profoundly at variance with our deepest desires. Why would that be? What are we going to do about that? Those profound questions are all addressed and actually answered by this wonderful parable in Luke 15. 

We’re going to see how Jesus so brilliantly ties this story in with one of the main themes of the entire Bible, which is exile and homecoming. Let’s take a look at how it does that under three headings: the human condition, the divine solution for it, and the new Communion that is the result.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 2, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:17-32, Isaiah 25, Matthew 19.

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The one thing everybody knows when you read the parable of the prodigal son is it’s about forgiveness. The parable is a beautiful picture of a father that forgives his son and welcomes him home. 

Let’s take a look first at what it teaches us about forgiveness and then ask the question … What kind of community would we be if we took the teaching about forgiveness seriously? Consider these four headings: forgiveness is assertive, it’s sacrificial, it’s powered from inside, and it leads to a resurrection.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 26, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:11-24, Matthew 5, Matthew 18, John 1.

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This great parable of the prodigal son teaches us many insights as to how the grace of God affects our relationships with each other, how it creates a unique community, a unique human society. Today we’re focusing on the theme of sonship. What did sonship mean in ancient culture? What does sonship mean in the Bible? We have to understand this if we’re going to grasp not only the narrative in the text but some of the greatest information we can get about what God has given to us through Jesus. Let’s take a look at these four things: the character of sonship, the practice of sonship, the community that results from sonship, and the accomplishment of sonship.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:21-24, Galatians 3-4, Revelation 21.

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We’re looking at the parables of Luke 15. Of course, the biggest, longest, and most famous of them is the parable of the prodigal son. We see how the grace of God not only changes my individual life or your individual life, but how the grace of God creates a new kind of community, a new kind of human society, and how it creates new kinds of relationships.

This parable is essentially an image about the meltdown of a community and the restoration of it. The key theme we’re going to look at in this text is the theme of repentance — this is crucial for the restoration of community. Even though the word is not in this text, what we have when the younger son decides to go back to his father is an example of repentance. Let’s notice three things: the importance of repentance, the anatomy of it (what it’s actually made of), the key to doing it, and the kind of community that results from it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 12, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:11-20; Psalm 51; James 5:16.

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In Luke 15, we’re learning how the gospel creates a special kind of community, and how it creates a new kind of community. We’re looking at the last of the three parables: the parable of the lost son. It’s the most famous. And it’s the longest.

I’d like you to think about this story in a slightly different way than you probably want to do. I’d like you to consider the story is giving us a picture of an assault on community because of idolatry. And this is only overcome by agony. This is our first avenue into understanding this very rich and important text.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 5, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:11-14.

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We’re looking at the parables Jesus tells in Luke 15: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son. 

These are famous parables and they all show us how God’s grace can change someone’s life. The not only show us how God’s grace changes us individually but forms us into a unique kind of human community. With the grace of God, the gospel creates a completely unique and distinct kind of community — a community the world has never seen.

Let’s take a look at the sheep, the search itself, and the shepherd and see what each one of those teaches us about how God’s grace creates community.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 28, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:1-10; Ephesians 2.

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The book of Jonah is awfully relevant to our situation, especially today. Jonah has been asked to go to the capital of Assyria, the great rising, emerging imperial world power. It  was a violent place. It slaughtered helpless people. Jonah’s response to that is anger. He wants them punished. He is angry at them for their violence. Yet, in one of the great surprises in all of biblical narrative, there’s probably no more surprising turn than what we see in this book. 

God refuses to accept either the violence of Nineveh or the poisonous anger of Jonah. Let’s take a look and see what this text tells us about violence: first, the surprising sources of violence, secondly, the remarkable strategy we should take with violence, and then lastly, the ultimate solution for violence.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 7, 2001. Series "The Church in the City". Scripture: Jonah 3:1-4:5.

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We continue to see the relevance of Jonah’s situation and the story of Jonah to our own. Jonah was a prophet and he had a relationship with God. He was a preacher. He had faith. He had an understanding of who God was and who he was. He was moving along in his world just fine. Then his world changed, because God came to him and said, “Now I call you into a new ministry, a new situation. I want you to go to Nineveh.”

It was a violent and ruthless and imperialistic nation. It was, as it were, a clear and present danger to the very existence of Jonah’s country. He was filled with disdain, hatred, bias, and bigotry. To use the technical theological term, Jonah freaked out. 

What we see next is that Jonah has a spiritual breakthrough. He moves to a new level. Let’s look at four things we can learn from Jonah through this experience: the key to spiritual transformation, the method of spiritual transformation, the marks of spiritual transformation, and the continual need for it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 30, 2001. Series "The Church in the City". Scripture: Jonah 2:1-3:3.

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Jonah is a prophet. God has come to him and told him to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, the implacable foe, the implacable enemy of his country. “Go to that city and preach against it. Warn them about God’s anger.” What Jonah does, of course, is he runs away. He refuses to do it. He goes in another direction.

Jonah’s on the run. Why? Because Jonah has fear in his heart. He’s afraid to go to Nineveh, because why put himself in the very midst of his enemies? 

We’re going to see what the Bible says about fear by noticing three features of the story: the stormy sea, the religious sailors, and the willing substitute. The stormy sea is who we are. The religious sailors show us the wrong thing to do about it. And the willing substitute is what to do about it.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 23, 2001. Series "The Church in the City". Scripture: Jonah 1:4-17.

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The book of Jonah is really one of the best possible places to get an overview of what the Christian message is about. This passage, this text, the book, is about sin. But it doesn’t actually ever use the word sin. Not only does it profoundly map out the real nature of sin, it gives us an understanding of sin that goes deeper than what traditionally you’d think the definition of sin is. It also deconstructs the very danger contemporary people are so afraid of. It shows you not only a concept of sin, but it gives you a concept of sin you can’t use to oppress people once you’ve grabbed it. You can’t use it that way.

It’s one thing to believe in sin. It’s another thing to understand it and understand your own heart. We’re going to take a look at four features in the narrative, and each one is going to tell us something about sin. The four features we see are in verse 1. We see the coming word. “The word of the LORD came …” In verse 3, we see the running man. In verse 5, we see the deathly sleep. And lastly, we see the stormy hope.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 9, 2001. Series "The Church in the City". Scripture: Jonah 1:1-10.

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Jonah was called to go to Nineveh to preach, and after a lot of detours, he did. When he got there and began to preach, we’re told that Nineveh, by and large, the populace turned from its violence and its evil ways. Now this is a marvelous thing and we would expect great joy in Jonah’s heart. But surprise, in 4:1, we read, “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.” Why is that? The bottom line is Jonah can’t figure out God’s love.

Jonah, like everybody, believes in love in general, but when it comes right down to it has a fatally inadequate understanding of how love actually operates, and in particular, how God’s love actually operates. In the same way, many, maybe most, of our own struggles and collapses (just like Jonah here) are due to our own inadequate understanding of how God’s love really, really operates.

Let’s look at two things that God is trying to get across to Jonah. First, God’s love is refining fire. It is life-purifying. Secondly, God’s love is a seeking fire, a seeking power, a seeking love.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 16, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 4:1-10.

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Jonah went into a big city like New York — Nineveh was proportionally bigger — and he saw a massive change. He saw repentance that was culturally transforming. The people turned from their violence and evil ways. In response to this amazing thing, we’re told, “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.” What’s going on here?

How can we explain Jonah’s mood swings, his tremendous emotional instability, able to praise God in chapter 2 and a few days later saying, “I am angry enough to die?” The answer is a divided heart. Jonah believed in and served the true God, but he also believed and served a rival god. As a result, his heart was divided between worshipping two different things. 

Hearts divided between more than one god create that kind of instability we see in Jonah. They create the kind of misery and drivenness of Jonah. And what we see is that it could be true of us as well. Now let’s just ask two questions of the passage: 1) What’s a divided heart? And 2) how can we heal a divided heart?

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 9, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 4:1-10.

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The last chapter of Jonah is a surprise chapter. It’s the most surprising ending of any of the books of the Bible. If you gave this whole chapter a title, you might call it “The Incredible Collapse of Jonah.” Why would a preacher get exceedingly angry when, as a response to his preaching, he’s actually turned a culture away from violence, oppression, and wickedness to the living God?

The incredible collapse of Jonah is because of a misunderstanding of God’s love. There are several lessons we can learn, but one is that God’s love is a patient love. Fruitful Christians like Jonah can fall back into old patterns of sin and self-deception but  only the patient love of God stands between them and oblivion. God’s patient love is such that he will always bring his children back.

Why is God’s patient love not more operative and powerful in our lives? How can God’s patient love be more powerful and operative in our lives? Let’s look at four things we can do: 1. Examine your heart; 2. Confess sin; 3. Make sure you realize God’s patient love is the thing that will keep you out of despair; and 4. Seek reality.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 2, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 4:1-10.

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Nineveh, which is the capital of Assyria, was the greatest city the world had yet seen. It was an impregnable fortress. Military might, economic might, cultural might … Nobody in their right mind would even think of besieging the city, let alone trying to capture the city, because you couldn’t even get an army around it. Who had an army that could stretch around the circumference of this city? But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and God decides, not just to besiege the city, but to sack it with an army of one.

God did it by taking one person (one man, in this case) and turning that one man into a city-changer, into a world-changer. Then, by doing so, he was able to sack the greatest city in the history of the world up to that time. How did God make Jonah an Army of one? There are four things that we learn: God’s persistent grace makes you an army of one; God’s calling makes you an army of one, God’s strategy, and God’s power.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 26, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 3.

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We’ve seen that Jonah was called to preach in the great city of Nineveh, he refused and fled from God, God sent a storm to reclaim him, and the storm made things such that Jonah was thrown over the side of the boat into the ocean. There, he was swallowed by a great fish. The result is, in the belly of the deep, Jonah prays a prayer of faith, and he grasps the grace of God.

We’re going to look, not so much at the subject or topic of the prayer, but the phenomenon of the prayer itself. How did Jonah, who was in this condition of utter despair, of cowering fear, and of rebellion … How did he come from that position to a posture of triumphant faith by the end of the prayer? The answer is that faith rose up and it brought with it Jonah’s heart. We’ll see his faith that he exercised was done in three stages. First, he calls, then he remembers, and finally he commits.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 19, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 2:1-10.

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The plot line of Jonah goes like this. Chapter 1: God says to Jonah, “Go and preach to Nineveh, the greatest city in the world.” Chapter 2: Jonah refuses and flees on a boat. Chapter 3: God sends a great storm on the ocean to reclaim Jonah. Chapter 4: Jonah is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish.

The point of all of this is right here in this chapter, almost exactly in the very center of the book. The point is about God’s grace. This book says a religious professional, a preacher, and even more than that, a prophet who received direct revelation from God can be deeply and profoundly in the dark about God’s grace. Jonah’s deepest fears, his racial prejudice, and his lack of endurance are all tied to his blindness to the reality of grace. Let’s look at three questions that this passage answers for us: 1. What is the grace of God? 2. How do you receive the grace of God? 3. How do you know you have received the grace of God in your life?

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 12, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 2:1-10.

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Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh, the greatest city in the world, and warn the city about impending disaster and preach there. Jonah refuses, heads in the other direction, and gets on a boat. God sends a storm to hunt him down, endangering the lives of everyone on the ship. Jonah, recognizing this, offers to be thrown into the ocean so the lives of the other sailors will not be forfeit.

We’re going to pause and look at the sub-plot here: Jonah and his relationship and impact on the sailors and their impact on him. God uses the sailors to teach Jonah something about himself and the world. In doing so, let’s just take a look and see how God will teach us something about ourselves and how we are supposed to regard the world.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 5, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 1:4-16; Philippians 2.

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We’re looking at the Book of Jonah and we’ve seen that one subject is sin and grace. Even though there are many places in the Bible that talk about those topics very theologically, the great thing about the book of Jonah is it presents these concretely. Sin is running away from God, and grace is God chasing us down, hunting us down in love, and intercepting our self-destructive behavior. 

We’ve learned that Jonah ran from God – he literally decided to get as far away from God as he possibly could. Then God sent a storm, and so the plot thickens. This chapter is about the storm God sent and about Jonah’s response to the storm. 

Until you see you are not competent to run your life, you are not competent to run your life. This is an intervention of God. Let’s look to see how God intervenes and uses the storm as a way of teaching Jonah about himself and about sin and grace.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 29, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 1:1-17.

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The book of Jonah is a very simple story. It’s a book about a man running away from God and about God pursuing him, and as a result of that, this book is one of the very most concrete ways to learn what the Bible means by sin and grace. 

Almost everybody is familiar with the words sin and grace, but what they actually mean is another thing. Essentially (as concretely as you can put it), sin is running away from God and grace is God’s effort to pursue and to intercept self-destructive behavior. That’s it. Sin and grace. Running and chasing. 

In this passage, we’re going to see, first of all, Jonah is called to do something. Secondly, Jonah runs away from it. Thirdly, we’ll see how God pursues him.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 22, 1990. Series "Jonah". Scripture: Jonah 1:1-10.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

We have all faced these questions at some point or another: How can you live with both justice and mercy in the world? Can mercy and justice be combined? Can forgiveness and justice be combined? I’m not sure that immediately grabs you as one of the great problems in your life or in the culture, but it is.

We have at least two problems, and I’m going to show you it’s because of a third. We have a problem of public justice. In public justice, when one group has really wronged another group, should there be forgiveness? How can there be forgiveness and justice? On the other hand, personally, if someone has wronged you, how can there be both forgiveness and at the same time justice? 

Let’s break this down, and let’s show there’s a problem of public justice, there’s a problem in the area of private justice, and it’s all because there’s a huge problem with perfect justice.

This talk was given by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 27, 2000 as part of the Redeemer Open Forum series. Open Forums were specifically designed for skeptics or those wrestling with the claims of Christianity.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.