Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life
Sermons by Tim Keller, founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC and NY Times best-selling author of "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism." For more sermons and resources, visit https://gospelinlife.com.
Episodes
Our Ransom (Part 2)
We often hear it stated that Jesus offers redemption to those who believe in him. But why do we need to be redeemed in this first place—and why is Jesus the only one who could do it?
The truth is that we have all violated God’s Law and need to be saved. Still, many of us are left with more questions. Is what I’ve done really that bad? Why can’t I earn my own redemption? Why couldn’t God simply cho
Our Ransom (Part 1)
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 10, 1992. Series: Salvation From the Outside In. Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14.
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
Love Before the World (Part 2)
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 3, 1992. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-5.
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 su
Love Before the World (Part 1)
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 26, 1992. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-4.
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
God Our King
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 8, 2000. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11, 27-31.
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
God Our Lover
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 1, 2000. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Ezekiel 16:3-10, 15-22 , 39-42, 60-63.
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 po
God Our Friend
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 24, 2000. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Exodus 33:7-34:8.
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 li
God Our Father
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 17, 2000. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Psalm 103:1-2, 8-18.
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
Considering the Great Love of God
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 10, 2000. Series: Four Ways to Live, Four Ways to Love. Scripture: Psalm 107:31-43.
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 lik
Heaven, a World of Love
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 19, 1996. Series: Love: The Way to Grow Up. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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
Love’s Way to Grow Up
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 12, 1996. Series: Love: The Way to Grow Up. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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
Love’s Way With Others
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 5, 1996. Series: Love: The Way to Grow Up. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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
Love’s Way With God
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 28, 1996. Series: Love: The Way to Grow Up. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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 suppo
Love’s Way With the Self
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 21, 1996. Series: Love: The Way to Grow Up. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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 suppo
Better Than Miracles
1 Corinthians 13 is a very famous passage, but in the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians, we see that it is a sober warning against straying from the Gospel. If a person is gifted, as many of the Corinthians were, then it is frighteningly easy for that person to mistake their spiritual gifts for spiritual fruit.
When we serve others in the church, are we serving Jesus or are we serving ou
Letter to the Church in Laodicea
Every single thing Jesus has to say to the church of Laodicea is scathingly negative.
The city of Laodicea was a medical center—there was a famous medical school there, and they produced a lot of medicines. Jesus essentially says the church in Laodicea is spiritually sick, and that he has the medicine for them. And whenever we see Scripture diagnosing a spiritual condition, we must always ask, “Is
The First and the Last
There are lots of letters in the Bible, but only one place has a series of letters written directly from Jesus to the churches — and that’s in Revelation.
Jesus appears to the now elderly apostle John on the isle of Patmos, where John is in exile, and it is quite an amazing vision. In it, there are three vivid contrasts. Each one tells us something that will make a real difference in our lives.
Le
How To Find Faith
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 8, 1998. Series: Jesus – On Finding God. Scripture: Mark 5:21-43.
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 on
How To Find Real Treasure
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 1, 1998. Series: Jesus – On Finding God. Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46.
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 th
How To Find Your Self
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 25, 1998. Series: Jesus – On Finding God. Scripture: Matthew 16:21-27.
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 th
How To Find the Way
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 18, 1998. Series: Jesus – On Finding God. Scripture: Matthew 7:7-14.
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
The Girl Nobody Wanted
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 11, 1998. Series: None. Scripture: Genesis 29:15-35.
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
Should I Not Love That Great City?
In Jonah, the antagonists are the religious, moral people. It’s us. It’s the city-disdaining, city-phobic, religious, moral people. We’re the antagonists, and God is the protagonist.
It all comes down to this last question when God says, “Should I not have compassion? Should I not love that great city?” This is what the story is about. It’s about God’s love for a big, unbelieving, unjust, violent,
Let Them Give Up Their Violence
History tells us the Assyrian empire brought cruelty and massacre to a new level. It was a violent empire that slaughtered helpless people. And Jonah’s response to it is anger. He wants them punished.
Yet, in the book of Jonah, we see one of the greatest surprising turns of all the stories in the Bible. God refuses to accept either the violence of Nineveh or the poisonous anger of Jonah.
Let’s l
Those Who Cling… Forfeit the Grace
Jonah’s spirituality was fine for his old world and his old situations. But when he’s faced with a new situation, it just collapses.
Then, when he’s in the belly of the fish, Jonah begins to reflect and pray, and as the prayer moves along, we see he has a spiritual breakthrough. Now the new situation is something he can handle. How do we, too, move to the next level?
By looking at Jonah’s prayer
They Greatly Feared
Jonah runs away for two reasons: fear and hate.
God has told Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn them, but Jonah refuses. He’s afraid to put himself in the midst of his enemies, but he’s also filled with hate toward them. So the book of Jonah addresses in a real way the questions “What do I do about my fear?” and “What do I do about my anger?”
Let’s notice three features of the story: 1) the stormy se
Running From God
Words like sin, sinner, heathen and heretic have been used for centuries to exclude and oppress people. That’s one reason we need the book of Jonah.
Jonah gives a concept of sin that can’t be used to oppress people. In fact, it shows that it’s one thing to believe in sin and another thing to understand it in your own heart. Jonah was a prophet, but there was a kind of sin in his heart that flew u
Confident in the Advocate
In the old tales, if they were sending people out on a quest, they always gave them special gifts with special powers. That’s what Jesus is doing in John 14—he’s sending his disciples (us) out into the world.
The night before he dies, Jesus is giving mighty gifts with special powers to his disciples and to us. And of all the gifts that he gives, the greatest gift possible is this one: the Holy Sp
Confident in Prayer
God sent Jesus into the world to say the things he said and do the things he did — and it got him killed. Now Jesus is sending us into the world, and we should probably expect at least a hard time.
In John 14, Jesus gives us gifts for the journey, gifts that will equip us for the difficult work of being his representatives. One of those great gifts is prayer. And if anybody is saying, “Oh, yeah, I
Confident in Love
Philip asks Jesus for something I think most of us can identify with. He asks Jesus to actually show them God. And at this, Jesus is exasperated.
Philip’s saying, “We believe in God, but it’s hard. So give us just one view, and that will be enough for the rest of our lives.” And essentially, Jesus says, “I’m offering you something greater than a vision, that through me you can know God.”
Let’s l
Confident in Hope
Trouble will come. And because we’re going to have trouble, Jesus says he wants to give us something so that our hearts are not troubled by the trouble.
John 14 begins and ends with Jesus saying, “I don’t want you to be troubled.” So what is it that Jesus does to give us confidence and strength to face life as it is?
The first thing Jesus gives us to help us deal with the troubles of life is the
Our Vocation: Lay Ministry
To live a Christian life is much more transformative than just trying to live better.
If you’re a Christian, you are a living stone in the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you are a holy priesthood called to do sacrifices to the Lord, because you’re related to the cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Now that’s quite an image. What does it all mean?
Let’s unpack that under three headings: 1) what we are calle
Our Walk: The Freedom of Submission
The Christian understanding of freedom is at complete loggerheads with what our culture tells us. And I’d say most of us as Christians have trouble understanding it ourselves.
An extremely important concept for understanding the Christian life is the freedom of a Christian. It’s a theme that runs all the way through the New Testament: the paradox that Christians are free through submission, free
Our Power: Spirit-Filled Living
Living the Christian life is not a matter of willpower and self-effort. Because of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have the potential for radical and organic growth and change.
2 Peter talks about moving from selfishness to unselfishness, from enslavement to freedom, from foolishness to wisdom. It’s talking about inward character change, about spiritual growth.
According to this passage, spirit
Our Cross: Path of Suffering
The book of 1 Peter is probably more about suffering than anything else.
It might be the only book in the New Testament completely devoted to the subject of suffering. And it shows us that going through trials, troubles, and sufferings is one of the main ways in which we grow into Christlikeness.
So let’s see what we learn here about 1) the inevitability of suffering, 2) the good potential of su
Our Call: Holy Living
When we become Christians we don’t just turn over a new leaf, we’re spiritually raised with Christ and his resurrection power comes into our lives. And so, what does such an empowered life look like?
We’re called to be holy, but this is a difficult term to get ahold of. In our modern culture, both the word “sin” and the word “holiness” are almost never used anymore except ironically. But we need t
Our Identity: Joyful Exiles
Jesus’ resurrected power is in our lives now. Even though we are not yet bodily resurrected, Christians are, according to Ephesians 2, raised with Christ and knowing the power of his resurrection.
What does that mean? What does it mean to live that kind of life? What kind of life should we live now in light of the resurrection of Jesus?
Let’s look at 1) how we’re supposed to live as Christians, 2
Our Birth: Cosmic
When we unite with Jesus Christ, his resurrection power comes into our lives.
Even though we believe we’ll be resurrected in our bodies at the end of time, there is already a spiritual resurrection that happens to us now. What does that look like?
Looking at this text, we can see 1) what happened, 2) where it happens, 3) how it keeps happening, and 4) why it happens.
This sermon was preached by
Encountering the Risen Jesus
Jesus’ resurrection isn’t supposed to just change history—it’s supposed to change you and me. The New Testament everywhere says we should expect to encounter the risen Christ. And that’s how our lives are changed.
Peter is a case study for us, because we have here the story of how the resurrected Christ sat down with Peter at the fire by the Sea of Galilee—about how Peter’s life had fallen apart
Clothed With Power (Easter)
Easter is too marvelous for words, but we’re going to try.
Luke 24 is an account of the resurrection: from the morning when the empty tomb was discovered, to the middle of the day when Jesus appeared on the road to Emmaus, to the evening when Jesus appeared to his disciples. And in that evening account, we see that Jesus said a number of things to his disciples.
We can learn three things about th
Worship (Palm Sunday)
For centuries now, on the Sunday before Easter, the church has observed the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem just days before he was crucified. It’s called Palm Sunday.
What does Palm Sunday mean? It means Jesus is king, and it’s important to see that’s not just an abstract proposition. Palm Sunday is about this: you can’t know Jesus Christ unless you know him as king. He can’t chan
Mission
Christianity gives us resources to help us live in a world that’s hard to live in. And in Luke 5, we see a resource we wouldn’t immediately think of as one — that is, that when Jesus calls us, he sends us out into the world to serve.
Serving other people is draining, but it’s also strengthening. Because if you see that you should live for your neighbor’s fulfillment rather than your own fulfillmen
Scripture
When you’re in the wilderness, how do you handle the trials, the difficulties, and the temptations?
In Luke 4, we have a famous passage about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus is assaulted by the Devil, and he deals with it through the Word of God. We’re going to look at how Jesus uses Scripture, and how, in a practical way, we can too.
This text shows us 1) the depth and complexity
Out From the Grave
The raising of Lazarus is the seventh and climactic of Jesus’ miraculous signs in the Gospel of John. John says Jesus did many miracles, but these seven particularly revealed who Jesus was and what he came to do. And this one is probably the most famous.
Jesus especially loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—there was a special friendship there. But Lazarus gets sick when Jesus is away, and Lazarus is
The Man Born Blind
The healing of the man born blind is one of Jesus’ miracles that’s called a sign, meaning it symbolizes something about who Jesus was and what he came to do.
This is a story about a man who’s born blind, and it takes up an entire chapter. The man is healed in the very first few verses, then there’s quite a bit of interrogation with the Pharisees, and then the man comes back, has an encounter with
The Feeding
In the miraculous sign of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus takes a few loaves and fish and miraculously feeds a multitude of people.
This is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that’s told in all four gospels. And the gospel of John gives us the final discourse in which Jesus explains the meaning of the miracle. Jesus says it’s a symbol. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.”
Let’s meditate on the aspec
The Pool
Can you imagine a perfect human being? You may say, “Sure.” But perfection would necessarily be surprising to us because we’re not perfect and we’ve actually never seen perfection.
The challenge of the New Testament is to read about Jesus, not just once, but page after page after page. If you do that, you’ll pretty much be forced to the conclusion that nobody could’ve imagined someone like this.
The Healing
I’ve heard people say, “Oh, I wish I had his faith, or her faith,” as if faith is a talent. And I do think there’s a kind of faith that’s a temperament—people who are more trusting or more skeptical—but that’s not saving faith.
There is no type of person who becomes a Christian. Saving faith, the faith that brings you eternal life, is for everyone. And Jesus’ miraculous sign in John 4 teaches us
The Feast
Jesus’ first sign was not feeding the poor. It wasn’t healing the sick or raising the dead. It was keeping a party going.
In the book of John, there’s a series of miracles that are called signs. That’s important because it means Jesus’ miracles weren’t naked displays of power. They signify. They’re symbolic. They point to who Jesus is and what he came to do. And the first sign of Jesus’ ministry
The Lamb
People come up to John the Baptist and say, “What is your identity? What is your self-understanding?” That has a very contemporary ring to it. And it has quite a bit to do with us.
We’re looking at the life of Jesus and who Jesus is. In the second half of John 1, in this encounter with John the Baptist, we learn that Jesus is the Lamb of God. So we ask, “What does that mean for us?”
Let’s take a
In the Beginning
You can’t really understand the real Jesus if you only look at his birth and his death. You must also look at his words and his deeds during his life.
To study the words and deeds of Jesus, we’re going to look in the Gospel of John, starting with John 1. It’s one of the most famous passages of the Bible, with too much great stuff to possibly discuss it all.
So I’d like to give a top-level view of
The Cornerstone
In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the first stone laid, and it had to be the most perfectly cut stone and the strongest stone. Because, you see, what the cornerstone is, the house is. If the dimensions of the cornerstone are off, the house is off. If the cornerstone is true, the house is true. If the cornerstone crumbles in any way, the entire house will be compromised or lost.
All of t
Principles of Christian Growth, Part 2
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 5, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3.
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
Principles of Christian Growth, Part 1
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 28, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3.
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
Loving Deeply
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 21, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3.
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
Born Again
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 14, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3.
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
The Battle For the Will
If you don’t have a desire for a transformation of character from the inside out, it’s because you just haven’t faced yourself.
There is in all of us a selfishness, a lack of self-control, a dysfunction. And yet God calls us to, “be ye holy.” Being holy does not just mean to keep the rules. Being holy means you are wholly reoriented in your thinking, in your feeling, and in your behavior. It means
The Battle for the Heart
To be a holy person is not what people popularly think it is these days. In modern English we often use the word “holy” to mean “holier than thou”—inaccessible, condescending, and self-righteous. Or at best, people will think of a holy person as somebody who keeps all the rules.
But holiness is not about keeping all the rules. Holiness is an attitude of the heart in which you look at God and you
The Battle for the Mind
Many Western people today think that Christianity is for people who don’t want to use their minds, that if you’re educated and thoughtful you wouldn’t believe. They think that to be Christian you’d have to jettison your thoughts and surrender to a realm of feeling, to a leap of faith.
But the Bible tells us the opposite. In 1 Peter, when it calls us to holiness, it says we must prepare our minds.
Holiness: Overview
How can you be in such a condition that the troubles and sufferings of life don’t crush you but actually hone and refine you? Peter tells us that to be that kind of person, you have to be holy.
In these verses, Peter says to “gird up the loins of your mind.” It’s a picturesque statement of preparing for action, of tucking your robes into your belt. And Peter applies this to the mind, meaning you h
What Is the Bible?
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 10, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:10-12.
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 l
Basics
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 3, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:10-12.
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 li
How to Handle Trouble
There’s only one God who has wounds that can speak to your wounds. There’s only God who has been through it.
The Buddhists look at suffering as an illusion. Western secular culture looks at suffering as a curse. But Christianity looks at it as something both extremely real and far more hopeful. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, came to glory through suffering. And when you see what he went through for yo
Union With Christ
If Jesus Christ went into the furnace for you, he certainly can go into the furnace with you. That’s what the book of 1 Peter is all about: how we can deal with the furnace of suffering in this life and how we can know Jesus will be with us.
Because Jesus faced the furnace of God’s wrath for us, we can be saved. And our salvation is a multidimensional thing: we have been saved from the penalty of
Election
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 12, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-2.
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 l
Contentment
When Paul was in prison, facing and expecting death, he had the audacity to say, “I have found the secret of being content no matter the circumstances.”
The amazing thing is that in the Bible this is not some kind of high nirvana that only certain people can find. In fact, the Bible doesn’t just say this is possible—it actually says this is commanded. The tenth commandment is “Thou shalt not cove
Integrity
Honesty is a difficult commodity. It’s pretty hard to find. Instead, you can see dishonesty everywhere: in the high places in the professional places, and all the way down to the inner places. We’re not honest with other people, and we’re not even honest with ourselves.
Dishonesty starts because we’re all so good at denial. All around you there are people who, through blame-shifting and rationaliz
Rich in Faith
If you’re not radically generous, you’re a thief. The Bible is full of this teaching. If the money you have was yours and you’re not generous with it, you’re just being stingy; but if the money is somebody else’s and you’re not generous with it as the owner directs, it’s robbery.
The Bible says your attitude toward your wealth and your possessions is not an incidental or peripheral or optional iss
Overflowing Joy
Money is not a silly or superfluous thing. Money was designed to be our dignity. It answers to something God put down deep in us: that we all need to have part of the world to care for, and without any part of the world to care for, we have no dignity. But what has happened in most of our lives is instead of being our dignity, money has become our definition.
Money is power. It can act destructiv
Sex and the End of Loneliness
When Christianity burst onto the scene, the early Romans were amazed and astounded in two particulars: that Christians were radically generous, giving away large portions of income, and that Christians were radically pure, believing in no sex outside of marriage. This unique understanding transformed the Roman world.
At that time, there were two major philosophies about sex. The first was the plat
Love Your Enemies
Jesus gives us the most radical ethic of love that’s ever been put forth: “Turn the other cheek.” This ethic has been criticized and disregarded, but no one ever says the reason is because it’s too low or vile or unworthy. They always say it’s too high, too lofty.
The reason it seems so lofty is it’s a whole new dimension. The love ethic in Matthew 5 is part of a package. The package is that Chris
Aggressive Compassion
Every individual human life is sacred. Every individual person is of infinite value. In Genesis 9, at the end of the flood, God assures Noah and his family of this truth. He says that if a person takes the life of any other human, he will hold that person accountable.
This passage is meant to get everybody to feel the weight of your neighbor’s glory, to feel the weight of the value God has investe
Secret Treason
What gets God angry? Romans 1 tells us: ingratitude. If there’s a God who created you, do you work for his goals or do you take all that he’s given you and live for your own interests? My friends, that is ingratitude of the highest order, and this passage says it is secret treason.
The reason this is a secret treason is because you keep it secret from yourself. Romans 1 says even though we know d
Orphans or Children
The fifth commandment is talking particularly to adult children. It says, “Honor thy father and thy mother.”
What’s intriguing about the Ten Commandments is they are a summary of everything human beings ought to be. Yet in all of the Ten Commandments, there’s no place that talks about how people should relate to the government or to the people above them. It doesn’t talk about authority except rig
Entering His Rest
What is true rest? In Psalm 3, we see a man who goes to sleep the night before a battle knowing full well that he’s greatly outnumbered. And he sleeps. He rests.
Scientists will tell you the thing that restores the body is not the length of your sleep—it’s the depth. In the same way, the Bible shows that there are all kinds of shallow ways you can get rid of tension, but none of those are the dee
First of All
If you have any other gods before God—and we all do—to that degree that you have other gods before him, you’re in bondage, co-conspirator with your own jailers.
God in his grace seeks to liberate us—with the most liberating of all of the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord thy God … thou shalt have no other gods before me.” What he’s saying there is, “I’m the only God there is; all others are imposte
God’s Law
The book of Deuteronomy is a series of sermons Moses preached just before he died. In it, he lays out, in the most comprehensive and practical way, how you should live if you experience the grace and salvation of God. If you experience God, how should that actually affect the way in which you live your life? It’s a very, very practical book and an incredibly comprehensive book.
Today, we get to th
Seeking the Kingdom
Jesus says, “Don’t be anxious,” three times in this passage. Quick question that comes up: how does anybody have the audacity to command us to not be anxious? Nobody gets up in the morning and says, “I’m going to really be anxious today. I can’t wait.” It’s not a very voluntary thing.
So why would Jesus command us? If we look carefully, we’ll see that he’s not commanding us in a drill sergeant way
Thy Will Be Done
To many people, the whole point of prayer is this: how do you get God to give you what you need? Now, that’s not the point of prayer, and if you think it is, you will get very little. That’s the irony. Prayer is very effective for those people who don’t come into it hoping it will primarily be a way to get God to give you things.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus shows us that after you are done centeri
Admitting
A life of absolute peace, a life of tremendous clarity, a life of total power and freedom, a life of high beauty—that’s the vision of the Lord’s Prayer. A whole new life that revolves around God.
We’re going to look now at the part of the prayer that’s about admitting. Let me reiterate that since prayer essentially is centering on God, everything starts with adoration and everything has to be unde
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