Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Christianity is never a mechanical thing. And the church is not a morality agency—it’s a regenerating agency.

The real goal of the do’s and the don’ts in the Christian life is always character—growing into God’s holy people. The church does bring about moral behavior but, in a sense, as a byproduct. Because what the church is after is to turn people into saints, to create a kind of person.

In Ephesians 5, we learn three things: 1) your Christian faith has to include a saying no as well as a saying yes, 2) Paul explains a few critical things you must say no to (greed, foolish talking, and sexual immorality), and 3) the whole point is not to give us a list of do’s and don’ts, but the point is always to be holy. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 12, 1991. Series: Christian Lifestyle. Scripture: Ephesians 5:3-7.

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.

Whenever God turns to you, if you believe in him, all he sees when he looks at you is complete beauty and sweetness. Jesus Christ offered himself up and fulfilled all of the obligations we owe God, so he has completely satisfied God. God sees nothing and senses nothing but sweetness when he regards you.

But you still live in a world twisted and broken by sin. And you have to deal with the realities of that. Therefore, there’s always a negative. And Ephesians 5:3-7 tells the negatives: there are prohibitions, limits, warnings. There are no exceptions to them. 

We must see both the positive and the negative: 1) the positive is that Jesus has fulfilled the law, and 2) for the negative, there are three categories of no’s: no covetousness, no foolish talking, and no sexual immorality.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 5, 1991. Series: Christian Lifestyle. Scripture: Ephesians 5:3-6.

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.

If you look at the particulars Christian teachings, the particulars don’t look that different from many other ethical systems. The difference is that Christianity is never interested in moral behavior simply as moral behavior. In every instance, putting on the new self means to remember your identity.

Being a Christian is ultimately about being melted with spiritual understandings of who you are now that Jesus Christ has said, “You are my beloved child,” of who you are now that the Holy Spirit has come in and said, “I now live within your heart.” Ephesians 4 is an amazingly multifarious passage on what the Christian lifestyle really is. And the purpose of this passage is to show how we can put off the old self and put on the new. 

Let’s look at anger and forgiveness. We’ll look at anger to see 1) suppression or denial of anger is wrong, 2) anger is sometimes required, 3) there are sinful forms of anger, and 4) if you can’t forgive, it’s because you haven’t sensed his forgiveness.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 3, 1991. Series: Christian Lifestyle. Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-32.

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.

Christianity has an amazing approach to lying and to anger that almost nobody else has. For truth-telling, it says truth must always be told with love. And for anger, it says, “Be ye angry, and sin not.”

Paul doesn’t say, “Well if you get angry, it might be okay.” He says, “Be angry. Do it.” Very often it is wrong not to be angry. But then he turns around and says, “and sin not.” It must mean two things: that anger can easily lead to sin and trouble, and that it’s possible to be angry but not become sinful.

Ephesians 4 shows us a lot about lying and anger. Let’s look at 1) what it means to speak the truth in love. And then we’ll discuss how 2) anger is not wrong in itself, 3) we are to sin not, and 4) we have a way to deal with anger.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 27, 1991. Series: Christian Lifestyle. Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-32.

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.

A good test shows you what you really are, what’s really in you. If you’re in denial, the tests are devastating. If you’re dropping the ball, the tests are traps. Jesus says the only way you’re going to come through the tests of life is if you seek God.

How are you doing right now? Are you going through and failing the little tests, and are you setting yourself up for failure of some big test in the future? How can you be delivered from evil in the tests of life? Jesus tells you how. 

Let’s look at four very practical ways of dealing with the tests of life: 1) expect the tests of life, 2) in the tests, realize the real enemy is evil, not pain, 3) process your tests through the love of the Father, and 4) see Jesus swaying, “Pray: Lead us not into temptation.”

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 28, 1995. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1995. Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15.

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 this passage, we finally get to a particular kind of prayer in which people are very interested: to the place where Jesus says prayer is a way to change our circumstances. 

Prayer makes a difference. You can come to God and say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” But notice this happens in the very middle of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s surrounded by all sorts of other concepts. And you can’t understand how it works unless you see all of its relationships to the rest of the prayer. 

Petitionary prayer will only work if you 1) get confident, 2) get perspective, 3) get humble, and 4) get reconciled.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 14, 1995. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1995. Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15.

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.

I’ll say it consciously: this is our worst nightmare. More than anyone else in history, modern people believe we ought to have a good life and we ought to have some control over our lives. But Jesus says when you connect with God, you must pray, “Thy will be done.” 

This means the purpose of prayer is not that we would bend God’s will to meet ours, but that we melt and soften our will into God’s. The Bible says the way to find yourself and your happiness is never to seek yourself or your happiness but to seek God and his righteousness.

In order to make it possible for us to do this, let’s look at what the Bible tells us about 1) where, 2) why, and 3) how to pray “Thy will be done.”

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 7, 1995. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1995. Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15.

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 hallow? It’s a word virtually never used anymore in everyday English, but we don’t quite have an equivalent. 

To hallow something means to treat it as sacred and ultimate. It means to make something your ultimate concern, to make it the most important thing, to make it the most crucial thing, to make it the supreme beauty, the supreme aim of your life. Jesus says this comes first, and I want to show you that praise and adoration is really what life is about.

Matthew 6 teaches us 1) the necessity of praise, 2) the primacy of praise, and 3) the anatomy of praise.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 30, 1995. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1995. Scripture: Matthew 6:6-15.

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.

Jesus doesn’t just point the way to God—rather, he is the way to God because he’s risen. And that means that for Christians, prayer is a unique, radically different process than it is for other religions and philosophies. 

Prayer is a rather universal thing, and there are many ways to pray. But Jesus says there are really two different bases on which you can approach God. He’s not talking about whether to ask; he’s talking about how to ask, about why you think you’re being heard. And he says there are two utterly different bases on which you can go to God.

Looking at Matthew 6, let’s try to 1) understand the true basis of prayer, and 2) employ the true basis.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1995. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1995. Scripture: Matthew 6:6-15.

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 Psalms is the divinely inspired prayer book, but when you open this prayer book, the first page is not a prayer. It’s a meditation on meditation.

Meditation is not the same as studying the Bible. In studying the Bible you’re just learning information. Meditation takes what you’ve learned and does something with it. And according to the Psalms, meditation is actually the key to prayer. 

Psalm 1 tells us 1) the priority, 2) the promise, 3) the products, 4) the practice, and 5) the problem and solution of meditation.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 23, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6; 2:1-12.

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 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 Lord’s Prayer is quite a workout. You’re asking for a lot of things: daily bread, deliver us from evil. But at the end, you rest in God. 

The last phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is, “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, amen.” Is that just a rhetorical flourish? After all, it doesn’t seem to be a prayer. But ancient commentators have said this is a prayer of repose. You realize all the things you’ve been looking for are already there in God. 

In Psalm 27 we have an example of a prayer of repose, and it’s exactly what the end of the Lord’s Prayer embodies. This is a psalm of David, and we learn 1) what he’s facing, 2) what he does about it, 3) how he does it, and 4) why he’s confident it will work.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 16, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Psalm 27:1-14.

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.

We don’t see that envy is as terrible as it really is. Envy is wanting somebody else’s life. Do you know what that does? It sucks the joy out of the life you actually have. 

In Psalm 73, the psalmist is living as good a life as he can, and everything is going wrong. And on top of that, he sees a lot of other people who are corrupt and they’re having a great life. What is the solution? A particular kind of prayer.

There are four things the psalmist does in prayer that can only be done in prayer: 1) he admits the worst, 2) he sees the whole, 3) he grasps God’s grace, and 4) he reorders the loves of his heart.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Psalm 73:1-3, 13-26.

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 if I told you there was a process and no matter how much you blew up your life, if you used this process, there would be a way to come out the other side whole?

Well, here it is. It’s what the Bible calls repentance. You say, “You mean just saying I’m sorry?” But that reveals you don’t understand the power of this kind of prayer. This kind of prayer, if you do it in an ongoing way, will finally enable you to change deeply from the inside out. 

Looking at Psalm 51, we’ll see 1) what one thing must you stop doing, 2) what two things must you start doing, and 3) where you get the power to do those two things.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 2, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Psalm 51:1-19.

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 need every bit of help we can get to learn to pray, “Thy will be done,” because we’re going right into the teeth of our culture. 

The essence of American culture is the belief that the more free we are to decide for ourselves, the happier we’ll be. But Jesus Christ says every time you pray to God, you need to say to him, “Thy will be done.” That goes right against probably everything you’ve been taught in our culture.

To understand this phrase, we need to see that when Jesus himself prayed it, he was in the midst of terrible agony. Let’s reflect on 1) the magnitude of that agony, 2) the immediacy of that agony, and then 3) how that helps us understand what it means to pray, “Thy will be done” in a life-transforming way. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. 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.

What does it mean to pray, “Thy kingdom come”? 

Jesus gave us his instruction on how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, and it’s filled with concepts you need to know from the rest of the Bible. There are two places—Matthew 5 and Luke 6—where Jesus tells us a lot about the kingdom of God and the blessedness of the kingdom.

I want to show you 1) what the kingdom of God is, 2) what it’s not, 3) what it’s like, 4) how you enter it, and 5) how that relates to prayer.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 12, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Luke 6:20-26, 46-49.

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.

Hallowed is an old English word that means to treat something as sacred. It means to be captivated, astonished, melted with grateful joy for who God is and what he has done. 

For many years, I felt I didn’t know how to praise God, because nobody ever gave me specifics. As we look now at one phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be thy name,” we’ll look at five aspects that are all needed if we’re going to praise.

There are five aspects to praise and adoration: 1) thinking, 2) expressing, 3) appraising, 4) beholding, and 5) resting.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 5, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Psalm 63:1-11.

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 does it mean to pray, “Our Father”? It’s much more complicated than you think. 

Everything Jesus Christ came to do—the reason he came, the purpose of his salvation—was that we might receive adoption. We can pray “Our Father” because we’ve been adopted into the family of God. 

Let’s look briefly at 1) the gift of adoption, 2) what it means to be adopted, 3) the reason we can be adopted, and 4) how it applies to prayer.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 28, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Galatians 3:26-4:3.

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 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.

If you’re going to deal with the brutal realities of life, the writer of Hebrews says you have to have shepherds in your life.

Hebrews is written to people whose lives are filled with problems. And here, in the last passage of Hebrews, the writer tells us if we’re gonna make it, we have to have shepherding in our lives. 

The text tells us 1) our insulting need for shepherds, 2) the surprising identity of shepherds, and 3) the secret power of the shepherds.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 8, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25; 13:17-25.

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.

When you embrace God by faith two things come into your life: a transforming power and a deep tension. It’s a duality. If you try to resolve the deep tension, you lose the transforming power. 

The writer of Hebrews says the great believers in history were resident aliens on earth. In Greco-Roman society, a resident alien was a permanent resident but not a citizen. That is the tension that anyone who wants the transforming power of God must live with.

If we want to understand the message, we need to see four things we learn in this passage: 1) there are two cities, 2) each city has a conflict with the other, 3) only one city is for the other, and 4) how to become citizens of the one city that’s for the other.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 1, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 11:13-16; 13:10-16.

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 in Hebrews seems like an anti-climax. Throughout the book, the writer gives us something to help us face the brutal realities of life. But then, Hebrews 13 seems different. At first it looks like a to-do list, like miscellaneous ethical prescriptions, but that’s wrong. 

This is not an anti-climax. What we’re being told is that we’ll never make it in life without being deeply embedded in a robust community of people who have experienced the grace of God.

This passage tells us about 1) the importance of that community, 2) the intensity of the community, 3) the openness of the community, and 4) where we get the power to create it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 24, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 12:28-13:9.

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.

Hebrews was written to people who have been shaken by life. Difficulties and sufferings have shaken them to the core. 

The writer is trying to help them find ways to face the brutal realities of life, to stand solid when everything around them is falling apart. In Hebrews 12, we have the climax. The writer pulls together all of the threads and says, “In an unstable world, here is how you can live an unshakeable life.”

This passage depicts 1) the shakable life, 2) the unshakeable life, and 3) how to receive that unshakeable life.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 17, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-29.

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.

There’s never been a culture with a lower pain threshold than ours. There’s never been a culture that gave us fewer resources for dealing with the brutal realities of life and death than ours. 

The writer of Hebrews wants his readers to understand how to become the kind of people who can cope with the brutal realities of life. To a great degree, the climax of his argument is here in Hebrews 12.

We’re taught here 1) life is a race, 2) why to run the race, and 3) how to run the race.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 10, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13.

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.

Hebrews is written to help us have what it takes to face the difficulties of life. And in chapter 11, we’re told one of the keys is to be people of faith. But what is faith?

In our cultural moment, conservatives see faith as a moral virtue, while liberals see skepticism as a mark of intellectual maturity. As usual, the Bible’s understanding of faith is much more nuanced, much more sophisticated and complex, than either of those views. 

Life-transforming faith, according to this text, has four aspects: 1) it’s rational, 2) it’s personal, 3) it’s foundational, and 4) it’s graceful.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 3, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-10, 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 Hebrews is written to people who are so beaten down with troubles that they’re ready to give up. 

The writer is trying to give the readers what they need to handle the brutal realities of life in this world. In Hebrews 11, he gives us something that helps us handle anything. 

If you have it, you can handle absolutely anything life throws at you: 1) what is it? and 2) how do we get it?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 27, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-40.

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.

When modern people hear that God requires blood to turn aside his wrath from sin, it sounds offensive. It sounds disgusting, primitive, obscene. 

Christianity has sometimes been called the religion of the slaughterhouse. It doesn’t seem to be what we need in a world that’s filled with blood and violence. But Jesus saves through his blood. And the book of Hebrews says there’s power in the blood. 

Without the shedding of blood, Hebrews says we wouldn’t know three things: 1) the depth of our problem, 2) the power of God’s solution, and 3) the extent of the transformation that can happen to us.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 20, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:11-18.

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 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.

Jesus Christ did not come to start a new religion. He didn’t come to start the best religion. He came to end religion.

Every religion has its extremists. Religion causes an enormous amount of conflict and strife in this world. What are we going to do about it? To embrace Jesus Christ is to end religion, is to move away from all religion. 

There are two things Hebrews 8 tells us: 1) Jesus came to end all religion and, 2) therefore, Jesus came to give us a radical new covenant relationship with God.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 13, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 8:1-2; 7-13.

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.

To be able to handle life, there’s nothing more practical than to know that Jesus is your advocate.

This isn’t just an abstract doctrinal issue. Because this whole book of Hebrews is written not as a theological treatise, but as a piece of intense pastoral counseling. 

So let’s ask three questions: 1) why do we need an advocate? 2) how is Jesus Christ the advocate we need? and 3) what difference will it make in your life if you receive him as such?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 6, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 7:18-27.

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.

The book of Hebrews is telling us we’ll never make it through life without counseling—daily counseling.

A main theme of Hebrews is that life in this world is a journey, spiritually speaking, through a wilderness. In verse 13, it says the only way we’re going to get through it is with this little word: the Greek word, parakaleō. It’s often translated as encouragement, but it comes closest to what we today would call counseling. 

Let’s ask the text these questions: 1) why do we need counseling? 2) what kind of counseling do we need? 3) who can give it to us? and 4) how do we receive it?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 27, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 3:12-13; 4:14-5:7.

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.

Hebrews is written to first-century, urban people who are so weary with troubles and difficulties that they’re in danger of giving up. What do they need? 

It’s pretty obvious from this passage what the writer is trying to get across: because eight times in eleven verses we see the word “rest.” It’s not just a crucial message for them, but for us too. We live in a culture that’s probably more in need of this message than any other culture in history. 

This passage shows us 1) the importance of rest, 2) the two levels of rest, 3) the ordeal you need to go through in order to get rest, and 4) the author of rest.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 20, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 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.

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of urban, first-century Christians who were struggling with fear and discouragement because their lives were so filled with troubles. 

The question this book asks is if God loves us so much, why are our lives so hard? In almost every passage, the answer it gives is that fear and discouragement can be dealt with by looking at Jesus. 

Hebrews 2 says if you really want to deal with fear and discouragement in your life, you need to see that Jesus is 1) the king who gets involved with us, 2) the captain who faces death for us, and 3) the brother who is proud of us.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 13, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-18.

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 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.

If God is so committed to our joy and our glory, if he loves us so much, why is our life so hard? 

That’s what the book of Hebrews is about and the answer, in a nutshell, is life is a journey. It’s a journey from weariness into rest. It’s a journey from alienation into the presence of God. It’s a journey from isolation into the city of God. And the only way you’re going to get home is by fixing your eyes on Jesus. The whole idea of Hebrews is you don’t get home through bursts, through sprints, but in a sustained, long-term way. 

In Hebrews 1 and 2, we learn what Jesus has to do with this question: 1) what he brings, 2) why he brings it; and 3) how it can change our lives.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 6, 2005. Series: Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:1-4.

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 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.

Psalm 126 has always helped me. It has never filled my soul with glory. It has always made me quiet and reflective. Because it’s a perfect overview of the emotional life that the life of faith brings.

You’re going to weep. In this world, you will weep. But how are you weeping? What are you doing with your sorrows? They need to be sown. They need to be invested. They need to be planted, in a sense, or they need to water.

Psalm 126 tells us 3 things about how we’re supposed to address our sorrows: 1) it tells us to expect weeping, 2) it tells us to expect new kinds of tears, and 3) it tells us to sow our tears. 

But let me say there are three principles: 1) the life of faith is a life of both rejoicing and weeping, 2) the life of faith is a life of greater rejoicing and greater weeping, and 3) the life of faith is a life of interdependent rejoicing and weeping.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 13, 1997. Series: Happiness and Weeping. Scripture: Psalm 126.

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.

Jesus tells his disciples that no one will take away their joy. Now that’s pretty amazing. He knows to whom he is talking. He is speaking to men who are going to be persecuted. They’re going to be robbed of everything they own. They’re going to be tortured. They’re going to be put to death.

The Bible says there is a joy that is not subject to circumstances, that the deepest troubles can’t put out, that can coexist and overwhelm the greatest grief. And these three verses in Romans 8 have the heart of it. In these three verses, you have three principles. This is the basis for joy.

Your joy will be strong to the degree you understand and grasp these three things: 1) our bad things turn out for good, 2) our good things can never be lost, and 3) the best things are yet to come.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 6, 1997. Series: Happiness and Weeping. Scripture: Romans 8:28-30.

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.

Jesus was about to come into Joseph’s life, and Joseph thought he was doing the right thing to arrange things so it wouldn’t happen. Joseph was going to dismiss Mary quietly. But the angel comes to Joseph and says, “Your problem is you’re a coward. Do not be afraid.”

This passage shows us that you can’t be a Christian unless you have courage. Or put another way, to let Jesus into your life, to receive Jesus into your life, takes courage above all. 

Another way to put it is you will not receive Jesus into your life unless you have the courage to accept three other things. They’re all here: three things Joseph had to accept. You can’t receive Christ unless you have 1) the courage to accept the world’s disdain, 2) the courage to accept the adventure of his lordship, and 3) the courage to admit you’re a sinner.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 21, 1997. Scripture: Matthew 1:18-24.

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 meaning of Christmas is that God got flesh and blood. In Jesus Christ the holy and transcendent God became really and fully and truly human. He shared in our humanity.

I submit to you that the traditional, moralistic religion has completely forgotten this whole idea. In fact, I submit to you that if you and I really undertstood the fact that Jesus Christ shares in our humanity, we’d live differently. 

What does that teach us about God? It teaches us three things: 1) God has a concern for the physical, 2) God has a knowledge of the sorrowful, and 3) God desires the relational.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 18, 1994. Series: The Nature of Faith. Scripture: Hebrews 2:14-18.

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 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 Christmas stories, a theme that’s more important than you might think is the theme of exile and home.

The book of Isaiah is filled with prophecies about a future messianic age brought by a future messianic king who would put all things right. Because Christians believe that messianic king was Jesus, we’re looking at these prophecies to help us grasp the richness of what Christmas means and who it was who was born in the manger. 

Let’s take a look at Isaiah 35 to see 1) what the text means, 2) what Christmas means, and 3) what it means for how we actually live our lives.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 22, 2013. Series: Jesus, Our Hope (Advent). Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10.

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.

The themes of Christmas, if grasped, are life-transforming.

We’re looking at the book of Isaiah, at the prophesies of the messiah. Because Christians believe the messianic king that Isaiah prophesied was Jesus, we believe these prophecies help us understand the richness of the meaning of Christmas and who Jesus is. 

Isaiah 11 tells us three things about this great prophesied king: 1) the justice of the king, 2) the wisdom of the king, and 3) the identity of the king.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 15, 2013. Series: Jesus, Our Hope (Advent). Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10.

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.

What does Christmas mean?

The Old Testament book of Isaiah helps us come to grips with the riches of Christmas. If I could put it in one sentence, it tells us that Christmas means the unexpected, ultimate light comes through the God-man, which can only be received by grace. 

Let’s look at it: Christmas means 1) God does something unexpected, 2) the salvation has to do with the ultimate light, and 3) the hope you get can only be received as a gift of grace.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 8, 2013. Series: Jesus, Our Hope (Advent). Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7.

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 end of a worship service is always about mission. A minister says, “Let us go forth to serve the world as those who love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Then the people say, “Thanks be to God.” 

Do you realize how significant this is? You are being sent out into the world to give your life in service, now reshaped by the knowledge that Jesus Christ is your Savior, and you’re filled with his love. 

Let’s look at Psalm 67 to learn about 1) the fact of mission, 2) the character of mission, 3) the dynamic for mission, and 4) the consolation of mission.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 21, 2008. Series: Liturgy: What we do in Worship. Scripture: Psalm 67:1-7.

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 a benediction? Is it a little perfunctory ceremony that helps everybody know it’s time to find your purse and get ready to leave? No. I’d like to show you tonight that the benediction is the meaning of your whole life. 

If you understand the benediction, when it’s said to you, your whole life should flash before your eyes. A benediction is a blessing. 

So let’s look at 1) what God’s blessing is, 2) how it comes, and 3) how it reshapes your life.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 14, 2008. Series: Liturgy: What we do in Worship. Scripture: Numbers 6:22-27.

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 is a sermon on how to listen to sermons. 

Psalm 19 is a great Psalm, and it can teach us a lot about what it means to listen to the Scripture be read and taught. How do we listen to the Scripture read and taught?

We’re going to learn three things here: 1) we need a real word from God, 2) why we need that word, and 3) how to receive that word.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 7, 2008. Series: Liturgy: What we do in Worship. Scripture: Psalm 19:1-14.

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.

Every week we gather for worship, and we move through the same order of service. But after a while, do we realize what we’re doing?

We’re going to look at each of the elements of our services, so we can understand them and catch ourselves when we’re going through the motions. This week let’s look at the call to worship: what does it mean to be called to worship? 

In Psalm 147, we can see 1) what we’re called to do, 2) why we’re called to do it, 3) how we’re called to do it, and 4) when we’re called to do it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 24, 2008. Series: Liturgy: What we do in Worship. Scripture: Psalm 147:1-20.

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.

Psalm 103 is about how to handle life in general. It, in a sense, gives you the key approach to handle all of life’s circumstances, all of life’s situations, no matter what they are. And at first, this key feels anticlimactic. 

What does it say the whole problem of our hearts is? That we need to praise the Lord with our entire souls. How? By not forgetting his benefits. David is saying, “The main thing I need to do, the main thing you need to do, is to not forget.” I know that’s anticlimactic. But it’s because of ur word for remember is so much more shallow than the biblical and Hebrew concept. 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 1) why we need to remember, 2) where we need to remember, 3) what we need to remember, and 4) how we need to remember.

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

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.

If we’ve experienced God as a God of grace, how does that change our attitude toward money?

The early church was an economic subculture that was radically different from the culture around it. In fact wherever the early church is described, we see the Christians’ drastic generosity—so drastic that it seemed unreasonable to those outside the church. Why were they so different? The answer is an experience of God’s grace.

Grace revolutionizes 1) our attitude toward money, 2) our procedure, and 3) the benefits of giving. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 8, 1992. Series: The Attributes of God. Scripture: Acts 4:32-37.

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 make a gift to Gospel in Life this Giving Tuesday, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/tuesday.

Guilt and shame, having your heart broken under a sense of failure and general unworthiness—I feel this is probably more rampant in places like New York than anywhere else. Do you know why? Because we have so many successful people in New York, people who, in many ways are driven more acutely than other people by this fear of failure or unworthiness. 

In Psalm 130, we see guilt and shame likened to a hole, to something we’ve sunk down in. And then we’re shown a way out that’s available for a person who’s in that hole of guilt and shame. And then we see a little bit about the process of how you climb out. 

So let’s look at: 1) sinkhole of guilt and shame, 2) the rope that’s given to a person sinking in guilt and shame, and 3) the climb out.

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

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 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.

Your first sound, our first sound, is a wail of fear. The baby comes out saying, “Why is it so cold? Who has a finger down my mouth? Who’s grabbing me? What’s going on?” That’s the way you come into the world. Fear, therefore, is maybe the most primal of all emotions. 

In Psalm 3, David has something to be afraid of. He has literal armies after him, trying to kill him. But right in the middle of the psalm, he says he will not fear and he will sleep in the midst of this. He’s found a way of praying his fear so he’s able to handle it.

What do we learn from David about fear and how to handle it? The answer is 1) there are two levels down into fear, and 2) there are four steps out.

This sermon was preached by Dr. 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.

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 do you do with your tears? This is a psalm about weeping, about suffering, about grief.

If you were to break the 150 psalms into categories, one of the categories will will be lamentations: psalms of tears, psalms of weeping and grieving. There are many other kinds of psalms, but I’ll tell you, every commentator says there are more lamentations than any other kind. This is the biggest piece of the Psalter. Tears. 

What do we learn here what to do with our tears? We’re told three things: 1) expect tears, 2) invest tears, and 3) pray your tears.

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

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 anger, the fear, the hostility, the rawness, the white heat of the emotions expressed in the Psalms really just disturb people today. You look at it, and you say, “What is that doing in the Bible?” The answer is the psalmists are not discussing feelings, and they’re not expressing feelings. They’re praying their feelings. They’re processing their feelings in the presence of God. 

What we’re going to look at today is doubt. Doubt always masquerades as more intellectual than it is, but doubt is a condition of the soul and the heart. And in Psalm 73, here’s a person filled with doubts, struggling with doubts about God and about faith.

Let’s see 1) what’s the condition, 2) what’s the cause of the condition, and 3) what’s the cure for the condition.

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

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.

If you want the flourishing, thriving life depicted in Psalm 112, you need to know the God of Psalm 111.

They can’t be separated. They are linked. These two psalms are each 10 verses. Psalm 111 describes the great God, and Psalm 112 describes a great, happy human life. If you know the unshakeable God of Psalm 111, you become unshakeable yourself. To truly know the God of Psalm 111 leads to the life seen in Psalm 112. 

Looking at Psalm 111 itself, we see a key link between knowing God and having a flourishing life. This psalm teaches about 1) a powerful, involved God, 2) a supernaturally changed life, and 3) the way to connect the power of God to your life. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 25, 2013. Series: Open My Lips: Studies in the Psalms. Scripture: Psalm 111.

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.

Psalm 96 is an astonishingly happy psalm. It depicts the whole human race and even the trees, the earth, and the sea just filled with joy and rejoicing. 

That actually raises a question. This isn’t the world the way we know it. Not everybody is filled with joy, and the world itself is a broken place with natural disasters, disease, and death. How could we get from where we are to what we see in this psalm? Is this nothing but just an inaccessible, crazy idea of a world like this, or is it possible to get to a world like this?

The answer actually is in here in the links this psalm gives to the rest of the Bible. This psalm is a series of summons or invitations, and there are three basic ones that are being given to us here: 1) the call to see, 2) the call to sing, and 3) the call to rejoice in judgment.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 18, 2013. Series: Open My Lips: Studies in the Psalms. Scripture: Psalm 96.

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.

On the weekend before I had surgery for thyroid cancer, I wrestled with this question: “How do you face troubles with peace?” I came to realize it’s not petitionary prayer that helps you face troubles. 

Of course the Bible is filled with petition, where you go to God and make your needs known. And you should do that. But the ultimate and main way to handle the troubles of life is not just through petitionary prayer, but through worship. 

Psalm 95 is the classic text about worship. It tells us almost everything we need to know: 1) what is worship? 2) why should we worship? and 3) how can we worship?

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

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.

Adoration is a practical skill, one we need to engage in if we’re going to grow into the people God designed us to be.

Psalm 27 teaches us about individual, personal, contemplative adoration. And in the center of Psalm 27, it says, “one thing I ask, one thing I seek.” What is that one thing? 

We learn three things from this psalm about this one thing: 1) why it’s so important, 2) what it is, and 3) how to do it.

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

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.

Psalm 81 tells us how to handle the wilderness times of life.

It tells us how to use various spiritual disciplines as practical skills in order to handle our times of suffering, our times of pain, our times of difficulty. 

There are four things we learn here: 1) life is a wilderness, 2) there’s a rock in the wilderness, 3) there’s honey in the rock, and 4) there’s something else that I’ll tell you when we get to it.

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

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.

When you know you’ve screwed up, when you know you’ve failed, how do you get up again in such a way that you have more joy and power than before? 

There’s a secret basis of confession: it’s a secret only because most of us don’t know about it. And it’s a crucial missing piece in most people’s thinking.

Let’s look at what Psalm 32 says about 1) the need for confession, 2) the way of confession, and 3) the secret basis of confession.

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

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 are you going to do with the anger that comes when you face serious mistreatment, serious injustice?

Modern readers expect the Psalms to give inspiration, so when they read the searing pain and anger in Psalm 137, they say, “What’s this doing in the Bible?” But this passage, in spite of how disturbing it is, tells us some important things about how to handle our anger over mistreatment.

Let’s look at 1) the context of this psalm within the message of the Bible, 2) the three things the psalmist does with his anger, and 3) the three more things we can do with our anger on this side of the cross.

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

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.

For physical health, we have trainers and doctors. Through nutrition and exercise, trainers help you get further than you were. And when you get sick or injured, doctors help get you back on track. It’s the same thing spiritually. 

There are spiritual disciplines that are like training and spiritual disciplines that treat problems. We look now at a discipline that is a way of dealing with a problem that can be disastrous.

Let’s look at Psalm 42 and 43 and see 1) there’s a condition that is certain to come upon you, 2) there’s a set of causal factors, and 3) there’s a set of cures.

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

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 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.

Paul says you have to work the gift of salvation into every nook and cranny of your life, and that you do that through spiritual disciplines. That’s how you change. 

But the modern mind finds some of these disciplines more appetizing than others. The idea of meditation is sort of cool. But obedience? That’s not very appetizing. And yet, this discipline tells us that you don’t get changed unless you’re willing to come in under the authority of God.

Let’s look at what Psalm 119 shows us about 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 Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 14, 2002. Series: Psalms: Disciples of Grace. Scripture: Psalm 119:32-49.

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.

For the first time, in Mark 15, we have Jesus in front of the political establishment, the Roman state. So we have to ask the question, “What is the relationship of Jesus to politics, of Christianity to the government?” 

Pilate asks three questions. He asks Jesus, “Are you king of the Jews?” and, “Why aren’t you fighting back?” Then he asks the crowd, “What shall we do with the king?” The answers to these three questions are a lens by which to explore the relationship of Christianity to politics. 

These three answers are 1) the ambiguity answer, 2) the revolutionary answer, and 3) the substitutionary answer. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 11, 2007. Series: King’s Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 2: The Journey to the Cross. Scripture: Mark 15:1-15.

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 word “blessed” in Hebrew is much richer than it is English. It means total fulfillment and well-being. How do we get that?

The answer in Psalm 1 is that blessedness comes to a person who has learned to meditate on the law of the Lord. That’s an enormous promise. So let’s ask ourselves what we can learn about meditation, which is one of the disciplines by which we work grace into every nook and cranny of our lives.

Psalm 1 teaches us four things about meditation: 1) the promise of meditation, 2) the principle of meditation, 3) the practice of meditation, and 4) the puzzle of meditation.

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

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.

You can’t escape the city anymore. Technology means the kids in the farmlands of Iowa are getting immersed in the culture that’s formed in the cities. The problems of cities dominate the regions and societies in which those cities exist. 

But as we see in Genesis, the city is a fundamental part of the human condition. And the Bible has some profound things to say about how Christians should understand the city. 

In Genesis 10 and 11, we learn three things: 1) the need for cities, 2) the problem we have in cities, and 3) how God is healing cities.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 7, 2021. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 10:31-11:9.

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.

The story of Noah and the flood is about the fact that God is committed to creation, and he’s ready to give new beginnings. He’s ready to give a second chance. 

In Genesis 9, God says to Noah and his family the same thing he said to Adam and Eve. In some ways, it gives more detail into what kind of life we’re called into. In a sense, he’s saying, “You’re not really living a fully human life unless you maintain three great relationships.”

He’s calling us into 1) a relationship with the earth, which brings up the issue of ecology, 2) a relationship with all the people of the earth, which brings up the issue of justice, and 3) a relationship with the Lord of the earth, which brings up the issue of grace.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 10, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 9:1-17.

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.

Some of you are thinking, “The idea of divine judgment is upsetting, outdated, and irrelevant.” My goal is to respectfully show you that you’re absolutely wrong on all three counts. 

The story of Noah and the flood is about divine judgment. And if we look at three things being taught in it, we’ll understand the meaning of judgment. And we’ll see what a difference these three things make for our lives.

We’re taught here about 1) the violence of man, 2) the pain of God, and 3) the solution to both.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 3, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 6:5-13; 7:17-18.

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 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.

It’s fratricide, it’s brother killing brother, it’s a sensational story—the story of Cain and Abel. People call this the first case study of murder, but I think that’s missing the point. It’s actually the first case study of life east of Eden. 

In Genesis 4, we see three realities are always present in every day, every part of life east of Eden. It shows that in every aspect of life you always have three things operating: sin, grace, and the possibility of salvation.

Let’s look at what this teaches us about 1) the secrecy of sin, 2) the gentleness of grace, and 3) the subtlety of salvation.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 26, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 4:1-16.

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 Western romantic idea of human nature was that we’re inherently good. But the problem is over the last century, we’ve discovered that oppression and evil have not gone away but rather have erupted with ferocity over and over again regardless of social and political arrangements.

This has created a crisis for the modern secular person. But the book of Genesis not only accounts for what we see, but also gives us enormous hope that there’s something that can be done about it. 

Let’s look at what Genesis teaches us about the human condition and the hope for healing through three vivid images: 1) the reaching, 2) the covering, and 3) the sword.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 19, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 3:20-4:2.

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 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.

Earlier in the twentieth century, the intellectuals of the Western world said it was our society and our institutions that were making us bad. If we changed them, then we’d get rid of atrocities, evil, war, racism, and poverty. But it hasn’t worked.

More and more, the Western world is looking back at Genesis, and I believe if you’re smart, you will too. In Genesis, we can see how sin and evil came into the world, and we can see the results. What we have here is a diagnosis and then what God shows us we can do about it. 

Let’s look at Genesis 3 to see 1) the disease of sin and evil, and 2) the healing of the disease.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 12, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 3:7-20.

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.

At street level there’s still this saccharine view that human beings are basically good and our problems come from our environment. But the Western intellectual world is beginning to see evidence that there’s something inherently evil and violent in us. And if that’s true, there’s almost no hope.

But if you look at Genesis, you have the only hopeful answer for how evil got here: it’s not natural, and therefore, there’s something you can do about it. The Bible says Adam and Eve lost their oneness with God, with their true selves, and with each other. And it says that the way they lost it then is still the way we lose it now. 

Let’s look at the three ways Adam and Eve lost things, which are the ways we still lose things: 1) the joke, 2) the lie, and 3) the tree.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 5, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-8.

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 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 are created for relationship.

One of the key differences I hope to show you between the biblical idea of God and other alternative views of God is in this whole idea of relationship.

Genesis 1 shows us three things: 1) why we need relationships, 2) what kind of relationships we need, and 3) the key to getting relationships.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 29, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18-25.

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 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 Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 3, 2013. Series: Acts: The Gospel in the City. Scripture: Acts 8:26-40.

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.

Something is going on with work in our culture. We’ve lost our rhythms of work and rest. And work is becoming a crisis issue. 

In Genesis 1 and 2, work and rest come up in the very beginning of creation. This tells us that understanding work and rest is at the very essence of living a human life. 

Let’s look at what this says about 1) what we’re called to do (which is work), 2) how we’re called to do it, and 3) what we need in order to do it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 22, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 1:26-2:2; 2:7-9, 15.

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.

If you live in North America or Europe, the question almost everyone has in mind when they read Genesis 1 is “How?” They ask, “How did it happen? How long did it take?” 

But how questions aren’t as important as why questions. What you really need to know about this world is why did God make it? What is it for? Why do we feel the way we feel about it? How do we live in it? 

Let’s look at what Genesis teaches us about 1) how the world began, but most importantly, 2) why the world began.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 15, 2000. Series: Genesis – The Gospel According to God. Scripture: Genesis 1:1-8, 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 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 in the second of a two-part series on the devil and the conflict between supernatural forces of good and supernatural forces of evil. 

In Part 1, I made my case for why I think it’s immanently sensible to say there really is a devil. And we talked about Satan’s weapons and strategies. If you go through the Bible all the way back to Adam and Eve, what is Satan’s strategy? He’s not possessing them. He’s lying to them. On the basis of that understanding, we’re going to proceed and look at the Christian’s weapons and strategies.

If you want to defeat the forces of evil and be successful in the battles of life, you must put on the full armor of God. What is that? In this passage, we can learn 1) when to put it on, 2) what it is, 3) how to put it on, and 4) whom to remember when you do.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 5, 2012. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 6:14-24.

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 devil. Spiritual warfare.

In Africa, Latin America, Asia, most places in the world, the idea of spiritual warfare—of a conflict between spiritual good and spiritual evil—is not an unusual concept. Many people in many parts of the world think this helps make sense of reality. But here in the Western world, we find it a foreign concept. 

Let’s look at this passage on spiritual warfare, and let’s notice 1) whom we fight, 2) what we fight, and 3) how we fight.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 29, 2012. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-13.

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.

What it means to be a Christian is to be theologically driven—it means stuff about the cross, and grace, and redemption. And all those things have an effect on how we live in every area of our practical lives. 

It’s helpful to look at the big picture and to see how Christ really is Lord of every area of life. In Ephesians 6, two of those areas are laid out for us: work and family. 

Let’s take a look at this under these three headings: 1) Jesus and your work, 2) Jesus and your family, and 3) Jesus and your life.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 22, 2012. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-9.

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.

Ephesians 5 is like a fair number of people in New York City. It’s both rich and famous.

Because it’s so rich, you could work through it word by word and get quite a bit out of it. But it’s also advantageous to do what we’re going to do, which is to fly over the whole thing. In this way, we’ll get a panoramic view of the immense biblical wisdom on this subject of marriage.

What we learn about marriage here is 1) what it is, 2) what it does, 3) what it needs, and 4) what it shows.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 15, 2012. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 5:21–33.

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.

Christianity is not just a vitamin supplement. It doesn’t just come into your life and give you a little boost to live a better form of the life you’re living. It’s a sweeping revolution that affects every part of you.

In Ephesians 5, we have a long passage on what it means to live the Christian life. And it’s not that we live in a certain way and, therefore, become Christians. It’s that we become Christians and, therefore, live in a certain way—because we’re saved not by what we do but by what Christ has done.

In this passage, there are three important keys to understanding what it means to live the Christian life. It entails 1) knowing sin and walking in obedience, 2) knowing the time and walking in wisdom, and 3) knowing the Lord and walking in joy.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 8, 2012. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 5:5–21.

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 all want to change. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t say, “I really need to change.” And one of the greatest things about Christianity is Christianity gives you the resources to change.

Jesus Christ was born into this world to give us second birth. The idea of being born again means radical change. Often we don’t quite know how change actually happens. But Ephesians 4 gives four concrete principles for how the gospel helps us change.

What does change mean to Christians? It means you have to 1) make a decision, and 2) change from the inside. And you do that by 3) transforming your thinking, and 4) being captivated by him.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 12, 2011. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 4:17–24.

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 Ephesians 4, we find a pretty remarkable argument.

The argument has three parts. The flow of the argument is that even though we have the life of the trinity in us, we live in spiritual immaturity until we’re willing to do the hard work of developing and creating unity in the church.

Let’s take a look at each part: 1) the life of the trinity, 2) we live in spiritual immaturity, and 3) do the hard work of developing and creating unity in the church.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 4, 2011. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 4:1–16.

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.

Thinking about the gospel of Jesus Christ leads Paul to pray in a particular way—in a passionate way.

Usually people in those days prayed standing. Paul kneels—it’s a sign of great emotion and solemnity. And what does he so passionately pray for? That his readers—and that also means us—would be strengthened with the power of the Spirit.

Let’s explore this: 1) Why is that so important? 2) What is it? and 3) How do we get it?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 27, 2011. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 3:14–21.

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.

Most teachers tend to overlook or go past this particular passage in Ephesians 3.

Here’s the reason. In the middle of the first sentence, there’s a dash. Paul just breaks off and goes into a digression, literally a sidebar, and he doesn’t come out of it until verse 13. This really is a sudden thought he had. And yet, what’s in here is so practical.

In here we’re going to learn 1) the hardness of life, 2) the wonder of grace, 3) the brilliance of the church, and 4) the freedom that comes.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 20, 2011. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 3:1–13.

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.

There’s a problem. We aren’t what we are.

The book of Ephesians is ultimately about the church. Paul very directly talks about what the church is and who the church is. These are some of the most powerful passages on that subject that you’re ever going to find.

And in Ephesians 2, we’re being told 1) what we were, 2) what we are, and 3) how we can really become what we are.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 13, 2011. Series: A Study of Ephesians: Who is the Church? Scripture: Ephesians 2:19–22.

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.