Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

When you're about to die, there are no tangents; you get right to the point. You only say the things that are the most important that you've ever learned in your whole life. Here, at the very end of the end of his sermons, at the very end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gets to the most crucial things he could possibly tell anyone. Here he gives us the solution to what could be called the ultimate human problem.  So let's ask 1) What's that problem? 2) What's the solution? 3) How do you know if you have it? and 4) If you don't, how can you receive it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 16, 2007. Series: The New Heart God Gives. Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:1-10. 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.

If the last thing, practically, that Moses said before he died was, “You need to be in a covenant relationship with God,” then it would behoove us to figure out what that is. What is a covenant relationship with God? In Deuteronomy, we have a series of sermons that Moses preached just before he died. And Moses thought a covenant relationship with God was that important — that this would be almost the last thing he said. In this passage, we learn three things: 1) the uniqueness of the covenant, 2) the mystery surrounding the covenant, and 3) the hero of the covenant. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 9, 2007. Series: The New Heart God Gives. Scripture: Deuteronomy 29:2-4, 9-18. 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 we look at Jesus Christ, at the case for Jesus being who he said he is, there are five things to see. First, there was a man who claimed to be God. Second, he apparently did miracles. Third, he got the people closest to him to believe he was God. Fourth, after he was dead, many people saw him risen to life again. And fifth, those people were so transformed by the experience of meeting that risen Savior that they spread the word everywhere. How do you account for those five facts, for the data of who Jesus is? You have to come up with something. There are only five options for how you account for this. We'll look at these five options, and what they mean for us. This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 1, 1994. Series: Redeemer Open Forums.  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 John 5, Jesus heals a lame man, and then he begins to teach about himself. He makes some astounding claims, and the people challenge him. “Why should we believe you?”  In the context of Jewish jurisprudence, if a claim was made, you had to have two or three corroborating witnesses. Jesus responds to the people's challenge with three: John the Baptist, Jesus' own works, and the scriptures. In the process of looking at what he says here, we learn three things Jesus himself believed about the scripture. Jesus believes in the Bible's 1) complete authority, 2) unity, and 3) vitality and power. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 24, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: John 5:31-47. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

You can't talk publicly about Christianity unless at some point you get down to say, “Well, what is it?”  There's great consensus that 1 Corinthians was written just 20 years after the death of Jesus Christ. So when Paul says he's summarizing the message the Corinthians heard and believed before this, he's talking about something that happened a handful of years after Jesus' death. If you want to get down to the irreducible core of what Christianity is about, here it is in this passage.  This is the gospel. The gospel is about 1) Jesus, 2) sin and substitution, 3) history and resurrection, and 4) astonishing, transforming grace. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 10, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

One of the best ways of having a discussion about faith is to not simply talk about what you believe, but also how you came to believe it. Not just the content, but the process or the journey you went on. It's often very helpful, because everybody is on a journey.  We're looking now at a famous passage: Moses and the burning bush. Moses already believes in God, but until this, he's never encountered him. This is Moses' conversion experience: he actually meets God.  Four things bring Moses to this moment, and they're the same four things the Bible says usually have to happen if you're going to meet God. What are they? They are 1) a disrupting sight, 2) an expanding concept, 3) a personal problem, and 4) a surprising grace. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 3, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

We all have very strong moral convictions about what we think is right and wrong. And in a pluralistic society, we need to find ways of sharing our beliefs and being honest about who we are in a way that's respectful and promotes peace. One of the ways we can make for a more civil conversation is to ask a more fundamental question: Where do you get your moral convictions? How do you determine what is right and wrong?  There's almost no place I know that has a more interesting answer to this question than Romans 2. It tells us three things: 1) no one can succeed in being a relativist, 2) no one can really succeed in being a moralist, and therefore, 3) this is our only hope. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 27, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: Romans 2:12-29. 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.

If we're going to have a truly open society, we have to learn how to be public about our deepest faith beliefs, and yet to do so in a way that's respectful to others and promotes peace.  So how do you talk about God and God's existence? One way to talk about this with more reflection is not to ask, “Does God exist?” but to ask, “How do you know whether God exists?” I don't think there's any more brilliant answer to the question, “How can we know whether God exists?” than in Romans 1. Paul actually gives four answers, all at once. He says, 1) we can know God, 2) we do know God, 3) we don't know God, and 4) we can truly know God. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 20, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: Romans 1:16-21. 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.

To become a mature society in which we're able to talk about faith, we also have to be able to talk about doubt. We don't get much help here from either religious people or secular people. Religious people tend to see doubt as a bad thing. And secular people tend to think perennial doubt is the only sophisticated position.  However, what the Bible says about doubt is unique, nuanced, and multidimensional. The Bible sees doubt as something that's not all good and not all bad. Only when you begin to see it in a nuanced way can it be something through which we make progress.  Let's look at doubt in this famous psalm of Asaph: 1) what is it? 2) what causes it? and 3) what transforms it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 13, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. 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.

Ecclesiastes is one of the most confusing books in the world. It depicts a very disillusioned man. And you may be saying, “Is the Bible really saying all human life is pointless?”  To understand what's going on here, we need to keep two things in mind. The author of Ecclesiastes is called qoheleth, which basically means professor. And he's doing a thought experiment. So Ecclesiastes is a set of thought experiments in which the professor is saying, “Let's imagine living like this. Does that work?” If we want to understand what Ecclesiastes is after, we need to look at its thought experiments. So let's look at it this way: 1) there's a major thought experiment, 2) with a lesson, and 3) there's a small thought experiment, and then 4) an arrow or a pointer. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 6, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:9-26. 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.

We live in a pluralistic society, so we must ask this question: how can people be true to themselves and still get along? No matter who you are, if you care about the social fabric, that's a huge question to answer.  My goal is to show Christians how they can be part of the solution. We're going to look at the subject of public faith. In John 4, we see that immediately after speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus talks to his disciples and gets really metaphorical. He talks about spiritual sowing and reaping. What's he trying to get across?  If we delve into it, we see that Jesus gives us 1) a call to spiritual sowing of seed, 2) the method of doing it, and then 3) the power, or the inner motivation, for doing it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 29, 2013. Series: A Public Faith. Scripture: John 4:27-42. 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 very common for people, even those who want to live the Christian life, to feel they have to check their brains at the door if they're going to believe. Often, we hear this basic approach to the Bible: the gospels were written down after years of legends, so we don't really know how much of them are true. But let me give you a case that the Jesus the Bible shows you is historically reliable.  Here is the case in three stages: 1) if you look at what the gospels claim, you'll see they're not written as legends or fiction; they're either historical accounts or a deliberate hoax, 2) we now know now that all of the gospels were written within the lifetime of eyewitnesses, and 3) the same rules of historiography that are used on other documents of antiquity show the gospels to be trustworthy. This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 4, 1994. Series: Redeemer Open Forums.  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 live in a culture of choice. In our individualistic culture, our place and our parents and our social location don't determine everything that we can do. We have some choices. Choices! What does that mean?  That means we've never needed wisdom more than we do now, because wisdom is the ability to make wise choices. Proverbs 4 shows us that if we want to lead a life of wisdom, our lives will be characterized by three things: 1) a glorious fight, 2) a guarded heart, and 3) a living word. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 22, 2013. Series: Wisdom in Life. Scripture: Proverbs 4:5-9, 14-27. 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.

We live in a culture in which there are more choices than there ever have been. But you can be incredibly good, moral, and knowledgeable and still make pretty stupid choices.  Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do in the 80 percent of choices that the moral rules don't directly apply to. What you need in order to make good choices is wisdom.  In Proverbs 3 we learn 1) where wisdom develops, 2) the vehicles through which wisdom develops, and 3) the catalyst that sparks and fuels them all. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 15, 2013. Series: Wisdom in Life. Scripture: Proverbs 3:1-8, 11-12. 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.

There are choices everywhere, just zillions and zillions of choices. And if you don't make good choices, it can be very destructive. Bad choices blow up on you. Every choice is like a fork in the road, and once you make it, you really can't go back to where you were.  What does it take to make good choices? It takes wisdom. And the book of Proverbs is perhaps the most famous text in the world on wisdom. If we look at Proverbs 1, we can see the basics: 1) what wisdom is, 2) why it's important, 3) why it's a problem, and 4) where you can find it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 8, 2013. Series: Wisdom in Life. Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-9, 22, 32-33. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The trouble with the Sermon on the Mount is it's so familiar that almost nobody listens to it, almost nobody knows what it's saying. How do we know that? At the very end of the sermon, it says the crowds were amazed at Jesus's teaching. And that word, “amazed,” in Greek meant thunderstruck, shocked, astounded. That's the prevailing way people responded. Have you been thunderstruck? Are you shocked by it? If you're not astounded, you haven't listened to it.  So let's listen to it. There are basically three great things Jesus says that are utterly astounding: 1) that there are two ways, two options spiritually, 2) that at the end of those two ways, there's a judge, and 3) that at the end of that judgment, there's a sentence. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 23, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 7:15-29. 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 no one section where Jesus lays out how a relationship with him radically changes our human relationships and forms a new, deep, radical human community in Christ. It's not in one place — it's all throughout the Sermon on the Mount.  The Sermon on the Mount is really a description of a new kind of community. What does Jesus teach us about this radical new community that is formed by his gospel message? When it comes into your life, how does it create this new community between those who believe in Jesus?  Jesus teaches us four things: 1) the necessity of this new community, 2) the intensity of this new community, 3) the symmetry of this new community, and 4) the causality of this new community. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 16, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 5:21-24, 45-48; 7:1-6. 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.

When people say, “I've tried prayer, and it didn't work,” what Jesus is saying is, “You used prayer, not the way I designed it, but with a false model of spirituality.” For Jesus, the importance of prayer is revealed in a little unobtrusive word at the beginning of this passage in the Sermon on the Mount: the little word “and.” Right before Jesus talks about prayer, he talks about our engagement with the poor and the needs of the world. Then he says, “And when you pray …” Because in Jesus' understanding, it's the people who are characterized by the most radical interiority who have the most courageous, visionary engagement with the needs of the world. And before Jesus gives us a model of prayer, the famous Lord's Prayer, he tells us two other models of prayer that we should avoid.  Let's look at 1) the two false models, 2) the true model, and 3) a few practical ideas on how to go about it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 9, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13. 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.

If we actually take the gospel, the essential message of Jesus Christ, and we live it out, what will it look like? That's what the Sermon on the Mount is about.  And in this part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we get to the area of money and possessions.  Jesus tells us three things we can draw out here: 1) how money exercises power over us, 2) why money exercises power over us, and 3) how we can break the power. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 2, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34. 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 surface, one of the most unattractive things about Christianity to our culture today is its view of sex; but if you look underneath the surface and get a better grasp on what is really taught, the Christian view of sex is one of the most attractive things about it. In other words, a lot of people see the Christian understanding of sex as undermining its credibility to them, but when you look down deeper, I think you're actually going to see the Christian view of sex is one of the evidences for its truth. Because Christianity accounts for how sex operates in our lives, in our relationships, and in our society. Let's draw out four things Jesus is saying about this in the Sermon on the Mount: 1) there is such a thing as lust, 2) what it's not, 3) what it is, and 4) how it can be healed. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 25, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30. 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.

Do you understand what your heart is really like? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is saying that the reason we're inauthentic or hiding from other people is because we're actually being inauthentic with ourselves, hiding from ourselves. We're deeply uncomfortable with the reality of our own hearts. Jesus wouldn't mention hypocrisy in the Sermon on the Mount unless he thought it was a pervasive issue, something we're all struggling with. Jesus says this is the way we are, that there's a real problem and the human heart desperately wants to get into image management. Let's look at how Jesus shows us 1) two manifestations of hypocrisy, 2) how you can't stand to see what's in your own heart, 3) how you know the plank in your own heart is huge, and 4) how to remove the plank from your heart. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 18, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Luke 6:39-49. 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.

As soon as you hear the word relationships, right away you say, “Ah, relationships,” and you think of friendship or romance. But the main purpose of the Sermon on the Mount is to talk about our relationships to other people, to those outside of our close relationships. Right away, Jesus talks about three groups of people. And when we see how Jesus calls us to be toward them, we're immediately shocked and upset. Many of us will say, “First of all, I can't do it. And if I did, it sounds terrible.” And almost as if Jesus knows we'll say that, he tells us three things. Let's look at 1) the three groups of people: people who oppose us, people who are less fortunate than us, and people who are different from us, and then 2) the three things Jesus tells us: the difficulty we have, the inner dynamic we need, and the directions we're given. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 11, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Luke 6:27-38. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

What is the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus? In 1 Corinthians 15, there are three basic things Paul says about the resurrection as he answers three questions. We must confront these three questions about Jesus' resurrection: 1) did it happen? 2) what did it accomplish? and 3) what should we do about it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 4, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 20-26, 51-58. 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 utterly different from religion. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says there are two paths—one that leads to life and one that leads to destruction. And here's what the scary thing is: both ways have people praying, giving to the poor, obeying God's law. You can do all that and still be poison, on your way to destruction. Don't mistake Christianity for religion. Jesus says if you want to be in the kingdom of heaven, there's a gospel goodness that vastly surpasses religious righteousness. How does it surpass? Gospel goodness 1) brighter, 2) deeper, 3) sweeter, and 4) higher. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 28, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 5:11-20. 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.

Jesus introduces a revolutionary kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. He contrasts the pattern, power, and product of two kingdoms: the old one which we are currently under, and the new one which is to come. Jesus' teaching goes against every natural instinct, and represents a reversal of the world's values. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 21, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Luke 6:17-26. 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 can the music of John Coltrane tell us about the relationship of  art to God, and of our own work in general to God? We can all learn quite a lot from Coltrane, actually. And what we can see in his approach to his music applies not just to musicians and artists, but to us all. In this open forum, 1) Tim Keller shares two things we can learn from Coltrane, 2) John Patitucci, a jazz bassist and composer, discusses Coltrane's music, and 3) Keller and Patitucci hold a question-and-answer time with their audience. This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 9, 2007. Series: Redeemer Open Forums. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26. 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.

In Ecclesiastes, the author takes the position of a practical secularist. And he asks, “If this life is all there is, then is life meaningless?” The writer says if this life is all there is, if there's no God and no meaning that you have to submit to, then you're free to construct your own meaning. And so, he sets out to build meaning by living a cause-based life, and then by living a pleasure and beauty-based life. When he finds those both to be meaningless and burdensome, he decides to create a work-based life, to let work and career be an organizing principle in his life. In doing this, he finds three things: 1) that a life of work is not worth it, 2) why it's not worth it, and 3) what is worth it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 23, 2003. Series: When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26. 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.

Today's sermon comes from a series on the life of Jesus described in the gospel of Luke. Luke gives us many of Jesus' teachings on what it means to be a disciple. In short, a disciple is one who applies the gospel to absolutely every single area of life. In Luke 6, we learn about Sabbath rest. God gives us rest from our labors – it is a gift and a blessing. It is a way of keeping us healthy and protecting us from being overwhelmed by our work. God himself modeled it for us when creating the universe. Let's look at it more closely: Why do we need it? Where do we get it? How do we do it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 23, 2003. Series: The Meaning of Jesus Part 2; Following Him. Scripture: Luke 6:1-11. 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.

Consider how much of your time, how much of your life, is built around your work. Yet, so many of the books and materials that look at what it means to live as Christians only focus on our evenings and our weekends. How are we to be a Christian on the job? We're going to look at some basic principles of what God says we must do to approach our work and our jobs in a Christian way. Looking at Ephesians 6, we see that this passage knocks down two false views of work: 1) that work is a curse and leisure is the meaning of life, and 2) that work is the meaning of life. And then we'll see 3) how you get the power to transform your view and aim of work. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 3, 1991. Series: Work & Faith. Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Some of you may know I was actually a teacher at graduate school seminary for five years. Then I said, “Get me back in the ministry,” where there is no grading papers and no one knows whether people are learning or not. But the gospel changes everything . . . even education. We're looking now at the what's, why's and how to's of education reform from a Christian perspective.  To consider a gospel-centered view of education reform, 1) I'll share two thoughts from C.S. Lewis, and 2) I'll be joined by a panel of educators for a question-and-answer time. This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 5, 2024. Series: Redeemer InterArts Fellowship. 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 Christian, what is the rationale for being an actor? Why should Christians be actors? How should Christians who are actors or writers or choreographers or directors think about their faith and their work? To answer that, we need to look at the power of stories, at why we connect with and are overwhelmed by strong stories. Let's consider 1) what a story is, 2) that we attach meaning by connecting things to a storyline, 3) that Christians can find elements of their story in almost any other story, and 4) why we need to understand our baseline cultural narratives. This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 5, 2004. Series: Redeemer InterArts Fellowship. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The gospel affects how you do your work, how you do your job, and how you pursue your vocation. But how?  If we're going to understand what Paul says in this passage, we need to look at 1) some background work and historical context, 2) practical principle number one, 3) practical principle number two, and 4) the power to carry them out. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 17, 2010. Series: The Gospel and the World. Ephesians 5:21, 6:5-9. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

How does the gospel affect your work?  We're in a series where we're asking, “What happens when you take the gospel, the basic message of Jesus Christ, out of the church and into the world?” One of the things that happens is it affects the way in which you do your work. And there's no way to see the Christian understanding of work without going to Genesis 1, 2, and 3. I'd like to show you three things Genesis tells us about your work: 1) it gives you a vision for work, 2) it gives you guardrails for your work, and 3) it gives you a power to do your work. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 10, 2010. Series: The Gospel and the World. Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:2-17. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

When we talk about creativity, we mean artists of course. But we also actually mean entrepreneurs—whose creativity is as important to what they do as anything else. So thinking about creativity, what does Christianity have to say to it? The answer is a lot.  Your deeper beliefs about the meaning of life and the world actually does shape your work. The Bible says the world was created, has fallen, is being redeemed, and is going to be restored. How does that affect or shape our creativity?  The Christian understanding of creativity is that creativity is something you do 1) because you want to, 2) out of love, 3) in full knowledge of the risk and the cost, and 4) knowing that there will be satisfaction. This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 16, 2010. Series: Center for Faith and Work. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

How can practicing the law be shaped by the Christian faith? And how can we reimagine lawyering? If you're reimagining the legal profession, you don't want to just be a Christian who happens to also be a lawyer. You want the way you practice the law to be shaped by your faith.  For this reimagining, we need to understand three things from Christian theology: 1) that every human being is called to be a gardener, 2) that the law is a form of gardening, and 3) that you need to figure out your own idols. This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 2, 2007. Series: Center for Faith and Work. 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 lot of people have an incredibly negative view of marketing and advertising. Not too long ago, I heard somebody say that advertising is the first profession: in the Garden of Eden, the serpent said, “you need that apple.” They were saying that marketing is creating need in somebody else for your profit, whether they really need it or not.  On the other hand, you could make a case that marketing is the oldest profession because of when the Bible says, “in the beginning was the Word.” God invented communication. And in many ways, at its best, that's all marketing is: communication. So let's look at  1) what marketing is, 2) what's wrong with marketing, and 3) how you can integrate the Christian faith with work in marketing, advertising, and promotion. This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 4, 2005. Series: Center for Faith and Work. 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 Bible says probably 20 times more things about money than it does about sex, maybe more than that. So if you're trying to know the Bible, you're gonna know a little bit of something about money. We all have our own filters. We all have mental maps, assumptions about God and the universe and human nature and what's important in life. It's what we call a worldview. So what is the Christian worldview when it comes to wealth creation? The real question is whether wealth creation is good or bad or halfway in the middle? And we'll see that the Bible is more nuanced on that answer. In the Christian worldview, wealth creation 1) is not bad, 2) is not good, and 3) is not something in the middle. This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 27, 2004. Series: Center for Faith and Work. 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.

Isaiah 60 describes the new heavens and the new earth. It's looking to the end of time when God makes everything right—paradise restored. And in this passage, all the nations of the world are bringing their work products.  What is gold and silver? What is the flux and the grain? They're bringing the products of their work to God as offerings to God. And this means that just as there was work in the original paradise, there'll be work in the future paradise.  What does that mean for our work? Let's notice three things: 1) the goodness and dignity of work, 2) what's wrong with work, and 3) how work can be healed. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 10, 2016. Series: Where We Are Going: The City and the Mission. Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-11, 18-21. 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.

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, spiritual growth is 1) possible, 2) gradual, 3) essential, 4) practical, and 5) ultimately wonderful.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 8, 2014. Series: Following Jesus. Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-11. 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.

The friendship between Jonathan and David is rightly famous. Because we have so much information about the life of David, the narrative arcs are long. So to follow David's friendship with Jonathan, you have to see it over multiple passages. We're going to look at four passages in 1 Samuel to see what the Bible tells us about the importance of friendship.  From the friendship of David and Jonathan we can learn 1) the absolute importance of friendship, 2) the necessary elements of friendship, and 3) the requisite power for friendship. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 17, 2015. Series: David: The Man of Prayer. Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-4. 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.

Who is Jesus? In Mark 2 and 3, Jesus makes a claim about himself that's so immense it almost defies categories.  In this text, two incidents are detailed and they both have to do with how we observe the Sabbath day. To understand the magnitude of Jesus' claim here, we have to unpack the meaning of the entire text and then ask what he's actually claiming. Let's look at the features of the story and learn from each of these: 1) the anger of Jesus, 2) the enemies of Jesus, and 3) the claim of Jesus and what that means for you. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 8, 2015. Series: Light in the Darkness: Glory of Jesus in Mark. Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:6. 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.

In this unparalleled text in the Bible, we learn not so much what the church does, but what the church is. We've been looking at the animating gospel principles that have profoundly shaped our church's life in the city and service to the city. And that often means we've looked at something the church does. But now, let's look at what the church is. In 1 Peter 1, we can get insight into the church's 1) glory, 2) gifts, and 3) grace. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 24, 2016. Series: Where We Are Going: The City and the Mission. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-12. 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.

In The Bride of Frankenstein movie, the monster stumbles into a blind man's cottage, and they become friends. The only humanity he ever develops is in that cottage, where a person grabs him by the hand and calls him friend. And what it's saying is that there's nothing more humanizing than friendship and there's no pain more horrible than loneliness. In fact, all kinds of studies show that people who have fewer friends die more readily of disease and heart attacks.  So as we look at John 15, there are two questions I'd like to ask: 1) why do we need friendship, and 2) how do we meet that need? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 19, 1992. Series: Gospel of John, Part 2. Scripture: John 15:9-17. 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.

For centuries this famous passage has been called the parable of the prodigal son. But it's a great mistake to think it's a story about one son. It's a story of two sons, of a younger and an older brother. If you don't compare and contrast the two, you're going to miss the radical message.  Jesus is saying every thought the human race has ever had about how to connect to God—whether East or West, ancient or post-modern, religious or secular—has been wrong. Jesus shatters all existing human categories.  Let's look at the story, and then see three things Jesus is telling us: 1) Jesus redefines God, 2) Jesus redefines sin, and 3) Jesus redefines salvation. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 11, 2005. Series: The Vision of Redeemer. Scripture: Luke 15:1-2, 11-32. 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.

In Mark 2, Jesus makes a claim that is so over the top, so out of all categories, so outrageous that the religious leaders don't even have a word for it. They've called him blasphemous before, but this claim goes beyond their words. In this passage, two incidents are linked together, both having to do with the Sabbath. And what Jesus says is that he's not here to reform religion—he's here to absolutely end religion and replace it with himself.  What we're going to see is, 1) on the one hand, the futility of religion and, 2) on the other hand, the finality of Jesus Christ. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 19, 2006. Series: King's Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:6. 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.

We're looking at the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  After his resurrection, Jesus is still teaching his disciples—and us—preparing us to go out into the world and represent him. And in John 21, he teaches the disciples four things that should be true of us if we're Christians. Another way to put it is four marks the Christian church ought to have in the world. And those four marks are 1) supernatural unity, 2) new identity, 3) continuous intimacy, and 4) comprehensive certainty. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 23, 2017. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Doubters and Deniers. Scripture: John 21:1-14. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

In our times, friendship is relatively ignored. Every other kind of love, every other kind of relationship is a hot topic. Everybody is writing about romance or family, while friendship is seen as uninteresting. And yet, friendship is absolutely vital. Do you understand how crucial it is to make, find, maintain, and develop friendships?  Let me just ask three questions: 1) why is friendship so neglected today? 2) why is it so vitally important and crucial? and 3) how can the resources of the Christian faith help us understand friendship and galvanize, energize and recover friendship? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 27, 1997. Series: Redeemer Open Forums.  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.

Hannah is a woman in enormous pain. At the beginning of 1 Samuel, she is roaring with pain, roaring with grief. And yet, in Hannah, we have a case study of a woman at prayer, a woman who has a spiritual encounter with God. Hannah eventually becomes the mother of the prophet Samuel. And we can all learn something from her fascinating account. To understand this passage, we need to see 1) the anatomy of Hannah's pain, 2) the change in Hannah's heart, and 3) the secret in Hannah's song. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 21, 2007. Series: Real Spirituality – Prayer and Beyond. Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:4-11; 2:1-10. 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's described in Isaiah 60 never happened in human history and never can happen in normal human history—and it has much to teach us about how we view our work. Isaiah 60 looks to the end of time when God makes everything right and paradise is restored. And in that restoration, something happens that we often overlook: all the nations of the world bring their work products—their gold, silver, flux, and grain—as offerings to God. Just as there was work in the original paradise, there'll be work in the future paradise. And so, what does that mean about our work?  This text points to three things about work: 1) the goodness and dignity of work, 2) what's wrong with work, and 3) how work can be healed. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 10, 2016. Series: Proverbs: Where We Are Going: The City and the Mission. Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-11, 18-21. 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.

There are two typical approaches to work today, and both of them are wrong. Both of them cut right against what God meant work to be. One approach says, “Work is a curse—something to be endured for a paycheck.” The other approach says, “Work is my way to find self-esteem through achievement.” But the Bible, and the fourth of the Ten Commandments, shows us a different view of work. Let's see what the fourth commandment and Ephesians 6 show us about work: 1) work is not a curse; it's a calling, 2) work is not for yourself; it's for him, and 3) three things to do if you're unhappy with your job. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 22, 1989. Series: Proverbs: True Wisdom for Living. Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Proverbs says you're not going to be a wise person unless you're great at choosing, forging, and keeping terrific friendships. For the vast majority of your decisions, there will be many options that are all moral. Wisdom is being so in touch with reality that you know the right thing to do in the situations moral rules don't address. And Proverbs says you will not lead a wise life unless you are really good at friendships. If we look at various verses in Proverbs, we can learn 1) the uniqueness of friendship, 2) how to discover a friend, 3) how to forge or build a friendship, and 4) where we get the power for friendship. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 29, 2005. Series: Proverbs: True Wisdom for Living. Scripture: Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 25:17, 20; 26:18, 19; 27:5, 6, 9, 14, 17; 28:23; 29:5. 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.