Podcast appearances and mentions of Timothy Keller

Stephan Taeger is an assistant professor in Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He received a PhD from BYU in Instructional Design and Technology. Stephan's research focuses on Homiletics (the study of preaching), narrative instruction, and ancient scripture. He is also an author and co-host of the RVVL podcast with David Butler. Links Y Religion: Justification by Faith The Science of Speaking in Sacrament Meeting | An Interview with Stephan Taeger President Spencer W. Kimball: “Jesus the Perfect Leader” Sermons and talks by Timothy Keller on YouTube Stephan Taeger: “Declared Guiltless: Justification by Faith in the Latter-day Saint Classroom” Toxic Perfectionism at Church | An Interview with Justin Dyer Justification: God’s Plan, Paul’s Vision N.T. Wright on YouTube Weakness Is Not Sin: The Liberating Distinction That Awakens Our Strengths RVVL Podcast StephanTaeger.com Tim Keller: Sin as Self-Deceit Watch the video and share your thoughts in the Zion Lab community Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community Highlights 00:04:00 – Stephan Taeger’s Background and Teaching Focus 00:05:00 – Influence of Tim Keller on Understanding Justification 00:06:00 – Justification Explained 00:09:00 – The Relationship Between Justification and Works 00:10:30 – Understanding the Role of Covenants 00:11:30 – The Importance of Faithfulness 00:12:30 – The Marriage Analogy for Justification 00:13:30 – The Role of the Sacrament in Justification 00:14:30 – Defining Sanctification 00:15:30 – The Process of Becoming More Like God 00:17:00 – The Role of Obedience in Response to Grace 00:18:00 – Addressing Perfectionism in Leadership 00:19:00 – The Impact of Sin on Community 00:20:00 – The Role of Bishops in Restricting Ordinances 00:22:00 – Understanding Restrictions as Support 00:23:00 – The Nature of Punishment vs. Guidance 00:24:00 – Mental Health and Perfectionism 00:25:00 – Addressing Sexual Development and Sin 00:26:00 – The Importance of Striving for Sanctification 00:27:00 – The Role of the Bishop in Mental Health 00:28:00 – The Challenge of Perfectionism 00:29:00 – The Concept of Forgiveness 00:30:00 – The Nature of Grace in the Gospel Key Insights Justification Defined: Justification is described as being pardoned from sin and declared guiltless, occurring when individuals enter a covenant relationship with God through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost. Sanctification Explained: Sanctification is the ongoing process of becoming more like God, involving a change in one's nature, thoughts, and desires over time, as individuals strive to live in accordance with their covenants. The Role of Grace: Grace is central to understanding both justification and sanctification. It emphasizes that salvation is a gift from God, not solely based on individual works, and that individuals can have confidence in their justified state. Addressing Perfectionism: Many Latter-day Saints struggle with perfectionism, often feeling unworthy despite understanding the doctrine. The conversation highlights the importance of recognizing one’s worth as inherent and not solely based on actions. Mental Health Considerations: The discussion touches on the intersection of mental health and religious beliefs, particularly regarding OCD and scrupulosity, emphasizing the need for compassion and understanding in addressing these issues. Leadership Applications Fostering a Culture of Grace: Leaders can create an environment where members feel secure in their justified state, encouraging them to engage in the gospel without the burden of shame or guilt. Understanding Individual Needs: By recognizing that unmet needs may drive certain behaviors, leaders can approach members with empathy, focusing on support rather than judgment. Promoting Continuous Growth: Leaders should emphasize the importance of striving for sanctification, framing commandments and ordinances as opportunities for growth rather than as mere obligations, thus inspiring members to engage more fully in their spiritual journeys. The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints’ mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Find Leadership Tools, Courses, and Community for Latter-day Saint leaders in the Zion Lab community. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Benjamin Hardy, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Kirby Heyborne, Taysom Hill, Coaches Jennifer Rockwood and Brandon Doman, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 800 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.

Money is not a silly or superfluous thing. Money was designed to be our dignity. It answers to something God put down deep in us: that we all need to have part of the world to care for, and without any part of the world to care for, we have no dignity. But what has happened in most of our lives is instead of being our dignity, money has become our definition.  Money is power. It can act destructively or constructively in your life. How can you be sure it's acting constructively? You know the answer: it's in the Bible many places. It's not how much money you have or how little money you have, it all depends on your heart attitude. You have to be freed from money as your definition so that it can become your dignity and you can release its power where it will do the most good. There are three principles that need to be worked down into your heart, and we see them in what Paul says in 2 Corinthians: 1) God owns everything you have, so you have to act like a trustee, 2) Jesus gave everything for you, so you're freed for radical generosity, and 3) you can take it with you if you invest it in eternal things. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 7, 1990. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. 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.

When Christianity burst onto the scene, the early Romans were amazed and astounded in two particulars: that Christians were radically generous, giving away large portions of income, and that Christians were radically pure, believing in no sex outside of marriage. This unique understanding transformed the Roman world. At that time, there were two major philosophies about sex. The first was the platonic view: that the soul is good, the body is bad, and sex is kind of dirty. The second was the mystery religions' view: that sex is an appetite that is unhealthy to repress. The prudes and the pagans. And in 1 Corinthians, Paul vividly and incisively shows that Christians are neither. Instead, Christians have the most glorious and lofty possible understanding of sex that there is. Let's look at what this passage shows us about 1) how God says sex is supposed to function in a life, and 2) in looking at how to order our lives in accord to that, we see two things: 3) the only real cure for loneliness is the thing that sex points to, and 4) when you misuse sex, it works backwards. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 10, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:15-7:5. 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.

Episode 26 of the follow podcast is a bit of a microcosm - a conversation with some friends about what life looks like together. It's so great to have Daniel Leung back on the podcast - this time with his partner, Maki Nishikaze. They've spent 15 years learning what it's like to live life with others invited to the table. A great opportunity to be inspired towards it for each of us in our own way. Season #6: Follow Fresh - Following along with the OneChurch.to teaching series "new." in January 2026 - we're learning new ways to pray, to rest, to do community and to give. These conversations are jumping off into more personal or deep ways of exploring the same ideas. *Stuff We Mentioned* [or wished we did] - Follow Wednesdays: https://1church.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3187098 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress - Alpha: https://onechurch.to/alpha/ - Prayer by Timothy Keller: https://timothykeller.com/books/prayer - Inductive Bible Study: https://biblestudy.tips/inductive-bible-study/ - Proxemics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxemics ----- The Follow Podcast is an honest and open conversation for anyone actively learning to live like Jesus. Check out the related weekend teaching, "A New Way to Belong": https://youtu.be/7gxXB61BXiE Submit your own question for the follow podcast here: https://onechurch.to/followpodcast ----- Chapters: 0:00 Intro 3:10 Normalizing Hospitality 7:50 Community On Purpose 17:40 Changed by Other People 30:12 How to Get Started in Community 38:23 Getting Past Hurt From Community 44:46 Being Ok With Community Theology 47:36 Creating A Culture of Safety 52:17 Getting Practical About Physical Spaces 55:17 Creating Community Outside Your Home 59:11 A Very Enriching Way to Live your Life

Jesus gives us the most radical ethic of love that's ever been put forth: “Turn the other cheek.” This ethic has been criticized and disregarded, but no one ever says the reason is because it's too low or vile or unworthy. They always say it's too high, too lofty. The reason it seems so lofty is it's a whole new dimension. The love ethic in Matthew 5 is part of a package. The package is that Christianity itself is actually an interconnected set of radically altered relationships. A new relationship with God creates a new relationship with yourself, creates a new relationship with others. They can't be separated. They rise and fall together, and you can't have one without the others.  Let's take a look at those three aspects. As we move through this passage, we'll see 1) the understanding of the self, 2) the relationship with others, and 3) the root of it all: a new relationship with God. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 3, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Matthew 5:21-24; 38-48. 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 individual human life is sacred. Every individual person is of infinite value. In Genesis 9, at the end of the flood, God assures Noah and his family of this truth. He says that if a person takes the life of any other human, he will hold that person accountable. This passage is meant to get everybody to feel the weight of your neighbor's glory, to feel the weight of the value God has invested in every human being. If you really let this passage have its effect, you will come out saying to yourself, “I cannot ignore people the way I do. I have to treat people seriously. I have to honor them. I have to be aggressively compassionate.” Let's see how this passage makes a case for us to be a compassionate people. The case is 1) every human being is made in the image of God, and 2) every human being is held accountable for that image. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 25, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Genesis 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.

With this episode I'm joined again by Dr. Trey Martin as we conclude the conversation we began previously on the subject of idolatry and our lives lived before the only true and living God. There are things that can threaten the devotion we have to God, things that can become larger to us than they should In the first portion of this conversation, Dr. Martin helped us understand some definitions and biblical background surrounding idolatry, and in this second part we will begin to address some questions about how this is worked our in real life and ministry. If you've not listened to the first portion of this conversation, I encourage you to do so. One of the things that Dr. Martin did in that episode was to help us distinguish between real and metaphorical idols, and to see how metaphorical idols can be as damaging, if not more so, than physical ones. But here, now, we begin to turn the conversation away from the theoretical and more to the practical. We'll pick up the conversation with a question that moves us in that direction. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Dr. Trey Martin The article that stimulated this conversation: A COUNTERFEIT IDOL: RESIGNATION AND FAITH IN TIMOTHY KELLER'S COUNTERFEIT GODS, by Dr. Trey Martin. Used by the kind permission from Covenant Theological Seminary. For information about the academic-pastoral journal Presbyterion, go to https://www.covenantseminary.edu/publications. Timothy Keller, The Reason for God Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart's Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart's Table, visit us here.

What gets God angry? Romans 1 tells us: ingratitude. If there's a God who created you, do you work for his goals or do you take all that he's given you and live for your own interests? My friends, that is ingratitude of the highest order, and this passage says it is secret treason.  The reason this is a secret treason is because you keep it secret from yourself. Romans 1 says even though we know deep down that there is a God who created us, we all suppress that truth to some degree. We know we're committing treason, but we keep it secret even from ourselves. We know it and we don't know it.  This passage looks at the structure of this secret treason: it says 1) ingratitude leads to repression, 2) repression leads to darkness, and 3) darkness leads to all of the problems in your life. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 19, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Romans 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 fifth commandment is talking particularly to adult children. It says, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” What's intriguing about the Ten Commandments is they are a summary of everything human beings ought to be. Yet in all of the Ten Commandments, there's no place that talks about how people should relate to the government or to the people above them. It doesn't talk about authority except right here.  So let's look a little bit deeper and ask the commandment three questions: 1) what does this commandment tell us to do? 2) why should we do it? and 3) how can we do it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 12, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4. 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.

What are you really hungry for? In John 6, Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life—not just Savior, but the fulfillment of our deepest desires. In this episode, Whit George, Casey Shirley, and Lee Martin explore idolatry, misordered love, and why true life isn't found in optimizing ourselves, but in being satisfied by God. What if believing He could truly satisfy you changed everything?   Show notes:   Listen to Pastor Whit's message: What's Keeping You from Life to the Full? YouTubeWhat's Keeping You from Life to the Full?    In the episode they talk about attachment theory. You can learn more on our Life in Motion episode Parenting From a Secure Place: Attachment, Repair, and Abiding in Jesus  YouTubeParenting From a Secure Place: Attachment, Repair, and Abiding in Jesus | Life in Motion    In this episode, Whit mentions Jesus the King by Timothy Keller

What is true rest? In Psalm 3, we see a man who goes to sleep the night before a battle knowing full well that he's greatly outnumbered. And he sleeps. He rests.  Scientists will tell you the thing that restores the body is not the length of your sleep—it's the depth. In the same way, the Bible shows that there are all kinds of shallow ways you can get rid of tension, but none of those are the deep rest that really restores the soul. Hebrews 4 says there remains a rest for the people of God. What is it? Let's see how this passage 1) helps us understand the rest, and then 2) helps us understand how to enter the rest. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 5, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Hebrews 4:1-12. 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.

If you have any other gods before God—and we all do—to that degree that you have other gods before him, you're in bondage, co-conspirator with your own jailers. God in his grace seeks to liberate us—with the most liberating of all of the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord thy God … thou shalt have no other gods before me.” What he's saying there is, “I'm the only God there is; all others are imposters. My yoke is easy, and the yoke of any other god is bondage.” Let's look at Jonah as a case study and see 1) how you can detect the things in your life that are controlling you, and 2) how you actually abandon those gods. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 1, 1989. Series: Ten Commandments 1989. Scripture: Jonah 1:1-10. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The book of Deuteronomy is a series of sermons Moses preached just before he died. In it, he lays out, in the most comprehensive and practical way, how you should live if you experience the grace and salvation of God. If you experience God, how should that actually affect the way in which you live your life? It's a very, very practical book and an incredibly comprehensive book. Today, we get to the Ten Commandments. This is one of the most influential texts in the entire history of the world. Let's take a look and see what we're taught about it. It's awfully basic, but it's awfully basic because it's awfully important. There are four things we're going to learn here about God's Law: 1) the origin of the Law; 2) the substance of the Law; 3) the problem of the Law, and 4) the solution to that problem. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 27, 2007. Series: Deuteronomy – Doing Justice, Preaching Grace. Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:6-21, 24-29. 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.

Jesus says, “Don't be anxious,” three times in this passage. Quick question that comes up: how does anybody have the audacity to command us to not be anxious? Nobody gets up in the morning and says, “I'm going to really be anxious today. I can't wait.” It's not a very voluntary thing. So why would Jesus command us? If we look carefully, we'll see that he's not commanding us in a drill sergeant way. Instead, he gets underneath and he explains and he reasons with us. There's a sense in which he does surgery. He's saying, “If you let me do my surgery in you, if you listen to my instructions, I can get anxiety out of you. I can deal with your anxiety.” Let's look at what Jesus shows us about 1) what is anxiety? 2) where does it come from? and 3) what do we do about it? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 3, 1990. Series: The Lord's Prayer 1990. Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34. 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.

To many people, the whole point of prayer is this: how do you get God to give you what you need? Now, that's not the point of prayer, and if you think it is, you will get very little. That's the irony. Prayer is very effective for those people who don't come into it hoping it will primarily be a way to get God to give you things. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus shows us that after you are done centering your heart and mind on the fatherhood of God and submitting to his lordship by saying, “your will be done,” then you can go and start asking him for your daily bread, for protection, for provision. So there's an order here that must be honored, or else you rip up the fabric of prayer. Let's look at what it means to pray with this order: 1) first accepting “your will be done,” and 2) then asking. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 27, 1990. Series: The Lord's Prayer 1990. 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.

A life of absolute peace, a life of tremendous clarity, a life of total power and freedom, a life of high beauty—that's the vision of the Lord's Prayer. A whole new life that revolves around God. We're going to look now at the part of the prayer that's about admitting. Let me reiterate that since prayer essentially is centering on God, everything starts with adoration and everything has to be understood as flowing out of it. If your repentance, if your admitting doesn't flow out of adoration, it won't deal with your guilt and it will even make it worse. But if it flows out of adoration of the Father, it can get rid of your guilt. Jesus Christ, in the context of the Lord's Prayer, teaches us 1) the reason for repentance, 2) the motivation for repentance, and 3) three ways to repent. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 20, 1990. Series: The Lord's Prayer 1990. 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's ironic is the Lord's Prayer has probably the most familiar words in the English language, and yet it is the secret to what you seek. We're so tired of technology, of quantifying everything, of being a number. At the core of our being, we need and we desperately want real soul experience. And how to have it is right in front of us.  Jesus Christ taught it to us in the Lord's Prayer. Jesus says, “This is how to pray. This is the key.” I must say that one of the reasons why we don't know how to use it is because this prayer is so familiar. But it tells you everything you need to know about communication with God. Looking at just one verse, we see how Jesus shows us 1) the difficulty of prayer, 2) the basis of prayer, and 3) the essence of prayer. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 6, 1990. Series: The Lord's Prayer 1990. 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.

With this episode we begin another two part Rainy Day Conversation. These are quarterly conversations with smart and gracious people whose wisdom is brought to bear upon life and ministry and the church. The focus of this conversation, with Dr. Trey Martin, is how we as Christians and as pastors think about our affections in the wake of the late Dr. Tim Keller's helpful, but potentially confusing, teaching about idolatry. Are we over or under applying this teaching? I'm grateful to Dr. Martin, a man who has thought deeply about this, for joining in this conversation. The question is how the concept of idolatry can be helpful, and at times unhelpful, personally as we live our lives before God and pastorally as we lead our congregations to love and follow Jesus. In some quarters of the church it has become popular to label many things as ‘idols'. But are they? What might be gained, or lost, by seeing them in that way? How ought we to understand our affections? Can we love a thing without it being a god in place of God? In this first half of the conversation, we'll lay the groundwork for the practical application which will come in the second. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Dr. Trey Martin The article that stimulated this conversation: A COUNTERFEIT IDOL: RESIGNATION AND FAITH IN TIMOTHY KELLER'S COUNTERFEIT GODS, by Dr. Trey Martin. Used by the kind permission from Covenant Theological Seminary. For information about the academic-pastoral journal Presbyterion, go to https://www.covenantseminary.edu/publications. Timothy Keller, The Reason for God Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart's Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart's Table, visit us here.

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Truth is not something we possess; it is Someone who possesses us.”~Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Christianity is not a set of ideas, but a Person who walks before us and calls us to follow.”~Timothy Keller “To follow Jesus is to discover that life itself has a direction.”~Dallas Willard “Truth is not found in a principle but in a person—Jesus Christ.”~N. T. Wright “The central pronouncement, ‘I am the Way,' is profoundly significant within the chapter as a whole, for it states in so many words what Bunyan knew, that ‘the way' is not what Thomas thought it was, a literal route or pathway, but a Person, Jesus himself. The destination, accordingly, is not a place (not even precisely ‘my Father's house'), but also a Person, the Father himself.”~J. Ramsey Michaels  “The road to heaven runs through the cross.”~Billy Graham “Where is the highway to heaven? Where is the love we all need? Where is the peace we long for? Where is the man who is free?”~ John Denver, “Hold On Tightly”  SERMON PASSAGEJohn 14:1-14 (ESV) 1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

It's artificial to avoid the subject of money when so many of your problems, your worries, and your difficulties revolve around money. And it's also artificial to avoid the subject because so much of the Bible is about money. The Bible says there can be no significant spiritual growth unless you put your money and your attitude toward it into God's hands. And 2 Corinthians 9 shows us that it's the mark of a real Christian to be radically generous. This passage teaches us 1) the impact of that generosity, 2) the motivation for that generosity, and 3) the measure of that generosity. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 10, 1991. 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. 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.

In the middle of John 1, the religious leaders send people to interrogate John the Baptist. It doesn't look like it's got much to do with Christmas, and yet it does. Some major inner change has happened to John the Baptist. And if John the Baptist has had that change with what little knowledge he had of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas, how much more should we be exhibiting that change?  Let's take a look at 1) John's view of himself, 2) John's view of Jesus, 3) the resulting character change, and 4) how we might know it as well.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 18, 2016. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Advent. Scripture: John 1:19-28. 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 the original hearers of John's gospel—the Jews and the Greeks—heard the term, “the Word became flesh,” it was revolutionary. Many scholars have said it marked a complete revolution in the history of human thought.  But I'd like us to think about the fact that Christmas doesn't change our lives like it ought to. John says the Word of God became a flesh and blood human being. This is a life-transforming truth.  Let's look at three ways this truth should change our lives. If Christmas happened, and it did, 1) we have infinite comfort in the face of suffering, 2) we have infinite powerful conviction and incentive to serve, and 3) we have a hope that is both realistic and infallible. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 11, 2016. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Advent. Scripture: John 1:14-18. 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.

John 1 is about Jesus first coming into the world. It's John's way of helping us understand the meaning of Christmas.  And at the very beginning, John sort of hits us between the eyes and says the reason why Jesus Christ came into the world is so that you might be born again.  It's all here in two verses, where it says the new birth is 1) essential, 2) radical, 3) simple, but 4) hard. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 4, 2016. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Advent. Scripture: John 1:12-13. 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.

Light in the darkness is one of the ways that throughout history, Christmas has been celebrated. Lighting candles, and lights on trees, and lights at night. What is that all about? In John 1, John talks about Jesus coming into the world. It's his way of talking about the meaning of Christmas. And in this very famous passage, the word “light” shows up seven times. Let's look at how this tells us that 1) human beings need light, 2) there is a light, and 3) how we can connect to it and receive it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 27, 2016. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Advent. Scripture: John 1:1-11. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today Dot and Cara turn from the younger son to the older brother. Looking at Luke 15 and sharing insights from The Prodigal God by Tim Keller, they explore how we can “do all the right things” and still miss the Father's heart. This Christmas, what if we let God expose both the prodigal and the older brother in us so we can receive His grace? Grab your Bible, a cozy drink, and maybe your Christmas hat too and settle in for this hope-filled conversation.Got a question about today's episode or something else you'd like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know! Episode recap:Intro (00:00)Start by writing down Luke 15:25-32 (0:14)It's easy to forget what we have been saved from (3:14)Like the Pharisees, we forget we need a Savior  (7:00) Both sons were using the Father for their own sake (11:00)We think the story is about actions, but it's about their hearts (14:15)Remember the context of this story is the disciples and the Pharisees (19:00)Ask God to protect you from a judgmental heart (23:30)None of us deserve it or could earn it, but we get to receive the Father's love (25:00)Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.Watch Write this Down! on YouTubeFind Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook Scripture Verse:  Luke 15:11-19 (ESV) ““Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller: https://amzn.to/44Qrj71

Paul gives us an assurance at the end of Romans 8. It is magnificent and yet very simple. In these verses, he's saying, “Here's the thing that will absolutely change your life through Christ.”  Paul tells us this assurance, and he says this is the thing that you can use every day that will change your life. Let's look at it under three headings: 1) that we can be assured, 2) why we can be assured, and 3) how we can be assured. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 7, 2007. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 8:28, 38-39. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Rightly so, at Christmas, people who are suffering want to know, “Why should I be merry? What basis do I really have for joy?” The answer is that if Christmas really happened, if God really did open a cleft in the pitiless walls of this world, if he broke into our broken reality with his healing power, if he became a human being, then there are three solid bases for joy in any circumstance.  If Christmas happened, then even in the deepest grief, you can feel these three things holding you up: 1) our bad things will turn out for good, 2) our most truly good things can never be taken away from us, and 3) our best things are yet to come. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 17, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 8:28-39. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

If we're going to be equipped for real life, we have to see how Christ actually prepares us to face the unavoidable brutalities of life. We've been looking at how faith in Christ concretely and profoundly changes us. And in Romans 8, we get to the subject of suffering. It's absolutely crucial if we're going to be equipped in any spiritual way for real life, to see how Christ helps us in our sufferings. This text gives us three things: 1) it gives us a warning about suffering, 2) it gives us three resources for suffering, and 3) it tells us how we can be sure those resources will work. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 10, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 8:13-27. 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.

What does the prodigal son have to do with Christmas? In this episode, Dot and Cara look at Jesus' parable in Luke 15 through the lens of the Christmas story and the “prodigal God” who lavishly gives us everything, even His own Son. They talk honestly about our desire to live life on our terms and the grace that awaits us when we turn back to the Father. This conversation will remind you that Jesus left heaven to bring you home, so grab your Bible, a cozy drink, and settle in with us.Got a question about today's episode or something else you'd like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know! Episode recap:Start by writing down Luke 15:11-19 (0:08)God was recklessly extravagant by giving us Jesus (3:39)We all have a bit of the older son and a bit of the younger son in us  (6:55)) The word ‘prodigal' means recklessly extravagant (11:41)This story is a picture of God's love for us through Jesus (13:00)The younger son doesn't care about the Father's provision (22:32)We tend to hide behind shame and guilt and can get comfortable there (24:39)Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.Watch Write this Down! on YouTubeFind Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller: https://amzn.to/44Qrj71Scripture Verse:  Luke 15:11-19 (ESV) “And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”'

When I first embraced the Christian faith, there were a number of things in my life that profoundly needed changing. But nothing seemed to work until some Christian writers took me to Romans 6, 7 and 8.  When I began to understand the teaching of these chapters, my life began to change. In this brief series, I'm sharing these teachings with you as we ask this question: how does faith in Christ actually lead to real change in one's life? In Romans 8, we see that in Jesus, you get three things: 1) you get the freedom to know yourself, 2) you get a new method to change yourself, and 3) you get a new power to be yourself. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 3, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 8:1-13. 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.

How does change really happen in somebody's life? And how does faith in Christ concretely and practically lead to change?  In Romans 7 we see, in very starkly and shockingly realistic terms, a depiction of the human heart. And what we really see is the very heart that any principles about change have to be applied to. When we look at Romans 7, I think we learn three things: 1) what our biggest problem is, 2) what won't address that problem, and 3) what will. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 26, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 7:1-9, 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.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 19, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 6:1-7, 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.

How should Christians view their money and their possessions? We're looking at the Gospel of Luke, because Luke has much to say on this subject. How does God want us to think about money in general? What should our attitude be toward it? How should we relate to giving and spending? In Luke 14, we see two things: 1) Jesus Christ lays out a standard for sacrificial giving that's so astonishing it will seem unreasonable, and 2) Jesus actually shows how reasonable this kind of giving is. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 20, 2010. Series: Money and Possessions – In the Teaching of St. Luke. Scripture: Luke 14:7-24. 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.

As we end our series on the Holy Spirit, we come to maybe the most astonishing thing the Holy Spirit does for us. We've looked at a number of well-known things the Holy Spirit does in us and for us. He calls us and enables us to believe. He regenerates us, creates Christ-like character in us, unites us inside the church, and empowers us with his gifts so we can serve people around us. But now we look at a passage that tells us about the ultimate, the final thing the Holy Spirit does for us.  Let's notice from the text 1) what the Spirit will do for us in the future, 2) what the Spirit, therefore, can do for us in the present, and 3) how we can let the Spirit do that in our lives. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 12, 2010. Series: The Holy Spirit. Scripture: Romans 8:17-25. 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.

I've seen the pendulum in the church swing to extreme places over spiritual gifts—sometimes giving obsessive focus to them, and sometimes ignoring them. There's nothing more practical for helping us avoid extremes and understand what a Christian church should actually look like than to embrace what the Bible gives us here, a theology of spiritual gifts. Let's ask three questions of this text: 1) what are spiritual gifts, 2) what are the practical implications for church life, and 3) how can we rightly use spiritual gifts? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 29, 2010. Series: The Holy Spirit. Scripture: Ephesians 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.

Paul commands us to be filled with the Spirit.  Paul doesn't say, “It would be a great thing to attain if you could. Try really hard.” No, he commands that we “be filled with the Spirit.”  Let's ask this short text three questions: 1) what is being filled with the Spirit? 2) how do we know if we are filled with the Spirit? and 3) how can we become filled with the Spirit? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 22, 2010. Series: The Holy Spirit. Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-21. 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're looking at what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit. My impression is there are an awful lot of churches in the world that talk about nothing but spiritual experience, and there are an awful lot of churches that are absolutely afraid of the subject and talk only about truth and knowing the right things. I think the remedy for that imbalance is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, because the deeper you get into it, the more you realize Spirit and truth go together. Let's look now at what John 14 tells us about 1) who the Holy Spirit is, 2) what the Holy Spirit does, and 3) how you can receive what he gives. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 4, 2010. Series: The Holy Spirit. Scripture: John 14:16-26. 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 all have a problem with self-control. You can't be circumspect without coming to the end of a day and looking back and saying, “Why did I say that? Why did I follow that impulse?”  The Greek word used here for self-control translates to self-command. It's a synonym for being free, because if you're not self-controlled, then you're out of control. If you're out of control, then you're a slave to some other forces.  Paul knew a lot about self-discipline and self-control, and here's what he tells us: 1) what it is, 2) how it's born in you, and 3) how it can grow. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 30, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:23-10:13. 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.

Contemporary people stare at the biblical concept of humility the way a cow stares at a new gate.  The approach of our culture is expressive individualism, and it completely flies in the face of what the Bible says about the importance of humility. So let's look in Philippians 2 at this concept of humility.  This magnificent passage tells us about 1) a sickness we have, 2) what we would look like if we were healthy, and 3) how to get the cure. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 23, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11. 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.

There couldn't be a more relevant topic than faithfulness—a word that means honesty, integrity, and truthfulness. Americans' trust of their institutions—business, government, church—is at an all-time low. All the studies show that. There's a sense that there has been a failure of integrity in our society at all levels. Therefore, what does the Bible have to say about this all-important subject?  Ephesians 4 shows us 1) there's a problem of practicing truthfulness, 2) there's a problem of abusing people with the truth, and 3) how we solve both problems.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 16, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16; 25-30. 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.

How do you talk about kindness? Depending on the context, the Greek word can be translated as fitting, pleasing, honest, or compassionate. How do you talk about a word with that kind of lexical range? The answer is you can't do it abstractly. You have to look at a kind of relationship that combines all those traits. The kind of relationship that combines them is friendship. And nothing is more humanizing and life-changing than friendship.  John 15 is a unique passage about friendship. It tells us 1) the character or nature of friendship, 2) how you forge friendship, and 3) where you get the power for friendship. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 9, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: John 15:6-15. 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.

If you've ever read a translation like the King James Version, you know when you get to the word “patience,” the older English translation will use the word “longsuffering.” This is because the Greek word for patience literally means to suffer a long time, which doesn't sound very promising.  What it's saying is that patience is the trait by which you are able to bear up under difficulty without giving up or giving in to bitterness. There are two kinds of patience: there's patience under difficult circumstances and there's patience with people. And Romans 12 is a remarkable passage about how to be patient and gracious to people who are opposing you.  This passage gives us 1) a principle of showing patience, 2) some ideas on how to practice it, and 3) how to get the power to do it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 2, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: Romans 12:9-21. 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's a difference between controlling or suppressing the natural self-centeredness and insecurity of the heart through willpower and seeing it permanently changed through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5, there's a list of the traits or characteristics of a supernaturally changed heart. They're called the fruit of the Spirit. We're in a series trying to understand how we can have more of that supernaturally changed heart in our own lives. Today we look at peace.  We're going to learn three things from this classic passage in Philippians 4: 1) the character of peace, 2) the three disciplines of getting peace, and 3) the secret of peace. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 25, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: Philippians 4:4-12. 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.

How do you know whether you're just trying to be good, or whether the Holy Spirit has really brought transformation into your life?  The way to know is to look at what's called the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. There's a whole set of characteristics of a supernaturally changed heart. We're looking now at the first of these: joy. Romans 5 tells us three things about joy. It tells us 1) joy is important, 2) Christian joy is unique, and 3) where Christian joy comes from. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 18, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: Romans 5:1-11. 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.

Almost all of us have parts of our lives we really want to see changed, but change is really hard. And it's very possible to mistake a morally restrained heart for a supernaturally changed heart.  If you squeeze a rubber ball and then take your hand away, it snaps right back to where it was. You restrained the rubber ball temporarily, but you didn't really change it. Almost all of us have that rubber ball experience. We try to change parts of our lives, and we put a lot of willpower behind it. Then as soon as circumstances change, it snaps right back. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that a supernaturally changed heart 1) is not the same as a busy life in service of others, 2) is not the same as a morally committed life, but 3) is meeting love as a power and as a person.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 11, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 14, 1999. Series: What's Really Wrong with the World. Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-21. 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've lost connection with part of what the Bible teaches about sin: that God gets angry at sin. And I'm here to tell you that losing that is a bad thing. In fact, I'll go this far: you need an angry God. If you don't believe in an angry God, a really angry God who hates sin and is going to punish it, you're impoverishing yourself. You're taking away all sorts of hope and humility and love. Isaiah 64 and 65 show us 1) God's anger is not like our anger usually is, 2) you need an angry God if you're going to live in hope, 3) you need an angry God if you're going to live in humility, and 4) you need an angry God if you're going to understand how loved you are. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 7, 1999. Series: What's Really Wrong with the World. Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9, 65:17-18. 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.

When people in the West were faced with the atrocities of World War II, the culture's prevailing optimistic views of human nature were devastated. Two questions kept coming up: what's wrong with us that we're capable of this, and what are we going to do about it?  Isaiah 52 to 53 was written to answer those same two questions. It was written to a nation facing exile, to people who were about to face captivity, atrocities, and prison. And it has maybe the most well-known answer in the Bible to the question about human evil: God is sending somebody, the servant of the Lord. In this passage, we learn 1) who he is, 2) why he came, and 3) what he did. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 28, 1999. Series: What's Really Wrong with the World. Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-53:12. 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 Isaiah 61, we have one of the great prophecies about the Messiah. It tells us the Messiah is going to deal with the problems of life—and that shows us something about sin.  Sin is not just breaking God's scale and breaking God's heart; it's also breaking God's design for us. God's law is also the design print of your heart, the way you were built to work. So when you break God's law, you're trampling on yourself. In Isaiah 61, we can see 1) what the problem is, 2) what God is going to do about it, and 3) how we should respond. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 21, 1999. Series: What's Really Wrong with the World. Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11. 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.

Even when we feel vaguely guilty for things in our past, or when we feel outraged by what we see other people doing, we have trouble talking about sin and evil. In our society, we've been taught that words like “sin” or “evil” are oppressive or meaningless. Yet we sense something out there that we don't have the vocabulary for. But the Bible gives us a far richer vocabulary and helps us understand sin in far more nuanced ways. In Jeremiah 2, there's a prophesy from Jeremiah to a nation in spiritual decline. And in it, we'll see how sin is replacing God, and the result is addiction of spirit. Jeremiah's telling us about 1) the dynamics of spiritual attraction, 2) the dynamics of spiritual addiction, and 3) the dynamics of spiritual restoration. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 14, 1999. Series: What's Really Wrong with the World. Scripture: Jeremiah 2:1-8. 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.