A Woman, a Slave and a Gentile
April 22, 2024
Christianity was born into a culture that was every bit as resistant and unsympathetic to its claims as ours is. So how did its message come into the lives of people and actually change them?
In Acts, we have more case studies of conversion than anywhere else in the Bible. And in this passage, Luke chooses three to show us both how incredibly different and yet how incredibly similar Christian conversions can be.
What does it mean to be a Christian, and how do you become a Christian? 1) Lydia is a case of the gospel for the religious, 2) the slave girl is a case of the gospel for the oppressed, and 3) the jailer is a case of the gospel for the secular.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Acts 16:13-34.
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.
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How to navigate life’s biggest milestones
In How to Find God, Tim Keller shows us how we can face the key milestones of Birth, Marriage, and Death with God’s help. When you give to Gospel in Life this month, we’ll send you this collection of three short books as our thanks for helping us share the Gospel with more people.
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The biggest problem people have in believing in God is probably the problem of evil and suffering.
In the Greek imagination, the voyage was a metaphor for your life’s journey, and a storm was a metaphor for the evil and suffering and tragedies that come upon us. In this passage in Acts, Luke is in a boat, and he includes this account to teach us about the problems of evil and suffering.
Let’s take a look at what he teaches under three headings: 1) the paradox of the storm, 2) the product of the storm, and 3) the presence in the storm.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 2, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Acts 27:15-32.
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.
April 19, 2024
Christianity was born into a society hostile to its claims. And the claim that was most revolting to that society is also what our society sees as the most repugnant: the shocking claim that salvation is found in no one else.
It’s critical to realize this claim was as implausible in the Greco-Roman world as it is in ours. The Roman Empire was every bit as religiously pluralistic as our society, if not more. If they were as revolted as we were, why did so many believe it?
Acts 4 shows us four important things: 1) the claim was an implication, not arrogation, 2) the claim is no more exclusive than the claim of religious relativism, 3) this exclusive claim led to a transformation of identity, and 4) this exclusive claim led to the most inclusive human community the world had ever seen.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 26, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Acts 4:8-14, 31-37.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 17, 2024
The culture in which Christianity was born was every bit as skeptical of the claims of Christianity as ours is. But the case for Christianity was made so strongly that skeptical people believed in numbers so great that it changed the entire Roman culture.
There’s no better place to see the case that changed the whole Roman Empire than the book of Acts. Within it, there are a number of spots where Paul or Peter make the case, including this famous spot where Paul speaks to the intellectual elites on Mars Hill in the Areopagus.
This text shows three aspects to the persuasive power of gospel: 1) the cultural, 2) the intellectual, and 3) the personal.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Acts 17:16-34.
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.
April 15, 2024
It’s a simple fact that in the Greco-Roman world, the claims of Christianity were found every bit as implausible, if not more, than people find them now. So why did so many people believe?
Fortunately, we have a case study in Theophilus. How does a cultured, intellectually sophisticated person living in a culture that’s hostile to the basic claims of Christianity come to believe Christianity is true? The answer in a nutshell: the resurrection.
Whether we already believe or aren’t sure we believe, because of the resurrection we can know three things: 1) the truth is out there, 2) the truth is up there, and 3) the truth is in there.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 12, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Acts 1:1-11.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 12, 2024
When the Jewish exiles got to Babylon, they found a huge city—hostile, big, brutal—and it was filled with other exiles, with different people groups and radically different views. Our culture is not so different.
Liberals feel our country is so conservative that they’re pulling their hair out, and conservatives feel our country is so liberal that they’re pulling their hair out. Both groups feel like exiles. Millions of ethnic minorities feel like exiles. So how do you respond to a city that’s hostile to your views? How do you live in a fragmented society?
God’s answer to the Jewish exiles is astounding. In it, we see three things: 1) wrong ways to relate to the city, 2) God’s way to relate to the city, and 3) how to get the power to do it.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 5, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Jeremiah 29:4-14.
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.
April 10, 2024
We’re not at home. We live in a world that doesn’t sustain or support the deepest needs of our hearts.
Martin Heidegger (a fascist sympathizer) and Karl Marx (the father of Communism) were very different, prominent thinkers; yet, they both agreed that we can’t understand the human condition without the concept of alienation. Of course, that immediately raises the question, why wouldn’t we feel at home here?
The prophet Jeremiah gives us a lot of insight: 1) why we long for a home, 2) how we can get home, and 3) what life there will be like.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 28, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Jeremiah 31:10-17; 31-34.
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.
April 8, 2024
In a culture where people really don’t know who they are and what life’s about—in a fragmented culture like ours—the fastest way to still feel good about ourselves is romance. It’s the ultimate philosophical narcotic.
“I don’t know what life is about, but when I’m with her or him, I feel somehow life is significant.” Do you see? It’s an end run. That’s the reason why in all fragmented cultures, romance and sex and marriage can either be the ultimate fatal detour or a clue to how to find your way home.
Jeremiah tells us about 1) an incredible offer: the ultimate lover; 2) the problem with the offer: that we’re faithless lovers; and 3) the resolution: a redeemed love relationship.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 21, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Jeremiah 2:31-36; 3:12-16.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 5, 2024
In a fragmented culture like ours, identity formation is a challenge. We decide our own goals and standards, and we get our sense of worth from whether we can achieve them.
Jeremiah shows us that there’s something profoundly disordered and sick about the way in which we form our identities. In a traditional culture, where identities and roles are assigned, it might be hard to recognize this. But in our culture, where we’re actively aware of identity formation, we can better see what Jeremiah means.
Jeremiah shows us 1) how identities are formed, 2) why our identities are sick, 3) a glimpse of a cured identity, and 4) the medicine that can cure it.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 14, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Jeremiah 9:21-26.
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.
April 3, 2024
We live in a fragmented culture. There’s no consensus about the big questions of what’s right and wrong and true. Jeremiah is a prophet in this same situation—he lived and wrote in a fragmented culture.
One of the challenges of a fragmented culture is living in the cafeteria of different worldviews, religions, and systems of thought. It’s typical to respond by saying, “I don’t think anybody has the answer.” But Jeremiah shows us that this very statement is ignorant of how the heart works.
Jeremiah shows us that we need to see three things about the human heart: 1) the radical faith of every heart, 2) the radical flaw in every heart, and 3) the radical cure for every heart.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 7, 2003. Series: The Necessity of Belief. Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-17.
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.
April 1, 2024
Jesus Christ says not just “I was resurrected,” but “I am the resurrection.” Present tense. He comes after his resurrection with his arms full of newness.
I don’t know why we get into gift-giving at Christmas—I think we ought to be getting into it at Easter. Because as soon as Jesus Christ shows up risen from the dead, he is giving out all kinds of gifts of newness.
Let’s look at these gifts and divide them into two parts: 1) there is the gift of faith, and 2) there are all the rest of the gifts that come out of that.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 15, 1990. Scripture: John 20:10-29.
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.
March 29, 2024
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Featured Offer
How to navigate life’s biggest milestones
In How to Find God, Tim Keller shows us how we can face the key milestones of Birth, Marriage, and Death with God’s help. When you give to Gospel in Life this month, we’ll send you this collection of three short books as our thanks for helping us share the Gospel with more people.