The Meaning of the City
April 10, 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.
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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
We’ve been looking at the life of Jesus and we come now to the risen Jesus.
At the end of the gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus does four things that change the lives of his disciples forever. And because he’s the risen Jesus, he can do the very same things for us right now.
Jesus 1) answers the doubts of their minds by arguing with them, 2) satisfies the needs of their hearts by eating with them, 3) reforges the direction of their lives by sending them, and 4) shows them his hands and his feet.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 20, 2003. Series: The Meaning of Jesus Part 3; Seeing Him. Scripture: Luke 24:36-49.
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.
March 27, 2024
The night Jesus was betrayed has a theme: darkness, night. Right in the middle of the passage, Jesus makes an odd statement: “But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” What that must mean is the physical darkness is a representation of something deeper.
There’s a darkness that blinds the eyes, and then there’s a darkness that blinds the heart and the mind and the soul. It’s a spiritual darkness. This is the thing Jesus came to deal with. Because he came to deal with it, there’s a solution for it.
There are three incidents that happened in the physical dark. The first two tell us about our condition, and the third tells us what Jesus has come to do about it. The incidents: 1) the soldiers reject Jesus, 2) the disciples reject him, and 3) even his Father rejects him.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 13, 2003. Series: The Meaning of Jesus Part 3; Seeing Him. Scripture: Luke 22:39-64.
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 25, 2024
One of the great questions of history is, “Why in the world did the early Christians adopt the cross as their main symbol?”
All the other founders of the great religions died old and successful. In absolute contrast, you have Jesus, who dies at age 33, ignominiously, in agony, abandoned by everyone. But on the night before he died, Jesus gave his disciples the interpretation, the meaning of his death on the cross, and when it was all over, it changed them and the world.
Jesus tells us four life-changing principles about his death: 1) Jesus’ death is the center of history, 2) Jesus’ death is the foundation for a radically new, profoundly different community, 3) Jesus’ death is the solution to the great mystery, and 4) Jesus’ death is appropriated personally.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 6, 2003. Series: The Meaning of Jesus Part 3; Seeing Him. Scripture: Luke 22:14-34.
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.
March 22, 2024
The last week of Jesus’ life addresses not just our minds or our wills, but our hearts. We are to see Jesus, to meet Jesus.
As Luke shows us the last days of Jesus’ life, all the doctrines and themes will be narratively depicted in the most vivid way. They’re driven home so we can really see Jesus and have an existential encounter with him.
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem shows us who he is, what he can do for us, why he can do it, and how he can do it. In other words, it shows us 1) he’s the actual king, 2) he’s the transformational king, 3) he’s the paradoxical king, and 4) he’s the confrontational king.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 30, 2010. Series: The Meaning of Jesus Part 3; Seeing Him. Scripture: Luke 19:28-40; 45-48.
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.
March 20, 2024
If you ask the question, “Why should a believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ be passionately involved with the poor?” this text gives you the answers.
Isaiah 61 is the last of the Servant songs, a prophecy about the Servant of the Lord. And Jesus Christ preached from this in his first sermon. When Jesus reads this, he’s saying, “This is the essence of my mission. I have come to bring good news for the poor.” What does that mean?
The three reasons why a believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ should be deeply involved with the life of the poor are 1) because of the future, 2) because of the present, and 3) because of the past.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 28, 2010. Series: The Songs of the Servant (from Isaiah). Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-10.
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.
March 18, 2024
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The Reason for God
Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be “right” and the others “wrong”? Hasn’t science basically disproved Christianity? In his book The Reason for God Tim Keller addresses these questions and more. When you give to Gospel in Life this month, we’ll send you two copies of his book as our thanks —one for you and one to give to a friend.