Why Does God Do Nothing?
May 29, 2023
It would be possible to go to church for many decades and never hear a sermon on Habakkuk. It’s a short book in the Old Testament, and we know almost nothing about Habakkuk himself. But this book is very contemporary in its application.
This little book talks about how to handle evil times, whether those are society-wide evil times or just your own personal evil times.
Let’s see why this is so relevant to us. Let’s notice 1) what Habakkuk saw, 2) what he did, 3) what he heard from God, and 4) what it meant.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 3, 2009. Series: Living by Faith in Troubled Times. Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-17.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
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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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We’re looking at people who have had close encounters with God. Of course, Mary’s experience is often read at Christmastime.
In Luke 1, Mary sings the very first Christmas carol. It’s the first Christmas song, and I’d say it’s the best.
Let’s look at 1) what leads her to sing, 2) what she sings a little about, and 3) what she sings a lot about.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 8, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Luke 1:39-55.
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.
May 26, 2023
When people in the Bible have close encounters with God, in almost every situation they say, “I can’t believe I’m still alive,” and Hagar is one of them.
In Genesis 16, we see the story of Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah. Sarah’s and Hagar’s experiences overlap. We’re told Sarah mistreats Hagar, and it’s so bad that Hagar, a pregnant woman, flees out into the desert. We have here a story that will tell you the gospel. This is the gospel according to Hagar.
We’ll look at 1) how we can understand the narrative, and 2) a few important principles we can draw from here.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 1, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Genesis 16:1-16.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 24, 2023
We’re looking at historic accounts of people who had direct encounters with the living God. Isaiah 6 is a seminal passage: all of biblical religion is in here. It tells us so much about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to really meet God.
In this passage, Isaiah’s just going to the temple like he’s gone to the temple hundreds of times before. It’s the Sabbath day. He walks into the temple, and the very last person in the whole world he expects to actually see is God.
This passage tells us four characteristics of the Christian experience: 1) the reality, 2) the diversity, 3) the beauty, and 4) the festivity.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 24, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8.
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.
May 19, 2023
Two times God appears to Abraham, but this time is utterly different than the last time. This time, God has come to get Sarah’s attention.
In Genesis 15, God speaks to Abraham in dread darkness as an unapproachable thing. Here, in Genesis 18, in the heat of the day and in the most approachable possible way, God has come not so much to talk to Abraham—he has come to talk to Sarah.
God is going to establish Sarah in his promise. We’ll look at 1) why, 2) how, and 3) what lessons we can draw out.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 10, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Genesis 18:9-33.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 17, 2023
We’re looking in the Bible at people who have had direct encounters with the raw presence of God. But this situation in which Abraham has a meeting with God is one of the weirdest stories in the Bible. It’s also the most significant passage for me in all of the Old Testament.
In this passage, Abraham asks how he can know that God will do what God’s promised. When God responds, Abraham knows what’s going on: a covenant ratification ceremony. This was the making of a contract. Abraham knew right away, but he didn’t figure what would actually happen. No one on the face of the earth would figure what would actually happen.
We’ll look at what happened. And then to apply this, we’ll see 1) the problem is we need an anchor for our souls, and 2) how we can get it.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 3, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Genesis 15:1-21.
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.
May 15, 2023
We’re looking at times when people have had close encounters with God. The one Paul gives us is one of the most curious of all. And it’s actually about discouragement.
Paul is writing a letter to the church at Corinth. There were false teachers who had come to Corinth, twisting the gospel and claiming to have divine authority. When Paul responds, he does not enter into a direct competition. He does not say, “My revelations are bigger or better.” Oh, no. He says his revelations are different.
Let’s see what we can learn from what Paul shares: 1) the heaven experience, and 2) the thorn experience.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 20, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.
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.
May 12, 2023
We’re looking at individuals who have met God in a particularly poignant way, who have actually come into the presence of God.
To understand Elijah’s experience, we have to first jump back. Right before this moment in Elijah’s life, we see one of the most dramatic, spectacular events in all of the Bible. But after that spectacular event, Elijah is afraid, running for his life, and in utter despair.
Let’s tell the story, and then let’s draw out lessons from it. Let’s look at 1) the three things God does for a depressed Elijah, and 2) the three things Elijah learns.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 13, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: 1 Kings 19:9-18.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 10, 2023
We’re looking at places in the Bible in which someone, or in this case something, got near to the presence of God.
Whenever a person gets into the presence of God, there’s usually some kind of physical manifestation. In other words, God connects his presence to something visible, something tangible. There’s only one object, however, in all the history of the Bible, that God routinely attached his presence to, and that was the ark of the covenant.
Let’s look at what the ark is and what happens in this incident. Then we’ll look at what it teaches us about getting close to God. It shows us that 1) the presence of God is never permanently connected to any one object or method, but 2) his presence is always attached to several principles.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 6, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: 1 Samuel 5:14.
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.
May 8, 2023
Many of you have probably heard of the battle of Jericho. But you probably didn’t know about what happens in these first three verses. These verses make all the difference.
Jericho was a huge city, a fortified city, and humanly speaking, an impossible city for the Israelites to handle. It’s important to remember that this is not the first time Joshua has been to Jericho. In this passage, Joshua goes out all by himself and looks at it. He’s remembering something that happened 40 years before. When he gets out there, he has this amazing encounter with God.
There are three lessons we draw from this passage: 1) this is Jesus, 2) Jesus is absolutely holy, and 3) Jesus had a drawn sword.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 22, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Joshua 5:13-15, 6:1-5.
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.
May 5, 2023
Many people say, “I want to meet God. I want to have an encounter.” But the way Job gets to an encounter with God is through absolutely horrible suffering.
Job is a book for adults. It’s not easy. It’s certainly not sugarcoated. When God shows up, it’s not a Hallmark-card, folded-hands, rays-of-light-coming-through-the-stained-glass-window kind of religion. Oh no, not at all.
Let’s look at the story of Job, and then let’s look at what it teaches about what it means to know God. It shows us 1) the philosophical lesson, 2) the foundational lessons, and 3) the practical lesson.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 15, 1996. Series: Daring to Draw Near. Scripture: Job 42:1-10.
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.
May 3, 2023
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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.