Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

To receive your two copies of The Reason for God, simply make a gift at gospelinlife.com slash give.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God. Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith.

The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry.

Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith.

The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry. To receive your two copies of The Reason for God, simply make a gift at gospelandlife.com slash give.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God. Drawing on literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity. It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith. The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry.

Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith.

The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry. To receive your two copies of The Reason for God, simply make a gift at gospelinlife.com slash give.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith.

The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith.

Whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel Alive during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God.

One for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity. It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith. The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the others wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel in Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith. The books are our thanks for your support of this ministry.

To receive your two copies of The Reason for God, simply make a gift at gospelunlife.com. That's gospelunlife.com.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the other is wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing on literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith.

Whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel and Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

Why does God allow suffering in the world? How can one religion be right and the other's wrong? Has science basically disproved Christianity? Tim Keller addresses these questions and more in his book, The Reason for God.

Drawing a literature, philosophy, real life conversations and potent reasoning, this book will challenge you to gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith.

Whether you're a believer seeking reassurance or you're reading it with a friend who is searching for answers.

When you give to Gospel and Life during the month of May, we'll send you two copies of The Reason for God, one for you and one to give to a friend who is exploring Christianity.

It's our hope that through reading the book with a friend, you can have conversations about the claims of the Christian faith.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share the love of Christ with more people. Request your copy today at gospelinlife.com slash give.

In the book, Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel, but are actually losing touch with it. In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share the love of Christ with more people. Request your copy today at gospelinlife.com.

How can we best understand the freedom we have in Christ? What is the relationship between the law of the Bible and the grace that Jesus offers? In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel In Life share the love of Christ with more people.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel, but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share the love of Christ with more people.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel and Life share the love of Christ with more people.

Request your copy today at gospelandlife.com slash give.

Number one I read last week from Martin Luther's commentary on the Galatians. Because there are really basically three ways for you to deal with the problem of righteousness, the problem that we all feel, the problem of being unpresentable. The one way is finding secular ways to look ourselves in the mirror and to patch up a righteousness that hides that deep theological sense of unpresentability. The second is the religious way.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it. In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share the love of Christ with more people. Request your copy today at gospelinlife.com slash give.

How can we best understand the freedom we have in Christ? What is the relationship between the law of the Bible and the grace that Jesus offers? In the book, Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it. In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel & Life share the love of Christ with more people. Request your copy today at gospelandlife.com slash give.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ.

Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it.

In this study of the book of Galatians Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life.

Galatians for You is our thanks for your gift to help gospel and life share the love of Christ with more people.

In his book Jesus the King Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

In his book Jesus the King Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives doctor Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God

In his book Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world.

So request your copy today at gospelonlife.com slash give that's gospelonlife.com slash give.

Jesus was the most influential man to ever walk the earth and his story has been told in hundreds of different ways can anything more be said about him in his book Jesus the king Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

In his book Jesus the King Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world so request your copy today at gospel and life dot com slash give that's gospel and life dot com slash give now here's Dr. Keller with the remainder of today's teaching

Jesus was the most influential man to ever walk the earth and his story has been told in hundreds of different ways can anything more be said about him in his book Jesus the King

Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives doctor killer shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal

calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world

In his book Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world.

So request your copy today at gospelonlife.com slash give that's gospelonlife.com slash give

in his book Jesus the King Tim Keller journeys through the gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives doctor killer shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God

In his book, Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the Gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

In his book, Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the Gospel of Mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives.

Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.

Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world so request your copy today at gospel and life dot com slash give that's gospel and life dot com slash give

in his book Jesus the King Tim Keller journey through the gospel of mark to reveal how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our lives Dr. Keller shows us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic historical and personal calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God Jesus the King is our thank you for your gift to help gospel and life share the transforming love of Christ with people all over the world so request your copy today at gospel and life dot com slash give that's gospel and life dot com slash give

Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the best-selling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage.

This short podcast series features the messages from the most popular sermon series of Dr. Keller's time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the bestselling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage.

Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the best-selling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage.

This short podcast series features the messages from the most popular sermon series of Dr. Keller's time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the best-selling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage.

Marriage is one of the most profound human relationships, but it's one that at times can be difficult and painful. In The Meaning of Marriage, A Couple's Devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

Marriage is one of the most profound human relationships, but it's one that at times can be difficult and painful. In The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples. The book is a 365 day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional is our thank you to Tim Keller and Kathy Keller for their time and their time. The Meaning of Marriage is a 365 day devotional.

In The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365 day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

This short podcast series features the messages from the most popular sermon series of Dr. Keller's time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the best-selling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage.

Marriage is one of the most profound human relationships, but it's one that at times can be difficult and painful. In The Meaning of Marriage, a Couples Devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365-day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

Marriage is one of the most profound human relationships, but it's one that at times can be difficult and painful.

In The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365-day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel In Life share the love of Christ with more people.

Request your copy today at gospelinlife.com.

In The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365-day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

In The Meaning of Marriage, a couple's devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365 day devotional that includes stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

In The Meaning of Marriage a couple's devotional Tim and Kathy Keller draw from biblical wisdom and their own experiences to offer a year of devotions for couples.

The book is a 365 day devotional that includes stories daily scriptures and prayer prompts that will help couples draw closer to God and to each other throughout the year.

The Meaning of Marriage a couple's devotional is thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share the love of Christ with more people.

And I picked out one of old, one of part of my favorite novel, J.R.R. Tolkien's book, Lord of the Rings.

And there's a place there where Gandalf, great Gandalf, boy, could I use Gandalf on my staff right now. But Gandalf is this wizard and he's basically an old wizard and all the world's problems are on his shoulders. He's really trying, basically, he's basically trying to save the world from falling under the dominion of darkness and evil and terror. And it's all on his shoulders.

And at one point somebody makes a statement and he begins to laugh. And he laughs from the heart, deep down. And this friend of his looks at him, and in the novel this friend looks at him and says, he suddenly realized that in spite of all this incredible pressure and strain and stress on this old man, that underneath it all there was a fountain of joy that was so deep, a gusher of joy that was so deep that no matter how big a boulder there was put on the top, that gusher of joy could not be held back. And that there was enough mirth down there to set a kingdom laughing.

I don't know if any of you are fans of Lord of the Rings, but you might remember that passage.

There's this old bent man with the weight of the world literally on his shoulders and suddenly he laughs a clear laugh from the heart.

I don't know what they're going to do this the last of the three Lord of the Rings movies about to come out and I don't know what they're going to put in you know they leave things out of the book and they put certain things in and they change a few things and I don't know if this will be in the last movie but it's in the book and if it isn't the last movie I want you to remember this sermon because one of my favorite things in the book is at the very end the returning king you know the true king has come back and he's got it all he's got the lineage he's got the royal line he's got the sword he's got the stature he's got the size he's got the battle skills and he has conquered he has conquered and so they come to the field of Cremalin it's a place where he's going to be honored and there's a throne set up and there's banners everywhere and all the roads lead to the throne and there's the crowd the host has come to see and there's a feasting that's going on and then at the key moment the king steps off of his throne and he's got the returning king and he grabs the two little hobbits he grabs Frodo and Sam Gamgee and puts them on the throne of course they both fit and he turns and he says to the host praise them with great praise and they do that's what Jesus is doing in some cosmic way do you get that Paul got it and once he got that it converted him he spent the rest of his life spinning it out and it converted him more deeply and more deeply and more deeply why would you ever feel poor again when you know you've got the only wealth that's real why would you ever care about what people say about you when you know that your charges against you have been dismissed by the only judge that counts when God beholds you in Christ he sees an absolute beauty that you know the honor of being a Christian secondly when Jesus Christ says why persecutes thou me he's not just saying what's true of me is true of them he's also saying what hurts them hurts me and that's the second amazing killer app I would like to share with you when the resurrected Lord says I am still experiencing the suffering of my people we have an incredible resource for suffering and what we do I know are going through some terrible things and when you go through some terrible things it's natural to say how do I know he cares how could I know he cares how could he care if I'm going through all this only Christianity and we just said this three weeks ago so I won't go very long on this only Christianity even claims that God has suffered only Christianity gives you a God who knows what it's like to lose a son only Christianity gives you a God who's been tortured only Christianity gives you a God who's suffered who's been rejected who's died only Christianity gives you a God who's actually on the cross looked to heaven and said why why of course he cares are you kidding even in heaven he's hurt when you're hurt persecute them he's persecuted me stab them you stab me hurt them you hurt me of course he cares there is no other religion even that makes a claim like that that God has so enmeshed himself in our needs and so bound his heart to our heart that he suffers when we suffer there it is that's one resource but it's not the only resource the other resource is this this is the resurrected Lord saying he hurts for you and you know what this means the resurrection the resurrection the resurrection is a teaching completely defeats the whole idea of suffering people say well why is all this suffering happening I don't know why the particular suffering is happening but I know this when I had a nightmare that my family was dead and then I woke up and saw they weren't the nightmare only enhanced my joy in my family remember the doctrine the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is not just that when we're all raised from the dead and when the whole world is renewed we're not just going to heaven the world is going to be renewed so the Christian doctrine of resurrection is not just that the suffering is going to be eliminated or that there's a suffering is going to have a consolation don't you realize what this means on the field of Cremalin Sam Gamgee said I thought you were dead I thought I was dead is everything sad going to come untrue is everything sad going to come untrue the doctrine of the resurrection engulfs suffering it doesn't just end suffering it doesn't even just console you for suffering the doctrine of resurrection engulfs suffering because what it says is everything sad is going to come untrue all the worst things that have ever happened are going to become a nightmare the resurrection will make all things a nightmare which means the worst suffering that's ever happened to you will only make your eventual joy infinitely greater for it having happened that's the defeat of suffering it's not just ending it not just consoling you for it it's just suffering so the suffering is taken up into the glory and it makes it vastly better that's defeating suffering when the resurrected Lord says I have come into your suffering so that you will come into my glory you got a to defeat her for suffering in your life one last thing and it really is the last thing Jesus identifies with the church so much that he says when you hurt them you hurt me he identifies with the church now I want you to know we don't want to it doesn't matter what church you identify with right now you're embarrassed if you're Baptist there's things to be embarrassed about by Baptist so you're Presbyterian there's things to be embarrassed if you're Episcopalian there's things to be embarrassed it doesn't matter what your church is so let's just not belong to any church let's not identify with any church it's just humiliating if Jesus wasn't afraid to be humiliated if Jesus wasn't above identifying with the church then you shouldn't either why because Jesus says I am present in my people so much so that what happens to them happens to me and if Jesus is present with his people you need to be present with his people you need to be deeply committed to the church you need to be deeply enmeshed participating in the church do you want to be converted do you want to have a more converted life have an untamed God through the Bible resurrection and spin out the implications when Jesus Christ says you are in me and I am in you and that is life and you'll be converted let us pray thank you Father for helping us understand what it means that our lives turned inside out by the truths of the gospel and we've seen some of those truths now and we ask that you would help us to either become converted for the first time or be converted because we have spent this time considering what you did in the life of Paul do that in our lives we ask it in Jesus name Amen Thanks for listening to today's teaching We trust you were encouraged by it and that it gives you new insight into how you can apply God's word to your life each day You can find more resources at www.gospelonlife.com Just subscribe to the Gospel Unlife newsletter to receive free articles sermons devotionals and other valuable resources Again it's all at gospelunlife.com We also invite you to stay connected with us on Facebook Instagram YouTube and Twitter This month's sermons were recorded in 2003 The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel Unlife podcast were preached from 1989 to 2017 while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church

One of my favorite things in the book is at the very end the returning king you know the true king has come back and he's got it all he's got the lineage he's got the royal line he's got the sword he's got the stature he's got the size he's got the battle skills and he has conquered he has conquered and so they come to the field of Cremalin it's a place where he's going to be honored and there's a throne set up and there's banners everywhere and all the roads lead to the throne and there's the crowd the host has come to see and there's a feasting that's going on and then at the key moment the king steps off of his throne and he's got the returning king and he grabs the two little hobbits he grabs Frodo and Sam Gamgee and puts them on the throne of course they both fit and he turns and he says to the host praise them with great praise and they do

If you know anything about the history of how he would write, probably every chapter in The Lord of the Rings was written 10 times.

He was trying to... He had this idea in his head of a tree, a beautiful tree. And he was trying to paint a tree.

Before him stood the tree. His tree finished. Its leaves opening, its branches growing and bending in the wind that Niggle had so often felt and guessed, but had often failed to catch.

He gazed at the tree and slowly he lifted his arms and he opened them wide. It's a gift, he said. Suddenly Tolkien realized there is a real tree and someday everybody's going to see it.

And so over the next 20 years, C.S. Lewis wrote the Space Trilogy, Book One, Book Two, Book Three, Narnia Chronicles, Book One, Book Two, Book Three, Book Four, Book Five, Book Six, Book Seven, Screwtape Letters.

He just churned them out and churned them out and Tolkien continually wrote over and over and over again, rewrote, rewrote one book.

All those 37 years he was just working on one book and he never got it done. He thought he would never get it done. And he envied Lewis because he had more problem with envy.

And in the early 40s he actually got so frustrated with his own artistic incompetence and his own envy, in a sense, that he got writer's block and he stopped working on The Lord of the Rings completely.

And one night he had a dream. And when he woke up, he wrote the dream down into a story.

And the story is called Leaf by Niggle.

Kathy and I have a lot of trouble, whoa, have a lot of trouble not crying when we read one chapter in the third volume of Lord of the Rings.

It's called, it's the chapter is the Battle of the Pelliner Fields. It's in the famous Tolkien fantasy trilogy.

There's a hobbit. His name is Meriadoc and he's a little guy. That's what hobbits are.

And he's, he's in this great battle and he, his, his, his beloved king, his friend and father has just been cast down by this towering evil general, a kind of a demonic king.

And Meriadoc is supposed to defend his king who's now lying wounded and dying. And he's absolutely terrified. It says he was just crawling around in the mud blind with terror and he was saying, why can't you get yourself together? You're supposed to be a king's man and here you are terrified.

And he couldn't, he couldn't get the courage up. And the evil demonic king starts to come on to the good king. And suddenly a woman stands up in full armor, throws off her helmet.

Some of you know this, surely. Her name is Eowyn and she stands between the nameless terror and her and her beloved father. And she says, touch him and I'll smite thee. And of course the evil witch king looks at her and says, if you don't get away, I will not only kill you, but you will die in terrible torment.

And what does she say? She just draws her sword and says, okay, do what you will. But if you touch him, I will smite thee.

So the demonic king comes down upon her and starts to crush her into the ground. And when Meriadoc, the hobbit looks up and sees what she's doing, this is what he says. He suddenly, his courage comes up and says, if she is willing to stand there like that, I can do my little thing.

And he jumps up and he attacks this towering inferno of evil. And together, the way the story goes, together Eowyn and Meriadoc do slay the terrible general. What's that mean? I'll tell you what it means.

It's very hard for us to read this thing and not cry. Jesus Christ stands between you and destruction. Justice, death, that's what we deserve.

Death and destruction, the nameless terror. And Jesus Christ stands between us and it's after us. Death is after us. And Jesus says, no, no. You want my brothers and sisters, but I will stand here.

And the Bible tells us that down upon him came our punishment.

And we are as, even as Christians, we are as cowardly and as blinded with terror in our daily lives as Meriadoc, unless occasionally we look up and we see what he is doing for us.

We see what he's done for us. And then your courage will come together and you'll start to say, no, if he's willing to do this, I can do my part.

You become a great heart. You will only answer the totalitarian call. You'll only say, how high do I cut it off?

You will only say that if you see how he was cut utterly off.

You know, Jesus says, cut off your hand, pluck out your eye if I asked you, but Jesus was cut off at the waist.

Jesus was cut off at the roots. He was cut off from the land of the living.

In Tim's book, Hidden Christmas, he provides a moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story.

The book takes you on a journey into the surprising background of the nativity, where you see the wonderful message of hope and salvation within the Bible's account of Christ's birth.

As you read about the actual event, you'll be confronted with a remarkable redeeming power of God's grace.

In Tim's book, Hidden Christmas, he provides a moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story.

The book takes you on a journey into the surprising background of the nativity where you see the wonderful message of hope and salvation within the Bible's account of Christ's birth.

As you read about the actual event, you'll be confronted with a remarkable redeeming power of God's grace.

In Tim's book, Hidden Christmas, he provides a moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story.

The book takes you on a journey into the surprising background of the nativity where you see the wonderful message of hope and salvation within the Bible's account of Christ's birth.

As you read about the actual event, you'll be confronted with a remarkable redeeming power of God's grace.

In Tim's book Hidden Christmas, he provides a moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story.

The book takes you on a journey into the surprising background of the nativity, where you see the wonderful message of hope and salvation within the Bible's account of Christ's birth.

As you read about the actual event, you'll be confronted with a remarkable redeeming power of God's grace.

This month, when you give to Gospel in Life, we'll send you a copy of Hidden Christmas as our thanks for your gift.

In Tim's book Hidden Christmas, he provides a moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story.

The book takes you on a journey into the surprising background of the nativity where you see the wonderful message of hope and salvation within the Bible's account of Christ's birth.

As you read about the actual event, you'll be confronted with a remarkable redeeming power of God's grace.

In his book Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller reveals hidden depths within the story making the case that Jonah's rebellion also provides one of the most insightful explorations into the secret of God's mercy.

As you learn what the book of Jonah teaches about prejudice, justice, mercy, self-righteousness and much more you'll gain fresh insight into how to become a bridge builder in today's culture.

This month when you give to Gospel in Life we'll send you Dr. Keller's book Rediscovering Jonah as our thanks for your gift.

In his book, Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller reveals hidden depths within the story, making the case that Jonah's rebellion also provides one of the most insightful explorations into the secret of God's mercy.

As you learn what the book of Jonah teaches about prejudice, justice, mercy, self-righteousness, and much more, you'll gain fresh insight into how to become a bridge builder in today's culture, how to foster reconciliation across lines of division, and with God's help bring peace where there is conflict.

This month when you give to Gospel in Life, we'll send you Dr. Keller's book, Rediscovering Jonah, as our thanks for your gift.

In his book Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller reveals hidden depths within the story making the case that Jonah's rebellion also provides one of the most insightful explorations into the secret of God's mercy.

As you learn what the book of Jonah teaches about prejudice, justice, mercy, self-righteousness and much more, you'll gain fresh insight into how to become a bridge builder in today's culture, how to foster reconciliation across lines of division and with God's help bring peace where there is conflict.

This month when you give to Gospel in Life we'll send you Dr. Keller's book Rediscovering Jonah as our thanks for your gift.

In his book, Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller reveals hidden depths within the story, making the case that Jonah's rebellion also provides one of the most insightful explorations into the secret of God's mercy.

As you learn what the book of Jonah teaches about prejudice, justice, mercy, self-righteousness and much more, you'll gain fresh insight into how to become a bridge builder in today's culture, how to foster reconciliation across lines of division and with God's help bring peace where there is conflict.

This month when you give to Gospel in Life, we'll send you Dr. Keller's book Rediscovering Jonah as our thanks for your gift.

In his book Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller reveals hidden depths within the story making the case that Jonah's rebellion also provides one of the most insightful explorations into the secret of God's mercy.

As you learn what the book of Jonah teaches about prejudice, justice, mercy, self-righteousness and much more you'll gain fresh insight into how to become a bridge builder in today's culture, how to foster reconciliation across lines of division and with God's help bring peace where there is conflict.

This month when you give to Gospel in Life we'll send you Dr. Keller's book Rediscovering Jonah as our thanks for your gift.

The only book he ever wrote that I found it possible to understand is his book, The Sickness on the Death. But it's actually an extremely important book.

Because in it, Kirchegard gives us a definition of sin that is both modern and biblical and that's not easy.

He says faith, is when the self wants to be itself grounded transparently in God. Sin is trying to become a self without God.

your identity is like a king without a country or one who has subjects who could desert him at any moment.

God calls every person he's created, he calls all human beings, to live before God.

If you want to understand what it is you look to instead of God for your identity, if you want to understand what you look to for your justification for your existence, figure out your envies.

If you want to understand what I'm talking about, study human envy.

An admirer who feels he cannot be happy by surrendering himself becomes envious of that which he admires. Admiration is happy self-surrender. Envy is unhappy self-justification.

God calls every person he's created, he calls all human beings, to live before God.

Kierkegaard calls every human being to live before God. What does that mean? He calls every human being to build your identity on God, center your life on God, make God the main source of your happiness.

But Kierkegaard says human beings are offended, that's his term, by this invitation because they don't want anyone superior to them.

And so instead of living before God, we live before other things. We live before people's approval, or we live before money, or we live before career or achievement.

We live before popular acclaim. In other words, we build our identity on other things.

If you want to understand what it is you look to instead of God for your identity, if you want to understand what you look to for your justification for your existence, figure out your envies.

If you want to understand what I'm talking about, study human envy.

An admirer who feels he cannot be happy by surrendering himself becomes envious of that which he admires.

Admiration is happy self-surrender. Envy is unhappy self-justification.

Sin is the despair of getting a self before God and then the despair of seeking to be oneself without God.

gets an identity which is like a king without a country or a country who has subjects for whom rebellion is legitimate every moment.

Sin is The Sickness Unto Death.

Ernest Becker, brilliant Pulitzer Prize winning sociologist, in his book *The Denial of Death* said, the reason people are stingy, the reason we have trouble giving away our money, the reason that we need money so much is we're, we don't want to admit that we're going to be whisked away.

the reason people are stingy, the reason we have trouble giving away our money, the reason that we need money so much is we're, we don't want to admit that we're going to be whisked away.

a modern person is someone who feels like a sinner but has no word for it.

My sense of self comes not from other people but from, from, my sense of self comes not from other people but from myself.

And then there's a book by C.S. Lewis itself called The Four Loves which is also a marvelous book really about Christian character.

CS Lewis in his book, The Four Loves, has a chapter on friendship.

it takes a community to really know a person because he says I, he was talking about himself. He says I am not enough by myself to draw the whole person fourth.

One of the best books in my life has been, and when I do this, you're going to say, oh, where do I get it? Listen, this is not an easy book to read, especially if you're not used to reading King James English. It's a book written by Thomas Brooks in... Kathy, are you there? When was this written? 1652. 1652. Just about one of the best counseling manuals ever written. It's called Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices.

Far better than anything written about Satan in the last 200 years, honest.

The remedy against this is to look upon all your sins as charged to the account of Christ. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.

if I owe you anything, go to my Christ who has underwritten me fully

Believers must repent for being discouraged by their sins

Jonathan Edwards in his great book, Religious Affection, says the only way you can really be sure that a person's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and all that is not counterfeit is that it happens all together.

Years ago, Jonathan Edwards wrote a book and he made one of his chapters this thesis. He says, where is it? All, pardon me, he says there is a concatenation of the graces of Christianity. Now, you know, in modern editions, the editors never put down concatenation. They just put down, they figure, oh, that must be an archaic word. It's not, it's just a big word. And they say, ah, Jonathan Edwards says there's a connection between the graces of Christianity. No, no, if you read the thing, you'll see.

This is what he says about the graces of Christianity. He says, if you wanna know whether the character growth that's happening in your life, if you wanna know whether the love that's growing in your life is real spiritual love from the Spirit, from the Gospel, if you wanna know it's real love, real joy, real peace, real patience, and not a counterfeit, not something artificial, not something temporary, not something patched up, therefore it's fragile and it will go away under certain circumstances, or it's just natural and it's part of your psychology or your temperament, if you wanna know whether these things are spiritual and from the Spirit, you must see that they always are absolutely concatenated.

He says three things. First of all, this means first of all, okay, that all the graces of Christianity go together.

He goes further than that. He goes a little further than that. He goes a little further and he says, secondly, they're interdependent. It's not just that they always come connected. They're very, very interdependent.

We began to talk about this last week in the famous story, novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Because when Henry Jekyll for the first time takes the potion and he finds himself becoming Edward Hyde, he says, I knew myself at the first breath of this new life to be more wicked, one fold more wicked, sold a slave to my original sin.

And of course the first verse of the passage that we have pulled out for today in which he says, I know the law is spiritual but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

You remember how the story goes that Henry Jekyll has come up with a magic potion, he calls it metaphysical chemistry, and that potion will enable his good and his evil self, the good in him and the evil in him to become two selves free from each other.

And he thinks that's really going to help because the problem with, he thinks, the human condition is that neither of those selves lets the other one ever enjoy life.

I had a chance to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. No, I didn't see a movie, I didn't see a Broadway play, I haven't. I was just, I hadn't, you know, most of us think we know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but we've actually seen productions of it. But when you actually go back and read the original little novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, it's not very long, 80 pages or so. It's a terrifying book.

He says, every day I drew steadily nearer to that truth that man is not truly one but truly two. I saw the primitive duality of man. I saw the two natures contending in the field of my consciousness. If I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.

He called himself, it's a great phrase, he called himself an incongruous compound. And he said, you see, nobody can be happy.

He says the unjust then might go his way, delivered from all the aspirations and remorse of his upright twin. And the just could walk on his upward path, doing good and no longer exposed to disgrace by the actions of his evil other.

He says, this being, Edward Hyde, was inherently maligned, his every act and every thought centered completely on himself. The book says that Edward Hyde is the only unmixed human being on the face of the earth. So that when you came up to him, you found no redeeming characteristics, so nothing but selfishness, nothing but a person who completely, as he said, every act and every thought centered totally on himself.

Rodney Stark wrote a book called The Rise of Christianity in which he described the cities of the Greco-Roman Empire in the first couple centuries when these plagues went through.

This is in Rodney Stark's book, The Rise of Christianity.

In his book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Dr. Keller takes a deeper look at how, with God's help, we can face life's most intense challenges and confront the hard questions on suffering.

In his book Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Dr. Keller takes a deeper look at how, with God's help, we can face life's most intense challenges and confront the hard questions on suffering.

Aristotle in his Ethics, and this is one of the very first major comprehensive books on ethics, had a huge section on self-control.

If you read Dante's in Ferno you'll know that at the very bottom of the deepest deepest part of hell it's actually underneath well you get to the deepest part of hell in Dante's in Ferno it's actually not hot it's cold there's a lake of ice and at the very very deepest part of the inferno of hell is Judas the wickedest person ever lived the worst person ever lived and there he is being divided by Satan

There's a place in Jan Martell's book, The Life of Pi, where the narrator, who's a Hindu at the time, is told by Father Martin that Jesus, the Son of God, died for our sins.

And he couldn't get over this.

And he started railing.

But once a dead God, always a dead God, even resurrected.

The Son must have had the taste of death forever in his mouth.

There must be a certain stench at the right hand of God, the Father.

The horror must be real.

Why would God wish that upon himself?

Why not leave death to mortals?

Why make dirty what is beautiful?

Why spoil what is perfect?

Love, Father Martin said.

Love is the reason he went through that.

Look at that until it changes your heart and finally gives you the only source of real wisdom there is in the world.

I made myself read some of Leviticus yesterday, and I read a lot of Leviticus, about 15 chapters of Leviticus, 16 actually, and all the way through, I was just amazed at the repetitiousness of it.

And any of you who have read Leviticus know it's two.

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

And we said one of the things that for technique-minded Americans is very frustrating about the book of Proverbs is that the book of Proverbs does not tell you, does not talk nearly so much about how to make right decisions as to how to become the kind of person who makes right decisions.