Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

The book of Daniel teaches us about the Israelites while in exile. After living for centuries in a culture in which the cultural institutions supported their belief in God, they found themselves in Babylon, which was a religiously pluralistic society. This big city had many gods and many moralities. This naturally created tension because the Israelites believed in the one true God of the Bible. 

In a similar way, how do we live as believers in a pluralistic society? We may be accused of being intolerant of those who don’t believe like us. Or we may face hard questions about our God allowing unjust suffering in the world. How do we handle that? Today’s passage from the book of Daniel helps us navigate these issues. First of all, let’s take a look at the golden image, which addresses the problem of tolerance, and then we’ll look at the fiery furnace, which addresses the problem of unjust suffering.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 7, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 3:14-29.

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.

We’re going to consider the question, “What does it mean to live the Christian life? How can we live it out?” The book of Daniel is a helpful place to go because it’s exilic literature, meaning it tells the stories of the Israelites when in exile. They were taken away from Israel and into a city that was hostile to God. As believers, we’re like Daniel in exile, asking ourselves, “How in the world can we live a life of integrity in a pluralistic, polytheistic, unbelieving world?” 

There are three questions to ask ourselves: what’s the meaning of Daniel’s two names, what’s the meaning of this weird dream, and thirdly, what is the rock that strikes the statue? We’re going to learn three practical principles for living a believing life in an unbelieving world. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 30, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 2:24-35, 44-46.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The sermon for today comes from Luke 4, and it is the last sermon in a broader series on the fruit of the Spirit and character change. The recurring question has been, “How can our hearts be changed?” Simply put, our hearts don’t change when we look at the law, but they change when we look at the lawgiver, who is Jesus. 

We now come to the last fruit of the Spirit which is self-control. Jesus exemplified self-control and stayed on course when he faced temptation. We’re going to learn about self-control by looking at these four things: what temptation is; the inevitability of it; how it works; and how to defeat it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 31, 1998. Series: The Fruit of the Spirit – The Character of Christ. Scripture: Luke 4:1-15.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today’s sermon comes from a series on the real character change that can happen in a person’s life. This is not just moral reformation that consists of merely obeying rules, but it begins with a deep change at the heart level. When we look at Jesus, the person and work of our savior, our hearts should melt and be transformed by him. This is real character change. 

In Galatians 5, Paul says one of the fruits of the Spirit is meekness (or gentleness in newer translations). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Not only do we not have meekness in our lives, it’s challenging to understand it. We don’t even have a good definition of it. Let’s look at this passage from John 8 where we see Christ’s own humility: 1) how does Jesus define it; 2) how do we get it. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 24, 1998. Series: The Fruit of the Spirit – The Character of Christ. Scripture: John 8:1-11.

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.

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Today’s sermon was preached by Dr. Keller in New York City on the Sunday after the attacks. As we pause this weekend to remember the lives lost and the many people who suffered from the events on September 11th, we pray that you draw hope and encouragement from today’s teaching. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 16, 2001. Scripture: John 11:20-53.

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.

Moral reformation is the main source in the world for many good things, like honesty, self-control and generosity. This kind of reformation enforces rules. One wants to obey out of self-interest or out of fear. On the other hand, spiritual transformation consists of a deeper heart change. When the heart changes, then one’s life, including actions and behavior, changes. In short, moral reformation happens by looking at rules; spiritual transformation happens by looking at Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

We’re going to look at Jesus in today’s passage from Mark 14 when Jesus’ disciples fall asleep. They were supposed to be keeping watch. Something utterly shocks Jesus and he says that it is his time to die. It comes upon him suddenly. There are three words that give us clues to what’s happening in this passage: the cup, Abba, and began.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 10, 1998. Series: The Fruit of the Spirit – The Character of Christ. Scripture: Mark 14:32-42.

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.

On the night before Jesus is about to die, Jesus says to his disciples, “You have listened to many of the things I’ve said, and you’ve somewhat learned them, but you haven’t really changed.” Jesus doesn’t want his followers to simply start obeying rules, but he wants them to have changed hearts.

Today’s sermon comes from a series on how God brings about deep, permanent, transformative change in our lives. This happens when God changes your heart. There are four things this passage teaches us about a changed heart: the importance of the fruit of the Spirit (love); the unity of the fruit; the nature of the fruit; and how this fruit is cultivated. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 26, 1998. Series: The Fruit of the Spirit – The Character of Christ. Scripture: John 13:1-21.

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.

Today’s sermon comes from a series on the hard sayings of Jesus. In Mark 10:25, Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” That’s as controversial now as it was then. What’s striking about this is Jesus is talking about something very basic: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It can’t be any more basic than that. Jesus is addressing the very essence of what it means to be a Christian. 

If we look at the larger context, we see that he’s actually explaining to the listeners how to become a Christian, and yet right in the middle, he brings up money. Another way to put it is if you want to be a Christian, money is an issue. This is very nuts-and-bolts. First, we’re being taught here about the spiritual dangers of money and wealth; secondly, the reasons for this danger; and thirdly, how we deal with the danger.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 27, 2000. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus 2000. Scripture: Mark 10:17-27.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today we’re going to look at a hard saying of Jesus in Matthew 7:6. Verses 1–5 are music to modern people’s ears — there’s nothing hard or particularly difficult about the first five verses. But in the context of the entire passage, you will see why verse 6 can be so difficult for people to understand and accept. 

Jesus is likening someone to a dog and to a pig. It almost seems contradictory to verses 1-5, right? And how does it square with his charge to tell everyone the good news? Are we to write people off? What Jesus means here is that animals need care, i.e. you shouldn’t give pigs something they can’t digest or handle. So when we look at the parable in this light, we see that Jesus is actually scolding the caretaker in a sense. Let’s look further into what this teaches us about the hearts we have and the help we need.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 9, 2000. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus 2000. Scripture: Matthew 7:1-6.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today’s sermon comes from a series on the hard sayings of Jesus. We find many of these throughout the New Testament — sayings that are difficult to understand or accept or both. Jesus says in verse 18: “I tell you the truth … not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” If Christianity is about grace, then what does Jesus mean by not a stroke of the law can be disregarded? How does that fit in with the rest of the Bible? 

We’re going to see that it tells us a great deal about the Bible itself: It’s going to tell us three things: 1) the whole Bible is absolutely true (verse 18); 2) it’s all about Jesus, not about us (verse 17); and 3) if you learn to read it that way, it changes your life (verses 19 and 20). It changes everything.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 25, 2000. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus 2000. Scripture: Matthew 5:18.

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.