Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life
Sermons by Tim Keller, founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC and NY Times best-selling author of ”The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.” For more sermons and resources, visit www.gospelinlife.com.
Episodes
Friday Oct 06, 2023
A Con Artist’s Struggle
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Friday Oct 06, 2023
How do we find God? We’re looking now to, I think, probably the strangest of all narrative accounts in the Bible of a human being encountering God.
It’s a long story. All of Jacob’s life, he’s been wrestling with his twin brother, Esau. He’s been away, but he decides to come back and finally have it out. He sends a bunch of gifts ahead of him, he divides his own family up, and he gets ready to meet Esau alone. And there in the dark when Jacob is alone, a mysterious man—not Esau—attacks him, and he wrestles him all night. Finally, as the day is about to break, Jacob realizes this is the Lord himself—that he’s wrestling with God.
Jacob meets God, and the encounter tells us how we can meet God and how we can check our own hearts to find out if we’ve met God. Four things: 1) an encounter with God is personal, 2) an encounter with God is personal wrestling, 3) an encounter with God is always losing, but 4) an encounter with God is winning through losing.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 21, 1997. Series: Pointers to Christ – Directional Signs in History. Scripture: Genesis 32:22-32.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
An Old Woman’s Laughter
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
We’re looking at laughter and bitterness by looking at a particular experience, and that is a woman laughing because her only child has been born. It’s an incredibly old woman we have here: a woman who’s 90 years old. We’re told in the Bible that this laughter is a clue to who God is and what he has done and how you find him.
This passage is actually the key, because all of Abraham and Sarah’s lives and all of their fascinating incidents can be understood in terms of the name of their son. The name “Isaac” means laughter. You can understand all of their lives, and actually I think eventually you’ll be able to understand all of your life, through the word “laughter.”
There’ve been three kinds of laughter in the story of Abraham and Sarah. They had to go through the first two to get to the third. Let’s look at these three kinds of laughter: 1) the laughter of scoffing, 2) the wild laughter of addiction and fixation, and 3) the laughter of grace.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 14, 1997. Series: Pointers to Christ – Directional Signs in History. Scripture: Genesis 21:1-7.
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.
Monday Oct 02, 2023
The Professor’s Disillusionment
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
A lot of people say Ecclesiastes is the greatest book of the Bible. But I can almost guarantee none of them felt that way the first time they read it. Because when you first read Ecclesiastes, what you’re struck with is a professor in absolute despair.
Some will think this seems to contradict the rest of the Bible. Others will say, “Who needs this pessimism?” It can be a confusing book because people don’t realize its instructional approach of andragogy, which means adult instruction by goading and asking questions. And it can also be confusing because people don’t notice that the teacher is looking at life in two different ways, and that he keeps going back and forth between them.
Let’s look at both of the ways he looks at life. Let me show you: 1) how he looks, 2) what he sees, and 3) why he sees it.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 7, 1997. Series: Pointers to Christ – Directional Signs in History. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26.
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.
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Marriage and Our Culture
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Friday Sep 29, 2023
We're at a cultural moment in which most people recognize that marriage is struggling. And what does the Christian vision of marriage have to say for that?
We believe that understanding the biblical vision for marriage will help you no matter your own situation. We’re applying it to the culture. We're applying it to unmarried people. We're applying it to married people.
Kathy and I will each talk about different aspects of this. We’ll look at 1) marriage and our culture, and 2) the biblical contours of marriage: the power, the essence, the purpose, and the three major means of marriage.
This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 30, 2012 for the conference "Marriage, Sex & Singleness Conference".
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.
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
A Theology of Singleness
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
This is the least appetizing of titles, but I want to talk to you about a theology of singleness.
I’d like to share with you the basic theological principle in the New Testament about singleness. There is a Christian biblical theology of being a single adult, which means to be an adult without a spouse or children of your own.
I’d like to discuss 1) that there is a theology, 2) the uniqueness of this theology, 3) what it means when Paul says singleness is a gift, and 4) the practical implications.
This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 1, 2014 for the conference "S1NGLE: God’s Gifts — Our Plans".
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Singleness and the Rest of the World
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
There’s a wide spectrum of how individuals experience singleness: some would describe it as suffering, others might just call it sadness, and still others say it’s a sense of freedom.
It’s important to recognize though that the experience of suffering and unhappiness are a part of life for everyone—whether you are a single Christian, whether you are happily married, or whether you are unhappily married. Our core challenge is to live a godly and holy life in whatever condition we are in. Every situation will have its particularities, but the similarities are greater than the differences.
I’d like to talk about how to live godly lives in Christ under any of our circumstances.
This talk was given by Kathy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 1, 2014 for the conference "S1NGLE: God’s Gifts — Our Plans".
Today's podcast episode 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.
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
We look now at the peak verse of the most famous biblical passage on marriage. It’s Ephesians 5:32, where Paul says, “This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” He says everything he’s said about marriage has also been about Christ and the church.
This verse teaches there are some things we would never know about marriage if we didn’t know about how we relate to Christ by faith. Conversely, there are things we would never know about our relationship with Christ if we didn’t know about marriage. You can’t completely understand one without understanding the other.
I’d like to look at this under these two headings: 1) what does marriage teach us about our relationship with Jesus? and 2) what does our relationship with Jesus teach us about marriage?
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 13, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Marriage as Completion: Gender Roles, Part 2
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
We’re looking at a subject that’s controversial. I’m going to try to speak as personally out of my own experience as I possibly can. Yet it’s still an area to think carefully.
In our series on marriage, we look for the second time at Ephesians 5:22: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.” What does this mean? It means a whole lot.
Let’s look at what this passage teaches about the head: 1) head means the husband and the wife complete one another, and 2) head means there is an authority structure inside marriage.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 6, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Marriage as Completion: Gender Roles, Part 1
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Depending on the culture it’s sitting in, Christianity can either be considered radically liberal or horribly conservative. But Christianity isn’t to the left or to the right. In fact, if it’s true that Christianity doesn’t arise from the human spectrum of thought, but that it comes from above, then it’s natural that it doesn’t fit any particular ideology—and that every ideology is going to be suspicious of it.
In a series on marriage, we come now to the question of whether there’s any differentiation between the roles and obligations of a husband and wife in marriage. And the basic thesis in Ephesians 5 is that being male and being female are overlapping but distinguishable ways of being human.
I’d like to show that Ephesians 5 teaches us 3 things about gender roles: 1) there are roles, 2) why there are roles, and 3) what those roles are.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 29, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Marriage as Completion: One Flesh
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Friday Sep 15, 2023
We’re in a series on marriage, and we’ve said the purpose of marriage is friendship and a unique oneness. And we’ve also said there’s a structure in marriage.
Ephesians 5 teaches that there’s a mutuality between husband and wife, and yet the commands are not the same to both. They’re equal, but they’re not equivalent.
We’ll look now at 1) the concept that in marriage you become one flesh, 2) how this oneness happens, and 3) how this oneness bridges into the subject of role relationships between men and women in marriage.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 22, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Marriage as Friendship
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Marriage is a cosmic friendship, a spiritual friendship, a friendship with eternal dimensions. Marriage is not romance garnished with friendship. Rather, biblically, marriage is friendship garnished with romance.
If you’re going to marry somebody, you should marry someone who is now or has the potential to be your very best friend. But friendship is not just a feeling of affection. Friendship is a particular form of love, and it has a structure.
The structure of friendship is a deep oneness that comes from two people journeying together toward a common horizon. Let’s look now at 1) the common horizon, 2) how you get to that horizon, and 3) the implications of journeying together toward that horizon.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 15, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Marriage as Priority and Friendship
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
I’m tired of listening to sentimental, slurpy talks on marriage during weddings and in Sunday school and in sermons. They have about as much depth and reality to them as a Hallmark card. The fact is, marriage is many things—in fact, it’s everything except slurpy and sentimental.
Marriage is glorious: it’s a burning strength and joy. Marriage is hard: it’s blood, and it’s sweat, and it’s tears. It’s defeats, and it’s victories. It’s almost everything except sweet.
We’re in a series on the Bible’s view of marriage. We’ve already looked at the power, the definition, and the priority of marriage. We look now at 1) the great purpose of marriage, and 2) what this purpose means in practicality.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 8, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Marriage as Commitment and Priority
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Friday Sep 08, 2023
The purpose of marriage is friendship, companionship. Your spouse has to be your best friend, or you don’t have a marriage. I know that’s not traditional, but it’s biblical.
We’re in a series looking at marriage: at its power, its definition, its priority, its purpose, its structure, and its mystery. So far, we’ve looked at the power of marriage and the definition of marriage. Now we’ll look more into the definition of marriage and then at the priority marriage.
We’ll look now at 1) three critical aspects without which a marriage will not run, 2) the definition of marriage, and 3) the priority of marriage.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 1, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Overview: Marriage as Commitment
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Ephesians 5 is the most detailed and famous of New Testament passages about marriage. It shows us the power, the definition, the priority, the purpose, the structure, and the mystery of marriage.
In this series, we’ve already looked at the power of marriage, though we’ll talk a little more about it now. Then the next aspect to discuss is the definition of marriage: that marriage is a covenant.
We’ll look at 1) what it means that marriage is a covenant and 2) the amazing and practical ramifications of marital commitment.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 25, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Marriage as Ministry Power
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Whether you’re single, married, widowed, or divorced, you can immediately apply Scripture’s teachings about marriage to your life.
According to the Scripture, marriage is a divine invention. It stands apart from other human institutions because it didn’t evolve out of human thinking. And the basic principles for marriage that are laid out in Ephesians 5 are critical to our understanding of what God says marriage is.
We’ll look now at the first of these basic principles: Self-centeredness is the main enemy of any marriage.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 18, 1991. Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Sexuality and Christian Hope
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Friday Sep 01, 2023
There are obvious ways Christian hope affects us, like in the way we face death and troubles. But I’d like to show you that Christian hope affects everything, every area of our lives.
The biblical understanding of hope is a life-shaping, joyous certainty that your future is the eternal love and glory of God and a new heavens and new earth. And this Christian hope even determines and revolutionizes our whole attitude toward sex, romance, singleness, and marriage.
This passage in 1 Corinthians 6 and 7 is outrageous in all sorts of ways. It shows us that 1) Christianity gave the world a revolutionary view of sex, 2) Christianity gave the world a revolutionary view of singleness and marriage, and 3) Christian hope radically reshapes our approach, our actions, and our attitudes in this area.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 18, 2004. Series: Living in Hope. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:13-20; 7:27-31.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Wednesday Aug 30, 2023
My Problem with Religion: An Open Forum
Wednesday Aug 30, 2023
Wednesday Aug 30, 2023
There are two problems people have with God today: the problem of evil and suffering, and the problem with the exclusiveness of religion.
We’re all in the same boat here. Whether you believe in God or you don’t believe in God, you still have these two problems. Because they get at something that really is a problem. But the real question is, are they insurmountable? Can we find a way through them?
I’d like to give you something to consider as a possible way through: it’s important to see 1) that people’s problems with religion are themselves beliefs which in turn have their own problems, and 2) that Christianity has a unique resource for each of these problems.
This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 2003. Series: Redeemer Open Forums.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Loving Your Enemies
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Most of the great world religions share a tremendous amount of ethical common ground. But suddenly, Jesus breaks through all the conventional principles of morality—he soars into the stratosphere and puts forth the most radical love ethic anyone has ever seriously presented.
On the one hand, when we hear it, we feel we’re in the presence of something sublime. But there’s another side to us that has difficulty with it, because it sure looks like Jesus is saying, “Let people walk all over you.”
But what we actually have here is a set of remarkable balances. Let’s take a look at two balances: 1) There is the balance between the tough and the tender (between justice and kindness), and 2) there is a balance between the inner and the outer.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 21, 1993. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus (1993). Scripture: Luke 6:20-36.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Let Your Yes Be Yes
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
As we look at the hard sayings of Jesus, we see in this passage that Jesus gives us a radical principle of truthfulness.
The whole Bible is built on covenants, public promises, observed words. So what does Jesus mean when he says to let your “yes” be “yes”? He can’t mean you can’t take oaths. What he does mean is actually something almost the opposite, that if you think you can separate and create levels of truthfulness, you’re wrong. Everything is observed. Every yes and every no is an oath.
Jesus is teaching us 1) the importance of truthfulness, 2) the nature of truthfulness, and 3) how you become a person of integrity.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 14, 1993. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus (1993). Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37.
Today's podcast episode 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.
Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
Power To Change
Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
We’re looking at the most strange, enigmatic, perplexing things Jesus ever said. This is one of them. People always blink a bit when they read it.
But here, Jesus is actually teaching us about power to change. He’s telling us something extremely practical.
Even though it’s an enigmatic passage, Jesus is basically saying three things: 1) There are many ways to change, 2) if you use any way but Jesus, you’ll be worse off than before, and 3) Jesus is the only one who can give you the power to change thoroughly and permanently.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 7, 1993. Series: Hard Sayings of Jesus (1993). Scripture: Luke 11:14-26.
Today's podcast episode 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.