Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life – Details, episodes & analysis

Some of you may know I was actually a teacher at graduate school seminary for five years. Then I said, “Get me back in the ministry,” where there is no grading papers and no one knows whether people are learning or not. But the gospel changes everything . . . even education.

We’re looking now at the what’s, why’s and how to’s of education reform from a Christian perspective. 

To consider a gospel-centered view of education reform, 1) I’ll share two thoughts from C.S. Lewis, and 2) I’ll be joined by a panel of educators for a question-and-answer time.

This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 5, 2024. Series: Redeemer InterArts Fellowship.

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.

If you’re Christian, what is the rationale for being an actor? Why should Christians be actors? How should Christians who are actors or writers or choreographers or directors think about their faith and their work?

To answer that, we need to look at the power of stories, at why we connect with and are overwhelmed by strong stories.

Let’s consider 1) what a story is, 2) that we attach meaning by connecting things to a storyline, 3) that Christians can find elements of their story in almost any other story, and 4) why we need to understand our baseline cultural narratives.

This talk and Q&A was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 5, 2004. Series: Redeemer InterArts Fellowship.

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 friendship between Jonathan and David is rightly famous.

Because we have so much information about the life of David, the narrative arcs are long. So to follow David’s friendship with Jonathan, you have to see it over multiple passages. We’re going to look at four passages in 1 Samuel to see what the Bible tells us about the importance of friendship. 

From the friendship of David and Jonathan we can learn 1) the absolute importance of friendship, 2) the necessary elements of friendship, and 3) the requisite power for friendship.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 17, 2015. Series: David: The Man of Prayer. Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-4.

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.

Who is Jesus? In Mark 2 and 3, Jesus makes a claim about himself that’s so immense it almost defies categories. 

In this text, two incidents are detailed and they both have to do with how we observe the Sabbath day. To understand the magnitude of Jesus’ claim here, we have to unpack the meaning of the entire text and then ask what he’s actually claiming.

Let’s look at the features of the story and learn from each of these: 1) the anger of Jesus, 2) the enemies of Jesus, and 3) the claim of Jesus and what that means for you.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 8, 2015. Series: Light in the Darkness: Glory of Jesus in Mark. Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:6.

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.

In this unparalleled text in the Bible, we learn not so much what the church does, but what the church is.

We’ve been looking at the animating gospel principles that have profoundly shaped our church’s life in the city and service to the city. And that often means we’ve looked at something the church does. But now, let’s look at what the church is.

In 1 Peter 1, we can get insight into the church’s 1) glory, 2) gifts, and 3) grace.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 24, 2016. Series: Where We Are Going: The City and the Mission. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-12.

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.

In The Bride of Frankenstein movie, the monster stumbles into a blind man’s cottage, and they become friends. The only humanity he ever develops is in that cottage, where a person grabs him by the hand and calls him friend. And what it’s saying is that there’s nothing more humanizing than friendship and there’s no pain more horrible than loneliness.

In fact, all kinds of studies show that people who have fewer friends die more readily of disease and heart attacks. 

So as we look at John 15, there are two questions I’d like to ask: 1) why do we need friendship, and 2) how do we meet that need?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 19, 1992. Series: Gospel of John, Part 2. Scripture: John 15:9-17.

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

For centuries this famous passage has been called the parable of the prodigal son. But it’s a great mistake to think it’s a story about one son. It’s a story of two sons, of a younger and an older brother. If you don’t compare and contrast the two, you’re going to miss the radical message. 

Jesus is saying every thought the human race has ever had about how to connect to God—whether East or West, ancient or post-modern, religious or secular—has been wrong. Jesus shatters all existing human categories. 

Let’s look at the story, and then see three things Jesus is telling us: 1) Jesus redefines God, 2) Jesus redefines sin, and 3) Jesus redefines salvation.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 11, 2005. Series: The Vision of Redeemer. Scripture: Luke 15:1-2, 11-32.

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.

In Mark 2, Jesus makes a claim that is so over the top, so out of all categories, so outrageous that the religious leaders don’t even have a word for it. They’ve called him blasphemous before, but this claim goes beyond their words.

In this passage, two incidents are linked together, both having to do with the Sabbath. And what Jesus says is that he’s not here to reform religion—he’s here to absolutely end religion and replace it with himself. 

What we’re going to see is, 1) on the one hand, the futility of religion and, 2) on the other hand, the finality of Jesus Christ.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 19, 2006. Series: King’s Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:6.

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.

We’re looking at the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. 

After his resurrection, Jesus is still teaching his disciples—and us—preparing us to go out into the world and represent him. And in John 21, he teaches the disciples four things that should be true of us if we’re Christians.

Another way to put it is four marks the Christian church ought to have in the world. And those four marks are 1) supernatural unity, 2) new identity, 3) continuous intimacy, and 4) comprehensive certainty.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 23, 2017. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: Doubters and Deniers. Scripture: John 21:1-14.

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

In our times, friendship is relatively ignored. Every other kind of love, every other kind of relationship is a hot topic. Everybody is writing about romance or family, while friendship is seen as uninteresting.

And yet, friendship is absolutely vital. Do you understand how crucial it is to make, find, maintain, and develop friendships? 

Let me just ask three questions: 1) why is friendship so neglected today? 2) why is it so vitally important and crucial? and 3) how can the resources of the Christian faith help us understand friendship and galvanize, energize and recover friendship?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 27, 1997. Series: Redeemer Open Forums. 

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.