(Can’t see the video? Click through to the site)
Archives For Tim Keller
Emily and I took a few minutes last night to chat about the first day of The Gospel Coalition’s national conference. Sufficed to say, we had an awesome time. But for a few details on why we felt this way, as well as some info on a book giveaway that starts today, watch the video:
Update: As I mentioned in the video, I hadTWO copies of Don’t Call It a Comeback to give away (reviewed here Monday).
The winners have now been selected and notified via email. Thanks for entering!
Tim Keller spoke next from Exodus 14.
*Update* The audio is available for download here. Video can be viewed below:
A few selections from my notes follow.
Not only want to preach to you but also teach you something about preaching the Old Testament
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Red Sea crossing to the rest of the Bible. There are at least two-dozen direct references to it in the OT, and innumerable references in the NT.
When you go to Luke 9, the transfiguration, Jesus is talking to Moses and Elijah about His departure, about His death in Jerusalem, but the Greek word there is “Exodus,”—Jesus’ death on the cross is the greater exodus.
Hebrews uses the Red Sea crossing as a paradigm for Christian faith.
If there is one passage that the Bible invites us to read in light of Christ, it would be this one [Exodus 14].
Salvation is about getting out: Continue Reading…
…so who’s it about?
This excerpt from a message by Tim Keller (quoting from Sinclair Ferguson’s Preaching Christ in the Old Testament) was a great reminder for me as a writer, and occasional preacher:
If Jesus isn’t at the heart of the message, it’s nothing worth saying.
HT: Jared Wilson
Michael Spencer 1956-2010
On Monday April 5, Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, went home to stand before his Savior after a grueling four-month-long battle with cancer. He was 53.
I did not know Michael personally, but got to know a bit about him by reading his blog. I found him to be interesting, thought-provoking and sometimes frustrating. Not because of his demeanor—on the contrary, he struck me as one who modeled how Christians should behave online—but because much of the time I couldn’t get a good read on him. I couldn’t always tell where he stood.
But he always got me thinking. And for that, I’m grateful.
Michael’s book, Mere Churchianity, is coming out in September, courtesy of Waterbrook/Multnohmah. Consider preordering a copy.
Looking at the list of tributes to Michael, I wonder if he understood the impact he was having in the lives of so many?
In other news
RE:Sound released a new record by Red Letter. Go listen to samples and download.
Tim Challies on the writer’s life
Trevin weighs in as a voice of reason as a couple people continue to lose their minds over John Piper inviting Rick Warren to Desiring God’s National Conference.
The Gospel Coalition has just launched a new book review site.
ChristianAudio.com’s free audiobook of the month is Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff. Download this and enjoy a solid 4 hours of laughter. Use coupon code APR2010 when purchasing.
In case you missed it
Here are a few of this week’s notable posts:
A review of Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods
The Stupidity of the Intelligent
Spurgeon on Faith & Obedience
Title: Counterfeit Gods
Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Dutton
In recent years Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, has become quite a prolific author. And his latest offering may be his most important book yet.
Counterfeit Gods explores the empty promises by the idols found in the human heart—sex, money, power, pride—and our only hope of experiencing true satisfaction and fulfillment in the gospel.
Making Gods
“[An idol] is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give,” writes Keller (p. xvii). It’s a broad definition, but fitting. As Keller rightly says, “Anything in life can serve as an idol, a God-alternative, a counterfeit god” (p. xvi).
It’s easy for us to think about idols as being statues in a temple somewhere “over there” (wherever that is). But if it’s true that anything can be an idol, it’s not nearly so simple. “The biblical concept of idolatry is an extremely sophisticated idea, integrating intellectual, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual categories.” (p. xix). Romantic love, sex, physical beauty, moral virtue, intellectual ideologies, profit, self-expression… “There are idols everywhere” (p. xxi).
They are the things we love, trust and obey, even at the expense of our relationship with Jesus. “Idols dominate our lives,” says Keller.
Throughout the book, Keller illustrates the insidiousness of idolatry through the biblical accounts of Abraham, Jacob, Zacchaeus, Naaman, Nebudchadnezzar and Jonah. The lives of each show us a pattern of idolatry: For Abraham, his son Isaac had the potential to be a powerful idol; for Jacob, his grandson, it was love as illustrated by his obsession with Rachel and behavior reminiscent of an addict. For Zacchaeus, it was money. For Naaman, success; Nebudchadnezzar, glory & power. And Jonah—well, his idols were perhaps the most complex of all. Continue Reading…
The Many Ways of Destroying the Church
The ways of destroying the church are many and colorful. Raw factionalism will do it. Rank heresy will do it. Taking your eyes off the cross and letting other, more peripheral matters dominate the agenda will do it–admittedly more slowly than frank heresy, but just as effectively over the long haul. Building the church with superficial ‘conversions’ and wonderful programs that rarely bring people into a deepening knowledge of the living God will do it. Entertaining people to death but never fostering the beauty of holiness or the centrality of self-crucifying love will build an assembling of religious people, but it will destroy the church of the living God. Gossip, prayerlessness, bitterness, sustained biblical illiteracy, self-promotion, materialism–all of these things, and many more, can destroy a church. And to do so is dangerous: ‘If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple (1 Cor. 3:17). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
D.A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 83-84.
HT: Timmy Brister
In other news
5 things the Church can learn from the fall of Myspace
Tim Keller on dealing with harsh criticism
Russell Moore—Avatar: Rambo in Reverse
An update on Pastor Matt Chandler’s condition
In case you missed it
Here are a few of this week’s notable posts:
A review of Alexander Strauch’s Leading with Love
Vintage Jesus is Vintage Driscoll—a review of the Vintage Jesus DVD Curriculum
This is War (a Christmas Carol from Dustin Kensrue)
A biographical sketch of Charles Wesley
Counterfeit Gods—The Personal Story
Tim Keller shares his story of ministry idolatry:
Like many younger ministers I worked far too many hours, never saying “no” to anyone’s request for my pastoral services. When salary increases were offered to me, I turned them down. When administrative help was offered to me, I declined. I was quite proud of being the kind of person who worked very hard, never complained, and never asked for any help. This regularly brought me into conflict with my wife, who rightly contended that I was neglecting my relationships to her and to my young sons. It also led to health problems, although I was only in my early thirties…
It wasn’t until I began to search my heart with the Biblical category of idolatry that I made the horrendous discovery that all my supposed sacrifices were just a series of selfish actions. I was using people in order to forge my own self-appreciation. I was looking to my sacrificial ministry to give me the sense of “righteousness before God” that should only come from Jesus Christ.
Book Giveaway at Devotional Christian
Tony Kummer’s giving away 22 top devotional books—and it’s a pretty wonderful selection!
Martin Luther’s Here I Stand—Free at The Listener’s Bible
In celebration of Reformation Day (October 31st), The Listener’s Bible store is offering a free download of Martin Luther’s Here I Stand, narrated by Max Mclean. Here’s the product description:
In the late afternoon of April 18, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany, Martin Luther, a 37 year-old Catholic monk was called to defend himself before Charles the Fifth, the Holy Roman Emperor. The speech he delivered that day, Here I Stand, marked the beginning of the Reformation, a critical turning point in Christian history, that decisively altered the spiritual map of the world.
In this recording, Max McLean introduces the events leading up to the Diet of Worms: Martin Luther’s prayer the night before he delivered his speech; Luther’s stirring defense; the Catholic church’s rebuttal; and, Luther’s final heartfelt response.
This offer is available until November 1.
In case you missed it
Here are a few of this week’s notable posts:
Dug Down Deep, impressions on the first chapter of Josh Harris’ forthcoming book—and Josh Harris linked back with some really kind words!
O2: Breathing New Life Into Faith, reviewing Richard Dahlstrom’s new book on building a sustainable faith
Be Intolerant of the Right Things, thoughts on D.A. Carson’s “The Intolerance of Tolerance“
J.I. Packer: What is a Christian? a passage from Packer’s classic work, “Knowing God”
Read the Gospels: JC is not PC
John MacArthur provided a brilliant editorial in the Washington Post this week abuot Jesus. Here’s the opening:
Let’s be brutally honest: most of Jesus’ teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I’m talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.
Read the whole thing here. Seriously, it’s fantastic!
Two-Kingdom Theology and Neo-Kuyperians
No, it’s not the plot of a new alien invasion film, it’s a post from Kevin DeYoung’s blog about the merits and dangers of two-kingdom theology and neo-Kuyperianism (of course!). Here’s an explanatory note from Kevin’s article:
In broad strokes, the two kingdom folks believe in a kingdom of this world and a kingdom of Christ. We have a dual citizenship as Christians. Further, the realm of nature should not be expected to function and look like the realm of grace. Living in the tension of two kingdoms we should stop trying to transform the culture of this world into the kingdom of our Lord and instead focus on the church being the church, led by it duly ordained officers and ministering through the ordinary means of grace.
On the other hand, neo-Kupyerianism (intellectual descendants of the Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper) argue that every square inch of this world belongs to Christ. Therefore, his Lordship should be felt and manifested in politics, in the arts, in education, in short, everywhere. Because the work of Christ was not just to save sinners but also to renew the whole cosmos, we should be at work to change the world and transform the culture.
There’s some extremely interesting points made in the article, so do read the whole thing, but I found this point particularly helpful:
Perhaps there is a–I can’t believe I’m going to say it–a middle ground. I say, let’s not lose the heart of the gospel, divine self-satisfaction through self-substitution. And let’s not apologize for challenging Christians to show this same kind of dying love to others. Let’s not be embarrassed by the doctrine of hell and the necessity of repentance and regeneration. And let’s not be afraid to do good to all people, especially to the household of faith. Let’s work against the injustices and suffering in our day, and let’s be realistic that the poor, as Jesus said, will always be among us. Bottom line: let’s work for change where God calls us and gifts us, but let’s not forget that the Great Commission is go into the world and make disciples, not go into the world and build the kingdom.
Alright, go read the article at Kevin’s blog. And when you’re done, you can read a response article from the fine folks at White Horse Inn.
Out of the Archives: Keeping the 10 Commandments
J.I. Packer is one of modern Christianity’s greatest minds—the author of countless books, including Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, Growing in Christ, and arguably his best-known work, Knowing God. There are few men who are more influential theologically on Evangelical Christianity than Packer. So when I saw Keeping the 10 Commandments at the bookstore, I had a hunch it would be a worthwhile read.
Sufficed to say, I was not disappointed.
By many, the 10 Commandments are seen as irrelevant; as ”rules” that prevent us from having any fun. In this short work, an excerpt from Growing in Christ, Packer shows us that these commandments are not rules to be followed; they are commands to be lived to bring us joy…
In case you missed it
Here are a few of this week’s notable posts:
Book Review: What’s He Really Thinking? A book that does the unthinkable: Encourages women to embrace men for being men.
Up the (Willow) Creek: Tim Keller Reflecting on Tim Keller’s session at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, Leading People to the Prodigal God
Up the (Willow) Creek: Harvey Carey Harvey Carey wants the church to do more than sit on the sidelines. He wants it to get into the game.
The parable of the prodigal son is one of those stories that everyone knows: A man had two sons. The younger of the two approaches his father and demands his inheritance, despite his father being very much alive and well. He leaves his home and spends all he has on reckless living. As a famine hit the land, he finds himself in need, and gets a job feeding pigs. While longing to eat the pig’s slop, he begins to pine for his father’s house, remembering how well even the servants were treated. So , he returns home, prepared to ask forgiveness and for a job, but his father goes much further than anyone expects—He welcomes him back into the family, and throws a party to celebrate the son who was lost, but is found.
For many of us, that’s about where we stop. The wayward son returns home and there is much joy. Timothy Keller in The Prodigal God reminds us that the parable doesn’t end there—and we have much to learn from the older brother who remained behind and was seemingly obedient to his father.
In this short work, Keller lays out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel, and how this parable helps us to understand the Bible as a whole. The whole of the Bible is really speaking to two kinds of people: The “reckless spendthrifts” (the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary definition of “prodigal”), licentious sinners, the broken and wayward—the younger brother of the parable—and the self-righteous, religious folk who try to earn their way into God’s grace through morality and strict obedience, but no joy—the elder brother. And more often than not, we’re both at the same time.
Keller rightly asserts that while Jesus was neither on the side of the irreligious nor the religious, “he singles out religious moralism as a particularly deadly spiritual condition” (page 13).
Jesus, Keller says, shows us that while one son stayed and the other left, both were lost. And while the younger realized that he had lost his way, we’re left wondering about the elder son. Jesus doesn’t finish the story. Why does he leave it on a cliffhanger? “[B]ecause the real audience for the story is the Pharisees, the elder brothers” (page 28, emphasis mine). In doing so, Jesus is pleading with the Pharisees to understand the real message behind the parable: That their strict conformity to rules with no joy—their religious moralism—is blinding them to the reality of their own hearts. That for those of us who have a tendency toward the posture of the elder brother, we must be careful that our careful obedience to God’s law doesn’t “serve as a strategy for rebelling against God” (page 37). We must not obey to get things from God, or begin to think that He owes us because we, like the elder brother, “have never disobeyed!” While the younger brother’s rebellion is “crashingly obvious,” says Keller, “the elder brother who is more blind to what is going on” (page 47).
Keller redefines lostness, not simply as irreligious or licentious behavior, but also as a bitter resentment, joyless servitude, and a constant lack of assurance of God’s love. This lack of assurance is particularly devastating as shows us that we do not seek God’s love, but the affirmation of others. Those of us who lean toward the elder brother mentality can’t always see just how damaging our condition is, and “desperately need to see themselves in this mirror” (page 66).
From here, the subject shifts to the gospel. We can be free of our younger and elder brother tendencies as we “gaze in wonder at the work of our true elder brother [Jesus]” (page 89). In Jesus, we have hope that we can return home to the Father, and that we, too, can rejoice in the new creation when He comes again.
What I appreciate most about The Prodigal God is that in it, Keller doesn’t let me off the hook. He shows me my tendencies (I err on the side of the elder brother—shocking, I know), but doesn’t pat me on the head and say, “There, there… you’re a pain, but God loves you anyway.” He doesn’t call me to pull myself up by my spiritual bootstraps and do better.
He points me to the gospel.
There is no question that Timothy Keller is a pastor who deeply loves people and loves the gospel. And he knows that it’s only the gospel that will bring us to repentance, empowering and enabling us to live transformed lives.
The Prodigal God is a sobering and impassioned reminder that the gospel is “not just the ABC’s of the Christian life, but the A to Z of the Christian life” (page 119). Through the gospel, we can be freed of our younger and elder brother tendencies, and respond rightly to what God has done—with joyful obedience, faithful service and confidence in our status as His children.
