The Gospel and the Poor

I read this piece by Tim Keller a while back and it really impacted me. This should be required reading for everyone involved in ministry to the poor. It is also required reading for every Christian because we are all called to care for the poor. Elders at churches would profit greatly from it. Executive Directors of ministries should require their people to read this so that they have a sound biblical theology of the relationship between the gospel and the poor to undergird their practical day to day ministries.

The Gospel Coalition Audio and Video

The audio and video from The Gospel Coalition conference are now available online for free. Most of them are expositions of 2 Timothy:

• Tim Keller, "The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry" (Acts 19:21-41)
• John Piper, "Feed the Flame of God’s Gift: Unashamed Courage in the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:1-12)
• Phil Ryken, "The Pattern of Sound Words" (2 Timothy 1:13-2:13)
• Mark Driscoll, "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth" (2 Timothy 2:14-26)
• K. Edward Copeland, "Shadowlands: Pitfalls and Parodies of Gospel-Centered Ministry" (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
• Bryan Chapell, "Preach the Word!" (2 Timothy 3:10-4:5)
• Ajith Fernando, "Gospel-Faithful Mission in the New Christendom"
• Panel Discussion: Tim Keller, John Piper, Ligon Duncan and Crawford Loritts (chair: Stephen Um)
• Ligon Duncan, "Finishing Well" (2 Timothy 4:6-22)
• Don Carson, "That By All Means I Might Win Some': Faithfulness and Flexibility in Gospel Proclamation" (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

HT: Justin Taylor

Tim Keller on MSNBC's "Morning Joe"

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If viewing by email, you may have to go to my blog.

HT: Denny Burk

Biblical Humility

Timothy Keller has a helpful article on this in Christianity Today.

HT: JT

Religion and the Gospel

This comparison chart shows the difference.

Which one characterizes you?

HT: Reformissionary

Tim Keller: Interview with the Washington Post

Take a few minutes to watch this short video below. It is very good.



HT: Tullian

Tim Keller on the Importance of Hell

See the article here.

HT: Tullian Tchividjian

Recommended Summer Reading by Tim Keller

This excellent list is avaliable here.

Ministry Can Be Dangerous to Your Spiritual Health

Tim Keller has an eye opening article on this subject in the Reedeemer Report (March 2007). I especially like his point that one can "mistake the operations of your spiritual gifts for the operation of spiritual grace in your life" (page 1) the danger being that:

we can look to our ministry activity as evidence that God is with us, or as a way to earn God’s favor and prove ourselves. If our heart remembers the gospel, and is rejoicing in our justification and adoption, then our ministry is done as a sacrifice of thanksgiving —and the result will be that our ministry is done in love, humility, patience, and tenderness. But our heart may be continuing to do the same self-justification it has always done—seeking to control God and others by earning and proving our worth—through our ministry performance (page 4).

For more Tim Keller Resources and links to articles such as these go to this site.

Messages from the Dwell Church Planting Conference

Here's the audio from the 2008 Dwell Conference in New York:

Dwelling with Non-Christians (Darrin Patrick)

Dwelling in the Gospel (Tim Keller)

Dwelling thru the Text (Mark Driscoll)

Persuasion (Tim Keller)

Dwelling in the Text (Mark Driscoll)

Dwelling in the Cross (C.J. Mahaney)

Dwelling in the Kingdom (Ed Stetzer)

Dwelling Incarnationally (Eric Mason)

HT: Justin Taylor

New Book By Tim Keller: The Prodigal God

Tullian Tchividjian has the scoop here.

Tim Keller Online Videos

On March 11 Westminster Bookstore and the Westminster Gospel & Culture Project were pleased to present Tim Keller in two events speaking about his bestselling book The Reason for God.

Keller Roundtable with WTS Faculty
Keller at U Penn "Reason for God"
Keller at U Penn Q & A

HT: Westminster Bookstore

Of Interest

Here are some interesting things to view:

• The Textual Reliability of the New Testament: A Debate between Dr. Dan Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas, and Dr. Bart Ehrman, chair of the department of religious studies at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• Meredith Kline Old Testament lectures
• Helpful Old Testament/Ancient Near East Chronology Chart
• The need for both theologian-pastors and pastor-theologians
• Books and Culture's Review of Reason for God Tim Keller

HT: Justin Taylor and Challies

Around the Web

On the Physical Resurrection of Jesus (Journal of the American Medical Association)
Thabiti on Black Liberation Theology
Passion Week Geography and Harmony
Count Your Surprises by J.I. Packer
2008 Christianity Today Book Awards
When Ordinary is Extraordinary: Review of Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson
Gheen Lectures by Millard Erickson
The Crowd Was Not Fickle
Tim Keller's Talk at Google
Jesus' Resurrection Appearances
The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review
That Martin Luther, He wasn't so bad, says Pope
Graeme Goldsworthy's Biblical Theology Lectures

HT: Justin Taylor, Tim Challies, In Light of the Gospel, Buzzard Blog, Jim Hamilton

Tim Keller at Stanford and UC Berkeley

Here is the Stanford video lecture and video Q & A. Here is the University of California Berkeley video.

HT: Glen Davis and Justin Taylor

I am Really Enjoying Reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

This is one of the best Christian books I have ever read. Every night I am not getting enough sleep because I can't put it down. It is sort of a modern Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis). It is a book specifically designed for the skeptical, secular, intelligent, western individual, most often found in cities. It is humbly written and it is written out of many years of experience in conversation with thousands of skeptics. Read this book to strengthen your faith, but more importantly buy a few copies of the book and give it to your thinking skeptical colleagues, family members, and friends. You will not regret it.

I hope to reflect further on the book later on this blog when I am finished reading it.

To learn more about the book and why Tim Keller wrote it, go to the website here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Smashing False Idols: Tim Keller Messages

Tim Keller, one of the most important ministry thinkers of our day, recently spoke at the Evangelists Conference on the topic: "Smashing False Idols." The messages are as follows:

Gospel Realisation
Gospel Communication
Gospel Incarnation

Also, there are many other great messages by different important thinkers related to the topic of evangelism that you may want to check out:

2003: The Big Problem of Sin
The Early Church and Evangelism. Acts 4. Wallace Benn
Creation and Sin. Genesis 2 & 3. Peter Woodcock
The Cross and Sin. 1 Peter 1. Roger Carswell

2004: Compelled by Love - training Gospel workers
Bible Reading 2 Timothy 4:5 Dick Lucas
The Training an Evangelist gives 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. John Chapman
The Training an Evangelist needs 2 Corinthians 4:5. John Chapman

2005: Turning the heart - preaching repentance today
Bible Reading Luke 19:1-10 Liam Goligher
Repentance in biblical perspective. Peter Woodcock
Preaching Repentance. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. Rico Tice

2006: Eternity - Preaching the new creation
Searching for Eden Christopher Ash
The Eternity Appeal Christopher Ash
Preaching the New Creation Paul Williams

HT: Chris Shipley

Tim Keller's Definition of the Gospel

“The ‘gospel’ is the good news that through Christ the power of God’s kingdom has entered history to renew the whole world. When we believe and rely on Jesus’ work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us.”

HT: Tullian Tchividjian

Emotional Health: Tim Keller

"Some say that calling yourself a 'sinner' is emotionally unhealthy. Oh, no. It is emotionally unhealthy not to call yourself a sinner...To be able to say 'I am capable of terrible things, but I am unconditionally loved,' is the epitome of mental health. It is the gospel that gives us that. The gospel gives us the freedom to admit who we are when the information comes, to see where we need to change, to know ourselves."

-Tim Keller, Did He Die for You?, Journal of Biblical Counseling, Spring 2007

HT: Buzzard Blog

Dwell Urban Church Planting Conference


DWELL CONFERENCE

Speaker Topics:
Mark Driscoll - Dwelling in the Text & Dwelling through the Text
Tim Keller - TBD (2 sessions)
Ed Stetzer - Dwelling in the Kingdom & Dwelling in the Mission
CJ Mahaney - Dwelling in the Cross
Darrin Patrick - Dwelling with non-Christians

HT: Cawley