Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

In Jonah, the antagonists are the religious, moral people. It’s us. It’s the city-disdaining, city-phobic, religious, moral people. We’re the antagonists, and God is the protagonist.

It all comes down to this last question when God says, “Should I not have compassion? Should I not love that great city?” This is what the story is about. It’s about God’s love for a big, unbelieving, unjust, violent, pagan city. 

We can learn about three things here: 1) God’s call to the city, 2) God’s view of the city, and 3) God’s love for the city.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 14, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 4:1-11.

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.

History tells us the Assyrian empire brought cruelty and massacre to a new level. It was a violent empire that slaughtered helpless people. And Jonah’s response to it is anger. He wants them punished. 

Yet, in the book of Jonah, we see one of the greatest surprising turns of all the stories in the Bible. God refuses to accept either the violence of Nineveh or the poisonous anger of Jonah. 

Let’s look at three things that this text tells us about violence: 1) the surprising sources of violence, 2) the remarkable strategy we should take with violence, and 3) the ultimate solution for violence.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 7, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 3:1-4:5.

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.

Jonah’s spirituality was fine for his old world and his old situations. But when he’s faced with a new situation, it just collapses. 

Then, when he’s in the belly of the fish, Jonah begins to reflect and pray, and as the prayer moves along, we see he has a spiritual breakthrough. Now the new situation is something he can handle. How do we, too, move to the next level? 

By looking at Jonah’s prayer we learn about 1) the key to spiritual transformation, 2) the method of spiritual transformation, 3) the marks of spiritual transformation, and 4) the continual need for it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 30, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 2:1-3:3.

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.

Jonah runs away for two reasons: fear and hate. 

God has told Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn them, but Jonah refuses. He’s afraid to put himself in the midst of his enemies, but he’s also filled with hate toward them. So the book of Jonah addresses in a real way the questions “What do I do about my fear?” and “What do I do about my anger?”

Let’s notice three features of the story: 1) the stormy sea shows us who we are, 2) the religious sailors show us the wrong thing to do about it, and 3) the willing substitute shows us the right thing to do about it.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 23, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 1:4-17.

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.

Words like sin, sinner, heathen and heretic have been used for centuries to exclude and oppress people. That’s one reason we need the book of Jonah. 

Jonah gives a concept of sin that can’t be used to oppress people. In fact, it shows that it’s one thing to believe in sin and another thing to understand it in your own heart. Jonah was a prophet, but there was a kind of sin in his heart that flew under his radar—until it blew up. 

Let’s look at four features in the narrative that each tell us something about sin: 1) the coming word, 2) the running man, 3) the deathly sleep, and 4) the stormy hope.

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 9, 2001. Series: The Church in the City. Scripture: Jonah 1:1-10.

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.