Sep/090
The best of Tim Keller on twitter
One great twitter feature is the ability to use tools such as twitter search and TweetDeck to keep an eye on tweets containing certain phrases. I thought I’d start a search on Tim Keller and here are the top twitter Tim Keller quotes I found (after trawling through a lot of retweets!). I hope you enjoy them.
- jaredpete When talking about difference btw legalism and gospel: “Jesus didn’t tithe his blood.”
- timmybrister “God’s immanence makes his transcendence comforting; his transcendence makes his immanence amazing. The gospel leads us in both.“
- ronsylvia: “Most use their city to build a great church. Use your church to build a great city”
- jakebelder “A world in which everyone you love becomes fertilizer … is not a world which our hearts can rest in!”
- RedeemerNYC: “the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
- brandonsandifer “Without knowledge of our extreme sin, the payment of the cross seems trivial and does not electrify or transform.”
- daveferguson: “6 things you can give a new church: money, mentoring, model, members, minister & major leaders.”
- Kevinbrbc “The gospel shows us a God far more holy than a legalist can bear and yet more merciful than a humanist can conceive.“
- andrewhsieh “When I focus on Jesus’ Love I will not think too much of myself, too little of myself, I will just think of myself less.”
- jasonsalamun “I’m so flawed that Jesus had to die for me yet I’m so loved & valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.”
- jasonkelliott “mere moral effort without the gospel may restrain the heart but cannot truly change the heart”
- LizaGrimmet “you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently”
- jakebelder “Only people who know they are lost have any hope of ever being found.”
Popularity: 46% [?]
Sep/090
Tim Keller on why confession really is good for the soul
Reflecting on Christian confession, it never ceases to amaze me how confession can be so good for you. By definition confession means letting go of control and admitting deep failure and weakness. And yet, because God is so great, confession is so good. But for confession to truly be good for the soul it has to go deep. it has to go beyond the symptoms and search for the deep seated causes. I found this quote from Tim Keller recently while reading a church planting manual.
Dear Father, my sin is ever before me. I have desired control and that has only produced fear. I have desired power over others and that has only served to alienate them from me. I have desired my own comfort and that has only brought forth anger when my comfort was not achieved. I have sought the approval of others and have meticulously kept them from seeing my true self for fear of rejection. Idolatry plagues my heart! I am consumed with thoughts of self-aggrandizement, self-promotion and self-service.
In my deepest parts, I doubt that you are God and I want to rule myself. I cry out to you, Father. Only you can deliver me. Show me the cross. For without Jesus’ glorious robe of righteousness to cover my nakedness, I’ll die. Show me the love of my beautiful Saviour who gave up his glory and even his life that I might be delivered from idolatry. May the work of Jesus ever stir me towards radical, joyful obedience. May he be my reason for living and my eternal source of joy, hope, faith and love. Amen.
Tim Keller: A prayer life that nourishes your relationship with God.
Popularity: 34% [?]
Aug/093
Sinclair Ferguson on how the whole Bible points to Jesus
I found this great quote from an obscure leaflet written by Sinclair Ferguson – heard in an equally obscure sermon given by Dr. Tim Keller at Gordon Conwell Seminary in the US. The talks can sadly only be bought in CD form and not downloaded. I’ve asked about MP3 versions, but they’re not available. Here’s the quote anyway:
“Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is [given] to us. Jesus is the true and better Abel who though innocently slain has blood that cries out for our acquittal not our condemnation. Jesus as the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go into the void not knowing whither he went. Jesus is the true and better Isaac, who is not just offered up by his Father, but actually sacrificed by his Father. Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserve so that we like Jacob only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us. Jesus is the true and better Joseph who at the right hand of the king forgives those who betray him and sold him and uses his new power to save us. Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant. Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses, who struck with the rod of God’s justice now gives us water in the desert. Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends. Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, although they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves. Jesus is the true better Esther who didn’t just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly palace and who didn’t just risk his life but gave his life to save his people. Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast into the storm so that we could be brought in. Jesus is the ultimate lamb, the ultimate priest, the ultimate king” (Sinclair Ferguson)
Popularity: 57% [?]
