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Moses's Social Anxiety

Moses began the story of God's journey to rescue and redeem us--he prophesied the importance of the sacrificial lamb and gave us the "words" that revealed God's plan of salvation. Jesus will write the final chapter, be the final Lamb, and be the final "Word" that "became flesh." (John 1:14)

Gideon's Imposter Syndrome

Just like in Gideon's case, God works through imperfect vessels even now. The glory is all His, but what a gift that we get to partner with Him here on earth. Truly, the pressure is off when God invites us to attempt the impossible, because only He can achieve it.

Certainly it seems to me that from having had to reach what is really the Voice of God in the cursing Psalms through all the horrible distortions of the human medium, I have gained something I might not have gained from a flawless, ethical exposition. The shadows have indicated (at least to my heart) something more about the light.

What I see (so to speak) in the faces of these old poets tells me more about the God whom they and we adore. ~ C.S. Lewis

Chapter 10 - Healing of Sin: Intimacy with God

As the Westminster Confession of Faith puts it, "As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent." In response to that, how can we not say with David,
"My tongue will sing of your righteousness, O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise." (Psalm 51:14-15)

Chapter 9-Healing of Sin: True Repentance
We follow Jesus because he's the One who taught us that the repenting sould is the tirumphant soul, that to lose our lives is to find our lives, that we behold his grace and glory in the dark valley, not on the moutaintop. Let us find his light in our darkness, his joy in our sorrow, his grace in our sin, and his riches in our poverty. This is the way to be healed of our sin.

Chapter 8: Sin as Slavery

The only way that fire can burn in your heart is through worship. Worship, worship, worship. That's what creates the appetite. As Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good," . . . the tolerance effect is reversed. Don't you know his mercies are new every morning and nobody else's are?Everything else gets old. . . But the Lord gives more than enough each and every day.

Chapter 7: Sin as Leprosy (Part 2)

A lot of us are crying and wondering why God let terrible things happen to us. Perhaps he does it to make our hearts long for him. Our suffering can give us the chance to pay the price of usefulness. We can let our troubles move us closer to the world . . . or we can let our troubles create a great heart in us. We can be deeper in bondage, or we can be free.

Chapter 6: Sin as Leprosy (Part 1)

If we believe in grace and follow Jesus, our pride will be dissolved and the leprosy of our hearts will be cured. We will feel concern for others, give to them, and serve them so that they may know the wonderful truth we've discovered through the gospel. We will point them to the very salvation we have received ourselves.

Chapter 5: Sin as Self-Righteousness

The message of Jesus is this: If you come to God through him and say, "Give me your grace," there is no anger for you. Jesus, the one greater than Jonah, is here. . . Let me show you how you can be truly free through my love." This is what he did for Jonah, administering grace as a cure for his sin. And this is what he can do for you.

Chapter 4: Sin as Mistrust

I know you get worried, because I get worried. . . But God offers us a way out. By being rooted and grounded in love, looking at Christ's thirst until ours goes away, meditating on what he has done and communing with him, and making the Lord our trust, we can experience true peace, true forgiveness and the loving care of the one true God.

Chapter 3: Sin as Leaven

Jesus was a living example of the principle My life for yours.
The more we grasp that he gave his life for us, the more we'll be able to do the same for others.

Chapter 2: Sin As Self Deception

The grace of God liberates us. We will know the truth, and the truth will set us free from trying to make ourselves great through our own actions. We are already kings and priests. Does God delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as he does in us obeying his voice? Jesus obeyed perfectly so God can be delighted in you.

Chapter 1: Sin as Predator

God will, to the end of your life, continue to care about you and preserve you and keep you from getting what your sins deserve. He cares that much about you. Go to him. Only then, through the saving work of Jesus Christ, can you master that which seeks to destroy you.

If we stand any chance of answering the question of what is wrong with the world--much less of being saved from the answer to that question--we must begin with understanding the complexity and multifaceted nature of sin and end with understanding the unfailing love of a God who chooses to save us from it. This book will show you how.

Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm.

Lots of food for thought in this book regarding cholesterol, Vitamin D, diet, and more.

Chapter 8: The Painful Gift, How Suffering Drives Us Into God's Heart

Keller's most eloquent testimony to God's all-sufficient grace in suffering wasn't a sermon or an essay, a seminar or a book. It was his death. He faced it with bravery and hope, and it was the most powerful message he ever developed.

Chapter 7: Answering Heaven, How Prayer Unlocks Intimacy With God

The ability to converse with the Lord of heaven and earth isn't just and honor--it's the glorious union of two disparate truths: awe before an infinite being and intimacy with a personal friend. . . prayer is the furthest thing from a sterile concept or boring duty. It's an invitation into unimaginable joy. ~ Prayer, by Keller

Chapter 6: Do Justice, Love Mercy; Embodying the Compassion of the King

The nature of justice is inseparably tied to the nature of God. It is not simply a sweet sentiment, or a political talking point, or a modern fad. It is the veritable foundation of God's throne (Ps. 89:14). And, therefore, it must be woven deeply into the fabric of our lives.

Chapter 5: When Faith Goes to Work, Serving God and Others In Your Job

If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, the every good endeavor--even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God's calling--can matter forever. That is what the Christian faith promises.

Chapter 4: Friends on Purpose, How the Gospel Transforms Relationships

It will require tenacity and fortitude, staying power and sustaining grace so that, as Keller puts it, we let people in without letting them down. But placed in the hands of the Master of Ceremonies, friendship has the power not just to spur our sanctification and to enhance the lives of others but to reflect the Friend of Sinners himself.

Chapter 3: Three Ways to Live, Why Religion Needs Grace

. . . it is the message Tim Keller loved to communicate. Don't just flee your bad works. Flee your "good" works, too. Flee them both and collapse into the open arms of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2: A Tale of Disordered Loves

When I struggle with my idols, I think of Jesus, voluntarily bowing his head into that ultimate storm, taking it on frontally, for me. He sank in that storm of terror so I would not fear any other storm in my life. If he did that for me, then I can know my value, confidence, and mission in life all rest in him. ~ from "Counterfeit Gods" by Tim Keller

Chapter 1: Jesus Christ In All Scripture

We miss out on the breathtaking beauty of the Bible when we reduce it to only a textbook or only a devotional book or only a morality book. Above all, the word of God is a Jesus book.
Don't lose sight of his glory, Majesty, and beauty as you turn the pages. Christ is all.

My aim in this volume is to synthesize the ultimate synthesizer. Drawing from nearly fifty years of sermons, conference messages, interviews, articles, books, and more, I attempt to draw out the best of Keller's teaching where it shines brightest--biblical wisdom for everyday life.

Chapter 13: God's Unconditional Love For Us: The Book of Hosea

Imagine having the strength not only to forgive your betrayer, but also to embrace them with love and kindness after their duplicity has been exposed. That's what our Heavenly Father does for us day after day, minute after minute, second after second--no matter how many times our faithless hearts wander from Him.

Chapter 12: Jesus and John: Friends for Eternity

John was present with Jesus, as part of this core group [The Inner Circle], at three crucial events: the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. John was there to witness the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Chapter 11: Job and His Friends (Companions in Grief)

How do we respond when our friends challenge us on spiritual matters? Do we insist that our own views of God and why He acts must be the right ones, or do we have a heart open enough to listen for the ways God may speak to us through our friends? Job also put faith at the core of these relationships by interceding for his friends.

Chapter 10: The Friendships of Paul (Companions for the Journey)

Most of all, Paul teaches us that the true friendships--like the deepest love--is one that finds its beginning, end, and purpose in Jesus, no matter how far from home we wander or what journeys God calls us to undertake.

Chapter 9: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Friendship in the Fire)

God is with us, even in Babylon. He can use us here to bring grace to the world around us. He can change the hearts of pagan kings. He can walk with us into the furnace. He can and does bless us with a community of believers. And one day He will take us home to our heavenly Promised Land.