Come Forth as Gold
Sermons, songs, books, essays, and Bible studies worth your time, each with a note on why.
10 Things You Should Know About Heaven
An educational and an exceptionally encouraging explanation of the hereafter. I wasn't familiar with Dane Ortlund, but I found him to be a great communicator with a wonderful mind and an amazing heart.
An article from Crossway that outlines ten key biblical truths about heaven and the future resurrection. It covers the intermediate state, the restoration of creation, the absence of suffering, resurrected bodies, and the centrality of Christ's presence in eternity.
Praying Through Our Fears
Tim Mackie really opened something up for me in appreciating the psalms. He used Psalm 3 to show how David names fears that we can find analogues to, especially with respect to our purpose and significance, and how he hands these over to God.
Tim Mackie teaches on the Psalms as the language of prayer, focusing on how to pray through fears. The session includes a downloadable prayer book resource.
The Theology of the Cross and Walking with a Limp
Keller warns us against becoming Martin Luther's "theologians of glory" and uses the story of Jacob's wrestling for blessings to show how, as David Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "all Christians who have true joy also limp."
Tim Keller explores how God sacrifices himself for the weak and works through suffering in the lives of believers. He argues that true Christian joy comes from wrestling with God like Jacob, receiving blessings through the cross rather than through idols.
Who Can Forgive Sins [Matthew]
Very helpful in elucidating the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. Mackie provides critical historical context regarding the authority under the Roman empire and how sins were forgiven through temple sacrifice. I also found his theological discussions of forgiveness helpful, and he provides a fresh hypothesis on how Jesus may have been directly addressing what a Jewish paralytic at that time would have assumed about their own sin.
Tim Mackie explores the question of who has authority to forgive sins in the Gospel of Matthew, examining the theological implications of forgiveness in Jesus's ministry and teaching.
How to Deal with Dark Times
Another Keller masterpiece. God does not dismiss how suffering people speak but shows us through Psalm 88, Job, and Jesus' life and death, that He is a God of grace, and we will come forth as gold.
Tim Keller discusses Psalm 88 and how to deal with difficult seasons of life. He explores how the psalms, including expressions of desperation, reveal God's understanding and identification with human suffering.
Good and Evil, Wisdom and Sin
What the tree of the knowledge of good and evil reveal about wisdom and sin
10 things you should know about repentance
This brief essay clarified the central role of repentance in my walk as a Christian. I especially appreciated the idea of repentance and faith being two sides of the same coin. Indeed, continual repentance is an essential aspect of a continual relationship with God.
There is an often underappreciated and misunderstood Biblical emphasis on repentance. This essay discusses the the role of faith in salvation, faith, and spiritual growth, as well as how to apply repentance in our lives and our relationships.
Our power: spirit-filled living
Tim Keller uses the metaphor of an acorn to illustrate the nature of God's power to shape us. An acorn can break concrete and yield an entire forest, but its power is through slow change. God uses magic acorns, not magic bullets.
Holy Forever
Written by Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Phil Wickham · performed by Chris Tomlin
Chris Tomlin performs Holy Forever
What a Beautiful Name
Written by Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood · performed by Hillsong Worship
Hillsong worship performs What a Beautiful Name
Firm Foundation (He Won't)
Written by Cody Carnes, Chandler Moore, Austin Davis · performed by Cody Carnes
Cody Carnes performs Firm Foundation
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
Keller takes the most common objections to Christianity seriously — suffering, exclusivity, the church's failures, science — before making a positive case for faith. Useful both for skeptics and for believers who want to engage them honestly.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 1: What the Bible actually means when God says "Good"
Tim Mackie explores the Creation narrative and what it reveals about the Trinity and the nature of goodness.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 2: Why God withheld the tree (and what that teaches us about desire)
Tim Mackie discusses the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as well as the nature of wisdom and desire. He further explores the relationship between wisdom and God's word as well as God's intention for our wisdom.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 3: How Jesus becomes the human we were meant to be
Tim Mackie discusses Creation parallels with Jesus' baptism, temptation in the wilderness, and Sermon on the Mount. He further ties together the prior discussions of desire and wisdom.
