The Power and Message of the Cross
Alistair Begg is an exceptional speaker, drawing on a wealth of references and wit to remind us of what we are so prone to forget -- that it is grace alone that saves us.
Alistair Begg explains how Christ's death on the cross is the solution to humanity's brokenness. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 1:18–31, the sermon addresses the gravity of sin, God's grace, and the hope offered through Christ's sacrifice.
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 his words abound with grace and encouragement.
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
This really opened something up for me in appreciating the psalms. David names fears that we can find analogues to and shows us how to hand them 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]
As educational and fun as always, Tim Mackie provides historical context to elucidate the story of Jesus healing the paralytic.
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 reveals 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.
A sermon on 2 Peter 1:3–11, preached at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in 2014, on spiritual growth as the work of the Holy Spirit rather than willpower: growth that is possible, gradual, essential, and practical.
Holy Forever
Written by Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Phil Wickham · performed by Chris Tomlin
This may be my favorite Christian song (specifically this performance). It's incredible how well Tomlin and his team made a song around the angels singing "Holy, holy, holy". This is the epitome of worship music!
Chris Tomlin performs Holy Forever
What a Beautiful Name
Written by Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood · performed by Hillsong Worship
What a beautiful song it is! This is a universal tear-jerker for those who hear it for the first time.
Hillsong worship performs What a Beautiful Name
Firm Foundation (He Won't)
Written by Cody Carnes, Chandler Moore, Austin Davis · performed by Cody Carnes
Such an encouraging song, built beautifully on Matthew 7:24-25.
Cody Carnes performs Firm Foundation
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
This book effectively led me to Christ. Keller turned over all my atheist assumptions before making the case for faith.
Tim Keller responds to the doubts skeptics most often raise about Christianity, such as suffering, hell, and exclusivity, then makes a positive case for Christian belief, drawing on philosophy, literature, and conversations at his Manhattan church.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 1: What the Bible actually means when God says "Good"
A fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the Creation narrative and what it reveals about the Trinity and the nature of goodness.
The opening session of a 2024 teaching day on Genesis 1–3, in which Tim Mackie of BibleProject asks why God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and bad in Eden. He traces the Hebrew idea of “good” (tov) and the theme of human desire through Scripture as a picture of maturity.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 2: Why God withheld the tree (and what that teaches us about desire)
Another excellent Mackie exploration/discussion, this time of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as well as the relationship between wisdom and God's word.
Tim Mackie continues his teaching on Genesis 1–3, asking why “knowing good and bad” was withheld from humans made in God's image. He contrasts receiving wisdom as a gift with seizing it on our own terms, and follows that pattern through the rest of Scripture.
Meditations on Genesis - Session 3: How Jesus becomes the human we were meant to be
Another fascinating exploration of Creation vis-a-vis Jesus' baptism, temptation in the wilderness, and Sermon on the Mount.
In the final session on Genesis 1–3, Tim Mackie draws together the themes of desire, wisdom, and maturity, and shows how the New Testament presents Jesus as the faithful human who grows into wisdom rather than grasping at it.
