Everyone with a Gift

1st Sermon in the Series: Every Member Ministry
Dr. Timothy Keller - 18 September 2011

Romans 12: 1-8

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pelasing and perfect will.

3For by grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than others, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently, if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

• The essence of Christian life is a perpetual living sacrifice; we have to put to death the idea that we are in control of our lives and should give ourselves over to God.


• The aspects of a Christian life affects our whole life including our inner selves


• We should be a servant to Christianity and share the gospels (directly and through how we live)


• We don't live a good life so that we can seek God's favor, but the Essence of Christian life is why we live a good life---this allows you to be consistent even when nobody is looking.


• It's a voluntary submission that allows the new life to flow into you.

Isaiah and the Crisis

11th Sermon in the Series: Theophany:
Anticipations of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament
Dr. Timothy Keller - 11 September 2011

Isaiah 6:1-8
1In the year that King Uzzah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am, Send me!"

• Evil is boring because it is self-centeredness to an extreme degree


• God and good is electric and decimating--Jesus's actions are unpredictable.


• How do you when you've met God? -- By realizing how worthless you are


• Peace and Inspiration comes from inner conflict--and leads to real authenticity.


• Power of God comes through repentence and admitting weakness.