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6 Tim Keller Quotes on Gospel Renewal

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The Reason for God Quote

If you have been paying attention to my social feed at all you may have noticed an insane amount of Tim Keller quotes. There is a reason for this, aside from the fact that Keller is brilliant. I am currently in a church planting class in Seminary and Keller’s books “Center Church” and “The Reason for God” are key resources. These books are gospel saturated and leaves the reader longing for the gospel not just for themselves but for the gospel to transform the communities that they live in.

One particular section covers Gospel Renewal. Keller is immensely helpful when it comes to unpacking what biblical revival looks like, and points us to Gospel Renewal as the catalyst for Biblical Revival. Most importantly, Keller points out that revival is not something that we can cause, rather it is something that God does. The following are 6 quotes that encouraged me, and I pray also encourage you.

  1. “Revivals and renewals are necessary because the default mode of the human heart is works-righteousness”
  2. “Because we don’t really believe the gospel deep down – because we are living as if we save our selves – our hearts find ways of either rejecting or reengineering the doctrine (as in liberal theology)”
  3. “All revivals are seasons in which the ordinary operations of the Holy Spirit are intensified many-fold”
  4. “You must let the gospel argue with you. You must let the gospel sink down deeply until it changes your views and the structures of your motivation. You must be trained and discipled by the gospel. The gospel, if it is truly believed, helps us out of the extreme neediness that is natural to the human heart.”
  5. “Holiness affects both the private and civic lives of Christians”
  6. “Ultimately, we can only prepare for revival; we can’t really bring it about. God must send it.”

What are your favorite quotes that relate to renewal, revival, and the Gospel?

Bonus quote:

“Personal gospel renewal means the gospel doctrines of sin and grace are actually experienced, not just known intellectually”

Why I Love The Movie Exodus: Gods and Kings

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Exodus wide
Hollywood has seemingly put the spotlight on the Bible. With the epic releases of the The Passion, The Bible Mini Series, Noah, and most recently, Exodus: Gods and Kings. Interestingly, the Christian world has had mixed feelings about the releases of major blockbuster films like Exodus. There seems to be a genuine concern for Biblical accuracy and devotion to the Bible and its rendering of such a paramount story. However, in this concern I believe we may have missed something even more important. In our pursuit for Biblical accuracy, we are missing the opportunity that awaits the believer to engage his/her culture and community
For the record, both Noah and Exodus do a horrible job in terms of hermeneutics and exegesis. But, thats NOT the point. The point is that our society and culture has a desire to engage with the concepts and stories that are portrayed in the scriptures and thats why I love this movie. It gives us an incredible opportunity that should cause the following in the Christian.

1. Ask the question why

Why is it that a major film maker like Ridley Scott would take the venture to pursue bringing the framework of the story of Moses from the Bible to the big screens? What does Ridley Scott see in the narrative of Moses that appeals to humanity and our culture today? Considering the millions of dollars spent on this film, we can’t even begin to imagine the amount of market and demographic research that was done to come to the conclusion that this was something that would not only appeal to todays culture but seemingly engage it in a profound way. For us as believers, it would be wise to consider how the story of Moses engages, encourages, and challenges us as believers. And continue by considering how it would engage, encourage, and challenge a non believer.

2. Pray for Ridley Scott, Christian Bale, and the cast and crew of Exodus

It is not possible for Ridley Scott to produce this film without an intense amount of research into the Bible and the narrative of Moses and the Pharaoh. The first step for Christian Bale in order to get into the character of Moses would be to study the Biblical character of Moses. The cast and crew would need to understand the geography, cultural and historical climate, and even weaponry during that biblical time period. Think about that. They had to study the Bible at some level. Regardless of how they interpreted what they studied and the direction they took with the final characters, they were in some way and fashion exposed to the Moses, Pharaoh, and most importantly, the God of the Bible. This should cause us to have a sense of thanks and hope for what the Holy Spirit is more than capable of doing. My Pastor was sent to a behavior rehabilitation program in the Samoan islands when he was in Jr. High. In the library he found a Bible and literally opened it up in Genesis and read through it. By the time he got to the Gospels he knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah and he literally got saved simply by reading the Bible. Imagine what could happen to all those involved in these movies as they engage the Bible as a source of background information only to be met by the loving and powerful God who sent his Son to die on a cross and reconcile humanity back to the father.

3. Engage your culture

Stop hiding. If we really love God and want to do his will, do what Jesus said. Go and make disciples (Matthew 28: 18-20). The call of the Christian is not to run and hide in the mountains waiting for the coming of Christ. Rather, it is to engage a dark and lost world with the beauty of the Gospel. John Newton captures this perfectly as he states:
Regardless of your opinion of these movies you have the opportunity to engage your family, friends, and loved ones who are not believers. Imagine the amount of non believers that will see the movie Exodus and the natural bridge that has been formed for us to engage them with their questions and thoughts to point them right to the Bible. These are opportunities for believers to engage their culture and not pout and whine about how “un-biblical” the movie was”. Your right, it wasn’t. Now communicate with confidence to everyone how it wasn’t and why its important that we understand the difference, and the hope that the Gospel brings.

4. Be obedient to the Holy Spirit and your conscience

Some of us will be more than ok to go and see Exodus. We can watch it and enjoy its cinematic excellence and take in the Biblical nuances and framework. Further, we can begin to understand and build bridges and connection points with non Christian friends who we can watch the movie with. However, if you feel your conscience leads you to refrain from watching the movie, don’t watch it. There are other ways to be informed about the movie and engage your community. Read reviews of the movie or jump on wikipedia and check out the summary to get familiar.
I don’t think that there is anything more clear than Jesus’ command in his High Priestly prayer (John 17) when in verse 18 he says, “ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world”. It is without a doubt that the intention of Christ was for his disciples to go into the world and engage the world by proclaiming the Gospel. There is no better example than Paul as he preaches on Mars Hill and engages his audience with their own philosophy and tradition as a bridge to tie them to the truth of the Gospel. Hopefully, we can take that example and do it today with opportunities in front of us.

4 Ways My Affections For God Were Stirred Through Lucas’ Birth

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Lucas Blog
It feels like it was just yesterday that I was in a hospital in Roseville, CA waiting for my first son Liam to be born. Fast forward four years and I found myself in a hospital in Bellingham, WA on December 2nd at 8pm waiting for my third son Lucas. And then he came. My wife is incredible. As I learned early on, she is not the norm in terms of child birth. Actually, her first doctor in Roseville said that she was designed to have babies. Brittany’s active labor’s have all been under 10 minutes. This recent one was 7 minutes.
 Lucas Baby
I have been contemplating what occurred in those seven minutes, and found that at the end, in the beginning, and during, my affections for God were stirred. When I say that I mean, I found myself in awe and wonder of God through the process of Lucas coming into this world. Lucas’ birth did following within me:

1. It magnified the creative brilliance of God

It literally blows my mind to consider that two people can come together to produce life. Even more incredible, is that our ability to produce life is predicated on the creative brilliance of God to create us in a way to allow this. Often times we are short sited in our perspective of the incredible. Its incredible that Brittany and I could produce life, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The real magnificence is the one who designed humanity. From conception, 39 weeks of pregnancy, labor, and finally the entrance of Lucas, I can’t begin to imagine that this was not with design. That by chance molecules, genetics, and DNA all came together to allow child birth doesn’t really make sense. Rather, we are forced to consider that there was a master creator that designed all this to work in such a perfect way to allow life come into existence. And it leaves us with a sense of appreciation for the creative brilliance of this creator. Its in these moments that we can relate with the psalmists as they declare
Psalm 8:3-4
3  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4  what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Psalm 33:6-9
7  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8  Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9  For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The creative brilliance of God is constantly on display throughout all of creation. Next time you walk outside take a moment to enjoy the experience. If you are in Chicago in the bitter cold and snow, appreciate the concept of snow, and how cold the environment needs to get to sustain snow. Even, better, have hope for the fading of snow and when the sun shine and warmth returns. Jonathan Edwards was famous for scheduling times in the day to go on walks and horse back riding. These times were devoted to enjoying the beauty around him and to be reminded of the grandeur of God and his creative work.

2. It stirs the affections of human wonder of God

My affection for God were stirred. When I say affections I mean a multitude of emotions. My love, sheer awe, wonder, fear, reverence, respect and so much more. Some of you may find it strange that I include fear in my list. However, it seems right to be in holy fear and reverence of the one who is able to speak existence into being and fashioned man kind in His own likeness and image.

As my affections are stirred I am reminded of the goodness of God. This remembrance causes me to worship and bring to recollection the goodness of God in all of life. It also causes me to have right perspective of our God. I am reminded of the line in the C.S Lewis novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as the children begin to learn the character and nature of Aslan. The kids did not have a full perspective of who Aslan really was. And when they considered him to be “safe” Mr. Beaver responds,

““Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

C.S Lewis masterfully captures the tension that lies in the goodness of God and his “otherness”. At times we only look at a specific attribute of God and view that as who He is in totality. But God is much more complex. As my affections for God lead to worship, it becomes clear that we need a full perspective of the greatness of God which results in a multitude of emotions (awe, wonder, fear, amazement) as we enter into worship of who He is.
Ready for the next 2 ways? Be on the look out for the next post!

Hebrews: The Supremacy Of Christ In All Things

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I’m currently studying Hebrews in seminary. Here are some thoughts as I go through this class:

Further, we see that God speaks finally and fully through Jesus. We have no other need for further revelation than that which is given to us in the Word and through the Son.

The book of Hebrews sets the stage for our right understanding and perspective of who Jesus is. Namely, that he has ultimate supremacy and authority in all things. In fact, the Screen Shot 2014-06-08 at 11.51.22 PMwriter of Hebrews states, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” [1] This distinction sets Jesus apart in all ways. The writer of Hebrews helps to reinforce this idea by placing a series of comparisons in front of us. The primary comparison is between the Son and angels. Clearly, we see that the Son is far superior and enjoys a personal relationship with the father. The theological implication of this comparison points the believer towards Jesus as the hero. At times our attention can focus on the servants or other angelic figures, but clearly we see that the only person of worth and honor is Jesus. Further, we see that God speaks finally and fully through Jesus. We have no other need for further revelation than that which is given to us in the Word and through the Son.

Throughout the first few chapters of Hebrews we see clearly a distinction between past and the present till Jesus returns. The ESV study Bible points out these comparisons and states, “Four points of contrast occur between vv. 1 and 2: time of revelation (“long ago” vs. these last days); agent of revelation (“prophets” vs. Son); recipients of revelation (“fathers” vs. us); and, implicitly, the unity of the final revelation in the Son (cf. the “many times and in many ways”[3].

The importance of the first chapters of Hebrews is paramount in our right perspective of Jesus. It sets the stage as Jesus being our source of hope, strength, substance, and salvation. While the tendency might be for us to get distracted by other biblical figures, the point is that Jesus in fact is better. There is direct application to the believer as we look at those in leadership of the church or ministries. It is easy for us to exalt and elevate ministry leaders into areas of authority, which at times can cause us to value them over Jesus. While this may not be intentional, it can easily happen. It is important that we consider Jesus in all that we do. Consider that Jesus is fully supreme and is the perfect example for all things. We can look to him for all our needs. In fact, the characteristics that we find compelling and helpful in ministry leaders are found perfect in Christ. Therefore, it benefits us to look to Christ for all things. He provides true satisfaction and is the perfect example and savior that humanity longs for.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Heb 1:3.

[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Heb 1:1–2.

[3] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2361.

3 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Leading Worship

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I started early as a worship leader and was kind of thrown into it. Looking back, I had guitar1some incredible mentors but many of those around me were learning with me. Here are 3 things I wish I knew when I first started leading worship. These things have been echoed by many worship leaders across the country that I get to meet with. All of this really came together while at the Allaboutworship.com conference. Thankful to my friends Wisdom Moon, Michael Farren, and Sean Hill for conversation there that were incredibly helpful.

Let’s start with number 2:

2. LEAD YOUR CONGREGATION UP THE MOUNTAIN

The Old Testament offers some beautiful illustrations of God’s people ascending his mountain to enjoy his presence (Psalm 24:3). As a worship leader, you’re helping spiritually lead your congregation into God’s presence. Corporate worship is a communal experience, and part of facilitating that experience is being aware of where the rest of your church is. Sometimes the worship leader or the band can get so far ahead that they lose everyone else.

The goal isn’t to be the first to the top of the mountain; you certainly don’t want to stand at the top alone. Be conscious of emotive moments during songs, and as you foster that experience through instrumentation, consider how vocals accompany the feeling. Lead the voices of your congregation so you can enjoy the presence of God together.

Read more over at the Proclaim blog. <——

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