Faith and Work...A sermon by Tim Keller
Henry Kaestner
Entrepreneur/Investor.....Co-Founder BAND, Sovereign's Capital, FaithDrivenEntrepreneur.org, FaithDrivenInvestor.org and GenerosityBayArea.org
I have listened to Tim Keller thousands of times. Literally. Tim started accompanying me on runs 20 years ago. He always kept up, and never seemed to break a sweat. I’m not sure Tim made me a faster runner (in fact, I’m sure the opposite….he can’t hold a candle to a good house music track IMO for running negative splits), but I’m sure he has made me a better follower of Christ and since my competitive running days are long gone, I’ll take that trade every day.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rise-faith-and-work/id352660924?i=1000366656640&mt=2
This isn’t my favorite sermon of his, (that’s “A Search for Happiness” that I’ll undoubtedly blog about later this year) but it’s in my top 5 and it’s the one that has most shaped the way that I think about my work. I think it’ll help shape yours.
There is just so much here. As with any Tim Keller sermon….maybe any sermon, the best is at the end...sometimes I think that the last 10 minutes of sermons are the equivalent to “muffin tops” - the ingenous bakery product that allows you to eat the best of the muffin. But I strongly encourage you to listen to all of it.
The passage from Scripture is from Isaiah 60, not a place that I’d typically go to to think about work. I’d expect that Tim’s best sermon on work would come from an unpacking of the Parable of the Talents, or Paul’s repeated admonition that we should work, the mention that God’s work continues to this day (John 5:17), or something standard fare. But his pick from Isaiah is brilliant. It shows us that we will be working in Heaven and what that will be like.
Some highlights for me include his take on the unique aspects of the Judeo-Christian view on work and how it’s different from other religions. But his take on the Tower of Babel and why that work was destined to fail because of wrong motives is where he starts to pick up steam. Never the one to leave out some great cultural references (from Bono to CS Lewis), his go-to in this sermon is John Coltrane, and it’s a great one. See if that moves you the way it moved me.
Who am I working for today? Me, or God? Am I really?
Favorite quote: “We believe that the work of our hands will save us. And we believe it, and we repeat that daily catechism and we sing in that choir until we are exhausted.”
Editor’s note: Got a favorite sermon that’s informed your entrepreneurial journey? Let us know at FaithDrivenEntrepreneur.org
Strategic Communication & Public Relations
4yI'm very encouraged by this podcast. I had a similar experience in the Navy, Where ever I was stationed, there were opportunities to live out your faith. We encouraged and supported each other and embraced and respected groups from different faiths.
Podcast Host | Family Office | IPOs | Institutional Investor | Capital Market Advisor | Author | The Deal Scout | PIPE's, Bridges, SPAC's, M&A, Venture Capital and Private Equity | Executive Producer | Kingmaker
4yOrare est laborare, laborare est orare.... I came across this and found it quite directional. St. Benedict explains in his Rule that “idleness is the enemy of the soul.” He therefore counsels “specified periods for manual labor” for all monks and nuns. Monastic manual labor traditionally includes such activities as agriculture, beekeeping, and other outdoor work, as well as pottery, weaving, icon painting, woodcarving, bookbinding, and related arts and crafts, whose goal is the production of useful and beautiful objects that mirror, darkly, the transcendent beauty of God. In addition, some Benedictine monasteries run schools or care for parishes. Whatever the activity, the work becomes itself a form of prayer, a way of offering one’s energies to God for the completion of his Kingdom. Orare est laborare, laborare est orare: “to pray is to work, to work is to pray.” The Benedictines of Petersham By Philip Zaleski
Independent Consultant
5yFantastic appetizer for a great speaker's expounding insights ..Thank you Henry...
Co-Founder & CEO at Kadence. Building tools for the future of work ☁️ 👨💻
6yA great listen - thank you for sharing. This one was foundational for me from Louie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDNn_LGlK7w
So I’m going on a run on the Los Gatos creek trail tomorrow up the Lexington reservoir and will be listening to this. Thanks for the great recommendation!