Darryl Dash's Blog, page 35

What I Learned from Tim Keller

By now, everyone seems to have tweeted and blogged about Tim Keller. (See this thread for some of the tributes and essays that have been published over the past few days.)

At the risk of over-saturation, I wanted to reflect on some of what I learned from Tim Keller’s life and ministry.

You Can Be Orthodox and a Bunch of Other Things Too

You can fill in the blank with this one. You can be orthodox and missional. You can be orthodox and reach post-Christian people in a secular society. You can be ort...

Get Wisdom (1 Kings 3)

Big Idea: Build your life on who God is, who you’re not, and what matters most: God’s wisdom.

If you could ask for and receive anything in life, what would it be?

Some people might wish for different circumstances. You may want something that you don’t have. Maybe you wish you could go back and change something in your past.

If you could ask for anything, what would it be?

The 2005 television reality show "Three Wishes" asked that question in small towns across America. Then the producers made wishe...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

You Are Not Destined to Live in Quiet Times

Humanity’s third major technological revolution is leading us into a future more promising and also more dangerous than any since the dawn of history. It’s coming faster than you think.

An Attribute of God That Isn’t Discussed Enough

Christian, this is an attribute of God that ought to make you say of him, What a God! He doesn’t need us, but he delights to give himself to us through the redeeming work of his Son.

Shou...

A Proverbial Life

On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly decided to give his kids advice. He wrote down 68 bits, one for every year he’d lived.

He posted his advice on his website, and the post was more popular than he thought. He also discovered that he had more to say, so he kept writing down more advice each year.

Recently, he compiled some of his best advice in a book called Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. Don’t expect a normal book with chapters and a flow of thought. Expect a book of ...

David’s Confusing Finish (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21)

Big Idea: God is wrathful, sovereign, just, and merciful.

I’ve got to be honest. Today’s passage is among the hardest that I’ve ever preached. I’m a little scared by the question and response time at the end, because this sermon may raise more questions than I have answers!

The story we’re looking at today is found twice in the Bible in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21.

I want to look at it for two reasons.

First, because some of you are going to read it this week in your Bible reading, and it’s goin...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Spotlight on Preaching

If done right, preaching never produces a conscious moment of being in the spotlight. But it will put the spotlight where it belongs – on Him whom we preach.

Discipleship Should Create a Mature Community (Not Just Individual Stars)

Discipleship quite rightly involves both the individual and the community, the player and the team, so to speak. But curiously, in our current practices, we frequently flip the proper place of each.

Four Reason...

Younger Christians Are Looking for Older Saints

I suppose there’s such a thing as the sins of the young: impetuousness, impatience, anger, and lust, for instance. Left alone, these weeds will grow and make for an ugly and joyless life.

But I also suppose there are sins of age. Perhaps these are just the sins of the young left to grow for a very long time. Older adults can become bitter, critical, and withdrawn.

I have a theory that we can, to some extent, hide our sinful tendencies when we’re younger. We’re able to wear a mask, and it can take ...

What the Church Looks Like on Mission (Acts 8:1-25)

Big Idea: The church on mission often begins reluctantly, sometimes encounters surprising success, and is messy.

A few years ago, God unsettled my family. I’d been pastoring at a church in the inner suburbs of Toronto, but things began to unravel there a little.

To my surprise, we ended up moving into downtown Toronto into a young, professional, transient community. A friend of mine told me that it would be impossible to start a new church there. But we said, “Let’s see what happens,” and we just ...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

The Beatific Vision

One doctrine that you may never have heard of (but one that you really should know about) is the beatific vision.

Too Busy for Beauty

Productivity is good, but our souls long for something greater.

Midlife and the Striver's Curse

I have unknowingly believed some lies. While always susceptible to them, they have a tendency to creep up with intensity in midlife.

Simple Ways to Cultivate Awe and Lower Your Stress

I’d like to consider some simple s...

Pray for Gospel Boldness

Ephesians is breathtaking. I don’t know of a better exposition of the gospel than the one we find in its pages. Paul articulates the gospel better than any of us could hope to do. He gives us a glimpse of God’s eternal purpose, and then applies that gospel to people who need to know what it means for how they live.

Reading Ephesians, I might think that Paul has nailed the skill of articulating the gospel.

Given this, I’m surprised to read these words at the end of his letter to the Ephesians:

Ephes...