Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - Tim Keller Memorial Service

Episode Date: August 19, 2023

Today on Gospel in Life we're sharing a special worship service of praise to God for Tim Keller’s life and ministry. The memorial took place on August 15, 2023 at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. To access the service program or view a video recording of the full service made available thanks to Redeemer City to City, visit gospelinlife.com/memorial. Order of Service and Timestamps: Opening — Rev. Michael Keller [01:01] Welcome — Cardinal Dolan [01:19] Introduction — Rev. Michael Keller [01:46] Hymn — Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise [07:06] Hymn & Intro — Amazing Love, How Can It Be? [09:11] Scripture Reading — John 14, 1 Corinthians 15 [13:58] Max McLean — Weight of Glory, Mere Christianity [16:50] Hymn & Intro — How Firm a Foundation [19:36] Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 4, Romans 8 [24:12] Graham Howell — Remembrances of Tim Keller [27:15] Glen Kleinknecht — Remembrances of Tim Keller [31:28] Kathy Keller — Remembrances of Tim Keller [38:14] John Keller — Remembrances of Tim Keller [42:54] David Keller — Prayer [45:50] Hymn & Intro — Jesus Lives and So Shall I [47:31] Scripture Reading — Mark 10:35-45 [51:33] Homily — Rev. Sam Allberry [53:32] Hymn & Intro — For All the Saints, Who from their Labor Rest [01:11:01] Closing Sentences and Prayer — Rev Sam Allberry [01:15:33] Benediction — Rev. Michael Keller [01:16:53] Closing Hymn — There Is a Redeemer [01:17:36] Closing Remarks — Rev. Michael Keller [01:21:13] This podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Today on Gospel and Life, we are sharing a special worship service of praise to God for Timothy Keller's life in ministry. The memorial took place on August 15, 2023 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. To access the program or view a video recording of the full service, visit gospelinlife.com-slaesh-memorial. That's gospelinlife.com slash memorial. And welcome to our memorial service for Dr. Timothy J. Keller. Before we get started, we have a couple words of welcome from Cardinal Dolan.

Thank you. Friends, you're all very much at home. Here at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I hope you know that. Patrick's Cathedral. I hope you know that. Thanks, Mrs. Keller and family for inviting us to unite. To unite in grateful, reverent, faithful, prayerful memory of a man we love and buyer and miss already, Pastor Timothy Keller.

Thank you, Cardinal Dolan, for your kind words. It's the other way around. We are so thankful for the sweet relationship you had with my father and we are grateful to be allowed to use this building to remember him. So thank you and thank you for all those who are providing for us today to be here. Please turn to page 2 in your program. The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms, as one whom

his mother comforts, so will I comfort you and you shall be comforted. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. What are we here to do this afternoon? After the death of a Christian, we unite to do two things, always. First, we thank God for his life, for God's goodness and lending him to us for the years that we had with him.

Secondly, we seek God for our life, for His comfort and presence. We aren't here just for Him. We are also here for us. We need to get what we need from His Lord so that we can continue to live our lives in this world with confidence and with joy. That's what we're here to do. So let's pray with one voice altogether, saying, Almighty and most merciful God, you are the son of the sorrowful and the support of the weary. Look down and tender love and pity on your service, whose joy has been turned to grief, so that while we breathe, we may not sink,

but resign ourselves into your hands to be taught comfort, remembering all your mercies and promises, and love in Jesus Christ, who brings life out of death and can turn whaling into dancing and deep grief into deep eternal joy. We ask it in the name of Him who taught us to pray, say, our Father, the Lord in heaven, how will be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into in temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever all men. I

love my father so I find it fitting and in true Tim Keller fashion that he planned out his own memorial service for us this afternoon. Both with my mother and him, they handpicked each of the next five hymns that we are going to sing. From finding out who God is to developing a personal relationship with this God, to using the resources God gives us, to finally be united to Jesus in death. My father gave us even the very words that he wanted to introduce each him. From when he was getting his cancer treatment, he gave us these words which I will read now to honor him.

For the first him immortal and visible God only wise, Tim Keller on page four of your bulletin says this, I chose each him and there's an order to them. So the first one, immortal and visible God only wise is a tremendous depiction of who God is and his attributes. It's really all about God. Who is he? And what's really interesting is some of the lines in here summarizing the most important Christian ideas, I've never seen summarized better.

So for example, we're here at a cancer hospital and sometimes you want to say, God, what in the world are you up to? What's wrong with you? And the last line in the hymn is this, Tis only the splendor of light, Heideith, V. There's a tendency for us to think there's a darkness in God and we're smart to instead say, well, wait a minute, no, he's more light than we can handle. And the darkness is in us, it is only the splendor of light, high-difit, V. Please stand to sing our first hymn together. The world at full of evil is full of all the evil lies

In light of excess and evil lies All the circles and all the streets Be with the world as the Almighty For us, by the way, we praise I am Thomas, I am a great place On the best day of the East In the clans high and as light No more tea, no east A new west in light

My trust is through mountains My story no more I count with your condense Mountains, who he loved and sliced away no more By clouds which are mountains, Of goodness and love To all my folk, giveest, to both aid and song In all life, the livest, the true life of all, We all so reverish and leave for her tree,

And deliver and perish, but not to tell thee. May the power of glory be your light, thy vengeance and joy be, O'er the sight of raising your hand and for God's to see this love of your life. Amen. Please remain standing with me as we are going to sing our next hymn, Amazing Love. How can it be? Regarding this hymn, Tim said, how do you connect with God? Do you actually have a personal relationship with Him? This hymn is by Charles Wesley, and this is the key to the great awakenings and to personal awakenings as well. And God, you hear the eyes of King,

And he, to his tail, The sea of blood, Dying before King, Who calls his way, Who will be, who will be, To dieida sun, Haisi la la la la hiru hiru, La la la la la la,

Sufstain hiru hiru, O me, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis, o meis The sun is on the ground, she's breathing so deeply and he's breathing to raise. And she's in sun, above all the earth, The world's highest place Jesus, keep on in His presence, and let me, forever, my God, I will be, hallelujah, hallelujah, Lay here on the high hill, The world's most high-pony. All my praises,

fear and blame, must come to me and see that Jesus Christ, The dark night, the night of the night, The light of the night, The dark night, the night, Stay with light, light is the light of the dawn's free. My walls went cold and sooky. Un of the fates, The world's most bright, The world's most bright, The world's most bright,

The world's most bright, The world's most bright, The world's most bright, The world's most bright, Jesus, I will walk thee, He is mine, I will be He, He will walk to the rightest place, He will mine, He will walk to the rightest place, We are not free to let go And we need to go through God's life God, Christ, that's God, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord. You may be seated.

John 14, Jesus said, do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you

also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. This is God's Word. So very good to be with you all and to celebrate Tim's life and to get God thanks for him.

A reading from the 15th chapter of the Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. Do you not know what you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps a wheat or something else. But God gives it a body as He has determined. And to each kind of seed He gives its own body. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable.

It is raised in perishable. It's sown in dishonor. It's raised inable. It is raised in perishable. It's soan and dishonor. It's raised in glory. It's soan and weakness. It's raised in power. It's soan. A natural body. It is raised a spiritual body.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, we will be changed. For the trumpet will be sound, the dead will be raised

in perishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothe with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting?

Oh, grave, where is your victory? Oh, grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor and the Lord is not in vain, the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord

is not in vain the word of the Lord. Readings from the weight of glory and mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is a serious thing to remember that the dullest, most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. Or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. All day long we are in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming

possibilities. It is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, our friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations, these are mortal. And their life is to ours as a life of a nut. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snob, exploit, immortal horrors, or everlasting splendors.

He will make the feeblest and filthy us of us into a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine. A bright, stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly, though, of course, on a smaller scale, his own boundless power, delight and goodness. The process and in parts, they're repained full, but that is what we are in full. Nothing lasts. He meant what he said. The next hymn is how firm a foundation, but first let me read Tim's own words on this. The next three hymns are resources that God gives us. So you've met him in the first two hymns.

This next hymn, how Firm a Foundation can next you to the first resource, which is God's word. We learned to love this hymn because Elizabeth Elliott loved it. It was a favorite hymn of Betty's and you'll see why. Elizabeth was our teacher at the time of our wedding. And she just said, expect suffering. And she had two husbands die. By the way, this is also Isaiah 40.

In fact, you should read Isaiah 40 afterwards. We had it as the recessional in our wedding because we expected suffering, because we expected to be helping people in suffering. It's a paraphrase, obviously, but basically it's what God is saying to Israel. But I'll tell you, Kathy and I memorized it and used it on each other over the years. We gave a vow to each other from Psalm 34 versus one through three, and it's engraved inside our wedding rings.

It says, I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord, let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. So we wanted to praise God in the way,

in the way that afflicted people were helped. Let's stand and sing together our next hymn. How the Lord of the rich and the rich and the one is free of your blessings, is all I have done. What more can he say than to you in the hour's time, to you in the world, who's to Jesus had fled Fear not I am freely on the empty side For I am my God, will you be the aid? Of strength and the army, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, evil, the evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, the evil, evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, evil, the evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, evil, the evil, the evil, the evil, evil, evil, the evil, life, love more,

For I will be believed by God's will. And stay, if I try, be the least distressed. When do I reach my eyes, I'll have a racial life? My grace, also patient, shall be my supply, A flinch, shall not hurt thee, my only desire, I just hope I soar have my go to resign. As we bow before us, I will not lie, will not give you this false That is so the one that should end the truth And that the one that's not ever known, will not forsake You may be seated.

Second Corinthians 4. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this also passing power is from God and not from us. We are hard press on every side, but not crushed. Herplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and

present us with you in his presence Therefore we do not lose heart Though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen for what is seen as

temporary but what is unseen is eternal. This is God's Word. but what is unseen is eternal. This is God's word. Romans 8. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation

for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation itself will be liberated from his bondage to decay and brought into glorious freedom of the children of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose, what then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us who can be against us, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he the condemns? Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who is raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution

or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God We'll be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Our Lord, this is God's Word. Good afternoon.

My name is Graham Howell and I've been asked to share a bit of my story with you today. I first met Tim Keller in the study of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, where he had recently arrived to serve as interim pastor. It was the summer of 1975 and I was at a very low point in my life. My marriage was on the rocks and my life was in disarray. I was desperate. Even though I was not a God follower at the time, I believe it was the Holy Spirit that impressed upon me that the help I was seeking was to be found in the church.

So I called the local church and made an appointment to see the pastor not knowing what to expect. At our first meeting pastor Keller asked questions and carefully listened to my story. He took notes, he drew diagrams, shared Bible verses with me. One of those verses was 1 Corinthians 10 13 that says in part, that God is faithful and will not let you be tempted to be what, beyond what you can bear, but will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. That verse impressed me and I remember asking him, is this really true? He assured me with much confidence that it was and I believed him. At the end of our time he gave me a folder

with a navigator's Bible study guide and a homework assignment, do it our next session. I didn't leave the office of Ornigan, believe her that day, but what I did leave with was hope. Something had moved in my heart and mine and I wanted more. I went to the church thinking that my biggest need was a repaired marriage. The God knew I needed something much more radical, a new heart. So he sent his 18. As it turned out, the killers would stay in Hopewell for close to 10 years. During those years, Tim preached three sermons a week to the same congregants Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night.

He and Kathy hosted GABFest, led youth group meetings and work vacation Bible schools. They introduced us to J.I. Packer, John Stott, R.C. Sproul, and of course, C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien. They counseled us, married us, and buried us. They shared their lives with us. Little did I know that this man would one day be a famous preacher and author. Yes, I'll read his books and listen to his sermons and I continue to benefit greatly from them. But the biggest impact Tim Keller had on my life came from his daily presence and love

during my spiritual infancy. He and Kathy opened their home to me, shared meals with me, shared stories with me, introduced me to their families. They took me on vacation with them. Encourage me to go to college when I was full of self-doubt. I'm quite sure that I showed up at their house far, far too often, but was never turned away. I remember that time wondering why they offered that much

of themselves to someone who had only recently been a stranger. Tim's reputation as a teacher, preacher, author, and visionary are well known, but I first knew him as a pastor, a shepherd, and a friend. What he preached on Sunday was authenticated, by the way, he invested in his flock the rest of the week. He taught me how to wrestle with God and how to let the scripture search out deeply rooted

sins and cynical attitudes about work, race, history, and culture. This is a testimony that many of you quite likely share because Tim Keller was not just a gift to me, but he was a gift to all God's people for such a time as this. Thank you. I'm Glenn Klein-Connect, and I first met Tim in 1988 when he was first traveling to New York City. He stopped by our inner-city ministry office to talk about a new church that he envisioned in Manhattan. I learned that Tim didn't intend to be the pastor, so the small group that Tim gathered to discuss the planting of a church was looking for a leader.

Eventually, two leaders, two pastors under consideration, decided that it wasn't the right time for them to come to New York. And then on a Sunday afternoon, in an apartment on 73rd Street, a man by the name of Dave Balsh, who was part of that small group, looked over a tim and said, Tim, I think God is saying you ought to be the pastor. Tim gulped, he said, I need to talk to my wife about that. Cathy, thank you for saying yes. A friend who visited Redeemer in the early existence asked me after the sermon, where did you find this guy? Did you listen to a lot of sermons?

And it occurred to me that we had not heard one sermon from Tim before we started Redeemer. What I experienced from Tim before Redeemer began was his centering on Jesus, his focusing on New York City, and his encouraging us to trust God. Tim knew he could learn from anyone, and he did. He was uniquely able to learn from people with whom he had little in common. And he actually relished visiting with and learning from people who were most opposed to his faith. Not because he was a social butterfly, he was not. By his own admission, he could feel socially awkward. awkward, but he was confident in something, actually someone, much more important than himself

or a situation. Sometimes I saw him struggle. For instance, when Redeemer began to grow and we divided or we multiplied into three congregations, I saw him take the fall for the problems they'd ensued. I saw him repent at the most unexpected times. Once he answered an outside group critical about Redeemer's stand on a certain issue, his answer was amazingly direct, sensitive, and accurate.

At dinner following that exchange, he met with several of us, and he said, I went home, and I repented. We said, why? He said, because I thought that Redeemer was the most accurate and balanced church. Tim truly believed what we heard him say a lot, and that is that he, like us, are more sinful than we dare imagine and more loved than we ever dared hope. He gave me appropriate advice when I was deflated as a leader. I saw him encourage our son when he was facing some important life decisions. And he, along with Kathy, guided our daughter to take up writing and embrace ministry with her husband. I know that Tim's teaching and his counsel to us was a prime reason why my wife and I have

remained in New York for 47 years. Tim may have helped me more than anyone to give my fears to the Lord, my insecurity because my security is in him. He allows me to journey in a world that distrusts Christians often with reason. Tim encouraged us to go to the one who knows all our faults and yet loves us. Tim modeled sticking in there with those who disagree with us. Tim modeled, sticking in there with those who disagree with us. Tim taught us that because God gives grace, certainly to those who know Jesus and believe Him, but all through creation, that we can give grace to them

and even learn from those who view us as their enemies. Keller family. David, thank you for modeling the energy that it takes to do corporate finance here in New York and now setting up your own firm. Michael, thank you for following your dad's example in the gospel ministry wholeheartedly. Jonathan, thank you for adhering to and monishment we all heard to make New York a better place for all people through your

work in the city. Kathy, thank you for loving Tim. Thank you for sticking here with all the challenges. I don't know what God has in store for you, but we may need you more now than ever before. I've lost a friend, but I've been comforted by the thoughts that Tim pointed us to the one who had given Tim his gifts, and we're going to miss those along, who had given Tim the ability to work hard and he did, to hang in there with his critics, to journey with those who don't

yet believe. We have someone greater than Tim as the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Himself. It would be the greatest gift to Tim for us to trust him now more than ever before. Lord help us to trust you. To be broken and yet confident, like your servant Tim Keller. Thank you, Tim, for being secure, not in yourself, but in our Savior.

We miss you and we look forward to joining you. Man. Can you even see me? I want to thank you all for coming. I wish there was some way I could speak to each of you, but if I try, we'd be here till Christmas. But just to answer the question in some of your minds, yes, I am shorter than I used to be.

I am officially a hobbit. You may have noticed that this isn't the usual sort of memorial service except for Graham and Glenn and me giving a few thoughts. That's because Tim wrote it himself just the way he liked to do funerals for other people. You mentioned the dead person, certainly, but then you talk about the God that that person is now facing. So blame Tim if there aren't videos and choirs and lengthy testimonials. At our first church in Hopewell, Tim was known for his funerals. In fact, when an untraged person came through the J.T.

Morris funeral home, they would call up Tim and say, hey, could you do this guy's funerals? He doesn't have any pastor. And Tim would always do it. So there's just a few things I want to tell you. First, Tim is buried in St. Michael's cemetery. The one you can see on your right when you're on the Grand Central Parkway, on your way out to Loguardia.

But that place is huge and you couldn't find the grave even if you tried. But please don't try. And here's why I don't want you to. You know those scenes in movies like at the end of saving Private Ryan, where someone has a heart-to-heart talk standing at the headstone of the deceased person? Tim and I were always uncomfortable with those because the person isn't actually there. At Tim's burial, I said to my family, please don't come out here and stand over the grave and pour out your feelings. You will be talking to the grass. There isn't even a headstone yet. Tim is with Jesus, healed, loved, more alive, and happier than he has ever been.

He's not here. Having mentioned the headstone, I will tell you I have been considering various Bible verses for it when we get around to ordering it. Let me tell you my favorite right now. In chapter 25 of Isaiah, the prophet begins talking about God's final redemption and restoration. He says, in that day, meaning the day that God puts everything right, on this mountain,

the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all people's of banquet of aged wine, the best meat and finest of wines. On this mountain, he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheath that covers all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. The Lord has spoken. In that day, they will say, surely this is our God, we trusted in Him,

and He saved us. This is our Lord, we trusted in Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation. That's Isaiah 25, six through nine. That's not what I'm gonna put on the headstone. It would have to be like 20 feet high. That's just context. 20 feet high. That's just context. In the next chapter, Isaiah 26, these two verses, I think, might be appropriate on the headstone. Verse 12 and verse 16, in that day, this song will be

sung, all that we have accomplished, you have done for us. Your dead will live Lord, their bodies will rise, let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Isaiah was speaking of a future reality with no more death or tears. Tim is living in that reality now. How I yearn for all of us to trust the God He now worships face to face so that one day we may all sit down to that feast together. Jonathan, you have something? You wanted to say this is off this is off script Thanks mom Dad had an uncanny Ability to get to the root of a matter to really boil things down

to get to the root of a matter, to really boil things down, to see to the fundamentals of a situation to irreducible truths. And so I was thinking about what I would say today, and I set my mind on a similar task in what kept coming back to me, and actually what Glenn and Graham talked about, is that dad was is fundamentally a gifted encourager, and as a father, he encouraged us, his sons, up until the very end.

But I do recall, as a 10-year-old or so, the morning daily routine of him, you know, in his pajamas and us eating cereal, what are the Yankees like? Where are they in the sandings? What's Derek Geter's or Bernie Williams's batting average? He was into things that we were into, mostly because we were into it. But as we got older, everything got more complex.

And his wisdom and his encouragement, they deepened to us. He encouraged us in our walks with Christ, and he always met us where we were, or where we weren't. The encouraged us in our marriages to be tender and gentle and kind, to be understanding and encouraging to our wives and our kids. And encouraged us in our professions, learning what we liked and often actually learning more about our own field of interest and we would learn from him. You're like, that's a really good point about city planning dad. Any celebrated our accomplishments and he also defended us

and he encouraged us when things didn't go as planned. He lived out, obviously imperfectly as any human, the good news that he loved to talk about and write about, that we can move about and into the world fearlessly, to be humble and gentle, and sometimes that comes at great costs, because Jesus came and died for us, and was resurrected for us. And so to leave you, I would say, let's be encouraged, friends and family, from even in our sadness, from the memory of his life, which is a testament to something greater

and longer lasting than what we have here on Earth. Mom and John, thank you for sharing your heartfelt thoughts on Dad. I'd like to take a moment to pray for us. Heavenly Father, we are sad. Sad at the loss, but we take comfort. Knowing Dad is filled with joy. Sitting at Jesus' feet fully, completely loved and restored. We are thankful for Dad's life. For the peace and the grace you brought us, no matter who we are, where we are from,

or what we did. For his ministry that brought your love and grace to so many. We humbly ask for your wisdom and strength to steward these resources and continue what he started. Definitely Father, we miss our teacher, pastor and counselor, friend, Papa, Dad, and husband. We find ourselves in a state of sorrow, regret and pain. We ask you and me, that's an art grief. And remind us that your loving sacrifice on the cross and resurrection has conquered death.

So that when you call us home, we can joyfully say what he did. I'm ready to see Jesus. Send me home. We can definitely say what he did. I'm ready to see Jesus send me home. Amen. Thank you to all of you for sharing these beautiful words of remembrances and prayers with all of us. It's very special. Tim shared the following words about Jesus' lives and so shall I. He even included Tempo. This hymn gives us the hope for life after death. It should not be sung at too slow a pace, or it will sound like a dirge. So keep it brisk. And remember, it's describing our hope for the future. There's nothing that can happen here that can't make you better. It says at the beginning of the last

verse, Jesus lives and death is now but my entrance into glory. Please stand as we sing. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here.

I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad that I'm here. Thus lives unsought alike Death, Icing, it's gone forever Thee who deems for me to die Plays the plans of death to sever He shall raise me from the dust Jesus is the only one I trust. Jesus lives and weighs a dream, and His kingdom still remains. I shall also be with Him, never living, ever in. God has promised He must, Jesus if we were that trust.

Jesus lives and by His grace, victory, all my passions begin. I will cleanse my order, wait, ever to his glory, living. He raises from non-tust, Jesus is my heaven, just. Jesus, I love the world, not from Him, my heart and sever. Life not death, not cause of death, no grief and her, the Father, and her, The rich and my soul for the last of my life before me, Thou saw my heart, the trust, Jesus in the least of us. Jesus Christ. Please be seated. A reading from the Gospel according to Mark chapter 10 verses 35 to 45.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him, teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask, what do you want me to do for you? He asked. They replied that one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. Let your left in your glory. You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? We can. They answer. Jesus said to them, you will drink the cup that I drink.

And be baptized with the baptisms I am baptized with. But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared. When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who regarded as rulers of the Gentiles, Lord it over them. They are high officials, exercise authority over them. Not so with you, instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever

wants to be first must be slave of all, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This is God's Word. I feel I ought to say I didn't ask for the UK translation, someone else made that decision for me. We are here to remember and to give God thanks for a life very well lived. When Tim died we have seen since then an outpouring of tributes, of people giving thanks in different ways for the impact he had had on their life. And it's been very telling that few of those tributes have been about Tim's accomplishments, though there were many. Few have been about his gifts, though his gifts were colossal. No, the focus has been on Tim's character. Not so much what he did but who he was, as we've been hearing as a father, as a husband, as a pastor, as a mentor and for so many of us as a friend.

It's noteworthy because it seems rare in our day for someone to have so much power, so much influence and yet to be so humble and focused on others. But Tim was not like this because he was unusual. Tim was like this because he was following Jesus. The very qualities we have loved in Tim, we find perfectly in Jesus. What Tim was imperfectly Christ has always been fully. Or to borrow from one of Tim's more memorable phases, Jesus is the true and better Tim Keller. And so the best way to appreciate Tim

is to think about Christ. That reading from Mark 10 has, as it's famous conclusion, these words from Jesus, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. In that short sentence we have encapsulated the heart part of the Christian message and the key to a good life. Jesus makes two claims, both perhaps surprising claims. Firstly, Jesus said he came to serve, not to be served, but to serve. Now that might not surprise us. We are used in our own time to serve this being o'r bwysioedd, oedd yn ymwchioedd. Mae'r gwaithioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd. Mae'r gwaithioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd.

Mae'r gwaithioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd. Mae'r gwaithioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd yn ymwchioedd. or we think about teachers and doctors and how often the very best of them are those who see what they do first and foremost as a calling. Same goes for religious leaders. So maybe we're not surprised that Jesus says he's driven by the desire to serve. But I'd like to suggest that the reason we're not surprised Jesus said this is because Jesus did say this and we've been living downstream of these words for so many years and living in a society that has been so shaped by them. If it's normal for us to esteem service, it's because Jesus made it normal. In this sense, we live in the house that Jesus built.

And yet if we follow the logic of Jesus' words, service is still not as normal as we might think it is. Jesus doesn't simply say the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. Jesus says even the Son of Man came not to be served. In other words, if anyone could come and expect to be served, it was the Son of Man. And yet the Son of man came to be served. Now the son of man is a title from the Old Testament book of Daniel. It was given to the figure who would appear with the full authority of God to reign over the entirety of the universe for all time. The one through whom God's plans would be fulfilled.

The one we find ourselves worshiping today. And this is the title Jesus claimed for himself. You see Jesus taught like no one else, but he claimed to be so much more than a teacher. Jesus came with stunning spiritual insight, but he claimed to be so much more than a spiritual leader. No Jesus claimed to be divine, and he did so unselfconsciously. Now such claims are often seen as outrageous in the world today, but those claims were typical of Jesus. In so many different ways, he kept claiming to be God come down into this world.

God come as a man, God come in flesh. And before we write Jesus off for making such claims, we need to notice what he believes it means to be the Son of Man. Jesus is saying he's not just the one who has divine power so that he can subdue us. Jesus says his power is so that he can serve us. He's claiming to be the most powerful person who ever lived on this earth so that he can wield that power for the sake of others.

So Jesus is showing us a new kind of power. He's showing us a kind of power that is sacrificial, not predatory. It's a form of power that doesn't exist to take advantage of those who are weaker, but to help those who are weaker. It's a new kind of power because in this world, power almost always means self-importance, others revolving around you. Many years ago as part of my seminary training I did a placement at a church in Central Bangkok in Thailand. I got to know a cross-section of the church and one of my new friends was very senior in a huge multinational company. He was very, very powerful. And it was obvious in how many people he had at his disposal. At the first hint, I got of this was when he invited me around for the first time.

And he said, one of my drivers will pick you up. One of my drivers. When we arrived at his property, there were security guards who saluted as we arrived. When I eventually got inside the house, he gave me the number of the cook and said, you know, pick anything you want off the menu and the cook will make it for you. Every time I leaned forward, it seemed that someone appeared out of nowhere to fluff up the cushion that was behind me. There were people everywhere. That's how we measure

power in this world. The more people who serve you, the more powerful you are. But the be served, but too serve. Jesus sacrificed for us was not in contradiction to his power, it was an expression of it. Jesus is showing us a kind of power which doesn't lead to tyranny, but to safety. The kind of power when putting someone in their place means putting them above you and not beneath you. And in doing so Jesus is claiming to show us the heart of God Himself. Now we tend to think that if God was to step into this world, it would be to tell us to do more for Him, to be more religious, to be more moral, to be more ethical, to be better. But Jesus shows us a God who has come to serve us. A God to whom we matter profoundly.

A God who cares about us, a God who not only made you, but came up with the idea of you in the first place. And was having a good day when he did. A God who sees you not according to your achievements, not according to your wealth or your looks or your popularity, not even just according to your sins, but a God who sees you as worth his wild serving. Some of us hear this afternoon will be unsure whether we believe in God. Some of us may be very sure we don't believe in God.

But I wonder if the God you don't believe in is like this. And if God did exist, wouldn't He want Him to be just like this? Jesus came to serve. Secondly, Jesus tells us He came to die. So this is serious. When we hear Jesus say he came to serve, we might find ourselves thinking, great, well, okay Jesus, I'm going to take your word of that. I've got some ways in which you can serve me. I'd like to be doing better in life.

I'd like some financial security. I'd like to be doing better in life. I'd like some financial security. I'd like to be less lonely. I'd like to have a family. Or I'd like the family I do have to be a happy family. Are all the people I love to be healthy? We're not sure of ideas of how we believe Jesus could serve us. But if it's surprising that Jesus came to serve us, the second surprise is how he says he has come to serve us. Jesus says his death on a Roman cross would be a death like no other. He says that on that cross he would be giving his

life not as a gesture, but as a ransom, a ransom for many. Jesus says his death is of service to us because his death is a ransom for us. Which means Jesus is now not just making claims about himself, he's making claims about us. Because people who need a ransom are people who are captives. We are not masters of our own lives. We need a ransom. Now, perhaps in our more reflective moments, we might sense something of this. There's so much in our lives that we can control. We can control where we go and who we see. Some of us might even control where we live and what we do for work.

But there is so much in our lives that we can't control. There are so many things about the way we are that we wish we could change. Mae'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r So the moments we know we're not the people we're meant to be, we're certainly not the people we want to be. And it reflects a reality that Jesus often spoke about, a deeper reality even than that. Because Jesus said when all of us in our hearts turned away from God, our hearts ended up

twisting in on themselves, so that we become distortions of who God made us to be and we can't get ourselves out of this. And so Jesus says his death is a ransom. Jesus is saying there's something in his death that represents a payment for what we've got ourselves into. At the Bible says more generally that there is something in all human death that is bound up with how we are. The death is not simply the natural exploration of our lives, it's a form of spiritual reckoning. The Bible shows us death is more than physical, it is spiritual.

And it's that deeper spiritual death that Jesus has come to free us from by taking it on Himself, on our behalf and in our place. So that by trusting in Him we can receive a new form of life, a form of life that even our physical deaths can't rob us from. And so Jesus is inviting us to find freedom in him, freedom from all that binds us within. And all we need to do is to come to him. Jesus once said, come to me, all your labor and our heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Coming to Jesus is all we need to do. Coming to Jesus is all we can do. Jesus came to serve and Jesus came to die. We remember Tim as an extraordinary servant, but Tim was an extraordinary servant because he had let Jesus serve him. It was being served by Christ that enabled him to serve so many of the rest of us so beautifully. So will you let Jesus serve you? If you've never done so.

Would you let Jesus serve you today, this afternoon, this very moment. Are you willing to lay aside whatever pride there may be in having to come to him, whatever sense of independence there may be, whatever sense perhaps even of despair there may be, because this Jesus stands ready to receive us and to serve us. Let me pray. Father, we thank you for every remembrance of Tim. For all that he gave to us. We pray for your comfort for those who feel his loss most intensely. And we pray for all of us as we reflect on Tim's life that we would find ourselves reflecting

on the one he trusted, that we might find ourselves drawing near to Christ himself who did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Amen. Before we sing our next hymn, Tim says this, this last hymn is talking about the saints for all the saints. It's really wonderful in talking about how we're all going to be gathered together. Verse 5 is interesting because the idea is that when you're here, you're in the middle of a battle. But the distant triumph song is at the end. We know that there's a new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

And that there will be perfect justice. Are you in the middle of the battle? And it's like when the fight is fierce and the warfare is long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song and hearts are brave and arms are strong. That's made for you. Please stand. You will see through the valley of the forest free

The valley of the forest free The valley of the forest free As you are free, you are free You are so far, I wish I'd been saved And I'd find all the love that I've taken You will come to light La tente, la ponte de la ponte La ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte de la ponte Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, baby, shall I hold? For all of you, come on, so I will go. O, you shall go, you only son, the only one who is the only one who is the only one who is the only one. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh del ya, a del ya, Please remain standing. I am the resurrection and the life says the Lord. He that believes in me though he were dead, yet shall he live.

And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Fear not, I am the first and the last says the Lord. I am he that lives and was dead and behold I am alive forever more. Let us pray. Lord God, you are the strength of your people. Heal the broken hearted among us and bind up their wounds. Grant to them to at all a vision of that life in which all tears are wiped away and all shadows have fled away. Raises up in your spirit's power to follow you in hope and trust. Now give us your power to protect us, your intimacy to nurture us,

your beauty to ravish us, your peace to fulfill us. Lift up our hearts into the light and love of your presence. We ask it in the name of Him who is the resurrection and the life. Amen. Let us receive the Lord's benediction. And now may the grace of the all-sufficient, the mercy that endures forever, the peace that passes all understanding, the joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, and the hope that is never ashamed and never fades away,

keep us in Christ Jesus, into the day breaks, and all the shadows fully away, and we see him face to face in the name Amen. Please stay standing to sing our closing song, Fitting for Tim Keller. There is the Redeemer, Jesus, God's Son, precious Him, of God, the Sire, holy one. Make your own and our love, for giving us your Son, Come, leaving your spirit to the work of our faith's dawn. Jesus, my Redeemer, lay the God of faith. The Make you who are now, who give it as your song. I believe in you, be it till the world of earth is dark My eyes, that keep the glory I will see His face

And then lost a mighty, the river In the lonely days To take you home and go I believe in the stars, I believe in the stars And thank you, my God, for giving us your song. we will speak until the world is gone. Thank you all for coming. We appreciate all it took for so many of you to get here and we appreciate all the prayers that have been lifted up for the community here in New York and for our family. As the service has indicated, we grieve, but we grieve with hope. As the Dwight Moody quote points out in the front of your bulletin, the reason we can do this,

the reason why we have great hope is that dad is more alive now than he ever was when he's with us. And we take that to heart to let that sustain us and to comfort us knowing that the world to come is brighter and better and more real. And there is nothing now that can stop that. And because of that, we are going to see him again in the new world. So there is joy and grace and love and light forevermore.

Let that comfort you, let that sustain you in all things now and always. We are grateful again for the staff of St. Patrick's Cathedral and Cardinal Dolan for making this space available for us and for fitting us in between the regularly scheduled events. But you need to know one little small fact and that is this, that there is another event happening after this meeting, this memorial. And so as to be as gracious to them as they've been to us, we ask you to please exit promptly so that the ushers can clean for what's next. If you don't, you will be part of another event. That is a nice way of saying thank you for coming, but you can't stay here. Thanks again, go in peace.

Blessings. Thank you.