In the city…

“In the city you’ll find a) people that seem ‘hopeless’ spiritually, and b) people of other religions or no religion and of deeply non deeper than you. This will Christian lifestyles that are wiser, kinder, and shock you out of your moralism and force you to either finally believe the gospel of sheer grace, or give it up altogether. You may get top marks on justification by faith alone, but functionally, believe salvation by works. The city will show this to you as nothing else will.”

“In the city you will find that the poor and the broken are often much, much more open to the idea of gospel grace and much more dedicated to its practical out workings than you are.”

“In every earthly city, there are two ‘kingdoms’ present, two ‘cities’ vying for control. They are the City of Baal (or Satan or the god of this world) and the City of God.”

“We are to see that, though the fight between these two kingdoms happens everywhere in the world, earthly cities are the flash points on the battle lines is most intense, where the war can be won.”

All quoted from Tim Keller

Reach the city

“Reach the city to reach your region and the world. a) Region. You can’t reach the city from the suburbs, but can reach all the ‘city the metro area from the city. b) World. The return of state’. The cities of the world are now linked more to one another than to their own states and countries. Each major city is a ‘portal’ to the other major cities of the world.” Tim Keller

The City

“Since the human heart is made in the image of God and is totally depraved, therefore the city brings out the very, very best and worst of human capabilities. Adam would have developed a city of God and all the potentialities of creation (physical nature and human spirit) would have been untainted and thus the city would d be glorious. Today, however, art and science and technology and education serve to both bring out the best and worst. We can all feel it. Nothing challenges and presses you to excellence like the city. But nothing drives you to reach down deep and do well l. In sin that all becomes tainted and idolatrous and exhausting, of course. The purpose of the City of Rebellion is ‘to make a name for ourselves’. This is still a deep drive and engine in the building of any human city. It is a spirituality of darkness o f enormous force, it is a motivation moving many or most people who move toward the city.” Tim Keller

Kingdom of Heaven

“The “kingdom of heaven/God” in the preaching of Jesus as recounted in the Gospels is the reign of God that he brings about through Jesus Christ—i. e., the establishment of God’s rule in the hearts and lives of his people, the overcoming of all the forces of evil, the removal from the world of all the consequences of sin—including death and all that diminishes life—and the creation of a new order of righteousness and peace.” – NIV Study Notes

Empowerment Grace

“We are the vessels through which God wants to show Himself strong; we are the channels through which He wants His power to flow; we are His conductors through which heaven invades the earth, allowing the Father’s will to be done in this broken world. This is the essence of Empowerment Grace.” AvdM