Conversations About Christmas with Tim Keller

Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, gives two thirty minute talks about Christmas at the Harvard Club of New York City:

In "The Hidden Meaning of Christmas," Tim goes through the ancestors of Jesus, as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. In ancient times, people believed that a man's ancestors explained his character -- and that's true for Jesus, as well. The ancestors of Jesus give us these three important messages today:

- God always keeps His promises
- God promises eternal salvation
- This promise applies to everyone -- men and women, of every race, both good and bad -- so long as they have placed their trust in God and His only Son.

In "God With Us," Tim analyzes one of the names of Jesus -- "Emmanuel," the Hebrew word for "God With Us." Tim breaks the word down into its three parts, and draws meaning out of each part:

- "God" -- Who He is, and what He can offer to us
- "Us" -- Who we are, and what we need in order to make our lives complete and meaningful
- "With" -- The mystery of Christmas, when God came to live among us, in human form.