The Freedom Of Self Forgetfulness

Pastor’s Bookshelf - Welcome to my bookshelf! 

Each month I will discuss a recent book that I’ve finished. 

This month I’d like to talk about 

The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness

By Tim Keller

If you’ve been following my reading recommendations for a while, you know I’m a big fan of Tim Keller and his giant brain. If you aren’t familiar - Tim Keller was a brilliant pastor who served a church in New York for a very long time before his recent passing due to cancer. His sermons are extremely academic, and he had a very intriguing, almost professorial style. His sermons were so popular and in such high demand that his church would sell thumb drives with decades of sermons for over $1,000 - funds that went back into the church ministry. Now you can find his works in podcast from a group called “Gospel in Life”

This book isn’t actually much of a book - it’s more like a booklet, based heavily on one of Tim Keller’s sermons from 1 Corinthians. I recently mentioned this book in a sermon, and so I thought it would be a fitting recommendation for this month. It’s quite short, with even the audio book lasting just an hour or so.

This is a book about battling pride, greed, and envy. In a season when I was personally struggling with looking at my neighbor’s house with envy - a good friend recommended this to me, and it was exactly what I needed. The basic idea is that to find humility we do not need to think more of ourselves or less of ourselves - but rather think of ourselves less often. It’s subtle but VITAL shift. If you’re like me, and struggle sometimes with thinking about yourself too much - I can’t recommend his work enough. Give it a look today!