A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Feb 4

Esther Dalton

"How to Read a Story (A Guide for Practical People)."

If you get the chance to be a L'Abri student, you might be surprised when, along with *serious* works from theology, psychology, or social commentary, your tutor assigns you a work of fiction to read. A troubling mixture of misconceptions, questions, and even guilt can swirl through the practically-minded reader when faced with a novel, short story, or even a lyric poem. This lecture will attempt to address some of these concerns and offer tips for embracing the pleasures of a good story.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2022

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Jan 28

Joshua Chestnut

"The Apostle Paul and the Submission of Women."

This lecture is a continuation in a series of lectures on the Apostle Paul and women. This time we will consider his letter to the Ephesians with its counter-cultural call to submission and its complex metaphor of husbands as "head," all the while asking whether Paul was merely adopting the patterns of his wider, patriarchal culture or if he was significantly adapting these patterns in light of the gospel of Jesus.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2022

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Jan 21

Ben Keyes

The Waiting that God Requires.

Waiting has never been an easy thing for people. We are impatient in our souls, but we also live in a world where pain and suffering make it difficult to wait. To make matter's worse, our efficiency-obsessed culture tells us that modern people should not have to wait for what they want. In stark contrast, the Bible tells us that waiting is the context of all faith, and that to wait on the Lord is the calling of all Christians. How might biblical wisdom help us to wait in a world that seems to value only acceleration?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Nov 12

Ben Keyes

"What's He Building in There?" : The Music of Tom Waits.

Tom Waits has been making original music since the late 1960s and has many devoted followers. Very little is known about him personally, but his songs are rich, complex, funny and disturbing. While his music is at times a challenge both lyrically and sonically, there is much to appreciate about his writing and musicianship. In this talk we will explore some of Waits' music and ask the question - do we make room in the kingdom of God for the eccentric and the strange?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Nov 5

Kelly Koon

"Let them see the farm, and let them see faith!" : Reflections on Christianity from those who work on and with the land.

Within this lecture we will cultivate a richer understanding of rural agricultural Christianity, engaging with the deeply grounded faith that comes from working close to the earth. There is much to learn about who God is and how faith relates to daily life when we leave urban areas and enter into places where one's business, personal spirituality, community connection, environmental care, and family lifestyle are all bound tightly into a holistic definition of sustainability.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Oct 29

Esther Dalton

"Fellow Passengers to the Grave" : Learning Love of Neighbor with Charles Dickens

What does the Good Samaritan have to do with a prolific and sometimes preachy Victorian novelist? This lecture will explore this question by looking at how reading Dickens' stories can help us think in fresh, and perhaps deeper, ways about what loving our neighbors as ourselves looks like in real life.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Oct 22

Joshua Chestnut

The Apostle Paul, a Friend to the Poor?

It is not uncommon to hear that while Jesus cares for the poor and the least, Paul only cares about the pagan and the lost. Many readings of Paul seem to make his theological preoccupations center, and any concern for the poor marginal. This lecture will take another look at the Apostle Paul to see how his letters evidence a ministry of deep and abiding concern for the least.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Oct 15

Sarah Chestnut

Am I Following Jesus on Purpose, Or Just Riding My Parent's Coat Tails?

Question your faith down to its foundation. Even deconstruct it. But live in a state of demolition? In this lecture, we will reflect on what it means to grow up in a Christian home, explore how to take doubts and questions seriously, and gather some tools to help reconstruct a more mature (and maturing) life of faith.

Optional pre-lecture reading - After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith Without Losing It, by A.J. Swoboda.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Sept 24

Ben Keyes

The Gift Comes First: The Essential Chronology of the Gospel.

Christianity is a religion of grace, but what does this mean? In this lecture we will examine the ways in which the Christian life is a response to a gift already given - an invitation to 'strive from approval.' Why is it difficult to grasp this central belief? What are the implications of this for how we live? 

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

Sept 17

Joshua Chestnut

The Apostle Paul, and Finding a Pattern for our Prayers.

Though he offers little by way of direction instruction on the matter of how to pray, as one reads the letters of the Apostle Paul we often find him at prayer.  This lecture will consider some of his prayers to see what sort of model or pattern they might offer those of us learning what it means to pray.  

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2021