L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

Friendship with God

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

by Mary Frances Giles

"Friendship with God" can be a contested topic. For some, it is very easy to call God friend, while for others it seems impossible. IS God our friend? What should we expect out of a "friendship" with the Creator of the world?! In this lecture, we'll look at characteristics of friendship in general and look specifically at the lives of Abraham and Jesus to unpack what friendship with the God of the Bible might look like for us in our daily lives.

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 2026

Habitation of Wonder: Tenanting Beauty, Imagining Justice

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

by Abigail Carroll, guest lecturer https://abigail-carroll.com/

What are we, asks poet and author Abigail Carroll, but "a constellation of salts" bearing the diving signature in our "affinity for zinnias, for swallows and plums, and questions about the lives of ferns"? To be alive in this world is to be awake to wonder. And from a place of holy wonder, we are well positioned to imagine justice. In this talk, Carroll will share poems both published and new, inviting us to engage the prophetic necessity of beauty and boldly envision a just world.

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 2026

The Lesson of the Fig Tree (Jesus' Favorite Tree?)

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

by Esther Dalton

Fig trees feature in the landscape of the Gospels and show up in Jesus' teachings. It turns out the fig tree family is also an important part of many ecosystems across the world. What might these interesting trees have to teach us about fruitfulness in the Christian 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 2026

Is There a Christian Challenge to the Culture War?

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

by Dick Keyes

We will be looking at a current crisis in our nation over which Christians are divided. Can we get some guidance from our faith through the Scripture?

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 2026

Is Escape through Literature a Good Thing?

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

by Emily Fellows

We live in a culture that is both efficiency-driven and entertainment-driven. On the one hand, reading fiction can be seen as a waste of time with no quantitative benefits; on the other hand, reading fiction can become just another way to indulge our emotions and get a dopamine fix. It is with this milieu in mind that we ask the question, is there any value in escape through fiction?

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 2026

The Day of Small Things: Moments, Manners and Matters of Building a Life

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

by Esther Dalton

"How many times have I been told...by well-meaning people, that it is my destiny and my charge to go out into the world and do great things for God?" So begins a liturgy called "For Those Who Have Not Done Great Things for God." What is the measure of greatness in the Christian life? Who's counting? This lecture will examine an obscure vision in the Old Testament prophets that encourages us to be recalibrated by the way God sees and measures as we build our lives.

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 2026

What Do You Do with the Envy You Feel?

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

by Sarah Chestnut

In this lecture we will ask, what is envy, what does envy do, and most importantly, what can we do with the envy we feel so that it does not lead to sin? Exploring the Biblical narrative, and drawing on the wisdom of Mr. Rogers and the Desert Fathers, we will seek to disarm the shame that keeps envy hidden and, by its hiddenness, poisonous.

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 2026

Creativity's Aid or Undoing? The Use of Generative AI in Art

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

by Ben Keyes

Artificial intelligence is in the news every day in part because it is such a controversial topic. As usual, the loudest voices are at the extremes: "AI is going to usher humanity into a beautiful new era of human history!" or "AI is going to kill us all!" In this lecture, we will limit our reflections to the role that generative AI is playing in the creative arts. Is the use of AI by artists a good thing, something that will aid and enhance human creativity? Or is it in danger of replacing one of the building blocks of our humanness: our creativity?

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 2026

Why is There Never Enough Time in the Day? Staying Human in an Accelerating World

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

by Joshua Chestnut

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 2026

Growing in Empathy through Reading Fiction

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

by Eric Johns

Empathy is on the decline. Some, even in Evangelical circles, are calling it "toxic" or actually a "sin." This lecture is a chance to reclaim the goodness of true empathy and to consider the slow reading of fiction as a means to cultivate Christ-like empathy for others.

Eric Johns is a longtime friend of L'Abri and serves as the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Fairbanks, Alaska.

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 2025