L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

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

"For Every Wound that Arda Has Suffered": Wisdom and Lament in Tolkien's Middle-earth

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

by Matt Dickerson, guest lecturer

Lament is woven into the story of God's people from the Psalms and prophets to the teaching of Jesus. It is also an important element of the fabric of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. Indeed, through his major works including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, Tolkien connects lament to wisdom and shows that lament is both rooted in hope and leads to action.

Matthew Dickerson is the author of numerous books, book chapters, and essays on the writings of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, including most recently Aslan's Breath: Seeing the Holy Spirit in Narnia. He has also written about Biblical lament in his recent book Birds in the Sky, Fish in the Sea: Attending to creation with Delight and Wonder.

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

The "S" Word: A Lexicon of Sin

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

by Esther Dalton

The Bible has a lot to say about sin, but sometimes a word can get so familiar we forget what it really means. Additionally, our culture is reluctant to entertain the idea of sin at all, causing the word to slip from our vocabularies. what is sin? And how does having a robust understanding of this important theological word actually help us tell the truth about ourselves and the world we live in?

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

Stones, Onions and Odes: Inspiration for the Hard Work of Being Human Part 3

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

by Sarah Chestnut

Over the centuries, poets have sung praises to athletic victories, Grecian urns, and the "wild West Wind" of Autumn, and odes praising the ordinary--socks, tomatoes, drinking water from cupped hands--raise an exultant voice in contemporary poetry. The command to "praise the Lord!" is a defining feature of the Psalms, and one catechism states that to "glorify God and enjoy him forever" is the "chief end" of human life. What does it mean to praise? What does praise do? How might a richer understanding of praising inspire and equip us for the hard work of being human?

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

Fall 2025 Theme Weekend: The Dignity of Dependence

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

by Joshua Chestnut and Esther Dalton

The second lecture portion of the Southborough L'Abri Fall 2025 Theme Weekend: "The Glory and Challenge of Ordinary Humanness."

Part 1: Lovely, Finite, Connected: Adjectives for Being Human

Part 2: Need, Receive, Follow: Verbs for Being Human

Concluding Discussion

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

Fall 2025 Theme Weekend: Being Human as an Act of Resistance

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

by Ben Keyes

The opening lecture of the Southborough L'Abri Fall 2025 Theme Weekend: "The Glory and Challenge of Ordinary Humanness."

"The model of the Christian life is the recovery of ordinary human experience, says the L'Abri classic Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience. Work, play, study, eating, music, art, gardens, repairs, sleep, sex, friendship, kinship, conversation, laughter, hospitality...all these things are deeply human and therefore have a place in a full understanding of Christian spirituality. But there are forces in our current individualistic, tech-driven society that threaten to dehumanize us. The ordinary activities of human life, of integral importance to God and of great spiritual value when offered to Him, are given less and less of our time, energy, and attention. Today, to simply be human is increasingly an act of resistance and a challenge to a rapidly changing 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 2025

Are We "Whittling Away" Character in Our Society?

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

by Dick Keyes

This lectures looks at what character has meant, has now come to mean, and how we might respond to the change.

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