L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

Stewarding Our Day-to-Day Mental Health

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

by Joshua and Sarah Chestnut

Join Joshua and Sarah as they offer reflections on mental health and the life of faith, sharing practical "everyday interventions" to help us steward our minds, hearts, and emotions.

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

Nurturing a Capacious Heart: Why Everyone Should Read Kate DiCamillo

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

by Joshua Chestnut

In her 2013 book Flora and Ulysses, beloved children's author Kate DiCamillo uses a remarkable phrase to describe a certain George Buckman, calling him a man who was "very capacious of heart." This means that George's heart has become large and so is "capable of containing much joy and much sorrow." Perhaps in our moment of endless digital distraction, angry partisan politics, and perpetual anxiety, we could all use a bit of help nurturing our own hearts in becoming more capacious. This lecture will consider the life and writing of Kate DiCamillo with the hope that her writing can help us all, old and young alike, grow in our capacity to be honest about the joys and sorrows of our lives.

*If you've never read any of her many books, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane or The Tale of Despereaux are great places to start!

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

Listen to Your Lust: Engaging Your Story to Heal from Porn Use

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

by Jeff Banks

How do you break free from compulsive pornography use? Many approaches to freedom focus on behavior modification, but that is not enough. In this lecture, guest speaker Jeff Banks argues that pornography use is an attempt to deal with emotional pain from childhood and that this pain needs to be addressed if someone is to find lasting freedom. This lecture will consider the links between a person's pornography use and his or her life story before outlining a path towards healing that puts relationships front and center.

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 Part 2: Inspiration for the Hard Work of Being Human

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

by Sarah Chestnut

Can an hour with an onion make us more human? Taking inspiration from the most mundane of vegetables, we will deepen our understanding of what it means to "follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph. 5:1-2).

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

Coping with Anxiety: Mindfulness, Eastern Meditation & Biblical Wisdom

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

by Mardi Keyes

In the early 2000s, I participated in the Stress Reduction Program founded by the Zen Buddhist physician and author Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness meditation was central to the program. Since then, mindfulness has gone mainstream, supported by a growing body of evidence that it can be a powerful tool in treating stress, anxiety, and many other health problems. The Bible is no stranger to stress and anxiety, and it too offers wisdom for coping with them. This talk will consider places where biblical wisdom and eastern meditation overlap and where the paths divide.

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

Winter TW 2025: Our Fractured Relationship with Time Concluding Discussion

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

hosted by Sarah Chestnut

This the concluding discussion of our first Winter Theme Weekend "Our Fractured Relationship with Time".

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

Winter TW 2025: Why is it so hard to wait well (and so easy to wait badly)?

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

by Ben Keyes

This the second lecture of our first Winter Theme Weekend "Our Fractured Relationship with Time."

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

Winter TW 2025: Becoming Friends with Time

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

by Joshua Chestnut

This the first lecture of our first Winter Theme Weekend "Our Fractured Relationship with Time."

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

What Is the Abraham Sacrificing Isaac Story Doing in the Bible?

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

by Dick Keyes

The question asked in the lecture's title has two senses: First, why was the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac not censored as inappropriate for respectable Bible readers? And second, what does the story actually do in the whole Biblical narrative?

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

Now Thank We All Our God: Singing the Hymns of the Thirty Years War

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

by Esther Dalton

The Thirty Years War was a period of ongoing hardship and devastation in Europe that proved to be a major turning point towards modernity in world history. What can we learn from the prolific German hymn writers of this time who turned their experiences of suffering into song?

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