L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

“In the Potter’s Hand”: A Brief Biblical Theology of Clay and Reflections from the Potter’s Wheel - By Sarah Chestnut

A lecture given by Sarah Chestnut at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts on July 16th, 2021. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

 

The image of a master potter's hands on clay spinning on the potter's wheel is an image and metaphor used by the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, and it is an image and metaphor drawn on again by the apostle Paul in Romans (quoting Isaiah) and 2 Corinthians (treasure in jars of clay).  Job, too, uses the language of being clay.  In this lecture we will aim to better understand how the biblical writers were using the metaphor and what it has to teach us about what God is like and how we should understand what it means to be human.  Additionally, we will consider what the potter's foundational discipline of centering clay has to teach us about prayer.

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

Plato, the Professor and the Real Narnia - Jim Paul

“Plato, the Professor and the Real Narnia”

A lecture given by Jim Paul at L’Abri Fellowship (via zoom) in Southborough, Massachusetts on July 9th, 2021. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

In ’The Last Battle’, the final book in CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the children witness the end of Narnia before walking through a door between worlds into a land of "warm daylight' and "blue sky, with flowers at their feet”. They eventually come to see that this ’new’ land is the real Narnia, “which has always been here and always will be”, and that the old Narnia was only its shadow or copy. Digory Kirke (the Professor in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’) comments by way of explanation that “It’s all in Plato, all in Plato." What did Lewis mean by this and how does Plato help us understand the relationship of creation to new creation?

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

THE LONG BATTLE FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE IN THE UNITED STATES - By Mardi Keyes

A lecture given by Mardi Keyes at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts on July 2nd, 2021. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

 

THE LONG BATTLE FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE IN THE UNITED STATES

 

Winning the right to vote was one of many goals articulated at the first American Women’s Rights Convention, held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.  It took 72 years to achieve.  On August 18, 1920, the 19^th Amendment to the Federal Constitution was adopted.  It read, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”  Of all the women present at Seneca Falls, only nineteen-year-old Charlotte Woodward lived to cast her vote in the 1920 presidential election. Such a long campaign toward one goal, is unique in American History and could not have succeeded without political acumen and doggedness.  In telling the story, we will consider some of the black and white women, whose courage and determination brought about this legislative victory.  We will also consider why the opposition to women’s suffrage was so strong.

 

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

“His Own Did Not Receive Him”: The Literary Theme of the Unrecognized King - By Ben Keyes

A lecture given by Ben Keyes at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts on June 25th, 2021. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

 

“His Own Did Not Receive Him”: The Literary Theme of the Unrecognized King

There are many works of western literature in which people of great power and authority disguise themselves and are not recognized even by their own people. Maybe you can think of some stories that contain this theme? While the motivations for secrecy and the outcomes vary widely, this motif of the unrecognized ruler is undeniably powerful. In this lecture we will discuss a few examples of this theme and how they point imperfectly to Jesus Christ—the ultimate unrecognized King. 

 

 

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

The Apostle Paul and the Silencing of Women - Joshua Chestnut

This lecture was given on Friday, June 18th, 2021 at Southborough L'Abri Fellowship by Joshua Chestnut.

 

The Apostle Paul and the Silencing of Women - Joshua Chestnut

 

This lecture, the third in a series on Paul and women, will take an extended look at Paul’s infamous instruction for women to be silent in 1 Cor. 14:33-36, as well as his words about women not having authority over a man or teaching in 1 Timothy 2:12.  We will consider them against the backdrop of Paul’s ministry patterns, consider why he might have written them as well as consider what they mean, both for Christians in the first century and for us today.

 

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

“Jesus – The Stone that the Builders Rejected” By Dick Keyes

 

Jesus revealed himself using a complex but important metaphor. We will look at his promise that he was the Chief Capstone and the Rock of Salvation, but also warned that he was the Stone of Stumbling which could destroy us. How can we resolve these two sides of the metaphor?

Fitting a frame around our fears: what about when psychiatry and psychotherapy cannot help? by Dr. Brandon Unruh

Beginning with an overview of various forms of anxiety which are commonly amenable to professional help, this talk (by a practicing psychiatrist and psychotherapist) explores the limitations of psychiatry and psychotherapy as tools for managing our deeper, wider existential fears.  This inadequacy is proposed to stem from the inherently naturalistic worldview typically operationalized throughout these working models.  It is proposed that applying a wider frame of reference which includes God, and specifically the trinitarian Christian God, provides resources for transforming, though usually not removing, our lived experience of anxiety.

The Doctrine of the Fall as Good News

The Doctrine of the Fall as Good News

By Ben Keyes

From a Christian worldview the doctrine of the fall provides an answer for the basic questions: “what is wrong with the world and why?” However, in eagerness to emphasize the good news and victory of the gospel, Christian people sometimes under-emphasize the fall and its many effects. Sadly, this can lead to confusion and disillusionment in our faith. This lecture will explore an idea that we have seen demonstrated in the life of L’Abri many times: that while the fall itself is the worst news, understanding the doctrine of the fall can bring clarity to much of our confusion and equip us to live in a world that is broken. 

Five Themes of L'Abri - Joshua Chestnut

Where Did Human Rights Come From?

Where Did Human Rights Come From?

by Dick Keyes

March 19, 2021

For our lives to go on we all assume a respect for human rights in ourselves and in our neighbors. What are human rights, how did we get them and why are they important?

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 2019.