L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

Navigating Restless Years: St. Augustine on How to Survive Young Adulthood

Navigating Restless Years: St. Augustine on How to Survive Young Adulthood

by Joshua Chestnut

Oct 2, 2019

Though he never had to deal with particular modern troubles like social media, student loans or internet porn, St. Augustine just like so many of us did have to navigate complicated relationships with parents, disappointment with religious community, haunting memories and seemingly unshakeable bad habits.  In this lecture we will look at how in his most well-known book the Confessions, Augustine opens up about all of this and more, offering help for those of us still navigating the “restless years” of becoming adults.    

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.

 

How Can We Grow the Right Desires – And Pass Them On to Others?

How can we grow the right desires – and pass them on to others?

by Dick Keyes

Oct 18, 2019

It seems that God does not only want us to know what is right and good, but to do it. But that is not all. Jesus wanted much more for us – that we hunger and thirst for what is right and good; that we love and desire it. We probably know something about learning ideas and behavior, but how do we learn the right desires and how can we teach them to others in a world which is skilled at shaping human desires for its own purposes?

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.

"Belonging to Every Riven Thing”: Reflecting on the Incarnation with the Help of Poets (II)

"Belonging to Every Riven Thing":  Reflecting on the Incarnation with the Help of Peots(II)

by Sarah Chestnut

Oct 11, 2019

An earlier version of this lecture was given in 2016.  Turning to three new poems, we will consider in a format more discussion than lecture what it means about God, and what it means for our humanity, that Jesus was fully divine and fully human.  For those who would like to read the poems in advance, see “Every Riven Thing” (Christian Wiman), “Descending Theology: Christ Human” (Mary Karr), and “Hill Country” (Tracy K. Smith). 

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.

 

Shouldn't The Christian Faith Be Easier? (Part II) Growing Biblical Grit

Shouldn't The Christian Faith Be Easier? (Part II) Growing Biblical Grit

by Ben Keyes

Oct 4, 2019

Are we really prepared in the affluent west for what the bible has to say about the hardships of the Christian life? We are part of an entitled culture that believes success should come easily. For many, ease is a determiner of what is worth pursuing in life. This lecture will engage with the work of secular positive psychologist Angela Duckworth. What does Duckworth’s understanding of ‘grit’ have to do with biblical perseverance and long-suffering?

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.

Shouldn't The Christian Faith Be Easier? (Part I)

Shouldn’t the Christian Faith be Easier? (Part I)

by Ben Keyes

this was given June 14, 2019

Have you ever felt that if Christianity were really true, it would be easier to live out? This is a very common contemporary sentiment, but what does it presuppose? What are our expectations of the Christian life and how are they influenced by the modern belief that ‘ease determines right.’ What does the bible encourage us to expect of life following Christ?

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.

Making Sense of Anger

Making Sense of Anger

by Joshua Chestnut

September 27, 2019

Whether we simmer in silence and suppression or explode in rage and violence, anger is a part of all of our lives. In this lecture we will look at the nature of anger, what it is telling us, and what we can do with it.

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.

 

My Times are in Your Hands: Biblical Reflections on Suffering and Sovereignty

My Times are in Your Hands: Biblical Reflections on Suffering & Sovereignty

given by Anna Friedrich

Sept 20, 2019

What is God’s relationship with all the bad things that happen? What does the Bible actually offer us in our suffering? The very old “problem of evil” continues to haunt and nag. We’ll look at one helpful metaphor employed by many Biblical authors and invite this imagery to reawaken our imaginations and our prayers.

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.

 

Reclaiming Love: Biblical and Scientific Principles for Restoring Relationships (by Andrea Gurney)

Reclaiming Love: Biblical and Scientific Principles for Restoring Relationships

by Dr. Andrea Gurney, Professor of Psychology, Westmont College

July 12, 2019

In a world that is more connected than ever before, we are somehow missing the mark on the very thing we were created for — loving, intimate relationships. As a society, we experience more depression, anxiety, and suicide than years past, and it is postulated that a primary reason for the increase in suicide is lack of social connections. This lecture will seek to provide practical tools from relationship science and Biblical truths to equip us in building healthy relationships.

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.

Liberty and Justice for Women? by Mardi Keyes

Liberty and Justice for Women?

by Mardi Keyes

July 5th

Why did Feminism happen in America?  In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband John, who was a member of the committee drafting the Declaration of Independence. She asked, “…in the new code of laws…remember the ladies, and…Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.” She was referring to the law, by which women, upon marriage, lost their civic identity, all rights to their property, to their bodies and their children. The “rebellion” she predicted was later called “Feminism.” John Adams responded dismissively, “Depend on it, we know better than to repeal our masculine systems…” Why is it that in culture after culture, “masculine systems” have defined men as entitled to liberty and justice, while women are not? What light can the Bible shed on these questions?

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.

“Jazzing Hellwards”: The Painful History of White Protestant Church Segregation and What It Means Today

“Jazzing Hellwards”: The Painful History of White Protestant Church Segregation and What It Means Today

June 28 – Marta Crilly, Historian and Archivist

From segregated seating in the 1840s to the Memphis Kneeel-Ins of the 1960s, America’s white congregations have a long and painful history of working to promote segregation in church pews. Examining the long tradition of segregationist theology, polity, and culture in the white church sheds light on the current racial situation in American churches, and helps us to understand why 11:00 on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour for American Christians. This lecture delves into the pro-slavery and pro-segregation theology accepted in many white churches in the 19th and 20th century and how that theology manifested in local church practice.

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.