L'Abri Fellowship - Southborough

What is the Faith Jesus is Looking for?

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

by Ben Keyes

When we think about the role that faith plays in the life of the Christian, we often (rightly) think of Paul's theology of salvation: we are saved by grace, through faith, to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). This lecture will focus instead on the gospel narratives, particularly those stories in which Jesus comments on people's faith. What is the nature of the faith he is hoping to find and grow in his followers? How does the strength of a person's faith impact how they relate to Jesus? This lecture will turn to a number of gospel texts to address 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 2024

Can Anything Good Come from Barbieland? What a Plastic Doll Can Teach Us about Becoming More Human

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

by Mary Frances Giles

The 2023 blockbuster film Barbie has been both praised and censured by critics and moviegoers alike. One reviewer referred to it as "joyous from minute to minute," while another claimed it is "very pretty but not very deep." Far from just being a story about a pink plastic doll, the film asks important questions about the nature of reality via themes of gendered power struggles and the imminence of death. Drawing from the Biblical narrative, this lecture will seek to look at those themes through the lens of our shared humanity and hope for our lives beyond "Barbieland."

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 2024

Two Human Longings, Lost and Found

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

by Ben Keyes

This lecture explores two fundamental human desires: the longing to seek new experiences and the longing to come home. Drawing on examples from literature, we will explore the nature of these two longings and ultimately point to their biblical foundations. Because the longings for the new and the familiar are part of how we have been made by God, only in relating to Him do they come together and find fulfillment.

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 2024

Human-Sized: (Re)visiting Francis Schaeffer's "No Little People"

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

by Esther Dalton

In his sermon, "No Little People, No Little Places," Francis Schaeffer demonstrates how becoming infected with our culture's "syndrome of size" causes all kinds of problems for us regarding our identity and purpose in the world. In contrast, Schaeffer explores God's way of measuring value and Jesus' call to take the lowest place. As Christians, how do we recalibrate our systems of measurement to match God's? This lecture uses Schaeffer's sermon as a starting point toward following Jesus into these important questions of who we are and what we do.

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 2024

Taylor Swift: Music, Mania & Monopoly

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

by Ben Keyes

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 2024

Stones, Onions, & Odes: Inspiration for the Hard Work of Being Human Part 1

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 consider how remembering, creating and praising are central to our humanity, and how Christian spirituality has everything to do with the recovery of and growth in these human practices.

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 2024

Space, Place & Grace: Musings on the Meaning of Home

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

by Mary Frances Giles

In our modern culture, we have a complicated relationship with the idea of "home." Our TVs are flooded with home makeover shows, and we spend billions of dollars a year buying real estate and home decor. But we also live in a time of significant immigration crisis, and culturally we are becoming more and more detached from family and community. In light of these contradictions, this lecture will look at what the biblical narrative might have to teach us about our ideas of home and how we find our home in the world 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 2024

Liturgy as Life: Four Frameworks for Our Gathered Worship

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

by Adam Kurihara

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, the ancient rule of Christian worship, can be loosely translated "the law of prayer is the law of belief." How doe our liturgies and practices (a "law of prayer") shape not only what we believe about God, but who we believe ourselves to be? Conversely, how does how we view the world shape our liturgies? In this lecture we will survey four worldviews and four ways that our liturgies (the rites and rituals of our gathered worship) speak into our cultural moment.

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 2024

Christ Rules in Ten Thousand Places: A Free Church Account of the Church as Catholic

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

by Ryan Fields

Churches across the globe and through the centuries have taken up the language of the Nicene Creed in confessing the church as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." But this raises an important question: what would it mean for churches in the Free Church tradition (Baptist, Congregational, etc.) to confess the church as "catholic" (universal) while holding to the autonomy of the local church? I believe the answer lies in recognizing that Christ reigns 'wherever two or three at gathered' in His name as a church community (Mt. 18:20). Join us as we explore why confessing the church as catholic is so misunderstood and so important, especially for believers in the Free Church tradition.

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 2024

Remaining Politically Homeless

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 2024