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A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ By Emily Fellows and Esther Dalton Elizabeth Goudge was a twentieth-century writers of "romances" and children's stories. Though her penchant for happy endings has been criticized as "escapist" and "fluffy," closer inspection reveals a rich and weighty Christian understanding of the world that reflects the L'Abri them of "the reality of the supernatural" in the midst of life's ordinary and extraordinary joys and sorrows. The vision of an enchanted reality that Goudge's books provide might be just the thing readers need 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 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ By Sarah Chestnut Reflecting on a favorite experience from the summer sabbatical, Sarah will consider how we might all be "spa people": weary, unwell, and in search of living water. 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ By Joshua Chestnut Mr. Rogers often spoke about what he saw as the three ways humans can find success in life: 'The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." While kindness may sound weak and sappy to our ears, Rogers is tapping into some deep Christian wisdom about the shape of a life modeled after Jesus which is both demanding to follow and a means for healing a deeply unkind world. This lecture will consider how kindness might be a way through culture's polarizing tendencies towards either an oppressive sense of order on the one hand, or a decadently destructive sense of personal autonomy on the other. 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ By Ben Keyes Has there ever been a time in your life when you tried to bargain with God? Perhaps it is something most of us do when we are in desperate circumstances, whether we realize it or not. There are a variety of biblical stories in which people seem to do this, and sometimes God responds favorably. This lecture will explore the notion of striking deals with God: Can the Lord of the universe really be maneuvered into an agreement by his finite creatures? Should bargaining ever be a part of our prayer life, and if so, what can we possibly offer God as a bargaining chip? What does God's willingness to respond to us tell us about his character? 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ By Esther Dalton At the end of his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton makes the claim that "Praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul," and that "joy is the uproarious labor by which all things life." In this lecture, we will begin to explore the theology of joy not simply as an ethereal spiritual or emotional state, but as embodied in actions of enjoyment and praise, and will see how enjoyment is essential to the biblical idea of wisdom. 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

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 fro 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 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Mary Frances Giles "Friendship with God" can be a contested topic. For some, it is very easy to call God friend, while for others it seems impossible. IS God our friend? What should we expect out of a "friendship" with the Creator of the world?! In this lecture, we'll look at characteristics of friendship in general and look specifically at the lives of Abraham and Jesus to unpack what friendship with the God of the Bible might look like for us in our daily lives. 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Abigail Carroll, guest lecturer https://abigail-carroll.com/ What are we, asks poet and author Abigail Carroll, but "a constellation of salts" bearing the diving signature in our "affinity for zinnias, for swallows and plums, and questions about the lives of ferns"? To be alive in this world is to be awake to wonder. And from a place of holy wonder, we are well positioned to imagine justice. In this talk, Carroll will share poems both published and new, inviting us to engage the prophetic necessity of beauty and boldly envision a just 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 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Esther Dalton Fig trees feature in the landscape of the Gospels and show up in Jesus' teachings. It turns out the fig tree family is also an important part of many ecosystems across the world. What might these interesting trees have to teach us about fruitfulness in the Christian life? 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Dick Keyes We will be looking at a current crisis in our nation over which Christians are divided. Can we get some guidance from our faith through the Scripture? 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Emily Fellows We live in a culture that is both efficiency-driven and entertainment-driven. On the one hand, reading fiction can be seen as a waste of time with no quantitative benefits; on the other hand, reading fiction can become just another way to indulge our emotions and get a dopamine fix. It is with this milieu in mind that we ask the question, is there any value in escape through fiction? 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

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Esther Dalton "How many times have I been told...by well-meaning people, that it is my destiny and my charge to go out into the world and do great things for God?" So begins a liturgy called "For Those Who Have Not Done Great Things for God." What is the measure of greatness in the Christian life? Who's counting? This lecture will examine an obscure vision in the Old Testament prophets that encourages us to be recalibrated by the way God sees and measures as we build our lives. 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

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

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

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