God has a Dream

Alton B. Pollard III

President
Professor of Religion and Culture

September 6, 2018
Fall Convocation
Psalm 126
1 Peter 3:15

Will you accept the challenge to plan your vocation and live your life in God’s grace with the unique gifts you bring to the table of ministry, justice and service?

Listen to the sermon.

Exodus 17.4-14

Patrick O'Connor
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica
(Queens, NY)
Louisville Seminary Trustee

April 27, 2018
Exodus 17.4-14

What can we do best and how can we allow God's work and will to be done?  How can we work together in this time and place to further God's plan?
Listen to the sermon.

The Cross, The Lynching Tree, and the Crosshairs: Racial Violence and American Christianity

Rev. Dr. Joanne Marie Terrell
Associate Professor of Theology, Ethics, and the Arts
Chicago Theological Seminary

April 10, 2018
Grawemeyer Award in Religion

(Dr. James Cone's book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, won the 2018 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.  Dr. Cone was unable to present a lecture due to personal reasons.  Dr. Terrell, a former graduate student of Dr. Cone's, spoke in his place.)

Dr. Cone's book contrasts the Christian tradition regarding the Cross of Jesus with the Christian response to lynching.  White Christians murdered over 5000 black men, women, and children during the lynching era, and did not see the parallels between the persecution and murder of Jesus on the cross and the death by lynching on the tree.  Anger over this, and the continuing mistreatment of black and brown peoples, is the only reasonable response for a Christian.  The key is to use the anger to move beyond guilt to doing the work of justice and love.  Listen to the lecture.

Black Joy in the Mo(u)rning

Brandon McCormack
Assistant Professor, Pan-African Studies, University of Louisville

March 26, 2018
Black Church Studies Consultation
Psalm 30:5b

The psalmist tells a mourning story as do African Americans who carry the psychic cost of existing in America while black.  The psalmist also reminds us that while mourning is necessary, there will also be a morning when, with God's help, we can reclaim our joy.  Listen to the sermon.

Setting the Captives Free

Scott C. Williamson
Robert H. Walkup Professor of Theological Ethics

February 23, 2018
Luke 4:14-21

The plight of prisoners once returned to society is the topic of Williamson's sermon.  How to we understand the moral worth and human dignity of all.  Listen to the sermon.

Calling on the Name: Psalm-Singing and Spiritual Formation

Marcus A. Hong

Director of Field Education
Assistant Professor of Practical Theology

February 1, 2018
Spring Convocation
Psalm 116

Singing the Psalms lets us experience God with our whole body and being.  Using Psalm 116 as an example, Hong shows how both a personal and theological understanding of the body  and mind can help interpret the Psalms.  Listen to the Convocation talk.

God is Gathering, All are Welcome

Amy Plantinga Pauw

Henry P. Mobley Jr. Professor of Doctrinal Theology

December 1, 2017
World AIDS Day
Isaiah 56:1-8

The pain and burden of stigma is an old and enduring problem.  Like Isaish we can rejoice in a God who welcomes the outcast.  God's house can be a place of healing and freedom for all people.  Listen to the sermon.

The Necessity for Lament in a Changing World

Soong-Chan Rah

Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism,  North Park Theological Seminary

November 9, 2017
Edwards-Presler Lectures on Peace, Justice and Mission

What does it mean that lament is missing from the world?  We know that God does answer prayer, but sometimes we don't want to hear the answer.  Listen to the lecture.

The Gospel as Improv

Mary Gene Boteler

Trustee, Louisville Seminary

October 27, 2017
Mark 10:17-30

Life is not measured by the past, but what we do next.  This is true for nations as well as for individuals.  What will our children and grandchildren say about the worth of our lives?
Listen to the sermon.

A Healthy Ministry

James Blankenbeker

MDiv '13

October 5, 2017
Theological Libraries Month
2 Timothy 4:1-5

Listen to a sermon honoring libraries and librarians as bringers of truth.  Given as part of a celebration of Theological Libraries Month.