A Threefold Cord is Not Quickly Broken

Amy Plantinga Pauw
Henry P. Mobley Professor of Doctrinal Theology

December 4, 2009
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Ecclesiastes’ message of human solidarity is an appropriate word for World AIDS Day. It reminds us of God the Creator’s generous grace and of our calling as Christians to a distinctively creaturely faithfulness. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Directives, Collectives, and Adaptives in a Changing World

David R. Sawyer
Professor of Ministry
Director of Lifelong Learning and Advanced Degrees

November 13, 2009
Nehemiah 13:15-20
Mark 1:39
Sirach 38 :34b-39:3

Sawyer looks at the present reality of Louisville Seminary in the light of the post-exilic period of the era of Ezra and Nehemiah, finding two different groups, world views, theological positions, and educational models. One group he calls the “Directives,” who hold responsibility and control for the seminary’s life; the second group are the “Collectives” who see the seminary as a free sharing of knowledge and power. He suggests we need to seek a third way, which he calls “Adaptive” which responds to change and loss with experiments, new discoveries and adjustments. He hopes to start a conversation about these differences in the community. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

After the Whirlwind

Christopher Elwood
Professor of Historical Theology

October 16, 2009
Text: Job 23, 24, 40, 41 (selections); 42:1-6

After the whirlwind encounter with God—vividly depicted in the story of Job—how do we live? Is it appropriate to expect a victim of disaster to repent? How can we interpret the winds of life that shake us to the core, and live with faith and integrity responding to God’s close involvement with us and with all of creation? Listen to the sermon.

The Edwards-Pressler Lectures

A New Mission?

Dr. Terry C. Muck
Dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism
Professor of Missions and World Religions, Asbury Theological Seminary

October 22, 2009

So-called “new missions” come about because of new contexts, not because of a new gospel. It is the demands of a new context that drives us back to Scripture for a fresh look at what God is calling us to be and do in this place and this time. Read the lecture in PDF.

The New Mission Worker

Dr. Frances S. Adeney
William A. Benfield Jr. Professor of Evangelism & Global Missions, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

October 22, 2009

What are the characteristics of the new mission workers? First they perceive the world differently. Second, they see the contradictions of current mission models and why they are not working, and third, they develop new ways of interacting with their context—new methods that bring the gospel alive in their setting. Read the lecture in PDF.

Muck and Adeney are co-authors of Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century (Baker 2009).

Psalm 65--World Communion

J. Bradley Wigger
Second Presbyterian Church Professor of Christian Education

October 22, 2009
Psalm 65

Biblical texts and geological texts differ in many ways but both have a way of rearranging our minds, shifting our sense of time and place if not our sense of home and community. When it comes to the world community, the communion of creation, there is of course a lot of work to be done, a lot of rearranging to do. Borders and boundaries are configured in terrible ways and the earth’s thermostat is out of whack. Our proclivities and transgressions overwhelm us. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Considering God’s Call

Christine Coy-Fohr
Student Body President

October 5, 2009
Matthew 17:14-20

What does it mean for us to be fully human in the way that Jesus was fully human? Can we perform miracles in our human realm? Listen to the sermon.

Hannah's Drunken Desire

Johanna W. H. Bos
Dora Pierce Professor of Bible and Professor of Old Testament

March 13, 2009
1 Samuel 1-18 (Dr. Bos reads her own translation of this passage. The link here is given for reference.)

Hannah’s story is that of a woman coming into her full humanity. She represents the hard stories of many modern women. Listen to the sermon.

Costly Grace Embodied

Dean K.Thompson
President and Professor of Ministry

October 2, 2009—Exploratory Weekend
John 12:20-33

This sermon delivered to the potential students who visited LPTS to explore a call to seminary is about all of us, as we try to do our best to live and love as those who, by the power of Christ’s Spirit, would yearn to stand up in the face of evil. The next Exploratory Weekend is March 5-6, 2010. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Psalm 124 -- Speaking of Enemies

Patricia K. Tull
A. B. Rhodes Professor of Old Testament

September 25, 2009
Psalm 124

Psalm 124 tells us something wonderful about God’s tender care in a violent world. Being Christians should mean we can face our sins more honestly than we otherwise might. But has professing Christianity freed us from the inclination to act and speak in anger and hatred? No matter how overwhelming hatred may be, God’s love is greater still. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

A Different World Is Possible

Clifton Kirkpatrick
Visiting Professor of Ecumenical Studies and Global Ministries

September 18, 2009
Amos 5: 21-24
Mark 1: 14-20

Some say that Calvin and parties don’t mix, but Louisville Seminary needs to celebrate our roots in the reformed tradition. Professor Kirkpatrick considers Calvin, his message, and how we can interpret that message in today’s world. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon outline in PDF.

Reflections on 9-11

Cláudio Carvalhaes
Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching

September 11, 2009

Professor Carvalhaes reflects on the changes in the world caused by the events of September 11, 2001. Listen to the sermon.

The Humanism of Jesus

Douglas L. Gragg
Professor of Bibliography and Research
Director of Library and Information Technology Services

September 9, 2009
Convocation
Mark 2:21-3:5

Humanism is decried by some today as an enemy of Christian faith, but the truth is that Jesus’ teaching was profoundly humanistic. He was prepared, in fact, to set aside anything—even cherished religious beliefs and customs—that stood in the way of human good. Opposition to humanism may well be one of the best ways available today to reject the values about which Jesus cared the most. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

The Hoarfrost of Heaven

This Senior Sermon was preached on April 11, 2007, but the giver, Amy Pemberton graduated in 2009. Amy is a Unitarian Universalist.

Job 38:1-33

At their best, science and religion can challenge each other’s blind spots, so that we might all see better the way before us. Read the sermon in PDF.

Be Perfect! Really?!? How perfect?

Karin Wright, Presbyterian, preached this Senior Sermon during the Spring 2009 term.

Matthew 5:38-48

How perfect do I have to be? That's the question that every kid in confirmation always wants to know. If we're honest, we want to know too. Isn't it hard enough just to try our best? Why do we have to be perfect? Read the sermon in PDF.

Pick up! Your phone is ringing!

This senior sermon was presented in Caldwell Chapel on April 29, 2009 by Catherine E. Crandell, non-denominational.

James 5:13-16 (The link is to the NRSV, but Catherine used The Inclusive Bible for her sermon.)

We want what we want, and we want it now – or maybe even yesterday. Yet God doesn’t always do what we want God to do when we want God to do it. Read the sermon in PDF.

Dusting Off the Magic 8 Ball: A Sermon on John 8:21-32

Burnetta Barton, Presbyterian, preached this sermon in Caldwell Chapel on March 18, 2009.

John 8:21-32

If the Magic 8 Ball cannot give us truth, if the theologians only point to the truth, then what is truth? Read the sermon in PDF.

Low on Oil atop a Spiritual ANWR: Mainline Protestants Prepare to Meet the Bridegroom

This sermon was originally preached in Caldwell Chapel on November 12, 2008 by Ryan Travis, ELCA.

Matthew 25:1-13
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Are we as mainline Protestants ready to meet Christ when he comes? Read the sermon in PDF.

Grace as the Wiggle Room in Our Relationship

We continue our sermon series by graduated seniors who volunteered their senior chapel sermons for this blog. This sermon is from Lisa Hermann,Presbyterian.

Originally preached on November 4, 2008

Romans 5

What role does grace play in building community with others? Read the sermon in PDF.

Adrift with God

Today we begin a series by graduated seniors who volunteered their senior chapel sermons for this blog. The first entry is from David Jewel, Presbyterian.

Originally preached on September 10, 2008

Matthew 14:22-33
Romans 10:8-13

What must have it been like to have been grabbed by Jesus? Read the sermon in PDF.

Becoming

Debra J. Mumford

Frank H. Caldwell Assistant Professor of Homiletics

May 8, 2009

1 John 3:1-2

Love is not truly love without action, but love is hard to do and takes time, work, and the honoring of those who critique our acts of love. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Taking the Measure of Things

Dianne Reistroffer
Professor of Ministry, Director of Methodist Studies, and Officer of Institutional Research and Effectiveness

April 3, 2009
Amos 7:8
Isaiah 28:17
Isaiah 34:11-12

Let us ponder the plumb line of the cross, the towel and the basin and the washing of feet, the personal acts of betrayal and faithful companionship, and the God of Love who, despite the multiple ways we fail to measure up, walks with us and never lets us go. Read the sermon in PDF.

Sticking Close to Woman Wisdom

Amy Plantinga Pauw
Henry P. Mobley Professor of Doctrinal Theology

May 1, 2009
1 Cor. 1:18-25
Proverbs 8:32-9:6

God’s wisdom is alive in the world, and it is inseparable from justice and righteousness. Trust God beyond what you can see, beyond what you can understand. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Grawemeyer Lecture: Doing Justice by Remembering Injustice

Rev. Dr. Donald W. Shriver, Jr.

March 4, 2009

Dr. Shriver asks how and why we should remember the negative past. He suggests that this remembering is required to change our relationship to history, and to publicly repent for the sins committed by a country and its people. Dr. Sue Garrett introduces Dr. Shriver. His lecture begins at 6:45 on the recording. Listen to the lecture.

A Wilderness of Imagination

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

February 27, 2009
Mark 1:9-15

Sometimes along the straight and narrow way that Mark describes, we get lost in the wilderness. At times we find ourselves meandering in the wilderness, unable to find our bearings, or get any forward momentum along the way. At times we find ourselves at a crossroads, unable to resolve which path to take. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Dealing with Life’s Report Cards

Dean K. Thompson
President and Professor of Ministry

Philippians 4:10-13 (NRSV)
Hebrews 11:1-16; 32-40; 12:1-2 (KJV)

This sermon was preached during the season of Lent and on World Day of Prayer. Indeed, the heart of the sermon is a prayer - the so-called “Serenity Prayer.”

O God, give us
Serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
Courage to change what should be changed,
And wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Amen.

Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

What’s Pastoral About Pastoral Counseling?

Loren L. Townsend

Henry Morris Edmonds Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling

February 5, 2009

Dr. Townsend’s address for the Convocation of the spring semester looks at how pastoral counselors and pastoral counseling have changed since 1990; what pastoral counselors “look like now; what continues to be pastoral about pastoral counselors; and theological questions that arise as a result of changes in pastoral counselors and their identity. Read the address in PDF.

The Measure of our Happiness

Cláudio Carvalhaes
Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching

February 6, 2009
Luke 8: 34-9:1
Mark 8:34-9:1

What has happened to the idea of happiness and to the better history of this country? What does it mean now to still say that we all deserve a chance to pursue the full measure of their happiness? Read the sermon in PDF. Also included in the text are the Call to Worship, Call to Confession, Assurance of Pardon, and the Eucharistic Prayer . (We regret that technical problems prevented the recording of the sermon.)