Greed as Violence: The Role of the Global Church in Addressing the Enduring Spiritual Crisis of Our Time

Dr. Shanta Premawardhana
President of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education

November 14, 2013
The Henry H. and Marion A. Presler  Lecture

Listen to the lecture.

Contending with the Beast

Lewis O. Brogdon

Assistant Professor of New Testament and Black Church Studies
Director of the Black Church Studies Program

November 8, 2013
Revelation 13:1-10

Apocalyptic images are not just helpful for the ancients as they sought to make sense of their suffering and poverty. These images are helpful in my attempt to describe what has proceeded out of the waters of the Middle Passage, centuries of colonialism, slavery, and racism. I believe the beast re-emerged and stands before us today. This sermon explores the importance of this image for the church today in the struggle against systemic evils like racism. In the end, this text calls for three things: a realistic faith, a relevant faith, and a resistant faith.  Listen to the sermon.

Opposite Day

Gerald Liu
Visiting Professor of Worship

November 1, 2013
Luke 6:20-31

The message suggests that grasping the blessings and woes in Luke and "Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us" means playing a game of opposites. Followers of Jesus must learn to love their enemies and live lives oriented toward the promises of God instead of human judgment.  Listen to the sermon.

Beloved

Michael Jinkins
President
Professor of Theology

October 11, 2013
Luke 3:21-23a
Exploratory Weekend

What does it mean that the ministry of Jesus began at his baptism in the Jordan River? What does it mean that we are called into the ministry of Christ through our own baptisms?  Listen to the Exploratory Weekend sermon.   Read the Exploratory Weekend sermon in PDF.

Caution: May Cause Drowsiness

Heather Thiessen
Former Director of the Women’s Center at Louisville Seminary

October 4, 2013
Proverbs 24:21-22
Psalm 76

This sermon was preached in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

The Gospel, the Will of God, and Books

Dustin Ellington
Visiting Mission Co-Worker
Serving at Justo Mwale Theological University College, Zambia

October 3, 2013
Colossians 1:3-12

Listen to the sermon preached in honor of Theological Libraries Month.

It Feels So Funny to be Free

Lauren Mayfield
Caldwell Chapel Worship Coordinator

September 25, 2013
Genesis 38

Listen to the sermon on Genesis 38.

Free Yourself, Repent

Debra J. Mumford
Frank H. Caldwell Associate Professor of Homiletics
Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs

September 20, 2013
Luke 3:7-10

Listen to the third sermon on Luke for September.

Seek Service, Not Honor

Kilen Gray
Dean of Students

Black Church Studies Consultation
September 18, 2013
Luke 14: 7-14

Listen to the second sermon on Luke.

Rejoicing with God

Eugene March
Professor Emeritus of Old Testament

September 13, 2013
Luke 15:1-10

Listen to the sermon.  This is the first of September's sermons on based on passages from the book of Luke.

Wake Up, Wake up!

Susan R. Garrett
Dean of the Seminary
Professor of New Testament Studies

September 5, 2013
Mark 4:10-20; 10:28-31

Listen to the Convocation sermon.

Sermon on John 5

Loren L. Townsend
Henry Morris Edmonds Professor of Pastoral Ministry
Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling
Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program

May 3, 2013
John 5:1-15

Listen to the sermon.

The Second Story

Susan R. Garrett
Dean of the Seminary
Professor of New Testament Studies

April 15, 2013
Luke 24:13-35

Listen to the sermon.

A Yearning for God

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

March 18, 2013
1 Samuel 7

Listen to the sermon.

Babel’s Disasters and Sharing Another Vision

Christopher Elwood
Professor of Historical Theology

March 15, 2013
Genesis 11:1-9
Isaiah 43:14-21

Reading the story of the Tower of Babel in the age of climate crisis calls us to ask new questions about an old story. What is God’s concern in this text, where do we see God’s concern today, and what does that concern call us to do about such matters as the extraction of petroleum from the Alberta tar sands and the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline across the United States? Listen to the sermon.

What Is the Meaning of These Stones?

Brandon McCormack
Ph.D. Candidate, Vanderbilt University

February 28, 2013
Joshua 4:1-7

Listen to the sermon.

Where You Go, I Will Go with You

Kerri Allen
Louisville Seminary, MDiv 2010

Originally preached as part of the Katie Geneva Cannon lecture celebration
Ruth 1:1-18

Listen to the sermon.

The Essence of the Gospel

Michael Jinkins
President and Professor of Theology

Exploratory Weekend
March 1, 2013
John 8:1-12

What does it mean to follow Jesus?  Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

A Quiet Revolution: Broad Findings and Further Thoughts in Changing Times

Leila Ahmed
Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School

April 10, 2013
Grawemeyer Award in Religion Lecture

Dr. Ahmed received the 2013 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for ideas set forth in her book, A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence from the Middle East to America.  She examines the increase in American Muslim women who wear the veil, or hijab.  She looks at the experiences of women in Islam in both broad and personal terms, and examines Muslim American women in the post-9/11 world.  For some women wearing the hijab can be a simultaneous demand for justice for Muslims in American and justice for women in Islam.  Listen to the lecture.

Coloring Outside the Lines: Jesus and Religious Diversity

Cynthia M. Campbell
Former President of McCormick Seminary
Interim Pastor, Highland Presbyterian Church

Festival of Theology
April 10, 2013
Luke 7:1-10

Listen to the sermon.

No Common Creed: The American Bible from Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama

Steven Prothero
Professor, Department of Religion at Boston University

Greenhoe Lecture
April 9, 2013

Listen to the lecture.

Being the Children of Abraham

Cynthia M. Campbell
Former President of McCormick Seminary
Interim Pastor, Highland Presbyterian Church

Festival of Theology
April 9, 2013
Genesis 12:1-9

Listen to the sermon.

No Common Path: From Interfaith 1.0 to Interfaith 2.0

Steven Prothero
Professor, Department of Religion at Boston University

Caldwell Lecture
April 9, 2013

Listen to the lecture delivered during the Festival of Theology and Reunion.

The First Temptation: A Sermon on Luke 4:1-13

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

February 22, 2013
Luke 4:1-13

The devil tempts Jesus to prove his authority as the Son of God by commanding a stone to become a loaf of bread.  Even though he is famished after forty days of fasting, Jesus trusts that God will provide. This story parallels the experience of Civil Rights figures, like Sister Pollard, who echoed Jesus’ trust in God. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, Sister Pollard, in her seventies, walked to work and refused the offer of a ride by saying “My feets is tired, but my soul is rested.” She shows a faith that endures hardships while trusting in God’s providence.  The good news is that God has given us the bread of life, the bread that satisfies our hunger for justice and thirst for righteousness.  Listen to the sermon.

It Is the Worst of Times; It Is the Best of Times

It Is the Worst of Times; It Is the Best of Times

Kathryn L. Johnson
Paul Tudor Jones Professor of Church History and Professor of Historical Theology

February 7, 2012
Proverbs 8:1-11, 32–9:4
Philippians 1:3-11

Perhaps the challenges that in our context help to make this “the worst of times” for our church communities can be part of what can allow us, perhaps only retrospectively and with difficulty, that see it is also – not alternatively, but also – the best.  Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

Let’s Just Do This

Delmetria Cayson-Combs
Master of Divinity Student

February 15, 2013
II Corinthians 5:20-6:10

We are called to be earthly ambassadors for the cause of Christ, but we can’t do anything without being reconciled with ourselves and each other.  Listen to the sermon.

Living by the Spirit

Clifton Kirkpatrick
Visiting Professor of Ecumenical Studies and Global Ministries
February 8, 2013
Micah 6:6-8
Galatians 5:22-26
The fruit of the spirit is one of the sweetest gifts we can receive in this life. Listen to the sermon.

Dangerous Dreams

Cynthia M. Campbell
Former President, McCormick Theological Seminary

November 16, 2012
John 10:14-16

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religions and ethical traditions.  We are called to a compassionate Christianity.  Listen to the sermon.

Money, Mission, and Responses to Global Poverty

Dr. Douglas Hicks
Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Colgate University

October 25, 2012
Henry H. and Marion A. Presler Lecture

The ethical dimensions of economic issues are explored in this lecture.  Listen to the lecture.

Meeting Jesus at Louisville Seminary

Michael Jinkins
President and Professor of Theology

October 12, 2012
Luke 15

We must be careful not to confuse contempt for others with moral faithfulness.  Listen to the sermon.

Commanded to Love

David Hester
Harrison Ray Anderson Professor of Pastoral Theology, Professor of Christian Education, and Director, Doctor of Ministry and Continuing Education

November 2, 2012
Leviticus 19:9-18
Mark 12:28-34

Is it odd to be commanded to love?  How does this relate to political campaigns and our relationship to those less fortunate?  Listen to the sermon.

This Kind of Love!

Kilen Grey
Dean of Students

November 9, 2012
1 John 4:7-11 

America is not the same place it used to be. How can we the people, in all our diversity, share this country and the church? Listen to the sermon.