Who Lives...Who Dies...Who Tells Your Story

Terry Emery
LPTS Alumna

Theological Libraries Month service
October 2, 2016
Genesis 23

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Getting to the YES of God

Susan R. Garrett

Dean of the Seminary
Professor of New Testament

September 9, 2016
Genesis 32: 24-32
I Thessalonians 3: 1-8

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Restoring Creation and Reconciling the World

Cliff Kirkpatrick
Professor of World Christianity and Ecumenical Studies

April 22, 2016
Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
Earth Day Service

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Genesis 1:1-2:15

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

April 8, 2014
Festival of Theology & Reunion
Genesis 1:1-2:15

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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.

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.

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

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We Journey by Stages

Lauren Jones Mayfield
Chapel Coordinator

September 14, 2012
Genesis 12:1-9

As Abram received his call to bless the nations, and as he fulfilled that call in stages, we too, must serve God as we process God's mystery and movement in the world.  Listen to the sermon.

A Sermon on Genesis 4:2b-9

Steve Cook
Visiting Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible

September 23, 2011

Genesis 4:2b-9

The Friday service of Word and Sacrament featured a sermon on Genesis 4:2b-9.  Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

Genesis 16

Elizabeth Johnson Walker

Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling

October 15, 2010—Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Genesis 16

1 Samuel 16-20

Domestic violence and God’s good intention for creation have lived in tragic tension for centuries. In the first family we are reminded that in a fit of jealousy and rage, Cain killed his own brother Abel. Domestic violence is a sin that separates and isolates victims from sources of value and meaning in God’s good creation. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Exploring Time

Frances S. Adeney
William A. Benfield, Jr. Professor of Evangelism and Global Mission

October 10, 2008
Genesis 1:31-32
Psalm 136:1-3
Ezekiel 13:26-28
Matthew 4:17
1Thessalonians 4: 16-17
1Thessalonians 5:1-3
1John 2:18
1 John 5:11
Revelation 22:7

In our scripture readings today we encounter multiple views of time. Our understanding of time itself is conditioned by language, economic and political relations, religious faith, and social organization. We are challenged to think about time (and language) from a Christian perspective. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Speak Louder Please, I Can’t Hear You

Cláudio Carvalhaes
Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching

Genesis 11: 1-9
Acts 2: 1-13
March 5, 2008

This is where we live: between Babel and Pentecost, at, around and within many borders. We all live between Babel and Pentecost. But how are we to construct the city of God within the city of humankind? What shall we do to speak and to hear God’s language? How can we move from Babel from Pentecost? Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Staying on Track through the Desert

Sheldon W. Sorge
Associate Director, The Louisville Institute

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
February 8, 2008

The opening Chapel of a new semester coincided this year with the beginning of Lent. The Gospel reading assigned for the beginning of Lent is the story of Jesus’ wilderness temptation. In his sermon, Dr. Sorge draws parallels between Jesus’ time of preparation for ministry in the wilderness, and our own practices of preparation for ministry. He suggests that the ministry Jesus inaugurated by his resistance to the devil in the wilderness is one of reconciliation, reversing the reign of human separation from God and each other that constitutes the story of the Fall. This is the Gospel ministry into which we too are called, and for which we too are being prepared. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Psalm 133

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

Romans 12:9-21; Psalm 133
Originally preached on April 21, 2006

Psalm 133 describes "kindred dwelling together" as good and pleasant--a surprising description given the large number of stories of sibling conflict in Scripture and the difficulty most people experience living with others in our own families, churches, and societies. The Psalm sets in sharp relief the story of Jacob's stealing of his father's only blessing from his brother Esau. What happened between Jacob and Esau in subsequent years offers important perspective on both the difficulty and the urgency of seeking the blessing of kinship. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Whom Do You Serve?

Adam Fischer
Student Body President

May 11, 2007
Genesis 11:1-9
Romans 12:1-8.

God calls all of us to live in a diverse world. While our community may reflect some signs of living into this call, it is important that we continue to work toward God's call for even greater diversity. This call toward diversity may lead us into tension and discomfort as we learn new ways to live with one another. Listen to the sermon.

What’s Your Dream?

Dr. Frances S. Adeney
William A. Benfield, Jr. Professor of Evangelism and Global Mission

April 20, 2007
Genesis 31:55-32:12

This sermon tells the story of Jacob’s struggles as he returns from his father-in-law Laban’s home, where he had sojourned for twenty years, to the land of his birth. The story shows how God fulfills the dream he gave to Jacob many years before. The idea presented is that although we often put aside the dream God gives us, God renews it in our lives and it is always much bigger than we’d imagined. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in pdf.

Tilling and Tending

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

April 13, 2007
Genesis 2:4b-15.

In this text the human vocation is identified poetically as a responsibility “to till and to tend” the garden that sustains life. While this has obvious implications for human attitudes and responsibilities toward the natural environment, it can also be applied more broadly. What if we were to think of all of our important activities as forms of gardening? Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in pdf.