A Little Child Shall Lead Them

J. Bradley Wigger

Second Presbyterian Church Professor of Christian Education

Spring Convocation Address
February 6, 2014
Isaiah 11:6-9
Mark 10:13-16

Maybe the church can stretch a little by welcoming children, maybe we can practice a little more often advocating for the least of these in society, perhaps we can cultivate richer imaginations for love’s sake. Perhaps we can trust a child to lead us in the ways of peace. Listen to the convocation sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

A Prayer to Begin With--Psalm 51

David C. Hester

Dean of the Seminary, Vice President for Academic Affairs

Harrison Ray Anderson Professor of Pastoral Theology

September 9, 2011
Psalm 51:1-19

There are snakes in every Garden of Eden. Things don’t always go well; people don’t always get along; words are not always kind and nurturing; and differences in color, culture, sexual orientation, church traditions, beliefs and world views are not always so warmly embraced by we who don’t always see eye to eye. Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

Transforming the Mind in the Service of God: A Case for Theological Education

Michael Jinkins

President of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Presidential Inauguration

April 15, 2011

Romans 12: 2

We are living in an exceptional historical moment, at least for Protestant Christianity, an “axial” moment. Theological schools are right in the middle of this axial moment, because the church is right in the middle of this moment. Most, if not all, of the issues that challenge the church also challenge the seminary. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

The Life of the Mind in the Service of God: Why a Thinking Faith Still Matters

Michael Jinkins

President and Professor of Theology

September 9, 2010

Convocation

Today, perhaps more than at any time since the Protestant Reformation, we need to recover a commitment to an intellectually rigorous faith, a courageous and imaginative faith, a thinking faith so memorably expressed in John Calvin’s phrase, ‘the life of the mind in the service of God. One of the great challenges of theological education and of the life of faith in our time is to make a case for that quality of thinking faith which does not shrink either from scholarship or from acts of compassion, from the adventure of critical thought or from the call to justice. Listen to the address. Read the address in PDF.

Treasures New and Old

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

September 26, 2008
Matthew 13:52


Some affirm the old without hesitation but consistently reject the new. Others are more likely to welcome everything new but show little patience for engaging tradition creatively. Many just like things the way they are and dislike the intrusion of anything different, whether old or new. “Scribes trained for the kingdom” know how to appreciate both old and new, relate them in creative ways, and deploy them for the enrichment of others. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.