Look Harder!!!

Kilen Gray

Dean of Students

Feb 25, 2011

2 Kings 6:8-17

Drawing parallels between the movie “The Lion King” and the condition of blacks in America, Gray demonstrates how the black church is the Rafiki to black peoples’ Simba. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

We Have a Strong City

Heather Thiessen

Part-time Director of the Women’s Center at LPTS

Feb 18, 2011

Isaiah 26:1-13

In a week of worship focused on the theme of violence against women, the text of Isaiah 26:1-13 challenges the people of God to remember that faithful response takes the shape of trusting, and working for, the transformation of suffering in the direction of joy, responding to God's promised redemption by longing and laboring to make it more concretely imaginable. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Two Cheers for Denominationalism!

Amy Plantinga Pauw

Henry P. Mobley Professor of Doctrinal Theology

Feb 10, 2011

Spring Convocation

Acts 15:1-11

No one is likely to confuse Protestant denominationalism with God’s good and perfect will for the church. Denomination is a provisional structure of Christian existence that has taken diverse forms across space and time. It is currently experiencing many strains and fissures, and may evolve in new ways or even disappear altogether. For denominational churches, this radical contingency is part of their identity. My aim in this address is not to propose strategies for turning denominational fortunes around, but rather to suggest theological reasons why Protestants should not give up on denominationalism just yet. These reasons come in part from reflections on the church by some contemporary Roman Catholic theologians, including Nancy Dallavalle, Roger Haight, Brad Hinze, Paul Lakeland, Gerard Mannion, and Paul Murray. I argue that movements like comparative ecclesiology, inductive ecclesiology, and receptive ecumenism reflect theological views of the church that are consonant with denominational self-understandings and encourage a more appreciative perspective on denominationalism. Now that denominational churches have fallen on harder times, they have the opportunity to live into their distinctive theological self-understanding: a self-relativizing view of their place in the church universal, a realism about their own imperfections, and an acknowledgement of the need to receive wisdom from others, both inside and outside the church. Listen to the sermon.

God's Longing

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

December 3, 2010
Psalm 50

Do we believe God wants to deliver us?  That God will deliver us?  Can we bring our troubles to God in doubt as well as in faith?  Listen to the sermon.  Read the sermon in PDF.

Fencing the Table, Dealing with Differences

David R. Sawyer

Director of Lifelong Learning and Advanced Degrees, and Professor of Ministry

November, 19, 2010

Luke 11:5-10

People who are different, such as those with challenging sexualities or even those who differ from us socially or theologically can be thought of as inconvenient visitors, which is a theme of the parable of the “Neighbor at Midnight” from Luke 11:5-13. The parable can be interpreted as a clash of cultural or moral codes and it could be seen as a story of God’s never-failing love for all people, even those who knock on our doors at midnight. The parable could be seen as a critique of “fencing the table,” a practice of insuring that those who participate in the Eucharist are doing so worthily, is used as a metaphor for the community’s approach to inconvenient visitors. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Psalm 130

Patricia K. Tull

A. B. Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament

November 12, 2010
Psalm 130

Lament psalms help us to tell the truth about this world of wounds. Psalm 130 expresses expectancy, trust that God sees the chasm between what is and what ought to be, and is at work to transform this world of wounds into a garden of redemption. 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.

A Rich Feast for All Peoples

Amy Plantinga Pauw

Henry P. Mobley Professor of Doctrinal Theology

October 8, 2010—World Communion Service
Isaiah 25:1-10

Isaiah’s vision of a rich feast for all peoples reminds us that World Communion is never just about ourselves as Christians. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Seek Justice for Goodness’ Sake

Douglas L. Gragg

Professor of Bibliography and Research; Director of Library and Information Technology Services

October 6, 2010

Matthew 20:1-15

Our quest for justice is truest when we pursue justice, not exclusively or for its own sake, but in full relation to other equally important goods, especially kindness, humility, and peace. The quest is truest, that is, when we “seek justice for goodness’ sake.” Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.

Vocation: A Matter of Life and Death

Michael Jinkins

President and Professor of Theology

Exploratory Weekend

October 1, 2010

John 21:15-19

There is something like surrender involved in the discernment of our vocations, but there is also the gladness of meeting the needs of the world. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.